Euroship Services Gets eLoran as Backup

Container ship in port.

Ship management company EuroShip Services Ltd. has installed eLoran as a backup to GPS to ensure the safety of its vessels operating off the coast of the United Kingdom.

The trial installation may lead to implementation across the full fleet of 16 vessels managed by Euroship, working routes in Northern Europe. The land-based radio navigation system is intended to seamlessly take over in the event of a GPS outage. EuroShip plans to simulate GPS outages to test eLoran provision of position, navigation and timing data automatically.

The General Lighthouse Authorities of the UK and Ireland announced the initial operational capability of UK maritime eLoran on Oct. 31, 2014 .

Euroship Services is one of the first ship managers to trial eLoran as a back-up to its GNSS. The company manages vessels owned by Cobelfret. They are mostly shortsea vessels, operating in and out of port, frequently in congested waters and with bridge teams that rely heavily on bridge systems for situational awareness.

Euroship managing director Frank Davies told Lloyd’s List that the company has so far been impressed with the first trial system on one of the company’s vessels. He said that with the company’s vessels entering and exiting large European ports, crews have even noticed distorted GPS signals while going under bridges.