The state-of-the-art transport ship ‘Canopée’ has been specially designed to transport rockets, components and satellites for the space agency ESA. In the future, it will transport all parts of the Ariane 6 launcher from Europe to the spaceport in French Guiana. ESA’s specifications for the construction of the ship were challenging in many respects.
Canopée sails with wind support during sear trails.To achieve this, the Canopée must also be able to navigate the narrow and shallow Kourou River. In addition, the ship should be equipped with the latest technologies for the most emission-free and economical journey possible.
Pioneering transport ship
The result is a 121-metre-long and 22-metre-wide transport ship with a draught of only 3.80 metres in river service. What makes the Canopée so special, however, are the four electrically adjustable and retractable articulated wings, each 363 m2 in size, which act as sails.
Certified hardware
The Canopée’s electrical installations, energy management system and engine room alarm system were developed by C-Systems B.V., based in the Netherlands. This young and dynamic company specializes in the implementation of intelligent control and software systems in shipbuilding, among other applications.
Simple redundancy
The OPC UA-based software atvise® scada is used as SCADA system and HMI. The simple setup of redundancy and the atvise® connect communication interfaces were particularly convincing.
Complex alarm system
In total, there are about 1,200 alarm points on the transport vessel and up to 600 data points that are recorded. In addition to analyzing real-time data, a number of trend alarms have also been implemented. In this case, the system checks the current value of a parameter and compares it with the historical trend.
To do this, the system needs data over a certain period in the past. However, storage space on a ship is usually limited. “The challenge was to minimize the stored data without losing actuality and accuracy,” says Nobel. “With the alarm system we developed, we can store data for 12 months,” he continues.
The installation of the so-called ‘wing sails’ was recently completed. This is truly a forward-looking step towards zero-emission shipping.
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Source : Off shore energy
