A fairway to Fujairah’s filling station

Fujairah has recently deployed eight buoys from UK company Tideland Signal to the north of the port to mark a new passage into the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline project (ADCOP). This development is both truly massive and strategically important as it allows Abu Dhabi to export crude oil directly from Fujairah, offsetting the Emirates’ reliance on Arabian Gulf oil terminals while reducing shipping congestion through the narrow Straits.

The project pushes crude oil through a 360km land pipeline and, at the Fujairah end, involves the port in both interim storage and export operations. Tankers fill up on crude oil via three single point mooring buoys placed for deep water loading.

The buoys used to mark out this vital channel are Tideland’s SB-285P lateral mark units, equipped with SolaNOVA-65 self contained LED lanterns and AIS AtoN systems to communicate with vessels in the vicinity.

Importantly, the AIS AtoN equipment transmits a range of information including its identity and position to vessels approaching Fujairah and also sends a remote monitoring signal back to base. This is picked up by the AIS station and routed through to the operators in a newly built control tower where the Tideland AIS display system is installed.

The powerful AIS display includes Message 21 (AIS AtoN data) and offers features such as record and replay, warning areas and AIS target filtering. The system is unique in allowing operators to view AIS vessel traffic with the option of integrating and viewing it with AtoN status, all backed up on a database which provides a fully accessible record of events.

These SolaNOVA-65 units, the first to be supplied to the Middle East, were chosen for their extremely bright LEDs and robust but lightweight design. The lantern is compact and self contained, featuring proprietary optics which provide a 360° beam at 5°, 10°, 20° or 30° vertical divergence. It’s a flexible solution: the 5° or 10° divergence lens is recommended for fixed aids to navigation while the 20° or 30° lens ensures that the light is visible under most service conditions.

Tideland’s SB-285P buoys are rotationally moulded, UV-stabilised, self coloured polyethylene filled with expanded polystyrene. There are no external corrodible parts and composite moorings systems have been specifically designed for deeper water, up to 115m.

Installation of the whole AtoN system was completed within seven days by UAE-based Safe Sea Services, Tideland’s sister company in the Gulf, which supervised the deployment, installation and commissioning of all the equipment including the AIS system. Keeping to this tight deadline ensured that vessels could start using the channel on time and in safety.