PRESS INFORMATION

Goteborg, Sweden
March 2009

Increased security at Maersk Tankers

Chief Engineers on board the Maersk Tankers’ ships often work alone in the engine room. If they get hurt for example at night they risk lying helpless until the next morning. With a wireless alarm system from Ascom they always has an alarm device at hand, which can be activated both manually and automatically. This gives a more secure and flexible work environment.

The Chief Engineers aboard the Maersk Tankers’ vessels are responsible for operation, maintenance and repair of the ships’ machinery. The work is not free from risk and the employee may need assistance if he for example falls, gets injured or suffers from nausea. In daytime colleagues will of course notice if someone is gone for longer than usual, but at night an injured employee can risk lying helpless until the next morning, before he is discovered. Therefore Maersk Tankers decided to install a wireless alarm system from Ascom at 34 of their tankers.

“All our other tankers have personal security in the form of a “dead-man” button, which the engineer activates at the entrance to the engine room. The button has a timer which has to be restarted manually every 20 minutes. If the Chief Engineer doesn’t restart the timer, the alarm is automatically activated and help will immediately be on its way. Instead of installing cables to the “dead-man” buttons, we now chose a wireless system from Ascom,” says Per Ole Larsen, Technical Operation Manager at Maersk Tankers.

Larsen continues:
“With the Ascom solution we avoid the risk that an injured employee is left all night, waiting for help. At the same time it gives much more flexibility than the “dead-man” button. If Maersk Tankers should have installed “dead-man” buttons on tankers without a personal security system it would have required bulky equipment and a lot of cabling. With a wireless solution from Ascom the installation requires only one position locator and system integration whereby the chief engineer always has an alarm transmitter device at hand when he enters the engine room. “

Handsets are supplied with a built-in “man-down” feature that auto¬matically activates an alarm if an engineer for instance is down or is inactive for more than five minutes. Before the alarm is activated, the handset sounds and vibrates so that the engineer can reach to press the OK-button and postpone the alarm for ten minutes if he is not hurt, but just is lying down working.

The alarm transmitters also have a manual alarm button, so the engineer can summon help immediately if he for example is stuck squeezed or unable to move. Furthermore, the alarm transmitters are ATEX approved which means they can be used in hazardous areas on board tankers.

Eventually Ascoms wireless solution can be expanded to receive paging from telephones and alarms from other warning systems on board. The system can integrate with external equipment via standard or special customized interfaces and be programmed to send for example machine or fire alarms directly to the appropriate personnel. The recipient can read details about the alarm on the alarm transmitter display and acknowledge or reject the alarm.

The solution is scalable and can be extended to provide personal security for other personnel on deck and bridge, who also could end up in dangerous situations. Thereby the wireless alarm transmitters constitutes of a solid foundation for all future personal security, paging and receiving alarms on board.

Facts about the solution
Maersk Tankers are using a personal security solution that is modular and may be extended to also handle paging and receiving alarms. The wireless alarm transmitters used are Ascom a71 ATEX (approved for use in environments with explosion risk) with the option of following functions:

• 2-way communication
• Manual alarm activation via button
• Automatic alarm, “man-down” and “no-movement”
• Information about the position of the person in distress (option)
• Possibility of specific alarm handling for example during charging

Facts about Maersk Tankers
Maersk Tankers own and operate a large fleet of crude oil carriers, product tankers, gas carriers and LNG carriers, all built and operated to A.P. Moller – Maersk Group’s high standards of quality and reliability. Maersk Tankers have established one of the largest, most modern and most diversified independent fleets in the world – all meeting the latest industry standards and demands with focus on safety, the environment and cost efficiency.

For further information please contact:
Maj-Britt Madsen, Ascom Wireless Solutions Denmark
Phone: +45 43 29 72 12
E-mail: majbritt.madsen@ascom.dk