Last year, a long-standing customer, The Peel Ports Group, approached OceanWise to come up with a solution to a historic problem they had with their fog signal management, as other previous attempts had not been successful. They needed a bespoke fog signal control unit which allowed their team to remotely manage signals via a web page.

Using the OceanWise in-house marine engineering team they were able to solve the challenge by customizing a unit to enable control of the fog signal remotely. The control unit connects to the OceanWise data platform Port-Log which allows remote control of the signals via a simple web page from Port Control.

As with all the OceanWise solutions, the system is agnostic so it can handle data exchange with all varieties, ages and brands of any electronic fog signal. A single operator can now manage the signals easily, in real-time, without the need for external or third-party involvement. A user (or users) can see the status of each signal instantly and remotely turn them on and off when needed.

The new system is more resilient, more efficient and less time-consuming. Not only that it is also equipped with alerts which enables the Peel Ports team to detect issues quickly, plan in any maintenance required and warn operators that there may be an issue with the signal.

OceanWise have been developing solutions for ports for over 10 years.

What are Fog signals?

A fog signal in a port is a sound signal which is activated during periods of restricted visibility in the port area. The signals alert port users to the low visibility, which may be localized and allow a user to orientate themselves based on the sound. They are an essential safety and collision prevention infrastructure that ports have in place to protect port users.