Posted on 15th January 2014
Martek Marine has launched a world-first ECDIS product on the market: the iECDIS.
The iECDIS is the first of its kind to implement a GSM modem, meaning that the downloading and installation of charts and updates will be automatic, without any administrative pressures needed through CD updates. The GSM modem will use a mobile network signal, being able to download changeable weather forecasts and warnings instantly.
Bentley Strafford-Stephenson, ECDIS product specialist at Martek Marine, said: “We’ve created a market-leading solution which combines cutting-edge technology with a very lucrative commercial proposition and a system which mariners will want to use and ship managers will find easy to adopt.”
Mr Strafford-Stephenson added that the military spec hardware offers features such as radar, ice-chart overlays, weather, piracy and route planning, all available within minutes of uploading.
Martek is offering the iECDIS on both lease and purchase options so that interested parties can at least trial the hardware before they choose to buy it. Furthermore, the cost saved from leasing can then be used for chart licensing and crew training to ensure that shipowners make the most out of the software opportunities available to them.
The iECDIS comes in conjunction with Martek’s training and chart solutions, iTrain and iChart, so that owners take full advantage of their ECDIS, while iServ offers free hardware upgrades to minimise ship downtime. Talking about iECDIS, Mr Strafford-Stephenson concludes: “Quite simply, it’s better than anything else on the market.”
