IMO Type Approval
The Simrad MARIS ECDIS900 is IMO type approved/IEC61174:2008 Ed3 compliant for use on all SOLAS ships and other vessels that must carry an Electronic Chart Display and Information System under the ECDIS Carriage Mandate. Under SOLAS amendments all existing large passenger, tanker, and cargo ships will be obliged to fit ECDIS on a rolling timetable that began in July 2012 and ends in July 2018. All new passenger ships over 500gt, tankers over 3,000gt, and cargo ships over 3,000gt are required to carry an ECIDS system.
The ECDIS900 is also designed to comply with additional regulations set by Flag States, Port State Control, and the OCIMF Ship Inspection Report Programme (SIRE).
All-in-One PC Solution
The ECDIS900 MK15 includes a 24-inch ‘all-in-one’ flat panel display with integrated Windows PC, suitable for pedestal, table or flush-mount installation. The single-unit design, including four integrated NMEA0183 ports, dual Ethernet ports, and AC/DC power supply, allows for simple installation in a variety of locations, including consoles or tables with limited space where a separate display and ECDIS processor may prove impractical.
Easy to Use
Based on a standard Windows interface using common controls including toolbars, tabbed panels, hotkeys, and right-click context or ‘pop-up’ menus, the ECDIS900 is quick to learn and easy to use. All ECDIS900 models include a standard keyboard and trackball, for fast and accurate data entry.
Advanced Route Planning and Optimisation
The ECDIS900 offers powerful route planning tools, with integrated Voyage Decision Support (VDS) for route optimisation.
Voyage Decision Support assists navigators in selecting a route most likely to provide an on-time arrival, avoid poor weather conditions, and optimise fuel consumption. Taking into consideration detailed ship information and both current and forecasted weather, VDS evaluates multiple route options and highlights the risks and benefits of each. The user may then select and begin navigation of the preferred route.
The ECDIS900’s Search And Rescue (SAR) module automatically creates drift-compensated routes for search patterns, including Expanding Square, Sector, and Parallel Tracks.
Precise Navigation Tools
The ECDIS900 offers tools to facilitate safe and precise navigation, including position prediction and docking assistance.
The Predictor module calculates future ship positions based on GPS, gyro, speed and course data, and displays the full ship’s outline extended forward in time. In narrow waters, this provides an accurate visual representation of the entire ship’s position throughout turns – allowing the navigator to optimise speed and rate of turn accordingly.
The Docking module helps to facilitate safe docking manoeuvres by calculating and clearly displaying the ship’s distance and approach speed to both bow and stern docking points. During docking the ship’s current, historical, and predicted future positions are also displayed graphically on the current chart.
Logbook
The ECDIS900 includes a digital ship’s logbook, which automatically records all navigation events during a voyage. Logbook entries for any selected day can be replayed, displaying settings, charts, and events on the ECDIS screen as they originally occurred. Events and data logged include:
- Ship’s position
- AIS and radar targets
- ENC in use/chart status
- Centre of the screen
- Active route and waypoint
- All alarms and acknowledgements
- Ship’s settings (draft, safety contour, etc)
- Manually plotted positions and Lines Of Position (LOPs)
- All Navigation Editor objects
Radar Overlay
The image from a connected radar may be displayed on the ECDIS900 as a chart layer, superimposing targets detected by radar on the currently displayed ENC.
Built-in radar overlay is available with Simrad ARGUS radar systems – an ARGUS radar processor can be directly connected to the ECDIS900 via Ethernet (LAN) cable. Up to two ARGUS radar processors may be connected to a single ECDIS900 system, allowing the user to choose between radar sources via the ECDIS interface.
Radar overlay is available with the optional
Simrad Maris MK6.0 Radar Interface Box, which provides a hardware and software interface for third-party radar systems to be used with the ECDIS900.
Charting Options
The ECDIS900 supports official Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) from PRIMAR, IC-ENC, and ADMIRALTY Vector Chart Service (AVCS); Raster Navigational Charts (RNCs) from ADMIRALTY Raster Chart Service (ARCS); and private vector charts from Jeppesen Professional+.
Both S-52 and INT1 chart presentation formats are available.
The ECDIS900 also supports Admiralty Information Overlay (AIO), which provides additional information to navigators including T&P NMs: temporary or newly-reported navigational hazards, and advance notice of changes that have not yet been incorporated into the latest ENCs.
Integrated Chart Management with MARIS Bridge Assistant (MBA)
Simplifying management of electronic charts, MARIS Bridge Assistant provides online ordering of all necessary ENCs or AVCS charts for any given route, automatic chart updates for active routes, and a range of digital services including Voyage Plan, Paper Chart Manager, Weather Manager, and access to select ADMIRALTY Digital Publications.
The MARIS Bridge Assistant software may be installed on the ECDIS900, or on a separate network-connected PC. MBA requires a shipboard internet connection to operate.
Simple and effective cost control is provided by the MARIS Customer Portal (MCP), a web-based tool for ship owners to remotely manage the chart portfolio and chart orders for any vessel using the MARIS Bridge Assistant.
MBA Digital Services: Paper Chart Manager
The optional MBA Paper Chart Manager, available as an annual subscription service, offers the same automatic update service for paper charts that the MARIS Bridge Assistant provides for electronic charts. Paper Chart Manager subscribers receive automatic weekly updates including:
- Paper chart catalogue updates
- Notices To Mariners (NTMs) including text, tracing, and new bitmap images with updates included
- Temporary & Preliminary Notices To Mariners (T&P NTMs)
- New and cancelled chart details
The MARIS Bridge Assistant displays T&P notices in force along the active route, and offers a single-click option for navigators to log that T&P information has been considered during route planning as required by vetting inspectors.
MBA Digital Services: Voyage Plan
A Voyage Plan is a mandatory document intended to ensure the bridge team is properly informed about a planned voyage, including contingency plans in case of emergency. The optional MBA Voyage Plan module, available by annual subscription, allows the quick and easy creation of a voyage plan directly on the ECDIS900 unit or a standalone PC running the MARIS Bridge Assistant.
Created based on any ECDIS route, a new voyage plan is automatically populated with the necessary waypoint data, charts in use, and tidal information. The Voyage Plan module also manages vessel squat and Under Keel Clearance (UKC) calculation for all legs of the planed route. Other voyage details are entered manually, with the module facilitating easy entry and maintenance of the required information.
Completed voyage plans are saved in HTML format for easy viewing on any PC, and printed as a hard-copy record. Voyage plans are linked to the associated route, and can be updated and reused when the ship sails that same route again in future – an efficient option for vessels and tankers operating static routes.
PLECDIS (Paper-Less ECDIS) Support
The ECDIS900 includes multiple add-on functions to address the vetting inspector requirements for paperless navigation, and supports either dual- or triple-station PLECDIS configurations – allowing one station to be used for route planning and the MARIS Bridge Assistant, and another for monitoring of the active route.
No specialised hardware is required to enable PLECDIS: individual ECDIS900 units are linked together by standard Ethernet (LAN) cables and an approved Ethernet switch.
Systems Integration
The ECDIS900 integrates with a wide range of ship’s systems including:
- Bridge Navigational Watch Alarm System (BNWAS)
- Navtex
- Automatic Identification System (AIS)
- Autopilot
- Central Bridge Alarm System
Navtex messages and AIS alerts are displayed directly in the Alarms panel of the main ECDIS900 navigation screen.
Conning Display
Conning Display software, available as an add-on package, runs on the ECDIS900 PC and is displayed on the main ECDIS screen. The ECDIS900 conning display may be configured to include pages for navigation, docking, or other specific tasks; all pages are completely user customisable, with a built-in graphical editor and a catalogue of virtual instruments designed to display data from connected sensors in a range of common formats.