ESAIL Maritime Satellite Launched

OHB subsidiary LuxSpace’s satellite for global ship monitoring has reached its target orbit.

At sea, space technology is used to help save lives every day: managing traffic between ships, picking up migrants and refugees in distress or spotting oil spills. The European Space Agency is once again at the forefront developing new technologies and satellites: to keep us safe at sea and to monitor the environment. Space makes a difference here on Earth and certainly at sea where there is no infrastructure.
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Discover the final hours of packaging and preparations of the ESAIL satellite before it left Luxembourg. The ESAIL microsatellite for tracking ships at sea has completed its latest environmental and system performance tests and set off for Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. On 17 February the satellite left Luxembourg, where it was built by LuxSpace under an ESA Partnership Project with the Canadian operator exactEarth, sponsored by the Luxembourg Space Agency and other ESA member...

At 244 meters long, 42 meters wide, made up of 57,000 tons of steel and carrying approximately $41 million dollars’ worth of cargo, when the personnel at Teesport bring the Agathonissos – and vessels like her – into dock, there’s no room for error.
Watch this video to see how SafeTug helps to simplify this complex process, giving tug skippers, ship pilots and port personnel the vital information and situational awareness they need to bring her in safely.

Soon a Vega will launch from Kourou carrying a payload of several satellites. These will be delivered into orbit by a new multi-payload system developed by ESA. Among these small satellites, E-SAIL. This microsatellite is dedicated to supporting maritime traffic and making seafaring safer. It is part of ESA’s SAT-AIS programme, which aims is to increase the coverage of the Automatic Identification System for ships. This system is a short-range coastal tracking system currently used on...

A small video tutorial showing some useful tips for pilotage using Transas Pilot PRO application for iPad

Within seconds after the AIS MOB personal locator beacon easyONE-DSC is submerged into the water, the unit activates automatically and starts trasnmitting AIS and DSC alerts into vicinity of up to 7 nauticval miles.
You can also see the bright and strong red LED flare flashing which increases visibility of the victim in darkness drastically.
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In our new new section “Five questions for ..." Marine-Pilots.com introduces pilots and other market players to our readers in short interviews.

Today we have talked to Douglas Vincett, Industrial & Technical Sales at Spinlock.

Graham Grant, the Port of Cromarty Firth’s Marine Support Manager, has been appointed to the National Council of the UK Harbour Masters’ Association (UKHMA).

Ro-ro cargo ship FESTIVO struck pier at Ceuta while berthing on arrival from Algeciras, at around 1300 UTC Jul 6. Cause of accident unknown, both ship’s bow and pier sustained damages.