When you’re in the business of smooth sailing and reliability, there’s no place for weak links. Just ask Norway’s biggest cruise- and ferry company.
[Oslo, March 2024]
MS Color MagicYear of construction: 2007 |
When you think of Oslo, perhaps you imagine Edvard Munch’s “Scream”, or Holmenkollen Ski Jump. It could well be The Vigeland park crosses your mind, or the Vikingship museum. All notable attractions, no doubt.
But did you know Norway’s largest city is also associated with a record holder in the maritime industry?
This is where sister ships Color Fantasy and Color Magic have their home port. They happen to be the world’s largest passenger ships with car decks. Since their completion in 2004 and 2007 respectively, they’ve carried millions of passengers between Oslo and Kiel (Germany), contributing to the success story that is Color Line.
Hatteland Technology has had the good fortune of being supplier to both vessels. We recently hopped on board Color Magic, to learn a bit about the ship from the crew itself.
An all-digital bridge system
Electronics engineer Knut-Olav Reistad knows MS Color Magic better than most. Ever since 2008, he has been in charge of the electronics on board one of Oslo’s two deep-blue, towering landmarks. And it’s a remarkably busy vessel he oversees.
Above: Electronics engineer Knut-Olav Reistad explaining how Color Magic's bridge system works.
– This vessel has been operating since 2007, every day, except Christmas Eve. My main task is to look after all the electronic equipment.
– Including monitors?
– That includes monitors.
– Tell us about your bridge system: Are you sailing all-digital?
– Indeed, we are. The system here is digital, no more paper.
– Since we’re operating every day, everything needs to be shipshape.
– How important is reliability to you?
– Reliability is a big thing for us, of course. Since we’re operating every day, everything needs to be shipshape, and Hatteland Technology monitors are quite good.
– Can you explain what you’re using the monitors for?
– The monitors are mostly used for navigation, and the things that need marine certification, like radar and...yeah, things we’re looking at all the time. Automation systems, of course, fire alarm systems, and so forth.
– Yesterday we didn’t have the best weather, lots of fog. Could you say a bit about how important the instruments are to the bridge crew?
– The instrumentation is among the equipment that has to be working all the time. As you could see yesterday, it was very foggy. Then you can’t see anything, so you have to rely on the radars.
Above: Mr. Reistad operating one of the many Hatteland Technology monitors on board MS Color Magic.
Reliability no coincidence
Lars Skjelbred-Eriksen, CEO of Hatteland Technology, has spent almost two decades at the company and is deeply familiar with what matters most to maritime professionals.
– To succeed in shipping, you need as much uptime as possible. That’s exactly what we design our equipment for. All our maritime products are tested against the toughest quality standards, he says.
– To succeed in shipping, you need as much uptime as possible.
The maritime environment is notoriously demanding, and building high-tech products for such conditions is no walk in the park. But decades of experience with the industry means Hatteland Technology possesses both the facilities and the know-how to consistently deliver according to both regulations and expectations. It’s a task Mr. Skjelbred-Eriksen does not take lightly.
– Vessels like these, with all the travelers that rely on them, underline why we work so hard to build dependable and durable equipment. We’re grateful for the trust and proud to play a small part in our customers’ success.
In the heart of Oslo: Lars Skjelbred-Eriksen, CEO of Hatteland Technology, at MS Color Magic's and MS Color Fantasy's home port in Oslo.
To learn more about Hatteland Technology and how we can assist your project, please visit our home on the web.
You're also welcome to explore our range of marine monitors.
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