Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Sperry Marine business unit is supplying a complete integrated bridge system (IBS) retrofit for the cruise ship Artania, which is undergoing a major refurbishment and modernization by V.Ships Leisure. The project will be managed by Seacom Electronics.
The ship’s navigation electronics systems are being replaced by a state-of-the-art VisionMaster FT™ IBS with TotalWatch™ multifunction display consoles. The system includes dual-channel X- and S-band primary navigation radars, separate X-band bow radar, electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS) as well as other subsystems and sensors, tied together into an integrated Ethernet network. There is a separate redundant ECDIS backup station to meet International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements for a secondary navigation site in case the primary bridge is damaged or disrupted.
“ The navigation system upgrade will bring the ship into compliance with the upcoming IMO ECDIS carriage requirements ,” said Alan Dix, managing director of Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine . “ The VisionMaster FT system will also offer a significant improvement in safe navigation and situational awareness for the ship’s navigation team .”
Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine has a long-standing relationship with V.Ships as a major supplier of navigation systems to the company’s managed fleet.
V.Ships, which manages a fleet of more than 1,000 ships, is one of the largest suppliers of independent ship management and related services to the international maritime industry.
Sperry Marine is a business unit of Northrop Grumman’s Naval and Marine Systems Division. Headquartered in New Malden, U.K., with major engineering and support offices both in New Malden and in Hamburg, Germany, Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine provides smart navigation and ship control solutions for the international marine industry with customer service and support in numerous locations worldwide.
[mappress] Source: Northrop Grumman, September 7, 2012