Americas News
Canadian Patent for FuelTrax Bunker Management System
Houston, Texas based Nautical Control Solutions, LP (NCS) said Wednesday its FuelTrax Marine Fuel Management system has been granted patent protection by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) for "Apparatus and Method for Fuel Measurement and Accountability."
"We have been anticipating approval of a Canadian patent and are pleased to finally be able to announce it", NCS CEO Anthony George said in an emailed press release.
"As we apply engineering talent and real-world customer experiences and feedback to FuelTrax development, protecting our intellectual property rights becomes increasingly important."
NCS said they were granted a U.S. patent in 2006, and after initially promoting the product in the U.S. inland waterway market, it moved into the blue water fleets around the world, noting recent key sales into the petroleum offshore support market.
"We have applied to several key European countries for equal patent protection and will move to protect FuelTrax once these are granted," said George.
"We continue to advance our product through innovations inspired by our customers and will be expanding our patent protection accordingly," he added.
NCS say the FuelTrax system encompasses a number of bunker management tools, including the monitoring of fuel flow, proving bunker quantities and densities, and providing support for the master in making real-time throttle adjustments that can help reduce fuel consumption.
In July NCS announced that the latest version of its FuelTrax Marine Fuel Management system has the ability to alert the crew to off-spec fuel during bunkering.
