Showcasing industry innovations

The Marinas24 event, held in Australia in May, featured an Innovation Showcase that introduced five new products or services to the market. Each was introduced via a seven-minute presentation where developers, all vying to win the Best Industry Innovation Award, outlined unique benefits to the industry. The showcase session chairman, Phil Wardale, the current secretary of the New Zealand Marina Industries Association (NZMOA), said: “It was a brilliant session, really highlighting the strength and ingenuity of the industry.”

All five innovations came to the showcase from different parts of the industry. The Marine Industry Association’s (MIA’s) first Clean-Tech Partner, The Searial Cleaners (part of Poralu Marine), showcased its InvisiBubble, a bubble curtain that controls floating waste and silt. The InvisiBubble curtain purifies the water, redirects debris and sediment, contains the spread of hydrocarbons and protects surrounding wildlife. It also traps floating and submerged waste (whether organic or synthetic) measuring just 2mm, diverting or re-routing it to a collection point or containing it within a specific area.
Sandmap, a company founded in Queensland by spatial and engineering professionals Rod Tansley and Sean McCagh, showcased its hydrographic surveying system. This utilises small craft that are easily able to manoeuvre into small spaces within a marina facility without the need for extensive boat movements or disruptions to busy facilities. The innovation incorporates swath bathymetry and is destined to be a big step forward for facilities looking to obtain a better understanding of their depth restrictions.
SET Maritime & Electrical, owned by Mark Smith – a 40-year industry veteran in marine surveying and electrical engineering – introduced Eshore, a polarity monitoring device. Eshore enables a Functional Earthing (FE) circuit to make a momentary connection to check polarity, and allows for the interlocking contactor to allow for supply to the vessel. The polarity of shore connections is often unknown to vessel owners and this can create lengthy delays or a need for further electrical contractors. Eshore quickly and effectively solves the issue and ensures that a vessel’s electrical safety devices remain effective.
Claudio Carlon of Cimolai Technologies delivered something completely different by showcasing Marina Punta Gabbiani’s ingenious dry, land-based marina berths. The design sees land-based raised marina berths for vessels on trailers and cradles that allow owners to safely access their vessels without ladders or temporary structures. A near-silent Cimolai electric straddle carrier takes vessels from land-based berths to the water for regular boating.
Rounding out the session was an innovation from Australian company ROVing Intelligence. ROVing Intelligence, established just three years ago, brings AI together with submersible technology to give marina owners an accurate assessment of their underwater infrastructure. The process provides accurate 4000 PSI spot cleaning, ultrasonic thickness testing and cathode protection testing, as well as providing 3D imagery with a pinpoint station holding that can be repeated year after year to create a long term view of the real maintenance longevity of marine assets.
A live poll was taken from over 200 delegates, and The Searial Cleaners’ InvisiBubble won the day in a tightly contested result. Receiving his award, Antoine Repiton-Preneuf, Asia Pacific business development manager, commented: “The Searial Cleaners wants its products to contribute by becoming a driver of change. We want to develop tech solutions and use them to combat marine pollution. The InvisiBubble is one of those solutions and a solution that also helps marina facilities to stay tidy and collect waste.”