Shipping

Maersk Tankers completes first drone delivery at sea

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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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DNV GL, Gard and The Swedish Club work together to help reduce anchor losses

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Anchor losses are becoming a bigger problem says recent research
Anchor losses are becoming a bigger problem says recent research

The root cause of many groundings and collisions is lost anchors which are also among the top five reasons for claims costs overall. A rising number of anchor losses reported over the last several years prompted DNV GL, Gard and The Swedish Club to investigate this issue. Based on an analysis of damage cases involving anchor and anchor chain losses, the project partners have issued a presentation identifying the most frequent technical and operational causes, and some steps crews and operators can take to address them.

“One of the key takeaways of our investigation is the importance of the officers and crew being aware of the environmental loads their equipment is designed for,” says Håkon Skaret, Senior Principal Engineer at DNV GL. “If these limits are not taken account of in shipboard anchoring procedures, there can be significant damage to the vessel – even beyond the loss of anchor and chain. Many anchor losses are avoidable, if the proper maintenance and handling procedures are adhered to.”

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IMO publicly asserts: No going back on container weighing

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containersIMO Senior Deputy Director for Marine Technology and Cargoes, Maritime Safety Division, Joseph Westwood-Booth, recently told an audience at the ICHCA conference in Barcelona that he wanted to make it “perfectly clear” that there would be “no delays” to the SOLAS amendment on container weighing.

The beginning of March, 2016 has brought significant ambiguity to the container weighing debate, with US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Paul Thomas telling the TPM Conference that he believes the impending SOLAS guidelines on container weight verification “are not mandatory”.

Following this, the Global Consolidators Working Group wrote a letter to the IMO stating that the container weighing rule is “too vague” to implement.

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Wärtsilä research project eliminates problem of singing propellers

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Wärtsilä research finds the reasons for singing propellers
Wärtsilä research finds the reasons for singing propellers

A joint research project carried out by Wärtsilä and City University London has succeeded in identifying the specific design parameters that create the risk of singing propellers. Though rare, singing propellers are nevertheless an annoying problem that occurs as a strong tonal noise originating from the propeller, thus causing a negative effect to onboard comfort levels. The research programme reached its conclusions in December 2015.

The problem has long been recognised in the marine industry. While the general perception has been that the frequency of the propeller blades’ vibration mode coincides with the frequency of the hydrodynamic excitation forces at the trailing edge of the blades, the current research indicates that there is more complexity and sensitiveness to this hypothesis.

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New DNV GL Class notation announced: Scrubber Ready

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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”

MCA makes important changes to the Passenger Vessel Certificate

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The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is changing the way a Passenger Vessel certificate is issued. These have, up until now, been a combined Passenger Certificate (PC) and Domestic Safety Management Certificate (DSMC) which have been valid for five years with annual endorsements.

The MCA is now splitting the one certificate into two certificates; a PC and a DSMC. The PC will only be valid for one year whilst the DSMC will be valid for five years, but will need an interim audit on the 2nd or 3rd anniversary that the certificate was issued. The MCA has stated that this audit would take place during the running trials to minimise costs. A full crew will be required and drills will need to be performed to the satisfaction of the MCA. As well as this, owners will now be required to submit to the MCA an annual self-assessment against their Safety Management System (SMS).

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Issues caused by poorly constructed heaving lines

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Shipowners’ P&I Club warns about the weight capacity of heaving lines. This image was released by the United States Navy
Shipowners’ P&I Club warns about the weight capacity of heaving lines. This image was released by the United States Navy

The Shipowners’ P&I Club is keen to draw the attention of operators to the use of poorly constructed heaving lines with particular focus on the weights being used on the end of them. These can cause severe injury to crew or damage to the vessel on impact. The same can be said for heavy objects enclosed within monkeys fists which can result in similar injuries.

The ‘Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers’ Chapter 26 section 26.3.5 states:
“To prevent personal injury to those receiving heaving lines, the ‘monkey’s fist’ should be made with rope only and must not contain added weighting material. Safe alternatives include a small high-visibility soft pouch, filled with fast-draining pea shingle or similar, with a weight of not more than 0.5 kg. Under no circumstances is a line to be weighted by items such as shackles, bolts or nuts, or twist locks”.

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Bulk carrier ventilation and moisture damage issues reviewed

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Bulk carrier ventilation is the topic addressed in the London P&I Club's February newsletter
Bulk carrier ventilation is the topic addressed in the London P&I Club’s February newsletter

Moisture damage is the source of a significant number of cargo claims. Claimants allege that this is brought about by the ship’s failure to ventilate correctly, resulting in the development of condensation (known as “sweat”). This sweat can lead to the deterioration of a number of bulk cargoes such as grain, seedcake and steel surfaces. All modern bulk carriers are fitted with some form of ventilation, either natural or mechanical, which can be used to minimise the formation of sweat. The London P&I Club has launched new publication LP Focus to address all issues related to bulk carrier ventilation.

Ventilation can also be used for the removal of taint, fumigate gases, or other gases as directed by the shipper. These forms of ventilation only provide surface ventilation, i.e. lacking the ability to penetrate a bulk stow, and therefore cannot continue to maintain an equilibrium in conditioning a cargo such as grain within a silo.

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Maritime New Zealand releases safety bulletin on IHI crane block failures on log ship deck cranes

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Maritime New Zealand warns of IHI deck crane issues on log ships
Maritime New Zealand warns of IHI deck crane issues on log ships

Maritime New Zealand has released a Safety Bulletin to draw attention to a number of recent crane block failures on IHI and IHI-WMMP deck cranes on log ships. Advice from the manufacturer is available as to the correct operation of the cranes and their recommended remedial action.

There have been a number of failures of crane blocks on 30 tonne IHI deck cranes on log ships in New Zealand in previous years. Fortunately there have been no serious injuries as a result of these failures to date, but any crane failure is potentially very serious.

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

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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”

New PrimeShip-HULL system released by ClassNK

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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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North America’s inaugural LNG marine fuel terminal open for business

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Harvey Energy. Image courtesy of Harvey Gulf
Harvey Energy. Image courtesy of Harvey Gulf

Less than a year after the delivery of the M/V Harvey Energy, America’s first LNG powered vessel, Harvey Gulf has accomplished another first when it completed a successful LNG bunkering of the energy from the newly constructed LNG terminal at its operation base in Port Fourchon, La. The bunkering included the transfer of 43,000 gallons of LNG in approximately 2.25 hours without reported incident.

The terminal is designed to meet the requirements of 33 CFR part 127 NFPA 59A, and able to deliver LNG at a pumping rate of 550 GMP. The total on site storage is approximately 270,000 gallons contained in three 90,000 USG type “C” vacuum insulated tanks.

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