Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line), one of the oldest and largest shipping companies in the world, has jointly developed a support tool that enables officers to better manage and share navigational information with the Monohakobi Technology Institute and Japan Radio (JRC).
It will be sold by JRC, a leading company in the world of wireless technology, under the name 'J-Marine NeCST'.
Monohakobi Technology Institute is a a member of the NYK Group involved in the research and development of safe vessel operation, environment, saving energy, and new logistics technologies.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has made ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System) mandatory by 2018 on international voyages by passenger vessels over 500 gross tonnage (GT) and cargo vessels over 3,000 GT.
However, additional navigational information cannot be written by hand on ECDIS, as can easily be done on a conventional paper chart.
But J-Marine NeCST has solved this problem by including an input function that lets users write directly on electronic charts.
It also allows meteorological and hydrographical forecasts to be integrated for the preparation of optimal route plans.
Another innovative feature allows electronic maps and data to be shared among ships and sent to land.
