Dutch Minister Peijs presents Maritime Innovation Award 2004 to Imtech’s UniMACS® high-tech concept for the digital ship’s bridge of the future

Gouda, The Netherlands - Imtech N.V. (technical service provider in Europe) is fast becoming the premier innovator in the global maritime market. The company has developed various successful high-tech bridges for ships. For one of these bridges, Imtech yesterday received the Maritime Innovation Award 2004 from Mrs Karla Peijs, the Dutch Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. The award, an innovation prize organized by the Holland Marine Equipment Association, went to the UniMACS Blue Line®, a basic model of the integrated UniMACS 3000® Digital Integrated Bridge concept marketed by Imtech for total ship automation aboard ships.

Three entries were ultimately nominated from the large number of entries received from throughout the Dutch maritime industry. Two of the three were from Imtech. Besides the winning UniMACS Blue Line® Digital Integrated Bridge System, the Shoremaster power converter for super yachts and mega yachts was also nominated. The shore power converter bridges voltage and frequency differences between ‘ship and shore’.

UniMACS Blue Line®: high-tech bridges aboard ships
Imtech Marine & Offshore, the Imtech division specializing in maritime technology, marketed the successful Digital Integrated Bridge concept called UniMACS 3000® a few years ago. The latest developments based on this concept are:
· MOAC: the high-tech digital ship's bridge of the future, complete with touch-screen control panel and state-of-the-art console design;
· SMCS (Submarine Motion Control System): a control system developed especially for submarines;
· Ship's bridge simulators: high-tech simulators that simulate operations and potentially dangerous situations at sea;
· Blue Line®, a simplified and attractively priced model of the UniMACS 3000® bridge concept.

All of these innovations were developed to create a central control position (the bridge) for the complete ship automation, integrating into a single automation system all management and control functions needed for safe navigation, steering and control of all technology aboard ships. This is Imtech’s response to the wishes of shipyards and shipowners for greater safety, improved control and more favourable commercial operations.

Numerous ships have already been equipped with Imtech bridges and automation solutions. The company recently won contracts to renovate platform automation aboard six frigates of the Greek navy. Imtech is also providing platform automation aboard the new LPD-2 amphibious transport ship of the Royal Netherlands Navy and aboard various mega yachts in the Netherlands, Germany and the USA. Similar

contracts are underway in the United Kingdom, Poland and Belgium. In addition, Imtech bridges have been installed aboard various complex dredgers, including five vessels of the Belgian dredging company Jan de Nul, two transport ships of the Chinese Cosco Company and a bouytender for the Middle East. The total value of these orders comes to approximately 50 million euro. A new contract has been acquired to build a ship's bridge simulator for the Maritime Training Centre of West Flanders province at Zeebrugge in Belgium. This order is being carried out in co-operation with IHC systems and the MARIN Maritime Research Institute and consists of three parts: a simulator for cargo vessels and tankers, a simulator for dredgers and a simulator for trawlers.

Photo (free of copyright)
An Imtech cockpit aboard the Hr. Ms. Snellius, a hydrographical vessel of the Royal Netherlands Navy.