In order to ensure the safe entry and exit, management and monitoring of vessels, two ports in Indonesia have selected variants of the SBS-800 Upmast X-Band SharpEye range from Kelvin Hughes, a developer of radar systems for maritime navigation and other security and surveillance applications
The second largest port in Indonesia, Surabaya has opted for the SBS-800-2. The center of cargo distribution for East Java and a gateway to Eastern Indonesia, Surabaya is accessed from the North through the Madura strait, a 25-mile-long, 100m wide and 9.5m deep channel between East Java and Madura Island. The port has multi-purpose terminals, handling general cargo, bulk carriers, gas carriers, tankers, container vessels, Ro-Ro and passenger vessels.
The port of Bitung is being developed as an international hub and currently handles general bulk cargo, tankers, containers and cruise vessels. It is located in the Lembeh Strait, 50km east of Manado. The Bitung Port of Administration has selected the SBS-800-3 pulse Doppler radar with frequency diversity.
The SBS-800 radar systems are designed to align with the 'Basic' and 'Standard' capability types of IALA V-128. With their patented, solid-state SharpEye technology, they transmit a low power pulse sequence which enables short, medium and long range radar returns to be detected simultaneously, the manufacturer said.
Doppler processing of the radar returns provides coherent information concerning target velocity and enables the detection of very small and slow moving objects with a low Radar Cross Section (RCS). Through a series of electronic filters, the SBS-800 is able to distinguish between targets of interest and sea, rain and land clutter.
In addition, with no magnetron required for the system, maintenance costs are significantly reduced, Kelvin Hughes noted.