News

As we approach the end of the year, we are delighted to announce a prestigious project win with our longstanding partner and distributor in China, Marinetec, supplying PSM sensors to China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL) for eight new build vessels at the Wuchang shipyard.

Working closely with Marinetec and the local expertise and knowledge they bring to projects, we have supplied over 500 of our Marine Type Approved APT500 sensors as a complete package to the 4000HP LNG Powered PSV vessels for all ballast, fresh water, fuel and lube oil service tanks and draught measurement.

Our APT500 sensors are fully certified for use in hazardous areas under ATEX and IECEx, and COSL recognised that they will provide a rugged and reliable solution for the harsh marine environments that these new vessels will need to be able to withstand.

We are delighted to have recently been awarded an order from Turquoise Yachts in Turkey for a complete vessel-wide monitoring system.

Our VPM display and APT1000 transmitters are recognised across the industry for their flexibility and ease of installation, and this was well illustrated with this luxury yacht project.

A total of four of our VPM display units are to be fitted, interconnected via an ethernet network and sharing date on all monitored tanks. Our APT1000 transmitters will be installed in all tanks and connected directly to the nearest VPM unit via a multi-drop RS485 network. This bespoke arrangement minimises the use of system cabling, whilst still providing the possibility to display all tanks at all locations.

In addition, one of the VPM’s will connect to the vessels alarm monitoring system via a direct RS485 link and so provide continually updated tank status.

Completing the Tank Gauging package, PSM Series 600 Self-Powered Content Gauges fitted to all tanks will provide an independent local content indication. Also level alarm switches fitted to critical tanks will provide low / high alarm warnings.

We are delighted to have this opportunity to work with Turquoise Yachts and the complete system will be delivered pre-configured with all tank table data and display requirements providing a plug and play solution, meaning very little time will be required for installation and commissioning of the system.

We have a long and successful history working with Modern Engineered Products Inc (MEP) in Mandeville, LA. MEP has distributed and supplied PSM products to automation and marine companies in North America for over 25 years, and similarly MEP has supplied has supplied PSM with their bilge level switches. Together they can supply level and pressure monitoring solutions to the US marine industry. Today they have a large share of this market sector with many different applications ranging from oilfield service vessels to passenger vessels.

Therefore, we are delighted to continue our work with MEP in 2019 with a new project win for the Ocean Evolution offshore vessel. The Ocean Evolution has 60 tanks, and as part of this order needed 2 x sensors supplying per tank. MEP worked closely with the customer to provide a suitable solution and in total 120 of our PSM 260 sensors were required for this order. The customer wanted reliable marine approved products, backed up by local support, and our partnership with MEP offered Ocean Evolution both.

We are delighted to begin 2019 with another naval project win, this time for the UAE Navy, working in partnership with our local agent in the Middle East, Tritek.

Tritek secured the high profile order against strong competition, and as part of it we were requested to supply our complete Tank Gauging System to the Al Fattan dockyard as they build two 70 metre Landing Craft for the UAE Navy.

We will provide our complete Tank Gauging System for 25 tanks and 4 draught measurements, using Series 260 transmitters with isolating valves. The system is interconnected with distributed acquisition modules to collect all tank level signals and route back to a centralised TankView package.

In the UAE, Tritek have been handling installation and system commissioning, and the contract marks another success for our partnership with them. It is anticipated that these initial two builds will be succeeded by a further four Landing Craft.

We have recently supplied a complete tank gauging package, based upon our centralised Tankview Display, remote acquisition modules and Series 260 level transmitters, for the US Military Vehicle Carrier, Cape Rise.

Cape Rise joins its sister vessels, Cape Washington and Cape Wrath, which are both equipped with PSM tank gauging systems covering all Fuel Oil, Service, and Ballast Tanks. The Cape Washington and Cape Wrath systems have provided reliable operations for more than a decade, with a mid-term upgrade to provide enhanced graphical presentation and data.

All three ships are ro-ro vehicle carriers operated by the US Maritimes Administration, as ready reserve vessels for the US Navy’s Military Sealift Command, and are held ready to transport military vehicles or supplies at short notice to any port in the world.

Installation of the new tank gauging system will be phased throughout 2019 as access to the required tanks on Cape Rise become available.

We are delighted that our tank gauging systems have had such durability on Cape Washington and Cape Wrath, and we look forward to the new tank gauging package having a similar lifespan on Cape Rise.

We recently worked closely with Cammell Laird on their £49.5m refit of the Royal Fleet Auxilary (RFA) combined fleet supply ship, RFA Fort Victoria, one of the largest vessels operated by the British Ministry of Defence at 31,000 tonnes.

The main highlight of the refit was the installation of a double-hull which will improve Fort Victoria to achieve international compliance, plus upgrades to allow her to better replenish and support the new Queen Elizabeth class carriers. These upgrades continue plans to keep the vessel in service until the late 2020’s.

Cammell Laird were looking for a supplier who could provide a complete set of replacement level transmitters and we were delighted to win the project, mainly due to our ICT transmitter having a proven track record on other Ministry of Defence vessels and by other navies around the world.

We worked closely with the Cammell Laird Design Engineering team to develop a solution that had minimal reworking of the existing installation arrangements and allowed for the current electrical cabling to be reused to minimise cost and installation time.

The massive refit which took 10 months and is the largest undertaken by Cammell Laird and saw over 450 men employed on the project, was completed on time and on budget, largely down to meticulous planning by all parties.

Over 20 years ago PSM supplied the Belgian vessel, the MV Pompei, with our sensors. Now all these years later, the ship owner has been so delighted with the longevity of the sensors, they requested an upgrade to our full digital package.

The refit was carried out in Turkey at the Sefine shipyard, utilising our complete TankView system. Supplied as a complete package for central control of the fuel and fresh water tanks plus the oil and ballast tanks, including our ICT transmitters and a number of bilge switches for flood detection.

Our TankView package is recognised as providing a marine tank monitoring system which is powerful, versatile and simple to use. We can tailor the optimum system for a ship wide application that is straightforward and economic.

We are exceptionally pleased that our sensors had such durability on MV Pompei, and we look forward to the new Tankview package having a similar lifespan.

Working closely with Thai Engineering & Services Co. Ltd, we are delighted to have been awarded the contract to supply our Tankstar 260 Series Marine Liquid Level Transmitters for the Royal Thai Navy, for their HTMS Trang Offshore Patrol Vessel.

The ship is currently under construction at Bangkok Dock Naval Yard and will join the HTMS Krabi as a second vessel of this design. Both vessels will be used to conduct routine patrols, border control and fishery protection, as well as being deployed for disaster relief operations and natural resources protection in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea.

Our 260 Series level transmitters are highly proven and fully compliant in the field, and are already in service on all four vessels of the UK Royal Navy’s River class design and subsequent variations, three vessels of the Omani Navy’s Khareef Class and three vessels of the Brazils’ Amazonas Class.

The 260 transmitter provides reliable and accurate monitoring of liquid levels in shipboard tanks and it’s robust construction affords low maintenance costs.

You can find out more about our Series 260 Level Transmitters here.

In a shift from our usual projects of tankers, trawlers, naval ships and offshore vessels, we are proud to have been selected to work on the restoration of the historic Superyacht ‘Malahne’.

The 50m classic ‘Malahne’ was relaunched earlier this year at Pendennis Shipyard, Falmouth, UK after a massive and meticulous 30 month restoration project, which has restored her to her original pre-war glory, yet at the same time fully modernising her.

Designed by Charles E Nicholson and built by Camper & Nicholsons in 1937, ‘Malahne’ is one of a small number of pre-war motor yachts to have survived until the 21st Century.

Nicholas Edmiston, Chairman of Edmiston & Company, had followed the chequered history of the yacht for decades and in his own words, “I was fortunate to interest an Owner who understood and embraced this vision, and who entrusted Edmiston to pull together a team that could bring Malahne back to life.” Nick subsequently organized a project team and shipyard, who shared the passion and transformed this dream into a reality.

We were chosen to work on this historic project to update the transmitters and switches on board for all service, fuel oil and fresh water tanks. The restoration required that the very highest quality materials were used throughout, and our approved transmitters and switches were selected based on their proven performance in the harshest of conditions.

The ‘Malahne’ has undergone one of the most meticulous restorations of all time, and we have been delighted to have played a role in this.

Chesapeake Shipbuilding contacted us because they needed a complete tank gauging system on their newest build for American Cruise Lines, the ‘America’.

The ‘America’ is American Cruise Lines’ latest paddlewheeler, designed with traditional Victorian-style accents, it elegantly blends a traditional appearance with modern features and amenities. While the new ship is adorned with gleaming woodwork, brass fixtures, and histoic decor, it is constructed with the latest in cruise ship technology.

We were able to install the VPM4300 central monitor which was partnered with sensors in a total of twenty tanks for fuel, potable water and sewage. This was an unusual installation for us as the VPM display is not usually intended for so many tanks. However, mounted in the Pilot House where space was at a premium, the VPM provided a compact but comprehensive display of the status of all the tanks, complete with visual and audible annunciation of any high or low level alarm conditions.

Little onboarding commissioning was required because Chesapeake provided us with tank sounding data, meaning the system could be despatched pre-configured to their requirements.

The ‘America’ set sale on her maiden voyage in May 2016 and we were delighted to have played a role in its build.