In International Shipping News 21/11/2016
OMC International and its new alliance partner MetOcean Solutions today announce the launch of three new products to help ports and harbours manage under-keel clearance (UKC), the mooring of berthed ships, and weather-related risks.
OMC International’s CEO Peter O’Brien said: “These are products that we have had on the drawing board for a number of years in response to customer requests, and our alliance with MetOcean Solutions has helped provide the momentum and support to bring them to market.
“We are offering these products alongside our flagship DUKC® to assist a wider range of ports and harbours, both in our home markets of Australia and New Zealand as well as internationally.”
KeelCheck comes complete with handy online calculators for squat, heel and wave response using standard formulations published by PIANC
The new products are:
- KeelCheck, a simple calculator which helps ports which haven’t made the step to DUKC® assess the safe clearance of their traditional UKC rules.
- PortWeather, an integrated environmental data management system which will attach to ports’ existing sensors and provide measurements and port-specific forecast data to displays in the port and internet-connected mobile devices.
- BerthAlert, a comprehensive forecasting and monitoring solution for berthed ships.
“We are also providing a number of free online calculators which will help ports and mariners more critically evaluate their traditional UKC practices and make better-informed sailing decisions,” Mr O’Brien said.
“Our aim in releasing these new products is to introduce some of the technology and expertise we have built up over 23 years with DUKC® and Berth Warning Systems to a wider range of clients. We look forward to feedback from our customers to ensure the new products satisfy the needs of a wide range of ports.”
* On 3 October 2016, Melbourne firm OMC International announced it had signed a strategic alliance agreement with New Zealand-based MetOcean Solutions to coordinate research and development efforts and offer an expanded level of maritime forecasting and hydrodynamic services to port and harbour clients.
Source: OMC International
