New Voyager 41
Sea trial success for the latest version of Thomas Gunn’s voyager service
Thomas Gunn, the maritime services company and leading Admiralty distributor, today announced the results of sea trials of its new Voyager 4 on-board navigation data management system. The sea trials are the final stage in the development of the new service which will launch on 1 May 2013. This latest version will be the only chart updating tool to include global Navarea Warning information. It also provides a new route-planning tool to make it even easier to identify, update and download information needed for a vessel’s voyage as well as new time saving applications to help vessels navigate more safely and efficiently.
Voyager 4 has been installed on a wide range of vessels operating around the world to ensure the new system is thoroughly tested in live environments. More than twenty vessels have been involved with trials including USAC’s Hatta working out of Bahrain, Finner Shipping’s Red Fin, currently in Egypt, and Gulf Offshore’s Highland Eagle based in Aberdeen.
“Sea trials are an essential stage of our new product development programme. The Thomas Gunn Voyager team is made up of highly experienced mariners, navigators and technical experts, but at the end of the day it’s the experience on the bridge that determines our products’ success” said Mike Bailey, ex. Captain and ex. marine superintendent, and now Head of Product Development at Thomas Gunn. Sea trials feedback is essential in guaranteeing reliability, ease of use and ensuring Voyager is designed and developed to meet real-life operational requirements.”
Voyager is now leading the market in terms of chart management and updating tools. Shipping companies operating globally with tight port turnaround times all benefit greatly from being able to access safety and compliance information electronically and having a wide range of information at the fingertips of their crews.
“This latest Voyager release is even better than ever, including some excellent new services such as our new Navarea Warnings service and the Admiralty Vector Chart Service (AVCS) and Admiralty Information Overlay (AIO) viewer making Voyager the most comprehensive British Admiralty updating service on the market today. From the sea trials feedback we’ve been getting, it’s clear that our customers around the world really like Voyager and are enjoying exploring and getting even more from its new functionality” added Mr Bailey. “We’ve also had the opportunity to gain feedback on how customers would prefer to buy the additional modules and time-saving applications that are included in the new version which are helping us create innovative new purchasing options that really appeal to our different audiences.”
New Voyager 4 is the only system that provides a 100% complete BA Chart update service and has the one of best data compression rates available today – making data download times both fast and extremely cost effective. Voyager also includes a free Vessel Management Service to help ship owners and ship managers cut administration time, improve safety, better manage information and ensure compliance across the fleet – whether navigating with paper or using digital technology.
New Voyager 4 will be available from Thomas Gunn and its agents from May 2013.
About the Thomas Gunn Group of companies:
Thomas Gunn Navigation Services was formed in 1978 as a private family owned company. Today, the Thomas Gunn group of companies has a large international client base and is widely recognised as the world’s largest distributor of Admiralty charts and publications.
In addition to providing navigation supplies to shipping companies, TGNS also has a range of technology solutions, including Voyager and TGT eData that enable customers to optimize chart purchasing, management and updating. With offices in UK, Singapore, Greece, North America and Turkey, the Thomas Gunn Group employs approximately 150 people worldwide, including product, sales and customer service and support teams.
