Maritime Offshore

Maritime & Offshore

Robust Ethernet solutions for the marine industry

Modern shipboard solutions are becoming increasingly automated. In order to provide centralised control and monitoring it is necessary to be able to collect data from the vessels many subsystems. Today, the Ethernet network has become the industry norm offering simplicity and reliability of connection.

Westermo have a comprehensive range of Ethernet switches approved for maritime use. All of these products have been fully tested and certified by DNV (Det Norske Veritas) allowing them to be used within many shipboard systems like propulsion, dynamic positioning, bridge control, alarm management and observation systems.

Secure ship-wide Ethernet solutions

The Lynx and Redfox switches are powered by the Westermo WeOS operating system. This can provide some revolutionary networking capabilities. With more and more subsystems relying on Ethernet connectivity, there will be more need to connect subsystem networks. Despite the obvious advantages of sharing networking resources, care should be taken to ensure that data from one network does not affect another system. If, for instance, IP cameras are used on a network to provide visual monitoring of unmanned areas, large amounts of data from cameras can flood the network and inhibit the function of other systems. By using VLANs or IGMP snooping, this data can be controlled or totally segregated. Westermo’s port based firewall solution can also be employed to create secure zones and ensure only the required information passes between different subsystems.

Many ships nowadays have satellite based broadband systems that can allow remote connectivity. By using the remote access VPN capability of the Lynx and Redfox, a secure connection can be made via the ship board network directly to a ship subsystem providing the propulsion manufacturer, for instance, the ability to monitor performance remotely or offer instant support in the event of a system problem.