(ROTTERDAM, Netherlands) — JRC and Alphatron Marine have announced the delivery of the AlphaBridge on the double-ended passenger ferry Texelstroom built at La Naval Shipyard in Bilbao, Spain. The fully integrated and ergonomically designed bridge features full navigation, internal communication and observation equipment, captain’s chairs on sliding rails with steering control built in the armrest and various workstations, with the exact same equipment installed on both ends of the vessel.
The vessel, owned by Dutch company Texels Eigen Stoomboot Onderneming (TESO), will be sailing between the city of Den Helder on the mainland and the West Frisian island of Texel, situated in the North Sea off the Dutch coast, along the edge of the Wadden Sea.
A complete double bridge package for inland water, but suitable for GMDSS area A1 was selected, which includes navigation, overhead and safety consoles as well as complementary control and switching panels with centralized dimming and intuitive control. Also part of the AlphaBridge is a complete remote-controlled CCTV system featuring no less than 32 IP cameras operated from three different stations and a custom-built docking system that detects the distance to shore from several locations to ensure optimal safety for the passengers.
The ergonomic design of AlphaBridge enables intuitive, comfortable operation, which further enhances the safety of the Texelstroom. The bridges work independently from each other and include safety override switching between both ends.
