Wartsila is strengthening its expertise in vessel positioning and remote control operations with the acquisition of Guidance Marine.
A month after completing a remote control trial with a platform supply vessel (PSV) owned by Gulfmark Offshore, the Finnish company has taken over a specialist in situational awareness and intelligent navigation.
Maik Stoevhase, director of automation, navigation and communication at Wartsila Marine Solutions, said: “Guidance Marine's core competences are wide ranging and include the development of sophisticated positional measurement sensors and systems for high accuracy control applications.
"These competences complement our own activities in the field of radar technology, navigation and dynamic positioning, by joining forces we can certainly further accelerate the introduction of solutions that will take shipping into a new era of efficiency.”
Guidance Marine has offices in the UK, Singapore and the US and is considered to be a leader in the marine industry for sensor solutions relating to – among others – collision avoidance.
Jan Grothusen, chief executive of Guidance Marine, said: “Joining forces with Wartsila presents an exciting opportunity for Guidance Marine to work alongside a major player in the marine industry.
“This partnership provides a significant step change in developing the future of maritime positioning and navigation where the integration of multi-modal sensor technologies is a key factor in the delivery of 'intelligent' vessels.”
