Furuno electronics help newbuild Kirby towboat meet Sub M regs

MV Bailey. Image: Main Iron Works

MV Bailey, the first of three new 88 ft towboats built to meet Subchapter M requirements was recently completed by the Main Iron Works shipyard in Houma, La., and will soon enter service with Kirby Inland Marine.

Among other things, the Subchapter M regulations, along with existing regulations, stipulate minimum requirements for navigation and operational equipment, and Kirby looked to Furuno and electronics installer Inland Gulf Marine to fill these critical roles.

At the heart of the electronics selected by Kirby and Inland Gulf Marine are two 12 kW Furuno FAR2117BB Radars. The FAR2117BB delivers Furuno’s unparalleled target detection and sophisticated signal processing techniques, developed over decades of experience and thousands of commercial marine applications. Furuno’s FA170 AIS and GP33 GPS Navigator feed position and AIS information to the ship’s navigation systems. The Furuno 235DT depth sensor provides precise information, and the RD33 Navigation Data Organizer can display this high-accuracy data along with other information sets.

The MV Bailey has accommodations for up to eight crew and passengers.

Subchapter M requires that additional safety measures be in place on vessels with overnight accommodations and alternating watches when pulling, pushing or hauling.

Among these is a system to detect when a master or mate becomes incapacitated, rReferred to as a pilothouse alerter system, Kirby and Inland Gulf Marine chose the Furuno BR500 BNWAS to fill this need. The BR500 monitors the pilot’s presence in the wheelhouse. If the pilot is unable to interact with the system within predefined periods of time, crew members will be notified, and appropriate actions can be taken to secure the safe operation of the vessel.