Seakeeper Helps Galveston-Texas City Pilots Maintain Steady Course (Video)
Seakeeper, a developer of marine motion control systems, has equipped Galveston-Texas City Pilots’ Gladding-Hearn 73 vessel with its Seakeeper 35 system, ensuring its safe and stable operations.
Galveston-Texas City Pilots have been guiding vessels safely to their berths or out to sea since the late 1800s, exercising independent judgment to protect the property, lives, environment and the economic well-being of the Ports of Galveston County.
With the latest integration of Seakeeper 35 motion control system aboard the Gladding-Hearn 73 vessel, Galveston-Texas City Pilots have improved their capabilities to operate safely under broader range of conditions.
“Going alongside anchored ships, Seakeeper gave us stability under certain conditions that we’d never had. We would struggle going alongside anchored ship in the road.
“When ships are underway, it’s not a problem; we’re underway too. But an anchored ship trying to go alongside or having it real rolly, was just downright dangerous. And the Seakeeper obviously, made a stable platform for them to step off of or on to,” said Captain Michael Bussey.
The Seakeeper 35 is designed to eliminate up to 95% of boat roll on boats up to approximately 100 tons.
Unlike traditional external fins, the Seakeeper 35 requires only modest electrical power, has no external appendages -meaning no drag or risk of snags - and can be installed virtually anywhere on board.