PHOTO COURTESY OF VESPER MARINE
Vesper Marine’s Guardian Asset Protection solution has been installed in the Straits of Mackinac to help prevent anchor strikes on Enbridge’s Line 5, in an effort to protect the waterway from a potential spill and damage to the pipeline.
“Line 5 is a vital part of the Michigan energy infrastructure,” says Brady Cox, CEO of Vesper Marine. “It provides heating fuel to the majority of the state. We are proud to be a part of protecting not only the way of life for people in the area, but also the rich Great Lakes environment. Our Guardian Asset Protection solution gives Enbridge a system to mark its underwater infrastructure, monitor local marine traffic, and notify vessels to prevent accidents before they occur.”
Reliability Consultant C-FER Technologies, engaged by Enbridge to assess risk to the line, reported the Guardian Asset Protection system alone would reduce the risk of anchor strikes by 89%, and the overall Enbridge Maritime Pipeline Protection Program of which Guardian is a part provides a 99.5% reduction in risk of vessel anchor strikes.
The Guardian system works by using virtual aids to navigation transmitted from a Virtual AIS Station to alert commercial and recreational vessels of the pipeline’s location, and uses cloud-based software to analyze the telemetry of passing vessels, and send a notification to alert a vessel it is in a no anchor zone.
To learn more about the Guardian system, visit vesperguardian.com.
