SeeTec AG

Dutch vessel Glas Dowr replaced its analog video surveillance system installed in 2007 with an IP-based system in 2011, to help monitor operations onboard and ensure strict observance of security standards. Dexter System Solutions, a local systems integrator, installed a total of 15 Axis Communications cameras and SeeTec VMS on the vessel. The ship is used for storage and offloading of oil and gas on the high seas at locations where pipelines cannot be installed, due to location, weather or infrastructure conditions.

According to Ben Braeckman, Sales Manager of Industrial Communications Systems and Project Lead at Dexter, “80 percent of accidents onboard … are results of human failure.” Trespassing across closed areas is, thus, the biggest risk for the whole ship and crew. A video surveillance system was needed to monitor operations and minimize injuries and safety hazards on the ship.

In the summer of 2011, Dexter brought SeeTec in as a software partner because of its multisupplier approach. The two companies cooperated and implemented the system. Dexter installed 12 D/N domes and three PTZ cameras for 360-degree surveillance of the choke points onboard the vessel, to monitor the discharge of smaller supplier boats and the vessel's helicopter dock. The cameras are housed in explosion-proof enclosures made by Dexter. According to Braeckman, the working area is highly sensitive, due to the handling of highly explosive materials, and called for special equipment requirements on both hardware and software.

The setup and configuration of the cameras were done remotely, as the vessel was not docked during implementation. The vessel that operates globally is currently working at the Kitan field near Darwin, Australia. The surveillance system covers operations at three different points of the vessel. The recorded footage is stored on a server and can be viewed on the bridge on three dual-monitor clients. The officers on duty are responsible for operating the surveillance system