New Software to Reduce Seabed Touchdown Risk

BMT Argoss (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd., and Charta Software have entered a partnership to develop a robust, multi-functional software package, called METRIS (Model system to evaluate tidal admission policy and risk of seabed touchdown), for the Dutch Directorate-General.

METRIS will provide a comprehensive hindcast assessment tool to test the performance of admission and dredging policy based on the probability of seabed touchdown of vessels in anchorage areas and access channels to ports, by combining BMT’s expertise in analysis of vessel response behaviour, weather forecasting and shallow water metocean conditions, with Charta’s ability to deliver high quality software.

Ernst Bolt, Sr. Advisor from the Dutch Directorate-General, said: “The main factor restricting admission of deep-draught ships to ports is the risk of bottom contact.

We want to ensure that we are making best use of our approach channels.

For ships restricted to our access channels, the Dutch Directorate maintains a guaranteed nautical depth for a total distance of over 100 km to accommodate deep draught vessels sailing to the three large ports in the Netherlands.

With METRIS, we are able to zoom in on the critical situations, giving us the insight to make changes to procedures and planning of dredging operations.

This will increase the duration of the available tidal windows and reduce the risks of sea-bed contact, while minimising the cost of dredging maintenance.”

Using PROTIDE, also developed and maintained by Charta Software, tidal admission windows are set in advance to ensure a safe transit into the ports. In order to optimise the tidal admission window, to evaluate dredging policies and to identify critical zones in the access channels, it is important to have detailed insight into the critical situations where ships have the highest probabilities of sea bed contact.

With METRIS, we are able to zoom in on the critical situations, giving us the insight to make changes to procedures and planning of dredging operations. This will increase the duration of the available tidal windows and reduce the risks of sea-bed contact, while minimising the cost of dredging maintenance.”

Focusing on the approach channels to Rotterdam and IJmuiden, BMT is providing the mathematical prototypes and algorithms, as well as the necessary wave, wind and current data and ship hydrodynamic characteristics.

Charta is responsible for the overall system design, implementing and integrating the mathematical algorithms, data management and ensuring the interface is intuitive and user friendly.

[mappress]
Press Release, June 30th, 2014