Uni-Safe Electronics’ BW-800 system gives a clear visual indication of the multi-stage alarm process.


scene as soon as possible, once the alarm process commences. When the alarms are triggered, both


Uni-Safe’s BW-800 and Martek Marine’s Navgard systems record each alarm stage as an event on the vessel’s voyage data recorder (VDR), thereby providing a complete log that could serve as crucial evidence in the event of an accident, as specified by the incoming regulations.


Costs and considerations Trials have proven BNWAS to be useful solutions, placing a strong emphasis on bridge safety and providing an impressive degree of technological back-up to the OOW. However, as stated before, a number of vessel owners have nonetheless baulked at what they perceive to be the associated costs of installing such systems, especially when it comes to retrofitting entire fleets. Uni-Safe’s Jensen concedes: “We do


meet some shipowners who are only really focusing on price and don’t care what the actual system does, as long as it’s cheap enough, but taking this approach can lead to technical problems later on.” As a rough estimate, Jensen claims that a BW-800 system incorporating five alarms will retail at around €2000 (US$2850), while Taylor identifies a cost of between US$2000-2500 as indicative of a Navgard set-up that would ensure “basic compliance”. However, she adds: “Martek Marine is


mainly going down the retrofit route, so you have to factor in the associated costs of installation. Tis can include running the cable through three levels of decking, setting up alarms and junction boxes, and so on, and so a US$2500 system can easily add up to a US$5000 installation.”


Surges in demand Setting up BNWAS is quite a simple process, says Jensen, who estimates that the majority of Uni-Safe customers’ crews handle the bulk of the process themselves. “We would recommend getting an official VDR engineer to interface the BNWAS and VDR, though it should only take one or two days to complete a full installation and the crew can handle 90% of the work,” he opines, estimating that about 90% of Danish-flagged vessels are currently carrying BW-800 units. Jensen claims that customers should


also consider the battery arrangements when ordering their BNWAS. While both Uni-Safe and Martek Marine offer external battery back-ups to their respective systems, Jensen warns: “An internal battery back-up will require a yearly service, and may mean that the operator is left with considerable expenses in the event of an emergency replacement.” With the first stage of the IMO


BNWAS regulations now in force, all that remains is to shiſt the units. “We’re looking at a series of strong surges in


demand around 1 July every year, for the next three years,” says Jensen. “However, we won’t fall short of systems; we have 1000 BNWAS in production,


taking


us through to December 2011, and are relying on three production sites to cope with these orders.” Since 2002, back when the Danish Maritime Authority originally adopted the IMO BNWAS standards, Uni-Safe has


sold over a


thousand BW-800 units worldwide. Similarly, Martek Marine’s Taylor comments, retrofits will


form the


majority of the group’s business and Martek plans to target an estimated 25% of the marine market. She says: “We expect a sudden rush of orders, when people start panicking and realise that the deadlines are looming.” Given the coinciding regulations in


the pipeline this decade – including, but not restricted to, IMO’s January 2012 International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water, and the 2016 Tier III regulations on emissions, this could prove a particularly sticky time for leaving compliance to the last minute. SBI


MARINE DISTRESS SIGNALS


Ship & Boat International July/August 2011


www.comet-marine.com49


Feature 4


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64