OMC products to increase Hedland capacity

The delivery of OMC’s Optimiser and Dynamic Under Keel Clearance (DUKC) Chart Overlay, is part of a five year ‘Platinum Package’ to the port. OMC engineers and software developers started work on the delivery and other tasks, including an upgrade to the DUKC Series 5 system, at Port Hedland last week.

OMC’s Optimiser allows scheduling of multiple ships to safely maximise total tide tonnage, giving ship operators greater flexibility in the timing of port visits and also reducing the workload for schedulers, while DUKC helps ensure the safety and efficiency of large ships moving through shallow waters.

Executive director of OMC, Dr Terry O’Brien, said: “This five year contract will equip Port Hedland with new innovative tools to optimise the number of ships sailing on a tide. The port authority needs to manage increasing volumes through the port’s inner harbour, further exacerbated by the recent postponement of the outer harbour development by BHP Billiton, and these new technological developments will optimise the capacity of their existing channel.”

He added: “The growth of our Western Australian iron ore ports and our east coast coal ports will put increasing pressure on the shipping regulators to use tides more efficiently as cargo volumes ramp up.”