Testing of ITCH on a general cargo vessel
28th of January we were invited to perform development testing on a general cargo vessel departing Jelsa for Vats. With amazing winter weather, the scenery in the fjords presented itself as post card image worthy.
In the image we have elected, the bilge keel is shown on a downstroke. Darkness came upon us and we had to fit lights to the ITCH to be able to review its behaviour in the water.
The last test of the day was completed just in time to retrieve the ITCH prior to entering the ice. We plan to study the video footage and data collected to evaluate the performance of new features and adjustments tested during this test.
Thanks to the crew and management making the vessel available to Shipshave.
Demonstrating ITCH v.1.
On the sunny morning of January 21st, Shipshave was invited to demonstrate the ITCH v.1 onboard a Platform Supply vessel trading in the Stavanger area.
The team from Shipshave turned around quickly and mobilized on the marine logistic base approx. 1,5 hr later.
The master and crew, as well as Charterer shared our enthusiasm for the outlook of removing 3 years of fouling in a few hours. And that we did, however at a stage we had to throw in the towel due to the severe weather conditions. Despite of the equipment not performing optimally due to the high seas and strong winds, we still managed to remove fouling during the time we were operative. We know now that winds gusting at 55 knots is a bit too much. For the vessel and crew that was peanuts. The ITCH, dependent on steady water pressure readings, was challenged.
Again, thanks to ALL involved. We hope to come back and complete the demonstration calmer conditions.