A new version of the S-102 Demonstrator was launched in December 2017. The main purpose for the meeting held 8th of February 2018 was to go through and discuss the new features and present the plan forward.
In addition, the meeting focused on the needs related to planning pilotage to ports in narrow and shallow water. Pilot (and S-102 Demonstrator Test team member)
Jim Pedersen presented his findings related to the “Oslo Havn” case where he had tested the last version of the S-102 Demonstrator.
Understanding the challenges pilots often face
A very interesting lecture was held by Pilot Hans Jacob Liljebjelke from “Oslofjorden Pilot Area”. He presented the challenges he and his pilot team have faced from 2009. Very large vessel needed pilotage to/from Halden port due to Nexans shipment of submarine cables. Maneuvering these large vessels in the area became extremely difficult due to several factors including tide, current and last but not least shallow and narrow waters. 
This presentation emphasized, for the team, the importance of detailed planning upfront to support the safety in such operations. The pilot team from “Fredrikstad losstasjon” have together with Kongsberg Maritim’s simulator team in Trondheim developed a specific simulator model to support their planning, the planning is done in cooperation with the shipping companies.
The presentation also made it obvious that this particular area lack authorized and official high-resolution depth and bathymetry data, which have made it even more challenging to do a pilotage in this area. To illustrate the challenges faced at the benefits which can be achieved, the Halden area will be a good candidate for an operational test in the S-102 demonstrator project; given that bathymetry data can be made available for the area.
Plans forward
The milestones for the coming 5 months are:
- Finalizing the last version of the S-102 Demonstrator prototype
- Research & testing Distribution models of s-102 data files
- Planning operational “field testing with the stakeholders and user community
A new meeting will be held in Ålesund in June 2018. The host of this meeting will be The Norwegian Coastal Administration.
S-102 Demonstrator Project 