OMC International is an Australian maritime engineering company that has developed world class technology which increases the safety and efficiency of large vessel transits through depth restricted channels and waterways.

The company has pioneered rigorous technology which predicts the vertical motions of ships (what you can’t see under the water). Its core system, Dynamic Under Keel Clearance (DUKC®) accurately predicts (to the cm) the depth of water between a vessel’s keel and the seabed. One cm of extra under keel clearance (UKC) could mean 130 tonnes of extra cargo or if you get it wrong, a touch-bottom incident!

Fundamental to the pioneering contribution of this company to UKC technology is a unique expertise in the modelling of ship motions under varying conditions of waves, tide, current and wind. This also takes into account factors such as ship squat and heel. This dynamic under keel clearance (DUKC®) technology integrates the modelled vessel motions with the prevailing conditions in near real time (hence “dynamic”).

This scientific approach to UKC is significantly more accurate than the usual approach of using static UKC rules which are of necessity over conservative during low swell conditions and can sometimes be over optimistic during high swells leading to a higher than acceptable risk of grounding.

Sailing under DUKC® advice therefore offers greater certainty and is both more efficient and safer than sailing under static rules. Large container ships, bulk carriers and oil tankers transiting shallow approach channels and waterways can depart with optimum cargo loads and/or move in and out of ports with wider sailing windows, subject to internationally accepted guidelines regarding Bottom Clearance and Manoeuvrability Margin requirements. Additional environmental benefits include reduction in carbon emissions from fewer overall sailings for the same tonnage and reduced risk of ship grounding.

OMC’s expertise in ship motion analysis and UKC prediction can ensure cost-effective channel design through dredging optimisation. When a DUKC® system is used conjunctively with dredging, a channel depth profile is created which matches the UKC requirements throughout the transit so that the amount of material dredged is related precisely to the desired outcome. Similarly it can minimise maintenance dredging costs.

After 16 years in operation the DUKC® system, developed entirely in-house, is the only technology worldwide which has the proven capacity to predict this vertical component of navigation from 36 hours until the commencement of the vessel’s transit. The latest innovation has been the development of a carry-on-board system (DUKC® PPU) which allows the pilot to monitor and adjust these predictions in real time during the actual transit, if required due to unforseen circumstances such as a vessel breakdown. Similar monitoring is possible from the shore by the integration of the system into vessel traffic service centers (DUKC® VTS).

OMC’s technology is now installed in most major Australian ports, in NZ and in Europe. Since the first DUKC® system was installed in Queensland’s Hay Point coal terminal in 1993, it has provided billions of dollars in economic benefits to ports and port users and helped prevent environmental disasters.

OMC has long been considered a world authority on mooring analysis and design. Its numerical ship motion model (SPMS) has been applied to the design of deep-sea moorings, as well as to analysing the forces in mooring lines and fenders of conventional moorings especially when exposed to ocean swells and long waves.

Another recent focus has been to model hydrodynamic interaction effects from passing ships on moored ships and provide guidelines on safe passing distances and speeds.

Dr Terry O’Brien, OMC’s Founder and Executive Director, and his son, Peter, a maritime engineer and Managing Director, lead a Melbourne-based team of more than 30 highly trained engineers, naval architects and software engineering/IT personnel who develop and install new systems, as well as supporting existing systems 24/7.

Dr O’Brien is a regular contributor to international bodies such as PIANC and IALA in the work of developing new industry guidelines and standards for ship navigation and channel design.

With a strong research focus, this specialist company continues to offer next generation technology to assist safer and more efficient navigation for the benefit of operators and users of shallow ports and waterways.