Siemens at sea

has been awarded a contract to provide an electric winch motor control system and an energy storage system for a crane designed to move large containers on US Navy ships at sea.

Oceaneering Advanced Technologies, a division of Oceaneering International (OII), awarded the contract, the value of which has not been disclosed. Currently underway, the project is scheduled to be completed in spring of 2007.

OII was chosen by the US Office of Naval Research to conduct technology research in support of the navy's HiCASS Concept, a key component in the navy’s offshore floating port Sea Base Project. Sea Base ships would eliminate the need for the navy to secure foreign ports for supply lines.

Oceaneering Advanced Technologies will use the Siemens equipment to test theories for moving large containers between ships while they are at sea. The scope of the contract includes the delivery of a drive system, programmable logic controller, and an energy storage system all as one integrated solution in a 30-ft. container. Siemens will also provide the motors, brakes and gearboxes and be responsible for the mechanical integration of the system with the customer’s winch drum.