The development of a new stability monitor for fishing vessels could play a significant role in preventing the loss of craft at sea.
The stability device, which is being developed by Ayrshire based Hook Marine in conjunction with Seafish, attracted a great deal of interest from skippers at the recent Fishing 2007 exhibition in Glasgow.
Small fishing vessels in particular are often lost at sea due to a serious loss of stability. This is commonly attributed to over-loading (particularly above the water line), the ingress of water, or vessel modification without due recognition of the impacts on stability.
Electronic measuring device
This is unquestionably still a significant reason for lives being lost within the fishing industry. Seafish has promoted stability awareness through training courses and demonstrations, and is now working closely with Hook Marine to develop an electronic measuring device. The project has attracted additional funding from Scottish Enterprise, and will also have support from BIM in Ireland.
This device (patents pending) will time the roll period of a vessel and give a measured output of vessel stability. The roll period, or time elapsed between rolls, will be used to give an indication of the overall stability of the vessel. Data output can be displayed on a monitor as a graphical trace, or as a series of warning lights.
The longer the period for one complete roll, the less the vessel’s stability and the reduced likelihood of the vessel returning to the upright position. If a potentially hazardous situation arises, detection by the stability monitor will forewarn skippers that there is a problem and enable prompt decisions to be taken to rectify the situation.
A model fishing vessel fitted with a demonstration system was on display at Fishing 2007 in Glasgow. Great interest was generated as skippers could observe a simulated loss of stability through the addition of weight to the model. A warning is flashed to the crew when stability is decreased to the point of danger.
The next stage of the project will be the development of a full scale product for trial aboard a vessel at sea. It is anticipated this project will result in a viable, cost-effective device for all sizes of vessel.
