Situational awareness enables cruise ferry to increase operational safety

The cruise ferry, which makes return voyages three times daily between Helsinki in Finland and Tallinn in Estonia, is 175m long, 27.6m wide and has capacity for 2,080 passengers and 610 Cars. The newly installed ABB Ability Marine Pilot Vision offers multiple real-time visualisations of the vessel's surroundings presenting the ship and its environment in ways beyond the capabilities of the human eye.
Once the system is deployed, a virtual model of the ship is superimposed on real surroundings measured using various sensor technologies. This allows for monitoring the vessel and its surroundings from a birds-eye view and switching to other views instantaneously. The solution makes it easier to predict vessel motions with respect to the actual surroundings and gives the user visibility of previously hidden obstacles, ABB said.
“Our goal is to improve environmental performance and safety, and we worked with ABB to achieve greater efficiency in docking and high traffic situations.  Our customers demand high levels of safety in all conditions and this solution enables our crew to provide a reliable service that doesn’t comprise their expectations,” said Daniel Olsén, technical manager, Eckerö Group. 
“Digitalisation provides solutions for existing and newbuild ships alike,” said Jyri Jusslin, head of Global Service, ABB Marine & Ports. “This retrofit does exactly that. Enhancing docking safety and efficiency will also allow Finlandia’s crew to support their schedule, in conditions that can vary from bright sunlight to dark icy conditions throughout the year.”