L-3 Marine Systems International (L-3 MSI) has been awarded a[ds_preview] major contract to provide advanced automation, navigation, communications and electrical propulsion facilities for »Samsø Færgen«, a new 100 m, double-ended passenger/car ferry built by Remontowa Shipbuilding on behalf of Danish proprietor, Samsø Municipality. Initially LNG-fuelled, »Samsø Færgen« is expected to become the world’s first ferry to operate on locally supplied biogas. Due to enter service in September between the renewable energy island of Samsø and Hou on the Danish mainland, the eight-deck DNV-class vessel will carry a maximum of 600 passengers and 160 cars.
The NACOS Platinum integrated navigation system to be supplied by L-3 MSI comprises S- and X-band radars linked to a series of five Multipilot multifunction consoles and associated conning units for control of all main radar, ECDIS, automatic steering and voyage planning functions. Subsidiary sensors consist of AIS, VDR, DGPS, Doppler logs, echosounders, gyros, rudder steering and indicators, wind/weather navaids and BNWAS. The vessel’s control system is completed by L-3’s MCS Platinum automated monitoring and control system, with approximately 4,000 data inputs remote controlled from onboard computer, emergency shutdown and DNV-approved LNG cargo control systems. Furthermore, L-3 MSI’s SAM Electronics division is providing the ferry’s complete electrical propulsion system. The vessel will be equipped with four 850 kW azimuth thrusters, driven by an asynchronous motor and a speed-controlled, low-voltage PWM converter featuring the latest active front-end (AFE) technology. The power generation configuration will include the installation of two 690 V, 60 Hz propulsion switchboards, four gensets, including 1,275 kVA synchronous generators, and dual-fuel diesel/LNG engines.
Meanwhile, L-3 SAM Electronics won another major order by Hamburg Süd. After one year of preparation time, seven container vessels currently chartered by the German ship operator and regularly calling at the US West Coast ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles, Port Hueneme and Oakland were equipped with latest SAMCon high-voltage onshore power connection facilities, enabling the vessels to meet California’s strict clean air regulations. They establish measures for providing shore-based, emission-free electrical power to vessels, allowing their main and auxiliary engines to be disengaged while in port. The environmentally friendly systems from L-3 will ensure that all the vessels meet the state’s strict requirements while docking by eliminating the harmful air pollutants and noise that arise from diesel engines. The SAMCon system consists of a 40-foot container incorporating a wide range of electrical components for seamless acceptance of up to 3.5 MVA transferrable power at 6,600 V, together with a medium-voltage switchboard and a water-cooled step-down transformer. Each system also includes control and monitoring facilities and an IEC 80005-1-compliant interface between ship and shore. The Hamburg Süd configuration is in line with the recent commissioning of similar high-voltage shore connection (HVSC) systems for 26 Hapag-Lloyd, eleven Hanjin and six CMA CGM containerships.
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