Under its brand Simrad, marine electronics company Navico develops navigation technology and aims to become a provider of integrated systems solutions. As the newbuilding market is slowing down, maintenance cycles and replacement open up new areas of business
Besides radar, ECDIS has become the most important component of navigation equipment on the bridge, especially in crowded areas and[ds_preview] close to shore. These two technologies are the most important drivers of experience on the bridge, says Jose Herrero, Managing Director, Commercial Marine Division, Navico. »That is why Navico invests most in that area«.
While Simrad-branded products are widely used in the recreational, tug, light marine and fishing vessel segments, the scope of products merchant vessels is also growing steadily. The non-IMO market offers a good opportunity to introduce and test new products such as the new HALO pulse compression radar systems. A key driver for IMO-compliant marine electronics is the newbuilding market, but demand in the offshore and cargo sectors is slowing down. »There are still segments of growth like cruise vessels but newbuildings are now at bottom level and will remain there also in 2017, maybe until 2019,« says Herrero. An increasingly important driver for electronics companies is the new ECDIS regulation implementation. Still a lot of ships have no integrated bridge systems or up-to-date navigation technology and many ships now come to the end of their seven or ten year maintenance cycles. »Before, there were smaller replacements necessary, like gyros or magnetrons. Now the big works are next,« Herrero says. »We are dealing with an aging fleet, most ships are between 15 and 20 years old.«
The number of ECDIS mandated vessels is growing. Today ECDIS has a penetration of around 50%, by 2018 90% in large vessels is expected. Also the interest in having a second or third ECDIS on board as back-up increases. »Some owners want a second system just to comply with the regulations. They do not even use it, they just have it to get the papers,« Herrero explains. Moreover, a younger generation of sailors is already so used to ECDIS that they cannot work without it, in case it breaks. Herrero adds, »We generally see a big embrace of the use of technology on the bridge.«
And there is a third segment: many owners of vessels, that do not have to comply with the ECDIS-regulation see the advantages of the technology.
Cyber safety is widely discussed in the maritime industry as it is relying on digital and connected technology in more and more sectors. Cyber criminals actively attacking systems are a risk as well as unsafe utilization of equipment by the crew. In many cases there are no PCs on board or there is no connection, so some crews use the ECDIS computers for personal business. »You would not believe what we find on the hard drives, when we check them for maintenance works: Pictures of the sailors’ families, pictures of girls that are not from the families, all kinds of downloaded stuff,« Herrero says. All that can compromise the safety and functionality of the equipment.
The mechanical stress is also a factor for the computer equipment. Hard drives can fail, especially in harsh environments. For that reason Simrad tries to use more and more solid state drives where ever it is possible. Another source of errors and failure is the forwarding of chart data. There is a big industry of sending CDs and USB drives. A digital transmission system would be a relief.
