Advanced gyro compass for polar vessels

The vessels, Audax and Pugnax, were built at Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) in China for Red Box Energy Services, a Dutch company specialised in high-value offshore and onshore energy services. Built in accordance with DNV NAUT-AW and highest ice-class notations, the vessels use state-of-the-art Anschütz instrumentation that enable year-round operation in the most challenging polar conditions – including temperatures below  -40°C. The vessels have been deployed to transport modules for the Yamal LNG project in Russia.
Raytheon Anschütz says it has supplied the high-tech vessels with a comprehensive dual gyro compass system complete with redundancy in distribution and well as a steering gear control system. This includes the top-of-the-range NP 5500 fully adaptive autopilot for maximum precision in heading and track control steering, according to Raytheon Anschütz.
The gyro system integrates two maintenance-free, strap-down gyro compasses, which use hemispherical resonator gyros for measuring angular rates. The new technology offers superior lifetime performance and outruns the long-term stability of traditional fibre-optical gyros, the company says.