Proper shaft alignment is a key issue on ships, especially on large vessels such as bulk carriers, tankers, container-ships and gas carriers. Any wrong alignment on the shaft can result in undesirable vibrations and higher operating costs. As a result there may be damages in stern tube bearings, propulsion system, M/E and eventually gear box.
Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has delivered the first of its newly-developed permanent magnet tunnel thruster (TT-PM) to Norwegian company Olympic Shipping, who will operate the thruster on their vessel Olympic Octopus.
With rising fuel prices and impending environmental regulations, the pressure is on for more efficient and environmentally friendly ships. DNV in the joint industry project, FellowSHIP, developed a 330 kW fuel cell which was successfully installed, and demonstrated in smooth operation for more than 7000 hours on board the offshore supply vessel Viking Lady.
The design has been optimized for an operating profile along the Far East to Europe trade route involving nine speed and draught combinations. The installed propulsive power could be reduced by about 16 per cent compared to the initial hullform optimized for one draft & speed condition. The first of the new 13,800 TEU ships is under construction at Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and will be delivered next year.
Earlier this month the International Electrotechnical Commission has published its Utility connections in port – Part 1: High Voltage Shore Connection (HVSC) Systems – General requirements. The new standard IEC/ISO/IEEE 80005-1:2012(E) describes high voltage shore connection (HVSC) systems, on board the ship and on shore, to supply the ship with electrical power from shore.
Recently the west of England P&I released a Loss Prevention Bulletin on the “Cappuccino Effect” due to a recent bunker dispute involving a vessel and a bunker supplier. The vessel, a bulk carrier, arrived in Singapore and began to bunker 900 tonnes of high sulphur fuel oil. The crew was alerted to the fact that something was wrong by the rattling of the float valves situated inside the fuel tank vent head bonnets. It was found that air was escaping from the vents at a greater rate than would normally be expected. In addition, the bunker supply hose lying on deck was seen to be jerking violently.
A shipping company headquartered in Italy and the chief engineer of one of its ships were sentenced today in federal court in Mobile, Ala., for deliberately falsifying records to conceal discharges of oily wastewater from the ship directly into the sea. Giusseppe Bottiglieri Shipping Company S.P.A, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Ginny Granade in the Southern District of Alabama to pay a $1 million criminal fine, serve four years of probation, and make a $300,000 community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The company must also fund and implement a comprehensive environmental compliance plan during the term of probation. Chief Engineer Vito La Forgia was sentenced by Judge Granade to one month in jail.
In a few days (1 August 2012) the control of the sulphur content in fuel oil for ships operating within the designated North American Emission Control Area will be implemented. IMO’s MEPC.1/Circ.723 provides the boundary of the Emission Control Area. After 1 August 2012, the limit value of the sulphur content of any fuel oil used onboard vessels within North America ECA will change from 3.50% m/m to 1.00% m/m.
Nippon Yusen Kaisha and two NYK Group companies, the Monohakobi Technology Institute (MTI) and NYK-Hinode Line Ltd., have completed two years of experiments on the air-lubrication systems installed on two of the group’s module carriers, Yamato and Yamatai, and resultantly confirmed an average 6 percent reduction in CO2 emissions during actual sea passage.
Underwater-welding for marine maintenance and repair jobs bypasses the need to pull the structure out of the sea and saves much valuable time and therefore it is considered as an economical advantageous method when there is little time or due to operational requirements. The main difficulties in underwater welding are the presence of a higher pressure due to the water head under which welding takes place, chilling action of the water on the weld metal (which might change the metallurgical structures and properties), the possibility of producing the arc mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen in pockets, which might set up an explosion, and the common danger sustained by divers, of having nitrogen diffused in the blood in dangerous proportions.
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Officer of the Watch 