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COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY Keeping Vessels At Work, In Touch Today, more than ever before, advances in communication technology are helping vessel owner/operators run more efficient, cost effective, and safe vessels. The advent of higher technology in the maritime communications services and products niche is owed largely to the ever growing needs of land-based corporations and consumers, which constantly push the technological envelope in terms of speed and size. While the maritime market is often considered conservative — particu- larly in terms of new technology and/or added expense — it is worthy to note that the very core of the industry is changing, moving towards larger fleets. While this trend has ramifications across the board, it means that the price of incorporating new communications technology is viewed more as an investment than an expense. Consolidation of owners and fleets has touched every aspect of maritime business, from the large oceangoing fleets to the smaller brown-water groups. As compa- nies continue to grow larger, with increased amounts of service affiliations and requirements, it is more critical than ever that entire fleets are outfitted with technology which enable vessel owner/operators to best utilize their assets efficiently and cost effectively. While satellite and other communica- tion advances have helped to drastically improve the efficiency of fleets, another topic driving change — safety — is equally important in ascertaining a vessel's prod- uct and service needs. Setting the new standard On July 23 the IMO's sub-committee on Safety and Navigation (NAV 44) over- whelmingly approved an amendment to Well Said... "However, as the Chain of Responsibility clear- ly illustrates, ship and shore are totally depen- dent on one another when vessels are navigat- ing in confined spaces close to shore and whether entering or leaving port. Well timed communication through VTIS systems must ensure the necessary safety of navigation." — Dagfinne Lunde, managing director of Intertanko, discussing the court proceedings in Singapore relating to the Orapin Global and Evoikos incident last October in the Malacca Straights. existing ECDIS performance standards which will allow ECDIS navigation sys- tems to operate in a RCDS mode. Under the proposal, national maritime administrations may allow vessels the option of using the RCDS mode of opera- tion until the vector Electronic Navigation Chart (ENC) coverage required for the nor- mal mode of operation is available. While operating in the RCDS mode, vessels will be required to use an appropriate folio of paper charts, as determined by national administrations. Raster nautical charts already cover much of the world and the concept of ECDIS operating in an RCDS mode is seen as a way of letting mariners maximize the use of the system while ENC coverage expands — commonly referred to as the "dual fuel" mode of operations. The impor- tant benefit of the dual fuel approach is that electronic chart navigation based entirely on official and up-to-date charts is available for almost any voyage. Those questioning why a ruling on elec- tronic charts is at the forefront of a discus- sion of advanced maritime communica- tions can look to the recently completed ECHO project. The ECHO project, as reported in MR/EN's April 1998 edition, sought to set the electronic chart standard. While the technical specifications sur- rounding the ECHO project consumes vol- umes, the main thrust of the project revolves around the timely, efficient and cost-effective creation, distribution and use of the ENC's. Crucial to the project's com- mercial prospects is the ability of an owner/operator — onboard the vessel or shoreside — to easily update a given chart using high speed data links. The ECHO project has addressed this need with a streamlined system of getting new and updated charts funneled quick- ly to the user, while maintaining the highest level of security and data integrity. The ABC's Of SatCom While the breadth of satellite commu- nication products and services continues to cause confusion among even the most seasoned industry IT professionals, it's worthy to note the one binding trend: more competition will continue to drive down the price of service and the size of components. Currently, there are three major Low Earth Orbit communication networks 62 SAILOR SALES AND SERVICE AGENTS ANTILLES (NETHERLANDS) Radio-Holland Caribbean N.V. • Curacao N.A. Phone: +599 94 612577 • Fax: +599 94 612723 ARGENTINA SEN S.R.L. - Buenos Aires Phone: +541 361 1496 • Fax: +541 361 2606 AUSTRALIA Rubin Marine - Artarmon NSW Phone: +61 2 94392333 • Fax: +61 2 94392278 a.m.i. sales • O'Connor, Western Australia Phone: +61 89 337 3266 • Fax: +61 89 314 2929 BAHRAIN Aeradio Technical Services • Mina Salman Port Phone: +973 727790 • Fax: +973 727811 BANGLADESH Graphics Communications Ltd. • Dhaka Phone: +880 2 89 2440 • Fax: +880 2 883627 BELGIUM Antwerp Marine Radio Company N.V. • Antwerp Phone: +32 3 202 0499 • Fax: +32 3 202 0493 BRAZIL O.L. Naval Ltda. • Rio de Janeiro Phone: +55 21 509 8667 • Fax: +55 21 242 7934 BULGARIA International Marine Technologies Ltd. • Rousse Phone: +359 82 228216 • Fax: +359 82 822230 CANADA Radio Holland (Canada) Ltd. • North Vancouver Phone: +1 604 293 2900 • Fax: +1 604 293 2930 CHILE Serprotec Ltda. • Valparadiso (Deep Sea) Phone: +56 32 232780 • Fax: +56 32 212215 Simrad S.A. • Santiago (Fishing) Phone: +56 2 235 1068 • Fax: +56 2 235 8732 COLOMBIA Electronica Maritimar Ltda.- Cartagena Phone: +575 663 3789 • Fax: +575 663 3643 CROATIA BELAM-Zastupstvo i Servis • Rijeka Phone: +385 51 672343 • Fax: +385 51 672179 CYPRUS A. P. Hadjipieros Ltd. • Limassol Phone: +357 5 345972 • Fax: +357 5 345973 ECUADOR Nautical del Ecuador - Manta Phone: +593 5 628900 • Fax: +593 5 628910 EGYPT Suez Electronics Free Zone S.A.E. • Alexandria Phone: +20 3 4806899 • Fax: +20 3 4804196 Suez Electronics Engineering & Trading Ltd. • Cairo Phone: +20 2 2742911 • Fax: +20 2 2745219 ESTONIA A/S RSTA • Tallinn Phone: +372 6 312082 • Fax: +372 6 312082 FAROE ISLANDS S.P. Radio A/S • Denmark Phone: +45 96 34 61 00 • Fax: +45 96 34 61 01 (for further information) FINLAND ASPO Systems Oy • Espoo Phone: +358 9 422155 • Fax: +358 9 422908 Navidec Oy - Helsinki Phone: +358 9 7001 7780 • Fax: +358 9 179 830 FRANCE Geolink • Roquevaire Phone: +33 4 42 32 99 00 • Fax: +33 4 42 32 94 95 SDM Electronique • Sartrouville Cedex Phone: +33 1 39146833 • Fax: +33 1 39 133022 GERMANY Elna GmbH • Rellingen/Hamburg Phone: +49 4101 30100 • Fax: +49 4101 301214 GIBRALTAR Electro Med • Marina Bay Phone: +350 77077 • Fax: +350 72051 GREECE Marac Electronics S.A. • Perama - Piraeus Phone: +30 1 43 14361 • Fax: +301 43 14234 GREENLAND S.P. Radio A/S • Denmark Phone: +45 96 34 61 00 • Fax: +45 96 34 61 01 (for further information) HOLLAND Radio-Holland Marine B.V. • Rotterdam Phone: +31 10 4283344 • Fax: +31 10 4281498 Sailtron B.V. • Utrecht Phone: +31 30 2944741 • Fax: +31 30 2937642 HONG KONG Radio Holland B.V. • Kwai Chung N.T. Phone: +852 24239007 • Fax: +852 24805898 Hoi Tung Communication & Navigation Co. Ltd Phone: +852 25421262 • Fax: +852 25431137 ICELAND Radiomidun Ltd. • Reykjavik Phone: +354 511 1010 • Fax: +354 511 1020 INDIA Elcome Marine Services Pvt. Ltd. • New Bombay Phone: +91 22 763 23 48 • Fax: +91 22 763 23 51 INDONESIA PT Panorama Timur Jaya • Jakarta Phone: +62 21 475 6788 • Fax: +62 21 475 1688 IRAN Kaman Hormozgan Marine Engineering - Tehran Phone: +98 21 222 8020 • Fax: +98 21 222 4502 ISRAEL Alhout-Yam Ltd. • Haifa Phone: +972 4 86 20804 • Fax: +972 4 8627404 ITALY Compagnia Generale Telemar • Roma Phone: +39 6 3221800 • Fax: +39 6 3240148 Generalmare est S.R.L. • Chiavari Phone: +39 185 32 33 56 • Fax: +39185 32 27 31 IVORY COAST Optim Afrique • Abidjan Phone: +225 251843 • Fax: +225 257937 Nautical Afrique • Abidjan Phone: +225 250136 • Fax: +225 250137 JAPAN Kaigai Gijyutsu K.K. • Yokohama Phone: +81 45 6647318 • Fax: +81 45 6647320 KOREA Samyang Radio Co. Ltd. • Pusan Phone: +82 51 413 5000 • Fax: +82 51 413 5002 KUWAIT Elcome International • Safat Phone: +965 2406822 • Fax: +965 2406833 Commercial Co-Ordination Centre W.L.L. • Safat Phone: +965 2462347 • Fax: +965 2454350 LATVIA / LITHUANIA Transas Baltia • Riga Phone: +371 7286585 • Fax: +371 7821202 MALTA Medcomms Ltd. • Gzira Phone: +356 335521 • Fax: +356 310820 MEXICO Nautica, S.A. de C.V. • Mexico D.F. Phone: +52 5 6519740 • Fax: +52 5 6512825 MOROCCO Soremar • Casablanca Phone: +212 2 442802 - Fax: +212 2 305385 NEW ZEALAND Electronic Navigation Ltd. • Auckland Phone: +64 9 3735595 • Fax: +64 9 3795655 Wrights Ltd. • Wellington Phone: +64 4 568 8975 • Fax: +64 4 568 8361 NIGERIA Netarcomms Nigeria Ltd. • Lagos State Phone: +234 1 871662 • Fax: +234 1 264 6083 NORWAY AEG Norge A/S • Oslo Phone: +47 22 89 78 00 • Fax: +47 22 89 78 04 PAKISTAN International Aeradio Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd. • Karachi Phone: +92 21 5837800 • Fax: +92 21 5870331 REPUBLIC OF PANAMA Proveedora Tecnica, S.A. • Panama Phone: +507 227 3533 • Fax: +507 227 1053 POLAND EPA Ltd. • Szczecin Phone: +48 914 874 885 • Fax: +48 914 875 014 PORTUGAL Nautel - Electronica Maritima, Lda. • Lisbon Phone: +351 1 39 20 940 • Fax: +351 1 39 20 949 QATAR Eastern Technical Services Co. • Doha Phone: +974 477412 • Fax: +974 478282 RUMANIA Imsat Maritime SA Constanta • Constanta Phone: +40 41 639038 • Fax: +40 41 674356 RUSSIA Transas Marine Ltd. • St. Petersburg Phone: +7 812 567 2090 • Fax: +7 812 567 1901 Moretron Ltd • Murmansk Phone: +47 8510144 • Fax: +47 85 10144 SAUDI ARABIA Key Communication Development Ltd. • Dammam Phone: +966 3 8336940 • Fax: +966 3 8330728 SENEGAL Optim Senegal • Dakar Phone: +221 8234930 • Fax: +221 8229676 SINGAPORE Radio Holland Singapore • Singapore Phone: +65 8622218 • Fax: +65 8622430 SOUTH AFRICA Cape Maritime Electronics (Pty.) Ltd. • Cape Town Phone: +27 21 551 3204 • Fax: +27 21 551 3206 Radio Holland Group • Paarden Eiland (Cape Town Phone: +27 21 511 0864 • Fax: +27 21 511 7577 SPAIN Nautical • San Sebastian de los Reyes (Madrid) Phone: +34 91 6549411 • Fax: +34 91 6549600 SWEDEN Vingtor Marine AB • Askim/Goteborg Phone: +46 31 668400 • Fax: +46 31 683660 Litton Marine Systems B.V. • Vastra Frolunda (Gote- borg) Phone: +46 31 292100 • Fax: +46 31 292109 TAIWAN R.O.C. Unimax Electric & Co., Ltd. • Kaohsiung Phone: +886 7 815 9775 • Fax: +886 7 815 1775 TUNISIA Alcatel Tunisie • Tunis Cedex Phone: +2161 717177 • Fax: +216 1 719888 TURKEY Elektro-Deniz Ltd. • Istanbul Phone: +90 216 392 77 29 • Fax: +90 216 392 80 18 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Elcome International L.L.C. • Dubai Phone: +971 4 342333 • Fax: +971 4 342465 UNITED KINGDOM Ships Electronic Services Ltd. • Rochester (Kent) Phone: +44 1634 295500 • Fax: +44 1634 295536 URUGUAY Electromaritima Uruguaya Ltda. • Montevideo Phone: +598 2 924 77 89 • Fax: +598 2 924 71 38 USA Radio-Holland USA, B.V. • Houston (Texas) Phone: +1 713 943 3?25 • Fax: +1 713 943 3802