The Edith Maersk, the largest vessel ever to enter the River Thames, arrived at DP World London Gateway on Sunday 19 October.
The 396 metre long, 56 metre wide ship has a draught of 16 metres and can carry up to 15,500 teu.
The ship, which is just weeks shy of celebrating its first anniversary, left the terminal on Sunday night bound for Singapore.
Continue reading “Edith Maersk docks at DP World London Gateway”
Cammell Laird has completed its first aircraft carrier centre blocks for a second ship set to become the centrepiece of Britain’s military capability.
The Birkenhead marine and engineering services company has fabricated and outfitted two blocks for the new PRINCE OF WALES aircraft carrier, which are being transported by sea to the Rosyth shipyard in Scotland.
Construction of the blocks began in July 2013 and has involved a workforce of 250 including contractors. Cammell Laird is playing a key role in the aircraft carrier project, the biggest UK engineering project since the London Olympics.
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Japanese classification society ClassNK and Nakashima Propeller Co., Ltd., have installed the world’s first carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) propeller on a main propulsion system of a merchant vessel.
The CFRP propeller was installed on the Taiko Maru, a domestic 499 GT chemical tanker owned by Sowa Kaiun YK by Marugame-based Koa industry Co., Ltd. in May 2014. The CFRP propeller installed on the vessel was developed and produced by Nakashima Propeller Co., Ltd., with support from ClassNK, which granted approval for the design and manufacturing process of the CFRP propeller, as well as provided research and funding support for the project as part of the ClassNK Joint R&D for Industry Program. Despite its ultra-lightweight composition, CFRP exhibits the same, if not superior strength, to the aluminum-bronze composite materials used in conventional propellers, according to ClassNK. Due to the light weight of the propeller, propeller shafts can be manufactured with smaller diameters, contributing to a significant reduction in weight and fuel costs.
Continue reading “Plastic main propellers fitted for the first time”
As the Panama Canal prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary, insurers are warning of the increased risks that will arise from its plan to double the cargo carrying capacity of ships transiting one of the world’s most important waterways. Every year, over 12,000 oceangoing ships navigate the canal, a figure which could increase significantly following the anticipated opening of the new locks in 2015. It is forecast the expansion will enable between 12 and 14 larger vessels per day (approximately 4,750 additional ships per year) to pass through the canal. Significantly, many of these ships are expected to be new-Panamax class container vessels of 12,600 teu, which are far larger than the existing largest vessels able to access the canal (4,400 teu).
AGCS experts warn the increased traffic and larger vessels may challenge the Panama Canal’s improved safety record over the past decade with the risks exacerbated through the initial period of the canal opening. Captain Rahul Khanna, AGCS’s Global Head of Marine Risk Consulting, explains the potential risk management impact of this expansion: “Larger ships automatically pose greater risks. The sheer amount of cargo carried means a serious casualty has the potential to lead to a sizeable loss and greater disruption. For example, a fully-loaded new-Panamax 12,600 teu container ship is as long as four football fields with a beam of up to 160 feet and could have an insured cargo value alone of $250 million.”
Continue reading “New Panama Canal means increased insurance risks”
The Nautical Institute appealed to the maritime industry to help it get a copy of its free publication The Navigator onboard every SOLAS vessel to encourage the professionalism of watchkeepers.
The international professional membership organisation is reacting to concerns from the industry that casualties and near misses from navigational errors are increasing, and that navigational competence needs to be continually updated.
“Finding ways to increase the competence and professionalism of officers of the watch is one of the main concerns of our members,” Chief Executive Mr Philip Wake told a gathering of senior industry figures. “One of the ways we are working towards this goal is through our free publication The Navigator, which appears three times a year, highlighting some of the most important issues for them.”
He added: “In the year and a half since we began production, the publication has become a real success, with students, cadets and young officers telling us how much they appreciate it. But the challenge, as always, is getting the message to those people – and onboard those vessels – that will benefit the most.
“Now, thanks to the generosity of IFAN, the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation, we are in a position to put a copy on the bridge of every SOLAS vessel – potentially up to 100,000 magazines. In that way, we hope that watchkeepers will sign up to the digital version.”
IMO has recently published MEPC Circ. 833 ‘Guidelines For The Reduction Of Underwater Noise From Commercial Shipping To Address Adverse Impacts On Marine Life’, which sets out to advise on design and operational solutions that could be adopted to reduce underwater radiated noise.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed the (ISO/PAS) 17208-1 Acoustics, Quantities and procedures for description and measurement of underwater sound from ships. Part 1: General requirements for measurements in deep water and ISO/DIS 16554. Ship and marine technology. Measurement and reporting of underwater sound radiated from merchant ships and deep water measurement.
Paolo Moretti, Head of the Marine Business Line, RINA Services, said, “Noise is the new pollution. The international community has raised concern that the underwater noise generated by commercial shipping may have negative consequences on marine life, especially marine mammals.
Continue reading “RINA classification society to tackle noise pollution”
Ahead of the offical opening of the new third set of locks, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has announced it will charter a Post-Panamax vessel to be used for training purposes in the locks.
The Executive Vice President of Operations Esteban Saenz reported that the Panama Canal will charter a Post-Panamax ship to train pilots and tugboat captains that will assist in transits through the new lane. Saenz went on to add that the vessel will be used several months before the opening of the expanded Canal to test the new locks.
“This is one of the best ways to train our pilots and tug captains in the joint effort required to transit through the two new lock complexes of the expanded Canal,” said Saenz. He added that since 2011 the Panama Canal has promoted workforce training for the operation of the expanded waterway.
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SOHAR Port and Freezone, a deep sea port in the Middle East have reached a milestone with the arrival of the first 10,000 TEU ship at the newly expanded Oman International Container Terminal (OICT).
Under the watchful eye of His Excellency Dr Ahmed Mohammed Salem Al-Futaisi, Minister for Transport and Communication, SOHAR, the first 10,000 (TEU) ship, APL shipping line’s Savannah, to dock in the Port was welcomed.
OICT signed the development agreement early last year for expansion of a 70-hectare container terminal at SOHAR. The development will increase capacity from 800,000 TEU to 1,500,000 TEU and will also see yard space more than double from 28 hectares, installation of seven post-panamax quay cranes and 14 rubber-tyred gantry cranes.
The Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) conducted investigations to determine the causes of the three collisions resulting in oil spills in the Singapore Port waters and Singapore Strait earlier this year.
MPA also formed a Safety Review Committee (SRC) to review the overall system of navigational safety in Singapore Port waters and Singapore Strait. SRC was comprised of experts from MPA, Ministry of Transport, the local academia and shipping industry. The findings of the investigations showed that human error and poor judgment of the situation were the main causes of the three collisions. There was a lack of situational awareness of the bridge teams, including the pilots, although MPA’s Port Operations Control Centre (POCC) had provided advisories and warnings of the traffic situation to the bridge teams. The bridge teams also did not make use of all available means at their disposal, such as the Automatic Identification System (AIS), Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA), Radar, and Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) in order to to avoid the collisions.
Continue reading “Human error the cause of Singapore accidents”
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