“Before, you looked through the roof hatch. Now you look at the screen.”
For Captain Nico Schaart, Bridgescout has become as natural as his steering wheel. He's been working in inland shipping for over 40 years, much of it on tankers. Nowadays, he mainly transports dangerous goods – a field where you visit many different places and bridges are rarely generous. “The system does exactly what it's supposed to do. It allows us to sail with greater confidence.”
With his ship of almost 9,000 tons, ‘just stopping’ is not an option. Nico: “We often sail high, so everything has to be at its lowest setting. And then it's nice when Bridgescout simply gives a signal: you need to lower it – or not. No more guesswork.”
According to Nico, the system significantly increases the skipper's confidence. “There have been situations where you think: we'll make it under that bridge. But you don't always have visibility of the water level. Bridgescout gives you that certainty.”
He quickly brings skeptics who say ‘I'll check it myself’ back to reality. “That's nonsense. We've all had a situation where we misjudged things. You don't always see it clearly. Bridgescout has no doubts: green is good, red is failing. It's that simple.”
Practical, fast, and reliable
He is also more than satisfied with the installation and calibration. “That went smoothly. The installer from Sensor Maritime was out within half an hour. The service is just very good.”
According to Nico, the system is user-friendly and maintenance-friendly. “It doesn't require any settings. You just look at the screen. And when you clean the ship, you also clean the lens. That's it. It's housed in a stainless steel cabinet – it looks good, solid, no bother to hang up.”
Forward with innovation
Nico firmly believes in innovation in inland shipping. “In the past, you'd stick your head through the roof hatch to see if you could make it under the bridge. That was back then. But why take the risk anymore when you can just see on a screen how you're doing?” For him, it's clear: “Bridgescout provides confidence. And as a skipper, that might just be the most important thing there is.”