What’s next for LNG fuelled ships?

The future for LNG fuelled ships depends on price, availability and legislation
The future for LNG fuelled ships depends on price, availability and legislation

Dr Gerd-Michael Würsig is Business Director LNG fuelled ships at DNV GL – Maritime. In this news article he assesses some of the current issues being faced by the LNG industry and gives an overview of what DNV GL is doing to support growth in this growing important market sector as LNG looks set to become ever important as a fuel choice.

“The main drivers, in order of importance for LNG fuelled ships, are price, availability, and of course legislation. LNG as a fuel has the potential to become the most important fuel solution for environmentally sustainable shipping over the next few years,” explained Würsig.

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Rolls-Royce reveals its vision for future shore control centre for unmanned ships

Photo credit - Rolls Royce. This is now a future control crew for unmanned ships might operate
Photo credit – Rolls Royce. This is now a future control crew for unmanned ships might operate

Rolls-Royce has unveiled its vision of the land-based control centres that they believe will remotely monitor and control the unmanned ships of the future. What this vision holds for the future of the marine surveying profession is rather less clear at this point. One thing, however, is for sure. The world of autonomous cars, lorries, ships and presumably planes too is fast approaching and will soon be an accepted every day part of our lives.

In a six minute film, (see below), that some will feel is more akin to the bridge of the Star Ship Enterprise rather and has no place in the world of shipping, Rolls-Royce presents a vision of the future in which a small crew of 7 to 14 people monitor and control the operation of a fleet of vessels across the world. The crew uses interactive smart screens, voice recognition systems, holograms and surveillance drones Continue reading “Rolls-Royce reveals its vision for future shore control centre for unmanned ships”

UK’s new £200m polar research ship could be called RRS BOATY MCBOATFACE

Ship Diagram
Ship Diagram

Shackleton. Endeavour. Falcon. These are just some of the names suggested for the UK’s next world-class polar research ship as part of a campaign that has been launched for the public to put forward names for the state-of-the-art vessel to be built in the North West of England.

Set to set sail in 2019 and backed by £200 million of government funding, the polar research ship will be built at the world-famous Cammell Laird shipyard on Merseyside.

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Dare devil round the world yachtsman, Alex Thomson, goes skywalking

Alex Thomson, Paragilding
Alex Thomson, Paragilding

Dare devil solo round the world yachtsman, Alex Thomson, is once again proving his passion for the extraordinary and showing that a fear of heights can also be overcome too.

After the KeelWalk 2012 and MastWalk 2014, he has now combined his two favourite sports, sailing and kiting, to perform one spectacular stunt. Alex arrived at the beach looking confident in a Hugo Boss suit and tie.

Alvor, near the southern tip of Portugal, is one of the most popular places for kite surfing in the world. With its strong winds and high waves, it is the perfect location for this unique experience. The plan for this new stunt promised pure adrenaline and it certainly more than delivered. Alex was raised up from his yacht with the kite to twice the height of the mast. At this breathtaking height, he severed the connection with the boat and glided back down to the sea, carried only by the kite.

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Solar powered SeaVax hoover concept set to clean up the oceans

The new SeaVax solar and wind powered vessel concept will be able to clean up the oceans
The new SeaVax solar and wind powered vessel concept will be able to clean up the oceans

A team of inventors from Sussex, England, has developed a solar and wind-powered boat that can suck up plastic waste.

Bluebird Marine Systems unveiled their proof of concept at the government funded Innovate UK show in London in late 2015 and are now crowd funding the construction of a full-scale vessel.

SeaVax, when built, it will be 44 meters (144 feet) long, have a suction head some 13.5 meters (44 foot) wide, and will be fully autonomous. Deck-mounted solar panels and two wind turbines will feed power to electric pumps and filters that will suck up plastic solids and micro plastics.

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Best practices for RO/RO vehicle deck fire safety released

interferry logo
interferry logo

In response to a string of major incidents, trade association Interferry has produced operational best practice guidance for fire safety on RO/RO ship vehicle deck.

The guidance is based on input from a questionnaire sent to association members last year following at least seven serious fire incidents on ROpax ferries in Europe since 2010. The two most recent incidents resulted in fatalities and total loss of the ships, prompting the initiative by Interferry’s Operators Policy Committee to identify and publicize a common set of best practice mitigating actions.

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Maersk Tankers completes first drone delivery at sea

Drone flying around a tanker ship
Drone flying around a tanker ship

Now on the face of it, this could be regarded as a rather frivolous news story – the delivery of a tin of cookie biscuits to the tanker Maersk Edgar at sea. But as you read the story, the potential ramifications for the future become clear.

The first drone delivery to a vessel at sea has been successfully completed by Maersk Tankers, heralding a big cost and time-saving potential for vessels.

The delivery, which took place near Kalundborg in Denmark and was a test, demonstrated how using drones to deliver urgent parcels to vessels and conduct inspections has huge potential for Maersk Tankers. Further tests will now follow before the new drones can become a part of the supply chain for Maersk Tankers’ vessels.

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New DNV GL Class notation announced: Scrubber Ready

Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen (Photo: DNV GL)
Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen (Photo: DNV GL)

A new class notation from DNV GL aims to help shipowners prepare newbuilds for scrubber installations. Scrubber Ready ensures that the necessary preparations are in place for a smooth and cost-efficient scrubber retrofit at a later stage, the classification society said.

“There is no doubt that stricter emissions regulations for sulphur oxides are here to stay,” said Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO at DNV GL – Maritime. “This new Scrubber Ready Class notation gives shipowners the flexibility to minimize their initial investment when ordering a newbuilding, while at the same time having the confidence that their vessels are already on the track to easy compliance with incoming emissions regulations.”

“Ship managers have to factor in many considerations when planning for a potential future scrubber installation, from space and stability requirements, to fire safety, piping, corrosion resistance and the effect on the main engine,” said Hans Jacob Horgen, responsible engineer at DNV GL for exhaust gas cleaning rules. “It is very important to have an overview of the design and an understanding of how the system will interact with the engines and auxiliary Continue reading “New DNV GL Class notation announced: Scrubber Ready”

Closer inspections for corrosion of kill cord metal components essential

Surveyors are urged to make close inspections to identify weakening of this vital piece of equipment
Surveyors are urged to make close inspections to identify weakening of this vital piece of equipment

One third of skippers have experienced kill cord or kill switch failure, according to the results of a recent survey. The survey also showed that closer inspection of the emergency engine cut-outs is needed to reduce the likelihood of failure.

The majority of respondents stated that they had never experienced a kill cord or kill switch failure, however a third described experiencing a failure of either the kill cord, kill switch or both, with problems occurring across the board in terms of engine size (sub-4hp to 150+hp) and with 73% of problems reportedly occurring in engines aged 2-10 years.

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Skuld P&I Club warns of dangers of entering an enclosed zinc concentrate cargo hold

Man in an enclosed space
Man in an enclosed space

Recently the Skuld P&I club noted a crew fatality incident caused by entering an enclosed zinc concentrate cargo hold. A chief officer of a bulk carrier was found lying unconscious in the cargo hold after he entered the hold alone without ventilation and tragically lost his life. It was later established that the cause of death was asphyxiation. Measurements performed the day after the accident showed that the level of oxygen in the air at the stairwell was 2.6%.

Due to the cargo’s nature of oxidation, ventilation and atmosphere tests are vital before entering holds and breathing apparatus is needed. At sea-level, humans require air that contains minimum 19.5% oxygen. Below that an Continue reading “Skuld P&I Club warns of dangers of entering an enclosed zinc concentrate cargo hold”

First wind turbine installed at Gemini Offshore Wind Park

First wind turbine installed at Gemini Offshore Wind Park
First wind turbine installed at Gemini Offshore Wind Park

An important milestone has been reached in the construction of the Gemini Offshore Wind Park. On 16 February 2016, the first wind turbine was installed by Van Oord, and it will soon begin producing electricity. In the coming months, a total of 150 wind turbines will be installed 85 kilometres off the coast of Groningen, the Netherlands. The wind park, scheduled for completion in the spring of 2017, will supply sustainable energy to 785,000 households for decades to come.

After installing the electrical infrastructure and 150 turbine foundations last year, Van Oord is now working on installing the wind turbines. The wind turbines are being transported, including by Van Oord’s offshore installation vessel Aeolus, from Esbjerg harbour in Denmark directly to the wind farm. The energy generated will be routed through the high voltage grid from Eemshaven to the end-users.

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New PrimeShip-HULL system released by ClassNK

New PrimeShip-HULL system released by ClassNK
New PrimeShip-HULL system released by ClassNK

PrimeShip-HULL (HCSR) has long been the go-to design support system for ship designers worldwide. To date, over 800 licenses have been provided to more than 90 shipyards. In response to the latest amendments to the IACS Common Structural Rules for Bulk Carriers and Oil Tankers (CSR BC & OT), ClassNK has just released its latest version, PrimeShip-HULL (HCSR) Ver. 3.0.0.

Adopted in 2013, the CSR BC & OT were designed to enhance safety and reliability. Although they represent a major step forward for ship safety, they also present a number of new challenges for shipyards and designers due largely to the increase in overall vessel design time. To alleviate the burden of these new rules on ship designers and cut down the required man hours, ClassNK released PrimeShip-HULL(HCSR), a multi-functional vessel design support tool that makes it easy for designers to carry out rule calculations and optimize their designs.

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