Retail

Pelco Systems Help Navigate The Mighty Mississippi
by Dick Richardson, Pelco Technical Publications Editor, drichardson@pelco.com

When you think of Pelco you probably think of security. And that is the bulk of Pelco’s business. But camera systems aren’t always used to keep a crime-fighting eye on people or property. For example, RiverBarge Excursion Lines of New Orleans (REL) uses Pelco’s Spectra II™ premium integrated dome systems to help maneuver a 600-foot hotel barge up and down America’s busiest rivers.

Even from high up in the pilothouse, "You can’t see right in front of you or behind you," said Richard Dulcich, vice president of Electronic Services, Inc., (ESI). They were the installing company of the Pelco CCTV equipment that provides extra sets of eyes to cover blind spots during close maneuvering. The Spectra II™ cameras are required for docking and when approaching locks and bridge structures.

Cameras help the crew see just how close they are to docks or bridges so they don’t hit anything. Although that is not always the case, noted Jeff Kindl, director of marine operations for REL. "We knocked one camera off (the side of the barge) in a lock once, so we recessed the camera."

But without the camera system, who knows what they would be bumping into. "The system is doing great," said Kindl. "The navigation crew loves it." ESI’s Dulcich said, "They could not operate without it."

This floating hotel can take up to 198 passengers on luxurious excursions north of New Orleans along the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, and Missouri rivers and west of New Orleans to Texas through the Intracoastal Waterway.

Over 600 Feet of Barge

The riverboat actually consists of two 295-foot barges — the DeSoto in front and the LaSalle behind. To move the barges, the tug Miss Nari, or inland push boat as it is called, is attached aft of the barges. The two barges and tug have to be de-coupled periodically, which means the umbilical cords with all the wires and cables that link the barges and tug together have to be unplugged and then plugged back together. When it came time to choose a CCTV system, Pelco’s Coaxitron® system with a single cable for video and control signals was ideal, said Dulcich.

There are five camera systems on the barge-tug combination. One is located on the bow of the DeSoto, where the camera can be panned, tilted, and zoomed to view what is ahead of the barge. Two more domes are mounted on the bridge wings of the LaSalle and look forward along the sides of the barges. Lights along the sides of the vessel enhance maneuverability at night. The last two cameras are installed on the stern of the LaSalle and look down the sides of the Miss Nari to provide a view of the tug’s position.

Because a crew on the tug would not be able to see where they were going while pushing two taller barges in front of them, a remote pilothouse with a duplicate set of controls was built atop the LaSalle barge. The excursion barge is controlled from the remote pilothouse.

To simplify the crew’s operation and viewing of the cameras, separate controls and monitors are located in the remote pilothouse in the same relationship as the cameras.

For example, the control and monitor for the bow camera are located in the pilothouse bridge console in the center position. The cameras on the bridge wings have their controls and monitors on the starboard and port sides of the pilothouse console. And the cameras monitoring the Miss Nari are situated on the aft wall of the pilothouse. The captain, in an article written by ESI, reported the resolution and picture quality under all conditions are exceptional.

Southern Electronics Supply of New Orleans provided the Pelco equipment to ESI, which had the equipment installed at the Leavac Ship Yards near Jennings, LA.