A Seawork debut with Marine Commander

Cutting edge boat design, professional installation and intuitive electronics provide the background to the launch of the Channel Chieftain VI, a new 19m Crew Cat.

Channel Chieftain VI is the very first vessel in it class to feature a semi-elevated helm, with windows going around the whole cabin. As part of its build, Icom’s new commercial Marine Commander System was installed to provide a networked solution for navigational and communication equipment for the vessel.

Channel Chieftain VI is the latest vessel to be built by Aluminium Boatbuilding Company (ABC Marine) and is a first in class 19m Catfish CrewCat. To be used predominantly as a wind farm support vessel, the Channel Chieftain VI, is the first vessel in class to have that semi-elevated helm yet still retains full forward

visibility for the lower cabin.

Powered by twin Doosan 20L diesels, producing 1,000 bhp and driving conventional propellers for a cruising speeds of 23-24 knots, the vessel provides accommodation for 14 technicians as a multi-purpose platform, predominately for offshore crew transfer and with a permissible deck cargo of 22 tonnes. The vessel is capable of carrying a standard 20’ shipping container on the foredeck and a 10’ container aft.

The electronics for the vessel were supplied by Swanwick based Landau UK Ltd.

The Marine Commander system specified for Channel Chieftain VI included:

• Four Icom MXD- 5000 12.1 inch TFT Multifunction displays

• Two Icom Marine Commander’s Main MXP-5000 main processors

• One Icom MA-500TR AIS transponder

• Two Icom MXR5000T Main Radar Units

• One Icom MXF-5000 Fish Finder Unit

• One Icom IC-M801E MF/HF Marine SSB with HS-98 Telephone Handset

• One Icom IC-M603 Marine VHF Radio with HS-98 Telephone Handset

• One Icom IC-M423 Marine VHF/DSC Radio with HM-195B CommandMic

• Two Icom IC-M91D Handheld DSC VHF Radios

• One Procom HF Whip Antenna, two Procom VHF Antennas and one Procom AIS Antenna

In addition to this, the system has the capacity to display real-time fuel consumption, engine speed, depth and temperature, and has provisions for four onboard cameras to be connected via RCA connectors.

The custom dashboard was designed and constructed long before the equipment needed to be ordered or installed. As soon as the boat was ready, the install for the Marine Commander took about two and a half days. It is one of the simplest systems on the market to install as the units are all full plug and play. The GPS, depth sounders, and radars plug in, the screens plug in to the main processor and job done. Everything connects into the main Marine Commander PSU and it all runs from there.