In its 2017 Safety Digest report, the UK MAIB published its findings into the sinking of an unmanned survey vessel due to a defective butterfly valve that was not fully closed, providing a description of what happened and the lessons learnt in an attempt to prevent similar accidents from occurring. Mistakes like this should have been picked up in safety inspection leading to concerns over poor inspection regime.
The incident
A fisheries survey vessel sank while alongside a marina berth. The vessel, a 17m long aluminium catamaran, had two independent engine rooms, each located in the port and starboard side hulls. The vessel was unmanned at the time of the accident.
The world’s largest sailing ship was launched recently at the Brodosplit shipyard in Croatia. The Flying Clipper is a near replica of the France II ordered in 1911 at La Gironde shipyard Bordeaux.
The vessel has been under construction for two years for Monaco-based Star Clippers. Flying Clipper has a steel hull and will have teak decking. She is 162 meters (532 feet) long and 18.5 meters (60 feet) wide, with a deadweight of 2,000 tons. She will be square-rigged with five masts and have an overall sail surface of 6,347 square meters (68,300 square feet).
Something new and exciting – an 80 metre superyacht from Columbus Yachts
Columbus Yachts has unveiled a new full displacement 80m superyacht, to be delivered to her owner in 2018. The large hexa-deck yacht will be the first in a range that will develop into even larger sizes.
Francesco Carbone, general manager at Columbus Yachts, claimed that Columbus has adopted a new approach to manufacturing the craft by “Working in parallel and not in series”.
The new RK Lab diesel injector is set to change the fuel system landscape and reduce emissions
A new type of diesel injector developed by a Swiss company, RK Lab AG, is claimed to be about to change the face of diesel engine fuel systems and at the same time to reduce emissions.
Not only is this new injector claimed to increase the efficiency of diesel engines, but it is also claimed to greatly simplify the fuel system, removing the need for complex common rail fuel systems.
GE’s Marine Solutions reports that the world’s first Liquid Propane Gas (LPG)-fueled ferry design to use GE’s Combined Gas turbine Electric and Steam (COGES) system has successfully completed Hazard Identification (HAZID) meetings. The consortium of Youngsung Global, DINTEC, Korea LPG Industry Association, GE’s Marine Solutions and Far East Ship Design & Engineering Co. (FESDEC) signed a multilateral memorandum of understanding in November 2016 to cooperate on this unique ferry design.
“Bureau Veritas, a world-leading classification society with a large and recognized expertise and experience in gas fueled ships, chaired the HAZID meetings. All consortium members were represented as well as SK Gas and E1 who are members of the Korea LPG Industry Association. These meetings took place over a three-day period in Busan and are a crucial tool used to identify hazards and safeguards at the early ship design stage,” said Brien Bolsinger, GE’s Vice President, Marine Operations, Cincinnati, Ohio. “Now with HAZID meetings successfully completed, the consortium will proceed with securing a shipbuilding contract and will seek Approval in Principle to further validate the safety of the ship design including the COGES propulsion system and the LPG fuel supply,” Bolsinger added. Continue reading “World’s first LPG-fueled ferry design using GE Gas Turbine completes HAZID meetings”
The Bahamas Maritime Authority issued a safety alert to inform about the sudden disengagement of a lifeboat during a ship inspection onboard a tanker. The safety alert includes a description of the incident and lessons learnt to try and prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future.
The incident
Whilst alongside the loading port, a Aframax tanker conducted a Port State Control (PSC) inspection during which the testing of the lifeboat engine and rudder was required. While swinging out the starboard lifeboat, the lifeboat disengaged from the aft fall hook without any warning. The lifeboat hook did not open, instead the master link pulled clear through the gate on the on-load release gear resulting in the lifeboat falling heavily. The aft end of the boat hit the fish plate on the main deck and slid over the side resulting in the boat hanging from the forward hook. No personnel were in the lifeboat and no injuries were sustained.
Fuel spray fire can become an issue when an ‘out of sight out of mind’ attitude is adopted
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has released a safety alert to inform the industry about a fuel spray fire onboard a commercial vessel. These types of incidents, which involve fuel leaks contacting hot surfaces and igniting, happen with too much regularity and have been the subject for various marine safety organizations to consider for many years.
The incident in question
One recent marine casualty involved a 194 GRT inspected offshore supply vessel with an unmanned engine room. This engine room fire led to significant damage, operational down time of the vessel and lost company revenues. On this occasion no one was injured.
Surveyors need to be aware of the risks when undertaking valuations
This short but cautionary article about undertaking valuations has been submitted for publication by IIMS member, Elliott Berry MIIMS.
As most of you will be aware, it’s standard practice to issue valuations either as standalone documents or as part of a survey report.
We have long been under the impression that if we as a surveyor issue a letter of opinion that we are protected from claims as a result of discrepancies or unseen circumstances. However, it would appear that this belief is misplaced and this will have far reaching consequences among the surveying profession. Continue reading “Surveyors beware the perils of undertaking valuations”
The Port of Rotterdam is creating a new 70-hectare space for a specialist offshore centre for wind energy at sea, decommissioning oil and gas platforms and the oil and gas market.
Offshore Centre Maasvlakte 2 (OCMV2) will be located in Princess Alexiahaven against the seawall, near the berth of the heavy lift vessel Pioneering Spirit. The Port Authority will initially reclaim the first 30 hectares and install a heavy load deep sea quay, initially of 600 meters, with the necessary infrastructure. The plan is that the first businesses will become operational on OCMV2 in the course of 2019. The centre could potentially be extended by a further 40 hectares and 1,000 meters of quay wall.
ClassNK has announced that it has released some amendments to its Rules and Guidance for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships with effect from 1 June 2017.
ClassNK is constantly revising its Rules and Guidance in order to reflect the latest results from relevant research and development projects, feedback from damage investigations, requests from industry as well as changes made to relevant international conventions, IACS unified requirements (UR), national regulations, etc.
Transport Malta has issued an investigation report about an engine explosion on-board a passenger vessel, which caused severe burn injuries to two people back in May 2016. The report sets out to determine the circumstances of the accident as a basis for making recommendations in order to prevent further and similar incidents from occurring in the future.
The incident
Two motor mechanics from the Company’s workshop were sent on board MV Delfini to investigate an engine problem reported by the vessel’s skipper and engine driver. Work was necessary on the port main engine to identify and eliminate the exhaust white smoke, which was being emitted by the engine under load conditions.
The Bahamas Maritime Authority has issued a technical alert to bring to operators’ and inspectors’ attention that deficiencies have been found in lifejacket lights manufactured by Alcares in particular types Jack A1-Alk and Jack ARH-Alk, distributed by Datrex. A number of ships have reported issues relating to these defective lifejacket lights.
In its 2017 Safety Digest report, the UK MAIB published its findings into the sinking of an unmanned survey vessel due to a defective butterfly valve that was not fully closed, providing a description of what happened and the lessons learnt in an attempt to prevent similar accidents from occurring. Mistakes like this should have been picked up in safety inspection leading to concerns over poor inspection regime.
