Tideland upgrades warning systems for Seaway Heavy Lifting

Tideland Signal and its agents P.C. Jansen have upgraded a package of aids to navigation that will be used by Seaway Heavy Lifting’s HLV Stanislav Yudin to install a new platform for GDF SUEZ E&P Nederland BV in the Dutch sector of the North Sea.

The revised package consists of a Tideland ML-300 MaxLumina lantern, fog detector, AB-560 fog signal and a large number of batteries all mounted in a crane-liftable frame, which can be installed on the new jacket to act as a temporary warning system, until the topside structure has been installed. It has been used by SHL in numerous locations around the globe for approximately ten years but needed routine maintenance and updating to meet Dutch standards.

The equipment was cleaned, rewired where necessary and some new components fitted, including a Sentry Fog Detector, which enables the fog signal to be switched on whenever visibility falls below 3,700 metres (2NM). All the batteries were changed and there are now three strings of 10 which power all three aids to navigation.

Tideland’s ML-300 lantern features a one-piece acrylic fresnel lens designed to deliver maximum beamed light for the lowest possible power consumption. In this application it is fitted with a TF-3B Micropower Syncrostat flasher/lampchangers but other light sources are available, including Tideland’s low-maintenance LED Flasher MaxiHALO-60-EFF that can be retrofitted into most traditional fresnel lens lanterns, achieving ranges up to and in excess of 10NM. The ML-300 is extremely reliable, rugged, provides high opto – electrical efficiency and requires little maintenance, even under harsh operating conditions

The Tideland AB-560 fog signal incorporates five emitters producing 133.2 dB at 1 metre equivalent and with a usual range of 2NM. It broadcasts a 360º sound beam in the horizontal plane, with a pre-selected code and can be operated either from mains power using a battery charger and battery, or DC power using primary depolarized cells or a solar power system. The drivers/emitters are housed in robust GRP casings and are mounted in a galvanized steel structure designed to withstand severe storms. They operate at less than 25% of rated capacity, which results in exceptional efficiency and life expectancy.