By
Cherie Rowlands |
Applied oceanography specialist, Tidetech, has developed online commercial tidal models for Singapore and the Malacca Straits, which run between Peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
The entry-level versions of the company’s tidal models can be viewed online through the Tidetech’s OceanView, on any internet browser or internet-capable mobile devices, as well as downloaded as a PDF or printed prior to sailing.
Tidetech managing director Penny Haire said there was a ‘black hole’ for detailed tidal current information in this region. She said: “This is a region that experiences very high traffic density and is faced with complex tides that have a significant effect on passage time and fuel consumption. There are thousands of ships that don’t fully realise the [fuel and efficiency] savings to made with accurate tidal current data, largely because it hasn’t previously been available.”
The company states that OceanView offers a detailed and accurate tidal current atlas featuring tidal current predictions at one-km resolution for every 30 minutes, while other features include latitude and longitude, place names, scale showing speed of current in knots – with no interpolation necessary – and shipping lanes for easy reference.
Trials with both OceanView and fully integrated oceanographic data are running currently with container vessels, cruise ships and ferries in various regions around the world.