Radio Holland (RH) has carried out two bridge upgrades for Windstar Cruises.
The ‘Star Breeze’ project began on 7th April at Lisbon Dry Dock and was completed a week later. The ‘Star Legend’ refit was carried out in Singapore in December, last year.
Fergus Campbell, Radio Holland Business Development Director, commented: “Windstar was looking for a turnkey solution for several bridge upgrades. The company knew our capabilities and our reputation from the successful completion of similar projects on several larger cruise ships over the past few years and they know that we are brand independent. Our global service network was also a deciding factor as these vessels sail worldwide and servicing the equipment was a big concern for the owner.”
Windstar ordered a Transas Navigation suite, which included a NaviRadar package with the newly incorporated JRC radar sensors, which were installed on both ships.
This system consisted of two radars – one X-band and one S-band – dual ECDIS, a route planning station and a new Anschutz autopilot, which allows for added functionality such as track control from the ECDIS.
This system was fully networked to take advantage of the multi-function displays allowing the operators to change configurations depending on the operation requirements of the vessel, RH said.
In addition, the consoles and the antenna footprints were upgraded in a relatively short period of time. The company’s team of specialist, cruise line technicians and sub-contractors allows RH to work independently and hence avoids delays from other parties.
Later this year, RH will also undertake an upgrade of the ECDIS equipment on board Windstar’s ‘Wind Spirit’, ‘Wind Surf’ and ‘Wind Star’.