SMD News Archive 2005

SMD Telecommunications CC

  Marine Communications
  Navigation
  Safety & Security
  Hydrography

26 - 28 October 2005. Fish Africa 2005.

SMD introduced several new products at Southern Africa's premier event for the fishing community.
These included Net Monitoring electronics from Notus, the Omni-directional sonar from MAQ, Linemaster GPS radio buoys and long line controllers.

15th August 2005

McMurdo E3 EPIRB Released at Special Price.
The new Small Craft Safety Regulations in South Africa introduce the requirement for small craft in Class A to carry an EPIRB, Class B will have a similar requirement by 1st June 2006. In response to this we have negotiated with McMurdo and can currently offer the E3m EPIRB at a very attractive price.

15th July 2005

SMD at the Durban International Boat Show.
During weekend 15th-17th July SMD exhibited a range of leisure boating products at the Durban International Boat Show held at Wilson's Wharf, Durban. On display was the current range of JRC Light Marine Products along with Garmin GPS/Plotters and a range of Marine antennas for HF, VHF and 29 MHz. The highlight of the display was the Freetechnics navigation console which in its maximum configuration can control and monitor all aspects of the operation of the boat as well as display the navigation functions such as radar and chart plot..

4th July 2005

Satamatics have announced a further enhancement to their highly successful Ocean Alert SSAS service.
With effect from 1st June, all Ocean Alert systems - including those already installed on vessels - will be upgraded to include a daily position report (DPR). Ship owners will receive an automated overdue warning alert if the vessel misses two consecutive position reports, indicating a possible problem with either the vessel or the SSAS system.

14th June 2005

Combined VDR/S-VDR and ECDIS introduced at Norshipping.
Maritime Information Systems AS introduces the world’s first DNV type approved VDR and S-VDR with optional ECDIS providing, in addition to the recorded data required under IEC 61996, recording of the complete logbook data base in ECDIS.

9th June 2005

Norshipping Sees Launch Of The New McMurdo C1 S-VDR Float Free Data Capsule.
In line with new regulations approved by the IMO which state that cargo ships on international voyages
must be fitted with an S-VDR, McMurdo have launched the C1. The C1 is an S-VDR Float Free Data Capsule
that duplicates and stores critical voyage related information collected by the SVDR The built-in GPS
EPIRB provides an aid to quickly locate and salvage the Data Capsule.

9th June 2005

McMurdo Ltd Launch New ICS NAV-7 Paperless GMDSS Navtex Receiver.
The new ICS NAV-7 has all of the facilities required to provide high quality reception of NAVTEX messages in accordance with SOLAS regulations. Suitable for all vessels required to fit a GMDSS NAVTEX receiver, the ICS NAV-7 paperless NAVTEX receiver is ideal for fitting by all commercial ships and any vessel that wishes to voluntarily comply with the SOLAS convention. ICS NAV-7 supports reception of all three IMO NAVTEX frequencies and provides simultaneous dual channel monitoring of two channels.

6th June 2005

TSS (International) Ltd. separates from VT Group Plc
TSS (International) Ltd has been formed from a successful management buy out of VT TSS Ltd from VT Group plc. TSS supplies high integrity products into the Marine, and Oil & Gas markets, & continues to increase investment into R & D to further its technology position.

29th May 2005

Inmarsat Satellite Transition from I3 to new I4 Satellite.
A successful transition from the Inmarsat I3 Satellite to the new generation I4 Satellite in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) took place at 2000 UTC Saturday 28th May 2005.

16th May 2005

Saab TransponderTech Supplies Automatic Identification Systems for Helicopter Fleet in Mexico.
Saab TransponderTech has announced that it completed the installation of its airborne automatic identification
systems (AIS) on 17 Bell 412 helicopters operated by Aeroservicios Especializados S.A. de C.V. (ASESA) in Mexico.

16th May 2005

Satamatics launches Ocean Alert Map Viewer product.
Satamatics has launched its MapView product, a web-based mapping utility designed to further expand the capability of their market leading Ship Security Alert System "Ocean Alert". The MapView option allows ship owners to view the location and trace history of all their vessels via the website, as well as receiving positional,
speed and course data in a tabular format.

10th January 2005

Norwegian Coastal Administration selects MARIS.
Described as a pioneer project of international dimension, the Norwegian Coastal Administration has selected MARIS of Norway for the supply of up to 270 ECDIS systems for the Norwegian Pilots. The Administration evaluated ECDIS systems from 15 international suppliers pre-qualifying 10 of these for an international tender to which 7 companies responded to a detailed requirement specification.