JA

NU

AR

Y/

FE

BR

UA

RY

20

15

WW

W.

MA

RI

TI

ME

-E

XE

CU

TI

VE

.CO

M

84

AIDS TO NAVIGATION

Portable Technologyfor Harbor Pilots

BY TODD VORENKAMP

Imagine being tasked tobring a modern cruise shipinto a port. You arrive on

the ship and do not knowany of the crew you will beworking with. They may notspeak your language well.The ship’s equipment may beinaccurate or not functioning.Around the world, harbor pi-lots are asked to do this daily.

“A ship’s equipment is the one variable a pilotcan never depend on,” says Captain Wayne Baileyof the Pilots’ Association for the Bay and RiverDelaware.

Nautical charts and basic marine electronicsare standardized, but pilots today can no longerrealistically be expected to have intimate knowl-edge of how to fully operate one of several dozenECDIS units installed on today’s cruise vessels.Additionally, many can attest to the fact that,when a vessel nears shore, maintaining situationalawareness with the amount of information pre-sented on an EDCIS display can be challenging.

What if you could bring your own set oftools to that ship, tools that you were intimatelyfamiliar with and that provided you with knownaccuracy and reliability? That is a primary benefitof the Portable Pilot Unit (PPU). Over the pastthree decades, harbor pilots have not only beenleveraging modern technology to improve safetyand accuracy but applying customization to PPUsin order to maximize situational awareness.

EVOLUTION OF AN IDEAAccording to Bailey, the PPU was sired in a tra-ditional maritime environment – a bar. And likemany of the world’s most profound inventions,it was first put to paper on a cocktail napkin. In1980 Captain Donald Feldman, USCG and Dela-ware River Pilot Captain Joseph Bradley came up

AIDS TO NAVIGATION

JA

NU

AR

Y/

FE

BR

UA

RY

20

15

WW

W.

MA

RI

TI

ME

-E

XE

CU

TI

VE

.CO

M

86

with the idea of a portable system that would give the harbor pilotaccess to accurate navigational data integrated into a database ofwaypoints and routes.

The first PPU, known as the Portable Loran-C Assist Device(PLAD), was developed through a joint effort of the USCG R&D laband Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Two devices wereput into service with the Delaware pilots in 1981. The 35-poundsystem, which gave pilots 10-meter position accuracy, was cumber-some. “I used to see Joe [Captain Bradley] on the schedule and hide

so that I wouldn’t have to hump that thing around and set it up,”recalls Bailey, who was an apprentice at the time.

The introduction of GPS and development of portable com-puters led to the creation of the next generation of PPUs. It wasactually the hyper-accuracy of Differential Global PositioningSystems (DGPS) that made the PPU a more viable tool for pilots.DGPS PPUs were developed by the Delaware pilots in conjunc-tion with the marine electronics industry. With the integration ofAutomatic Identification System (AIS) data and electronic chart-ing, the technology has been refined over the years.

The modern PPU consists of a computer that connects to oneor more external accessories. External connections may includea GPS receiver, a rate-of-turn (ROT) system, or a transmitter thatplugs into the ship’s AIS system via the “Pilot Plug.” Some PPUs

have their own AIS receiver. Theaccessories communicate with thePPU via a WiFi or Bluetooth signal.

The ship’s AIS Pilot Plug is de-signed to provide the PPU with AISinformation, position data and theship’s gyro heading. But pilots andPPU manufacturers are the first toquestion the accuracy and timeli-ness of the data provided by theship’s AIS, which may or may nothave DGPS capability and calibratedgyro information.

Mike Harrison of Inshore Sys-tems, a UK company that distrib-utes New Zealand-based Navicom-Dynamics PPU systems in Europe,says, “Try watching the same shipdisplayed from the Pilot Plug AISdata and from independent PPUdata. The differences are immedi-ately apparent with the AIS shipimage often lagging far behind thePPU ship image, this effect beingcaused by latency in the AIS feedto the Pilot Plug. The pilot can’t doanything about bad Pilot Plug dataor may be unaware of the deficien-cies that will differ from one ship tothe next.”

PINPOINTACCURACYPPU digital ROT indicators areproviding pilots with turning accu-racy of up to 0.1 degree per minute.Analog gyrocompass systems oftenfeatured a distinctive clicking noiseas the ship’s heading changed.Watch-standers had an aural indica-tion of the speed with which thevessel was turning. Many of today’sdigital compasses have done awaywith the audible clicking. For smallervessels that do not carry ROT indica-

It’s not easy docking today’s

mega-cruise ships. Portable Pilot

Units can help.

We see risks that others miss.

Expertise goes deep at Great American.Our specialized knowledge of marine and pollution liability

enables us to see the risks that other carriers miss.That’s why our policies keep our customers

so well protected.

Contact Captain Ed Wilmot at 212-510-0135ewilmot@gaig.com I 301 E. Fourth Street,Cincinnati, OH 45202www.GreatAmericanOcean.com

Serving the Marine Industryfor Over 50 Years

Ocean Marine Division

JA

NU

AR

Y/

FE

BR

UA

RY

20

15

WW

W.

MA

RI

TI

ME

-E

XE

CU

TI

VE

.CO

M

87

AIDS TO NAVIGATION

tors and larger ships with silent indicators, the ROT-equipped PPUsystem gives the pilot needed accuracy.

Capt. Jorge Viso of the Tampa Bay Pilots Association andChair of the American Pilots Association Navigation and Tech-nology Committee says that one of the benefits of the hyper-accu-rate ROT PPU is that it “drives predictor software that gives youa good indication of where you are headed and what your turn isgoing to look like.”

Viso adds that PPU configuration and use are heavily drivenby the individual pilot group. No two ports are identical. Tampapilots rely on the DGPS accuracy of their units to help in channel-keeping as they transit ships over a vast bay with a narrow chan-nel with “no good hard targets for the radar.” Many Europeanpilots also use PPUs that are designed to support precisiondocking. Traffic management is a chief concern of pilots workingthe Mississippi and Columbia Rivers. In Canada, pilots in BritishColumbia have tailored their PPU systems to provide the mosttimely and accurate sounding data while Halifax pilots rely ondata to ensure air draft clearance for bridges.

The diversity of needs makes it difficult for industry to producea cost-effective, one-size-fits-all PPU system since the “sub-centi-meter accuracy” provided by AD Navigation’s ADX XR PPU forpilots in Rotterdam may be wasted on pilots in an American port.

The PPU’s benefits can be critical in many situations. It can beused independently from the ship’s power – a power loss on boardwill not affect the PPU if the unit has battery power. Mobile Baypilot Dave Berault says that his PPU can easily run for four hours,

well past the three hours needed to transit from the sea buoy to aMobile terminal.

The intangible benefit of the PPU is “familiarity and confi-dence,” adds Delaware Pilots’ Bailey. A pilot on the bridge of aforeign vessel with an ENC-equipped PPU no longer has to facea language barrier to get a crew member to declutter an ECDISdisplay or zoom in on a turn upriver to check AIS traffic when thedata is already available on the PPU. 

PILOT-DRIVEN INNOVATIONThroughout its history the PPU has been a tool designed, devel-oped and enhanced by its users. Berault and another Mobile Baypilot began using PPUs in 2006 after purchasing them with theirown funds. In 2013 the pilot group issued all pilots working in the

FIT THE NEW SMARTSAFE ORB BILGE OVERBOARD SECURITY SYSTEMCAN YOU AFFORD NOT TO?

The new Smartsafe ORB (oil record book)Bilge Overboard Security System recordsthe oily water discharge process of anyOily Water Separator (IMO - MEPC 60.33or 107.49). This avoids human error and

easy target for Port State Control andother Marine Enforcing Agencies.

• Provides accurate ORB data• Prevents ‘Magic Pipe’ and system

failures• Can send data from ship to shore• Prevents discharge in forbidden areas•

separators and bilge alarms•

RIVERTRACE ENGINEERING LTDcall +1 401-741-0118email sales@rivertrace.comor visit www.rivertrace.com

AIDS TO NAVIGATION

JA

NU

AR

Y/

FE

BR

UA

RY

20

15

WW

W.

MA

RI

TI

ME

-E

XE

CU

TI

VE

.CO

M

88

Alabama port laptop or tablet-based PPUs running on Rose PointECS™ (electronic charting software).

The PPU market is a small part of the ECS business, says RosePoint’s John Cuttiette, head of commercial sales. Rose Pointprovides ECS systems to 14 pilot organizations, and the Rose Pointsoftware was not designed “to be pilot-specific, but it is pilot-friend-ly.” Internet connection to the Rose Point system allows users toupload the latest NOAA weather and hydrographic information.

Portability is chief on the wish list of many pilots for futurePPUs. Maryland pilot Capt. Beth Christman says, “Everyonewants an iPad, smaller and lighter.” Tablet PCs are now travelingwith pilots, but others prefer ruggedized laptops for the job.

Inshore System’s Harrison says, “Almost everyone loves theiPad and, allied to good software, an iPad becomes a powerfulpiloting tool. But there are two dangers: First, some iPad naviga-

tion software is best described as ‘eye candy,’ a pretty interfacefor recreational boaters but lacking the functionality required bya professional mariner; and second, the iPad performance canbe poor – just a couple of hours – when conditions demand analways-on, no sleep mode.”

A prime example of pilot-driven innovation is the MississippiRiver Traffic Information System (mrtis.com), called “MisterTIS.” Developed by two local pilots, the system’s main purpose isto provide operators on the lower Mississippi with a Web-basedtraffic management tool.

Pilot Keith Siverd wanted to create the technology needed toanswer a simple question: “What time will the ship be at the pilotboarding area?” To do this, he placed a single AIS receiver on theroof of his house and asked fellow pilot Ryan Scully to design asimple website that would calculate the arrival times of ships.After implementing the homemade system, it became apparentthat there were many other uses for the Web-based program.Siverd and Scully went to work and have developed MRTIS into acomprehensive situational awareness tool for those doing businesson and along the river.

MRTIS is a situational awareness tool, and Siverd says the bestnavigational tool for pilots transiting the river is still radar. Scullyadds that, “MRTIS gives pilots the ability to find informationmore quickly. Therefore you can spend more time focusing onnavigation.”

Todd Vorenkamp is a frequent contributor to the magazine.

Europe’s meetingpoint for thecruise industry

Cruise & River Cruise Convention

Wednesday 9to Friday 11

September 2015Hamburg, Germany

Book your stand online now at seatrade-europe.com

Meet decision-makers Join industry experts Expand your network

Unique around the world:Seatrade Europe and Hamburg Cruise Dayswill come together for a joint cruise week in 2015

In partnership withOrganised by

MarEx