Radar delivers dredger captain shortest route home

Detecting buoys is especially important for Captain den Herder as quickly finding the fastest way into the port after dredging makes his business more efficient. ‘We are making money by using the shortest routes back to port and this radar is making that possible. Navigation is usually very difficult in the west Scheldt in bad weather, but this radar is amazing, he said.

‘I can tell the difference between the waves and the buoys even in bad weather. On one occasion we were in bad weather passing several buoys and I could clearly see on the ETD screen a yacht was moored on a buoy. On the normal radar screen I could only detect one target, the use of ETD provided me with more information and prevented a possible collision.

‘Another experience I had which is nothing to do with navigation, but illustrates the impressive performance of the system is that one time on the bridge I saw two red moving targets on the ETD screen. These targets were on shore so not of great interest to me, but I was curious and took a look with my binoculars. I saw two dogs running on the beach! If this radar detects such small targets, you can imagine how effective it is at detecting buoys and other small objects at sea.’

Enhanced Target Detection (ETD) mode significantly enhances the display of slow-moving or stationary targets without interfering with the normal radar appearance or controls. It treats static returns differently from moving returns and displays the moving ones in a different colour.

‘It is so simple to use because of the colours, said Captain den Herder. ‘It is very easy to learn how to operate it and everyone who has seen it has been very impressed. I am surprised how easy it is to operate this high tech radar.’

The ETD mode is displayed in a second window on the same screen as the main radar image, a feature which enables the operator to continue using the radar in the normal way with the addition of a simultaneous advanced detection (ETD) view being available without cluttering the main display.

Captain den Herder finds it extremely useful. ‘The dual radar presentations with one set to a three mile range and the other to the 0.5 mile range makes it very easy to navigate because you can see at a glance if you have passed the buoys and still maintain an overall navigation view without the need to keep switching from one range to another.’

The ETD mode is available as a software upgrade for the standard Kelvin Hughes’ MantaDigital Radar or Chart Radar products. No additional hardware is required.