Infrastructure and resources | CoastalPort Engineering

In-house resource

BMT REMBRANDT ship manoeuvring simulator

Ship manoeuvring simulator developed by BMT, certified by DNV and aligned with International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards. It combines high-fidelity mathematical models of the vessels, electronic navigational charts and a 3D scene with wind, waves and currents. Being modular and portable, we take it to the client to run simulations anywhere.

Modular and portable: screens, control console and computers are shipped and set up at the client's office, pilot station or terminal, to run simulations and workshops anywhere
Real-time simulations conducted by an experienced master, and fast-time runs with autopilot guided by an experienced master, to sweep many scenarios
Ships, barges, convoys, floating cranes and tugs, with models validated by BMT against sea trials and model tests, including squat and interaction with the bottom, banks and other vessels
Current fields varying in space and time, imported from our hydrodynamic modeling, and the tide and flood levels of each scenario
Navigation display with heading, speed, rate of turn, under-keel clearance and the power used by each tug
Recording and analysis of each manoeuvre: track, swept path, engine and rudder use, under-keel clearance and degree of difficulty

3D view of the REMBRANDT simulator with a ship, barges and a pusher tug — 3D scene of a transhipment operation between a ship and barges.

Where we apply it

Simulations at the client's siteTerminal and turning basin layoutsAccess channel design and validationWind, current and draught operating limitsTug requirementsShip-to-ship and transhipment operationsConvoy anchoring and mooringWorkshops with pilots and mastersCrew training

Bridge view in the simulator — Bridge view of a pusher tug.

Barge convoy on a river in the simulator — Barge convoy on inland navigation.

Simulator navigation display with heading, speed and under-keel clearance — Navigation display and engine controls.

Master and engineer conducting a manoeuvre at the simulator, with panoramic screens and control console — Real-time simulation conducted at the simulator console.

Floating crane approaching a ship in the simulator — Transhipment floating crane approaching a bulk carrier.

Real-time simulations are conducted by Captain Valdecilio Pinheiro, a retired Captain of the Brazilian Navy, who acts as helmsman and tug master. See examples of studies with simulation.

Nortek Signature1000 ADCP installed in a seabed frame — ADCP mounted in the seabed frame, with a gimbal to keep the beams vertical.

In-house equipment

Nortek Signature1000 acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP)

High-resolution acoustic profiler that measures, in the same campaign, currents throughout the water column, directional waves and water level. We use the data for metocean characterization and for calibrating and validating our numerical models.

Frequency: 1 MHz, 5 beams (4 slanted and 1 vertical)
Profiling range: up to about 30 m
Cells: 0.2 to 2 m (high resolution: 2 to 25 cm)
Waves: height, period and direction by acoustic surface tracking
Water level: pressure sensor, corrected for atmospheric pressure
Deployment: seabed frame or buoy, with an external battery for long campaigns

Processing is carried out by our team, with quality control of tilt, correlation and signal-to-noise ratio, spike filtering, harmonic tidal analysis and wave spectra.

In-house system

Vibracore for subsurface sediment sampling

Vibration-driven coring system that retrieves continuous, undisturbed cores from the bed to reveal the sediment layers below the surface.

Vibrating head with about 200 kg of counterweights and a 3-inch core tube with a core catcher
Operation from a vessel with a crane and two-point anchoring to hold position over the sampling point
Cores opened and described on board, using stainless-steel tools so that samples for chemical analysis are not contaminated
Complemented by a van Veen grab for surface sediments

Applications: characterization of dredged material under Brazilian CONAMA Resolution 454/2012, prospecting of sand borrow areas for beach nourishment, and stratigraphy for dredging and marine works projects.

Diagram of the vibracore sampling system: support vessel, crane, vibrating head and core tube driven into the bed — System diagram: vessel with crane, control unit, vibrating head and 6 m core tube.

Vibracore head being lowered to the bed with diver support — Lowering the vibracore, with diver support.

Team preparing the vibracore on the deck of the crane vessel — Preparation on board, with the vessel's crane.

Sediment core inside the tube — Recovered core.

Field surveys

Network of specialized partners

For surveys that require dedicated equipment, we work with partner companies. CoastalPort specifies, plans, coordinates and supervises the campaigns and processes and interprets the data, integrating it into studies and designs.

Multibeam and single-beam bathymetry

Hydrographic surveys with multibeam and single-beam echosounders, inertial systems and RTK positioning, with patch-test calibration and processing to maritime authority standards.

Side-scan sonar

Seabed mosaics to identify rock outcrops, structures, cables, obstructions and sediment transport features.

Shallow seismics

Sub-bottom profiling to map reflectors, sediment thickness and top of rock in dredging and rock removal areas.

Geotechnical drilling

Combined SPT and rotary drilling over water, from floating platforms, for the foundations of marine structures.

Sediment, water and biota sampling

Surface and subsurface sampling, with chain of custody and analyses in accredited laboratories.

Topography and aerial photogrammetry

Topographic and drone surveys for 3D models and digital terrain models of beaches and coastal structures, integrated with the bathymetry.

In-house development

CPE Tools

Tools developed by our team: operational forecasting with CoastalWatch, embayed beach analysis with BayShape CPE and bathymetry conversion with XYZ2DXF.

Discover CPE Tools