2019 Surface Navy Association National Symposium
Damsgårdsveien, Norway-based Vestdavit AS (Vestdavit) has been delivering DAVIT systems to the US Navy since the mid-90s. Examples of other navies and coast guards around the world that currently operate the company’s DAVIT systems include the US Coast Guard, UK Royal Navy, Norwegian Navy, Swedish Navy, Danish Navy, German Navy, French Customs, Australian Navy and Customs, New Zealand Navy, South African Navy, Sri Lanka Navy, Egyptian Navy and Brazilian Navy.
Edmonds, Washington (US)-based Magnus Oding, the General Manager of Vestdavit, Inc., noted this is a dynamic time in his portfolio. Common requirements the company is receiving from navies is being able to launch and recover boats in increasingly high sea states, handling of larger boats, and launching multiple boats of various sizes and weights from the same davit. “These are requirements that we have been working on for several years and are able to deliver in a variety of innovative and flexible davit configurations,” he recalled. “We are incorporating Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) in more and more of our large dual point davit systems. The PLC allows for pre-programmed sequences and enables the crew to safely and quickly launch and recover boats from our davits in very rough conditions, up to sea state 6 [4-6m (13- 20 feet)].”
Further, unmanned surface vehicles (USV) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) are becoming more common on a variety of platforms and these vehicles will need to be launched and recovered from ships in an effective way. To that end, the industry executive pointed out: “We are working together with several partners in order to deliver a package for accomplishing side launch of USV and UUV from a vessel. The same davit will also be able to handle standard manned boats in order to make it as flexible as possible. Our system has been successfully tested on a European Navy vessel.”
Vestdavit will have its virtual reality (VR) simulator at this week’s SNA (booth #1202). Mr Oding explained the simulator has been created to allow its customers to have easy access to useful and realistic davit training. He continued, “The operator goes through the full sequence of launching and recovering the boat from the DAVIT. The remote control that is used with the VR training kit is the same controller that is also used for operating the actual davits. This enables the operator to quickly develop a familiarity and comfort level with the DAVIT system.”
The company is also available to speak with delegates about the Vestdavit MissionEase, which it believes, “is a boat handling system for the future.”
The system includes the proven flexible overhead mounted TDB-type telescopic davits that can launch and recover multiple boats of different dimensions and weights in both single point and dual point configuration. “It also includes a moving cradle system for safely and quickly moving multiple boats from the parked position to the launching position in the davits. The MissionEase system can be configured in several different ways depending on the space available on the ship.”
Some of Vestdavit’s industry partners include the French company ECA for Vestdavit’s USV and AUV handling, as well as the Norwegian company H. Henriksen AS in regards to Vestdavit’s SOLUS USV system.
Marty Kauchak
