Continuing saga of the Hoegh Osaka

The stricken Hoegh Osaka that has provided an extraordinary spectacle for people living on the UK south coast could soon be on the move back to port
The stricken Hoegh Osaka that has provided an extraordinary spectacle for people living on the UK south coast could soon be on the move back to port

The car transporter ship, Hoegh Osaka, was deliberately grounded following the decision made by the Captain and Pilot on Bramble Bank in the Solent early in January after it began to list heavily. The ship was only 50 minutes into its voyage from the port of Southampton and was carrying a full load of Landrover Jaguar cars and heavy duty construction equipment. It is felt that the quick thinking and decision making, taken to protect the lives of the 25 crew on bard, was courageous and correct.

At that time, the Hoegh Osaka was listing at more than 50 degrees and a salvage operation is expected to take several days. She became an instant tourist attraction for not only locals on the south coats, but also further afield. Such a sight as this is rarely seen.

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Blohm+Voss appoints new Chief Executive

Fred van Beers who has been appointed as the new CEO of shipbuilder Blohm+Voss
Fred van Beers who has been appointed as the new CEO of shipbuilder Blohm+Voss

Blohm+Voss has appointed Fred van Beers as its Chief Executive Officer Management Board (CEO). As of 1 March 2015, Fred van Beers will take over from Dr Herbert Aly as CEO to lead Blohm+Voss’ growth strategy. His focus will be on developing the luxury yacht business. He will also work to strengthen the leading position of Blohm+Voss in general repairs and conversions with a specific focus for cruise ships and vessels for the off-shore industry.

Fred van Beers (52) has held senior leadership positions in the maritime industry for more than 15 years. He joins Blohm+Voss from his current position as Vice President Services Northern Europe at Wärtsilä, the global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the maritime industry and energy markets with a presence in more than 70 countries.

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Bart’s Bash awarded Guinness World Record certificate

Sir Ben Ainslie accepting the Guinness World Record certificate for Bart's Bash. Image Guinness World
Sir Ben Ainslie accepting the Guinness World Record certificate for Bart’s Bash. Image Guinness World Records

Olympic sailing star Sir Ben Ainslie has accepted an official Guinness World Record Certificate for Bart’s Bash, the charity event which last year set a new record for largest sailing race in 24 hours (multiple venues).

An incredible 9,484 boats took to the water to race at 237 locations worldwide for the race back in September, with the first time event raising a massive £366,391.95 for the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation.

The charity was founded in memory of, and inspired by, Olympic Gold medallist Andrew “Bart” Simpson who died at the age of 36. Bart’s Bash was created both to remember the inspirational sailor and to raise funds for the charity’s work in sailing.

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A study of a keel failure and the loss of the Cheeki Rafiki

The recent loss in mid-Atlantic of the a.s.v. CHEEKI RAFIKI and the sad loss of four lives has brought very clearly to public and professional attention the problem of fin or pendulum keel detachment and consequent capsize of many apparently perfectly good boats. Keel failure is a very serious problem from a marine surveying point of view and the author has made a detailed study of a very similar loss that took place in February 2007 in the English Channel.

To put the matter into perspective it was first necessary to look into some published historic data. Because of their concern over the number of reported keel failures, the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) developed a Keel Structure Working Party to investigate and report on the problem. As a starter they produced a data base of known failures and investigated 72 of those that had been reported since 1984 and which involved no fewer than 24 deaths by drowning. The problem with the data, however, is that it records only the worst cases in which the keel had been pulled off or otherwise lost from the hull usually resulting in a capsize and an actual total loss. The marine surveyor investigating such a casualty will frequently find that it is very difficult to establish the prime cause of failure and, in particular, to differentiate between a loss caused by a design and/or manufacturing fault and a casualty resulting from human error such as a collision or a grounding. He must be particularly careful to avoid listening and paying credence to usually ill informed bar room or internet gossip.

It may be considered that the number of deaths when compared to the number of people sailing for pleasure is very small BUT IT IS STILL TWENTY FIVE DEATHS TOO MANY! Continue reading “A study of a keel failure and the loss of the Cheeki Rafiki”

RNLI lifeboat hero clocks up more than 1,000 missions

RNLI lifeboat hero, Stan Todd, has clocked up more than 1,000 missions saving many lives
RNLI lifeboat hero, Stan Todd, has clocked up more than 1,000 missions saving many lives

An RNLI crewman has clocked up more than 1,000 lifeboat launches to emergency calls – rescuing 295 people and saving 47 lives in reaching the milestone. Tower lifeboat station helmsman and former Brighton RNLI volunteer Stan Todd reached the impressive milestone in December, after clocking up more than 34 years saving lives at sea and on the River Thames in central London.

During that time he has plucked drowning swimmers from certain death, rescued sailors from sinking yachts in Hurricane winds and found frightened children drifting miles out to sea in rubber dinghies.

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SE Asia tanker hijacks rose in 2014

Tanker hijacks rose in 2014 despite global drop in sea piracy. Photo: German Navy
Tanker hijacks rose in 2014 despite global drop in sea piracy. Photo: German Navy

Tanker hijacks off South East Asia’s coasts caused a rise in global ship hijackings, up to 21 in 2014 from 12 in 2013, despite piracy at sea falling to its lowest level in eight years, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has revealed. Pirates took 442 crewmembers hostage, compared with 304 in 2013.

IMB’s annual piracy report shows 245 incidents were recorded worldwide in 2014 – a 44% drop since Somali piracy peaked in 2011. Somali pirates were responsible for 11 attacks, all of which were thwarted. However, IMB warns shipmasters to follow the industry’s Best Management Practices, as the threat of Somali piracy has not been eliminated.

Worldwide, 21 vessels were hijacked last year, 183 were boarded, and 13 fired upon. Pirates killed four crew members, injured 13 and kidnapped nine from their vessels.

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The challenging and colourful world of superyachts

The phenomenon of superyachts is known by most people and speaks to the imagination. They are often to be spotted at a tropical holiday destination or on television as back drop of Formula one races in Monaco and the Middle East. Superyachting can be seen as the ultimate leisure activity and is only accessible by the very few in the world due to the expensive nature of superyachts.

The global fleet of superyachts sailing the world’s oceans totals some 4,500 with those over 40 metres in length comprising around 1,500 in total . Nowadays the average number of superyachts over 40 metres delivered worldwide per year is 80, whereas only fifteen years ago this average was 30. It is therefore a fairly young industry that has experienced significant growth in demand in a relatively short period of time. Similar growth trends have been seen in the number of Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWIs), the target audience that are able to afford commissioning these vessels.

The superyacht industry is often perceived as small and therefore squeezed between the maritime leisure and professional marine industries. Yet the output of the superyacht building industry is similar in Compensated Gross Tonnage (CGT) to the passenger shipbuilding industry, which is often considered to be much larger . (CGT) is a macro-economic indicator that provides an estimate of the amount of work involved in building a ship of a certain type and size, ultimately expressed in man-hours per gross ton (GT). Currently also a global economic impact study is being conducted to analyse the economic value of this industry.

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An introduction to propeller cavitation

Feature article written by Eur. Ing. Jeffrey Casciani-Wood HonFIIMS

As the propeller turns it absorbs the torque developed by the engine at given revolutions i.e., the delivered horsepower – and converts that to the thrust which, in turn, pushes the vessel through the water. According to Bernoulli’s law the passage of a hydrofoil (propeller blade section) through the water causes a positive pressure on the face of the blade and a negative pressure on its back. It is the resolution of the pressures that results in the torque requirement and the thrust development of the propeller. The negative pressure causes any gas in solution in the water to evolve into bubbles similar to those found when opening a bottle of lemonade or champagne. These bubbles collapse and can cause hammer like impact loads on the blades often in excess of 7 kg/cm2. It is the collapse of these bubbles that results in the observed damage to the propeller blade surfaces.

The ratio of the absorbed power or the delivered thrust to the total blade area of the propeller is called, respectively, the power and the thrust loading. If either of these exceeds a certain value which depends upon a complex relationship between the propeller type, the flow in which it works and its mean depth below the water relative to its diameter then the flow pattern of the water over the propeller blades breaks down causing a severe loss of thrust and, eventually, physical damage to the surface of the propeller blades and, also, the rudder and local steelwork of the vessel’s hull. That flow breakdown is called cavitation and is strictly analogous to the water hammer often heard in old plumbing systems. Cavitation is a highly complex phenomenon and the pitting damage it causes usually – but not necessarily – appears on the back of the blade following a clear radial pattern. It can also appear as similar damage on the driving face of the propeller in which case, almost certainly, a further factor has entered the problem in the form of an incorrect pitch distribution along the length of the blade. Most small craft propellers are usually of constant pitch over the blade length and that regime is accurate enough for 99% of boats but on high speed boats with large propeller loading factors the pitch should vary over the length of the blade i.e., the boat should be fitted with a varying pitch propeller. The effects of cavitation including loss of speed and damage to the propeller blades can be minimised by ensuring that the propeller has sufficient blade area relative to the area of the circle described by the propeller blade tips.

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The Kra-Canal Project

Proposed route of the Kra-Canal through southern Thailand
Proposed route of the Kra-Canal through southern Thailand

Article written by Luc Verley MIIMS

The Kra-Canal project, sometimes also called the Thai-Canal, is an ambitious plan that would create a connection between the South Chinese Sea on the East in the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea in the West by passing through Southern Thailand.

This would shorten shipping distances by 1,200 Nautical miles around peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Ships would avoid passing through the piracy risky area in the Strait of Malacca. The Strait of Malacca is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, with 60,000 passages annually.

At the narrowest part of peninsular Thailand, in Kra Isthmus the width is only 44 kilometres, the challenge however is a mountain stretch which reaches 75 metres above sea-level. Therefore, most proposals for the Kra-Canal vary with lengths between 50 to 100 kilometres in order to minimise the excavation.

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British Marine Federation says growth continues in the UK leisure marine sector

British Marine Federation says leisure marine industry growth is set to continue
British Marine Federation says leisure marine industry growth is set to continue

According to new statistics published by the British Marine Federation at the 2015 CWM FX London Boat Show, the UK leisure marine industry sector continues to grow.

For the third consecutive year, the industry posted growth in 2013/14, with total revenue in the UK leisure, superyacht and small commercial marine industry totalling £2.93bn (a 1% increase on 2012/13).

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Alang shipbreaking workers operate in poor conditions

A new study says that Alang shipbreaking workers  continue to work in appalling conditions. Photo courtesy of The Hindu Business Line
A new study says that Alang shipbreaking workers continue to work in appalling conditions. Photo courtesy of The Hindu Business Line

The working and living conditions at the Alang shipbreaking yards in India, remain alarmingly poor, argues a new study published in the Economic & Political Weekly, a well known Indian Social Science journal. The research was commissioned and financed by the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) and was coordinated by Dr Geetanjoy Sahu from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). TISS’ findings are based on intensive field work in Alang from April 2013 to May 2014 including interviews with 300 shipbreaking workers as well as stakeholders from the industry, trade unions and authorities.

The study finds that the “costs to workers’ health and the environment are alarming” while the profit margins for both the yard owners and the contractors providing the labour force are extremely high. Dr Sahu reports that the approximately 35,000 unorganised migrant workers at the Alang shipbreaking yards continue to live in shanty dwellings without adequate facilities for drinking water, sanitation and electricity. The authorities have set up only 12 showers and six toilets. As a result, “workers are forced to defecate in the open”.

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Panama Canal expansion now 84% complete as gate installation begins

The Panama Canal expansion program is gathering pace with the arrival of the massive new lock gates. Photo courtesy ACP
The Panama Canal expansion program is gathering pace with the arrival of the massive new lock gates. Photo courtesy ACP

The last gate to arrive has now completed the transfer of the eight gates to the Pacific construction side as the Panama Canal expansion gathers momentum. The transits began on October 22 to move all eight gates through the waterway aboard a barge from the Atlantic temporary dock to the Pacific, assisted by Panama Canal tugs.

Once finished, the Panama Canal expansion program will have added new locks that in total have 16 rolling gates, eight in the Pacific and eight in the Atlantic. Since August 2013, the gates have been arriving in staggered shipments from Italy on a Post-Panamax vessel to a temporary dock in the Atlantic side. The last shipment arrived in November 2014.

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