Sebastien Vauban Ferry Win

Advanced software lies at the heart of new integrated alarm monitoring and control system (IAMCS) technology supplied and installed by marine manufacturer and electrical engineering specialists CMR France on the 60 m long ‘Sebastien Vauban’ passenger and car ferry.  

The new ferry, carrying 300 passengers and 40 cars across France’s River Gironde between Blaye and Lamarque, features the Clarinux system with two 19 inch HMI Hatteland, three LDUs and serial MODBUS communication for each of the four Caterpillar engines and an ENAG propeller for the Semaphore system.

The Clarinux installation has been engineered and configured for more than 330 channels and will provide state-of-the-art control and monitoring of essential operating systems via a central touch screen interface.

It also breaks additional new ground as a further 500 serial channels from other systems can be interfaced with Clarinux. This will enable more than 840 channels to be available for control and monitoring purposes as part of a fully integrated, state-of-the-art CMR installation on the Sebastian Vauban which features an additional built-in Power Management System (PMS).

CMR won the contract from French electrical engineering company Cegelec, which secured the electrical batch work from the vessel’s builder, Calais-based Socarenam.

Contract co-ordination and management was undertaken by CMR’s Marseille-based operation following its successful proposal for a cost effective solution to deliver long term operational savings.

Gérard Baldellou, marine division manager at CMR France, said: “The flexibility and value for money of our engineered solution, together with our marine system expertise, really impressed the customer."

“We have delivered a highly capable system that will meet long term operational requirements and provide high levels of reliability and performance in a tough and demanding marine environment.”

Cost effective, intuitive and easy-to-use, the LINUX-based Clarinux software is Bureau Veritas (BV) classified for marine use and enables analogue, binary or serial data to be easily and clearly displayed. Up to 2000 channels can be controlled and monitored using the software while other enhanced features include selective data acquisition and logging for improved storage, rapid page navigation and faster connectivity between local display units.

Newly incorporated features provide control of functions such as pre-lubrication and pre-heating while enhanced engine starting sequencing, pumps/compressor compliance and additional sensor inputs have been incorporated for improved system operator use.