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Cruise Company Rotation LINK Daily Routine
today
4th Class
Deck Training Shifting weights with block and Tackle, Weather,
Radar/Arpa Basics
2nd Class
Deck Training Stability, Steering Gear
2nd
class engineering
training topics are:
Evaporation Plant, Pollution
Control/ Oily water separation, Plant Centralize Fresh Water Cooling
System, Ship’s Hydraulic Steering System.
4th Class engine training
are learning: Electrical Distribution System. Ships Service Diesel
Generators SSDG, Emergency Diesel Generators (EDG), Transformers.
Breakers.
T/S STATE
OF MAINE
Bridge
Navigation Equipments
The T/S STATE OF
MAINE carries many state of the art electronic equipments used for
navigation. Technology has come a long way in the last 30 years.
The primary
navigation equipment we use is the Global Positioning System (GPS).
We have three GPS units on the bridge which provide us with a
latitude and longitude within an accuracy of 5 yards. 25 years ago
we relied on LORAN C Systems for position information which had an
accuracy of ¼ mile. GPS today is the primary navigation device
carried by all commercial and private vessels in the maritime
service.
We also have dual
gyro compasses which provide us with a very accurate heading of the
vessel. We carry two of many of our navigational tools in order
that if one fails we can rely on the secondary equipment to get us
to port where we can obtain service to repair any problems.
Another important
navigational aid is our Doppler Speed Log. This uses a Doppler
technology to determine our speed through the water.
We also have an
Electronic Charting and Display System (ECDIS) which provides us
with electronic charts of the world. Coupled with the position,
heading and speed information of the above equipments, our ECDIS
shows our exact position, course, and speed on a large 23 inch TV
like monitor. We can lay in our route on the system and the ECDIS
will even drive the ship automatically changing course from one
waypoint to next waypoint.
Another very important navigational tool
on our bridge is the radar. Like almost everything else, we have
two radars which present us with a very accurate display of ships,
buoys, and land all around us. We have a port and a starboard radar
display which provide us computerized collision avoidance
information on all the ship targets around us. The 23 inch bridge
displays are each connected to a radar antenna on the mast; these
are the funny rotating antennas. The X-Band Radar is the smaller
antenna which operates at a very high frequency of 9 Gigahertz with
an output power of 25KW peak power. The S-Band Radar is the larger
antenna which operates at again a very high frequency of 3 Gigahertz
with an output power of 30 KW peak power. An output power of 25 or
30 KW certainly would seem to be a very high power until you
consider that this is peak power and the average power output is
actually only 25 to 30 Watts. Keep in mind a standard light bulb is
60 Watts.
A trivia question:
Why do ships generally carry an X-Band Radar and an S-Band Radar?
The 9 GHz X-Band radar provides a more detailed higher
resolution picture with a smaller antenna. This is why all the
recreational radars on fishing boats and yachts are smaller X-Band
Radars. However, the X-Band Radar is very susceptible to major
interference in heavy rain squalls’ Rain squalls many miles away
can be seen on the radar display. The S-Band Radar on the other
hand is a lower frequency with a much larger antenna and is not as
sensitive to heavy rain. The larger size of this antenna makes it
impossible to install these S-Band Radars on smaller yachts and
fishing boats.
One of the most
helpful navigational tools to come out of the technical arsenal in
the last few years is an Automatic Information System (AIS). This
is a transponder system similar to what the aircraft use. Our AIS
unit has our name, call sign, ship parameters, destination, Heading,
GPS position, and speed programmed into it. When another ships AIS
unit transmits an inquiry, our AIS unit will transmit our data to
them and like wise, we will receive other ships AIS transmissions.
This provides us with very important navigational information about
a ships heading, course and speed as well as the ships name in case
we need to call them to clarify a navigational passing.
Another great
navigational aid is the presentation of all our AIS target
information on the ECDIS. We can also see all our tracked radar
targets on the ECDIS display. This gives the navigational watch a
tremendous picture of the ships all around us with their course,
speed and name.
Modern technology has definitely graced the maritime industry with
many new and exciting aids to navigation to make sailing these
mammoth beasts of the sea much safer to not only the personnel
onboard but also to the maritime environment they sail through
George Kimball
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