Health & Safety

Wärtsilä Aquarius EC Ballast Water Management System submitted for USCG Type Approval

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The Wärtsilä Aquarius Electro-Chlorination BWMS is now expected to receive USCG Type Approval.
The Wärtsilä Aquarius Electro-Chlorination BWMS is now expected to receive USCG Type Approval.

Wärtsilä has submitted its Aquarius Electro-Chlorination (EC) Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) for US Coast Guard (USCG) Type Approval (TA) after successfully completing all the testing procedures required.

Wärtsilä received type approval from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2013 for the Electro-Chlorination system and the same successful design was used for the USCG application. This current testing has again proven the consistent performance of the Wärtsilä solution, and demonstrates the high reliability, robustness and effectiveness of the system.

“Achieving this significant USCG testing milestone is a major step forward for the product. It provides customers with further assurance that this system efficiently addresses ballast water treatment compliance needs, with a reliable product and a partner committed to long-term global support,” says Joe Thomas, Director, Ballast Water Management Systems at Wärtsilä.

The Wärtsilä Aquarius EC BWMS utilises Continue reading “Wärtsilä Aquarius EC Ballast Water Management System submitted for USCG Type Approval”

Research findings highlight issues with dirty engine room bilges

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Recent research findings highlight issues with dirty engine room bilges
Recent research findings highlight issues with dirty engine room bilges

Recent analysis of the Shipowners Club’s Condition Survey Programme has highlighted that approximately 25% of the vessels surveyed showed evidence of contaminated engine room bilges. As such, Shipowners Club seeks to raise awareness of the potential fire hazards associated with oily engine rooms and the checks and steps that a ship’s crew and/or surveyor should undertake.

Whilst an oily bilge may not be the immediate source of a fire, any fire that arises in an engine room or machinery space has the potential to escalate and spread rapidly. The presence of oil accumulated in bilges or drip trays act as additional fuel to sustain burning and increase the likelihood of the fire reaching further areas.

With respect to these, the Club notes the following:

Poole Liveboat Stations gets a new floating boat house

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Poole Liveboat Stations gets a new floating boat house
Poole Liveboat Stations gets a new floating boat house

There was great excitement for the volunteers at Poole Lifeboat station as the new floating boat house arrived by water! The new building was lifted into the channel, between the bridges from the Old Power station site in Poole where during the past six months or so it has been under construction, built by the Weymouth based Sawtell Construction Ltd.

On Tuesday (March 6th) the boat house was craned into the water for a float test and then floated down between the quays, guided expertly by Jenkins Marine, through the 1.30 bridge and alongside outside the lifeboat station ready for the next phase of putting it into position

The building, designed by ECA Architecture and Planning, will nestle alongside the Old lifting bridge. ECA architects were keen not to make the boathouse like the standard industrial sheds, the angled roof is designed to Continue reading “Poole Liveboat Stations gets a new floating boat house”

Possible new cure for diesel bug

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Possible new cure for diesel bug
Possible new cure for diesel bug

A new product that removes water from the bottom of diesel tanks is expected to end all diesel bug problems.

The Diesel Dipper is a self-contained system independent of the engine. Fitted with a 12-volt pump, it is designed to suck water from the floor/bottom of a fuel tank below the fuel suction and by doing so, makers Marine 16 say it eliminates or prevents diesel bug and engine failures.

Marine 16 said: “Water and sludge lying on the bottom of the tank is drawn up into a ‘tank separator’ where it separates from the diesel and collects on the bottom. This accumulated water and sludge is then periodically drained off into a container.”

The clean diesel exits the top of the separator and flows through a Continue reading “Possible new cure for diesel bug”

Partnership formed to study the safe use of lithium-ion batteries in shipping

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Partnership formed to study the safe use of lithium-ion batteries in shipping
Partnership formed to study the safe use of lithium-ion batteries in shipping

DNV GL has announced a joint partnership to study the safe use of lithium-ion batteries in shipping. The class society’s partners in the effort include flag states, research institutions, battery and propulsion suppliers, fire system manufacturers, shipowners, vessel operators and yards. DNV GL says that the hope is to identify improvements not just for the batteries themselves, but for the associated systems, procedures, and approval processes.

“We put a great deal of effort into ensuring the safety of these new alternative systems, but the cost of the present safety and approval methodology is cumbersome. This collaborative effort gives a chance for an even greater level of safety,” said Rasmus Nielsen, a naval architect and officer at project partner Scandlines.

The project’s deliverable’s are focused on safety. Tasks include the development of Continue reading “Partnership formed to study the safe use of lithium-ion batteries in shipping”

Deck water spray failure highlighted as one of the main deficiencies on LNG carriers

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Deck water spray failure highlighted as one of the main deficiencies on LNG carriers
Deck water spray failure highlighted as one of the main deficiencies on LNG carriers

The US Coast Guard has published an information bulletin about the ongoing issue regarding inadequate deck water spray systems on LNG carriers. US Coast Guard has noted that inadequate coverage of the required areas by a deck water spray system is one of the main deficiencies identified when certificate of compliance inspections are undertaken on these vessels.

The Deck Water Spray system is required by the IGC Code 1993, Regulation 11.3. This requirement text has remained nearly identical back through the GC Code 1983 and to the EGC Code. The new 2016 edition of the IGC Code incorporates the amendments adopted by the IMO MSC at its ninety-third session (May 2014) by resolution MSC.370(93).

These amendments, which entered into force on 1 Jan 2016, consist of a complete replacement text of the IGC Code and will apply to ships whose keels are laid or are at a similar stage of construction, on or after 1 July 2016.

Across the industry, vessel operators and crews have struggled to keep these simple systems operating properly. Ineffective operation of the deck water spray appears easily managed by periodic removal of the Continue reading “Deck water spray failure highlighted as one of the main deficiencies on LNG carriers”

Storm Emma wreaks havoc on Holyhead Marina

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Storm Emma wreaks havoc on Holyhead Marina
Storm Emma wreaks havoc on Holyhead Marina

Estimates suggest that as many as 80 boats were destroyed and pontoons washed away at Holyhead Marina as Storm Emma hit the north Welsh coastline with violence.

The RNLI said it had to launch its own inshore lifeboat just to get a crew to its larger vessel in Holyhead in Thursday night’s force 12 gale.

“There is considerable damage and disruption at the marina, so, for now, we will stay berthed within the inner harbour, ready to respond – slower than usual, but able – to a shout,” said the RNLI team.

Continue reading “Storm Emma wreaks havoc on Holyhead Marina”

BoatCoSafe launches boating Carbon Monoxide alarms campaign

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BoatCoSafe launches boating CO alarms campaign
BoatCoSafe launches boating CO alarms campaign

Mandatory installation of Carbon Monoxide alarms on cabin boats in UK waterways would save lives. In the last 20 years, 19 boaters have died and another 24 have needed hospital attention from Carbon Monoxide gases.

BoatCOSafe has launched with a petition and news on its website see BoatCOSafe.uk along with an intense video highlighting the dangers. There is also an online petition available on the website to encourage parliament to make having a CO alarm mandatory on inland waterways.

“Boats are naturally enclosed spaces where Carbon Monoxide can build up very quickly – and as you can’t smell or see it, you can be affected by it before you realise what has happened,” says lead campaigner Niki Molnar MBE

With people already booking boats for their Summer holidays, BoatCOSafe is encouraging people to Continue reading “BoatCoSafe launches boating Carbon Monoxide alarms campaign”

Volvo Ocean Race initiates report into ocean racing safety at night following collision

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Volvo Ocean Race initiates report into ocean racing safety at night following collision
Volvo Ocean Race initiates report into ocean racing safety at night following collision

Following the collision between Vestas 11th Hour Racing and a non-racing vessel in the final stages of the racing leg in Hong Kong waters, the organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race have commissioned an independent report into ocean racing at night in areas of high vessel traffic density, to establish what steps race organisers may take to mitigate risk going forward.

The collision occurred between the boat Vestas 11th Hour Racing and a fishing vessel, on 20 January 2018, around 30 miles from the Leg 4 finish line in Hong Kong, resulting in the death of one fisherman. He had been recovered from the water and taken on board Vestas 11th Hour Racing and was transferred by helicopter to a hospital in Hong Kong where medical staff were unable to revive him.

Continue reading “Volvo Ocean Race initiates report into ocean racing safety at night following collision”

MARPOL amendments for ship fuel oil reporting requirements, garbage classification and IOPP certificate now in force

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MARPOL amendments for ship fuel oil reporting requirements, garbage classification and IOPP certificate now in force
MARPOL amendments for ship fuel oil reporting requirements, garbage classification and IOPP certificate now in force

Requirements for ships to collect data on their fuel oil consumption entered into force on 1 March. Other important amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) have also entered into force, covering the classification of garbage, including the addition of a new category of “e-waste”, and amendments to the International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate.

Ship fuel oil consumption data reporting requirements
The ship fuel oil consumption data reporting requirements are the latest mandatory requirements aimed at enhancing the energy efficiency of international shipping.

The data collection will begin on 1 January 2019 with data reported at the end of each calendar year to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations agency with responsibility for regulating the safety, security and efficiency of shipping and preventing marine and atmospheric pollution from ships.

Continue reading “MARPOL amendments for ship fuel oil reporting requirements, garbage classification and IOPP certificate now in force”

Fire extinguishing systems recalled by Kidde

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Fire extinguishing systems recalled by Kidde
Fire extinguishing systems recalled by Kidde

Kidde Fire Protection has issued a Product Management Bulletin 171b in which it is recalling the hardware replacement of cylinders used in its HFC227 and NOVEC 1230 fire extinguishing systems. All ECS 2-inch Cylinder-Valve assemblies complete with Clean Agent that were shipped for marine applications during the period 16 January 2015 until 31 December 2016 are to be replaced.

The 2-inch valve used on the Kidde Chemical Agent Cylinder-Valve assemblies has four retainer screws in its piston design. Kidde Fire Protection realized that some valves, with one or more of these retainer screws not tightened to the required torque specification, may have escaped the production and inspection process into shipping.

The 2-inch valve operates on a differential pressure design and the loss of any of the screws from its set position could result in Continue reading “Fire extinguishing systems recalled by Kidde”

Ships carrying heavy fuel oil cargoes subject to ongoing condition surveys

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Libya releases tanker carrying fuel to rival government
Libya releases tanker carrying fuel to rival government

In order to improve ship standards, the International Group of P&I Clubs has said it will continue to conduct survey triggers for seagoing vessels of 10 years of age or more carrying heavy fuel oil cargoes.

As a result, all sea-going vessels that are 10 years old or more and have carried heavy fuel oil as cargo within the previous 12 months will be subject to condition survey, unless:

– The vessel has undergone a P&I club condition survey during the previous 12 months.
– The vessel has undergone a Special Survey during the previous 6 months.
– The vessel has a valid Condition Assessment Program (CAP) rating of 1 or 2 with a classification society having membership in the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS).

Operators should have in mind that a declaration is now required so that Continue reading “Ships carrying heavy fuel oil cargoes subject to ongoing condition surveys”

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