TANKERTANKEROperatorOperator · we’ve got some tugs that can go as fast as 16 knots with a direct...

MAY 2008 www.tankeroperator.com

Features:UK flies the flag

Turkey gets its act together

Investment slowing?

Claims - a cause for concern

Engine builders move East

ECDIS gains in popularity

Features:UK flies the flag

Turkey gets its act together

Investment slowing?

Claims - a cause for concern

Engine builders move East

ECDIS gains in popularity

TANKEROperatorTANKEROperator

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© C

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Insurance Losses mounting

Technology

24 Propulsion systems - New turbocharger

Licensees expandedPrimeServe expands portfolioFinnish giant looks to Asia

32 Condition monitoring - Bearing inspections made easy

36 ECDIS - UKHO ramps up serviceSystems gain recognitionEducation vital

40 Technology news - Industry highlights

May 2008 TANKEROperator 01

Vol 7 No 6Tanker Operator

Magazine Ltd213 Marsh Wall

London E14 9FJ, UKwww.tankeroperator.com

PUBLISHER/EVENTS/SUBSCRIPTIONS

Karl JefferyTel: +44 (0)20 7510 4935

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EDITORIan Cochran

Tel: +44 (0)20 7510 [email protected]

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TANKEROperator ContentsNewsIMO’s MEPC results

UK Report

Shipping on a rollLoss prevention the keyFlag flying high

Turkish Report

Turkish Straits upgradeOwners beef up fleets

FinanceWhere will it all end?

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Front cover photo IACS chairman Tor Egil

Svensen receives the

inaugural Poseidon

Challenge Award from

EMSA’s Willem de Ruiter

during a ceremony at

Istanbul. Svensen is also coo of DNV

Maritime. Photo credit - Intertanko

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10

Dear Readers

Last month, I found myself among 350 tanker

people who attended Intertanko's Istanbul

Tanker Event.

The three-day event was held in a swish

hotel with views of passing tankers on the

Bosporus.

Your Editor was among the participants

looking to get a current feel for the tanker

sector of the shipping industry.

I came away with positive vibes having

listened intently to the presentations given on

a wide variety of subjects, all of which had a

relevance to the tanker sector.

It was also evident to me just how much the

Turkish shipping community had grown since

my last visit to this vibrant metropolis a few

years ago. Investment in new and secondhand

vessels, shipyards and a new attitude

embracing quality and safety was clear for all

to see.

One illustration was the Bosporus itself,

which years ago, was an accident waiting to

happen. Now there is a vessel traffic system

installed and a convoy system introduced,

whereby vessels transit in one direction for a

12-hour period.

A worrying aspect, however, was that the

pilotage was not still mandatory, although well

over 90% of the vessels of over 200 m in

length took pilots, which seemed rather bizarre

to me.

Despite the presence of pipelines and more

to come, passing tanker traffic continues to

grow, mainly exporting Russian oil from the

Black Sea loading terminals, plus large LPG

carriers serving Yuzhnyy, near Odessa.

I found that the theme of continuous

improvement rang through the event, but

despite this, there were concerns expressed

about the continuing rise of reported 'incidents'

worldwide.

Pools were discussed under the banner of

European Competition Law, a presentation

that was keenly listened to by IACS Richard

Leslie and DNV's Tor Egil Svensen, the

current IACS chairman.

The Turkish Minister of Transportation even

refrained from giving a political speech and

instead gave us a breakdown of Turkish

shipping, in which he seemed incredibly well

informed for a politician.

Other topics covered included vetting and

the human element, shipbuilding, chemical

shipping, air emissions, chartering, markets

and of course not forgetting Intertanko's

baby - the 'Poseidon Challenge', which

unlike that projected in the book and film

'Poseidon Adventure', does not look likely

to capsize.

Indeed, Intertanko put on quite a show and

revelled in the fact that it now boasts some

80% of the independent tanker tonnage as

members and more than 330 associate

members drawn from many different

shipping sectors.

Intertanko even admitted to me that it had

been in dialogue with OCIMF over TMSA 2,

while it also took some credit for the IMO's

MARPOL Annex VI agreement announced

earlier last month.

Apart from the dinners in sumptuous

surroundings complete with belly dancers, this

was the time for networking. One of the

highlights of the three-day event was the first

'Poseidon Challenge' award, which was

presented to IACS for its work on the common

structural rules and protective coatings.

Running such an organisation cannot be

easy as the membership is made up of

shipping entrepreneurs, some of which have

their own agendas and who are not scared to

voice their opinions, or disagree with policy

decisions.

Certainly, the executive committee meetings

will probably be livelier with the addition of

Nordic American Tankers' Herbjorn Hansson

and it was poignant to hear that Eletson's

Costas Kertsikoff was elected to the

committee some years after his father had

chaired the organisation.

Many years ago during its formative

period, Intertanko used to be run from Oslo

as it was heavily backed by private

Scandinavian tanker owners. Now it has a

relatively large secretariat based in the City

of London, but still retains a strong presence

in the Norwegian capital.

Other offices can be found in Singapore and

Arlington (Virginia) and more recently another

branch was opened in Brussels, no doubt to

keep a wary eye on what is being discussed by

the EU bureaucrats.

All in all, it was a good three days spent in

splendid surroundings with the 'great and the

good' of the tanker industry. One of the

highlights was seeing Thenamaris' Emmanuel

Vordonis rushing through a reception with

camera in hand to witness his fully loaded

Aframax Seabravery pass in front of our noses

as if on cue.

Roll on Tokyo 2009!

Yours truly,

Ian Cochran,

Editor

COMMENT

A letter from Istanbul

TO

TANKEROperator May 200802

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MARPOL Annex VI

Regulations for the Prevention of

Air Pollution from Ships entered

into force in May 2005 and has,

so far, been ratified by 49

countries, representing

approximately 74.77% of the

gross tonnage of the world's

merchant shipping fleet.

The proposed draft

amendments to Annex VI and the

NOx Technical Code will now be

submitted to MEPC 58 (which

meets from 6th to 10th October

this year) for adoption, in

accordance with an agreed

timetable. This would see the

revised Annex VI enter into force

in 2010.

The work on greenhouse gases

is scheduled for completion in

2009, in time for IMO to submit a

position paper to the Copenhagen

Conference (December 2009)

called for by last year's

Conference in Bali on climate

change.

SOx and PM

Following intense efforts to find a

workable solution on a highly

controversial matter and the

subject of extensive debate in its

air pollution working group, the

committee agreed with a series of

progressive standards in the

amended regulation 14 Sulphur

Oxides (SOx) and Particulate

Matter (PM) that would result in

significant reduction of SOx and

PM emissions from ships.

The principal elements are:

The sulphur limit applicable

in ECAs beginning on 1st

March 2010 would be 1.%

(10,000 ppm), reduced from

the current 1.50% (15,000

ppm);

The global sulphur cap would

be reduced to 3.50% (35,000

ppm), from the current 4.50%

(45,000 ppm), effective from

1st January 2012;

The sulphur limit applicable in

ECAs effective from 1st

January 2015 would be 0.10 %

(1,000 ppm);

The global sulphur cap would

be reduced to 0.50% (5,000

ppm) effective from 1st

January 2020, subject to a

feasibility review to be

completed no later than 2018.

Should the 2018 review reach

a negative conclusion, the

effective date would default to

1st January 2025;

Introduction of a fuel

availability provision under

regulation 18 Fuel Oil

Availability and Quality that

outlines what actions are

appropriate should a ship be

unable to obtain the fuel

necessary to comply with a

given requirement under

regulation 14.

Meanwhile, the MEPC approved

an MEPC.1 Circular containing

Unified Interpretations related to

the verification of sulphur content

in fuel oil. The Unified

Interpretations should be applied

until the 2008 amendments to

MARPOL Annex VI enter into

force. The circular also gives, in

an appendix, Fuel Oil Verification

Procedure for MARPOL Annex VI

Fuel Samples.

NOx regulations: The MEPC

agreed amendments confirming

the proposed three-tier structure

for new engines, which would set

progressively tighter nitrogen

oxide emission standards

depending on the date of their

installation.

Tier I applies to a diesel engine

which is installed on a ship

constructed on or after 1st

January 2000 and prior to 1st

January 2011 and represents the

17 g/kW standard stipulated in

the existing Annex VI.

Tier II is for an engine installed

on a ship constructed on or after

1st January 2011, which would be

reduced to 14.4 g/kWh.

For Tier III, NOx emission

levels on a ship's engine where

the vessel is constructed on or

after 1st January 2016, which

would be reduced to 3.4 g/kWh,

when the ship is operating in a

designated ECA. Outside thus

area, Tier II limits apply.

Building re-opened for

business, plus an

historic series of

announcements from

MEPC 57, kicked the

year off with a bang.

On 22nd April, 2008 the IMO

became fully operational, once

again, from its headquarters on

London's Albert Embankment,

following a 20-month period in

temporary accommodation while

the building underwent major

refurbishment.

The first major meeting to be

held in the refurbished

headquarters will be the 84th

session of the Maritime Safety

Committee (MSC), which takes

place between 7th and 16th May.

Following the meeting, the

building will be formally re-

opened in a special ceremony in

mid-June to coincide with the

100th session of the IMO

Council.

MARPOL amendments

Perhaps one of the most

important announcements to

come out of the IMO for some

time came at the end of MEPC

57 when the committee said that

it had approved proposed

amendments to the MARPOL

Annex VI regulations to

reduce harmful emissions

from ships. This should be

endorsed at the next MEPC

meeting in October.

The main changes will see a

progressive reduction in sulphur

oxide (SOx) emissions, with the

global sulphur cap reduced

initially to 3.50% (from the

current 4.50%), effective 1st

January 2012; then progressively

to 0.50 %, effective 1st January

2020, subject to a feasibility

review to be completed no later

than 2018.

The limits applicable in

Sulphur Emission Control Areas

(SECAs) would be reduced to

1%, beginning 1st March, 2010

(from the current 1.50 %); being

further reduced to 0.10% ,

effective 1st January, 2015.

Progressive reductions in

marine engines' nitrogen oxide

(NOx) emissions were also

agreed, with the most stringent

controls on so-called 'Tier III'

engines, which are those installed

on vessels constructed on or after

1st January, 2016, operating in

Emission Control Areas (ECAs).

Under the revised Annex VI an

ECA can be designated for SOx

and particulate matter, or NOx, or

all three types of emissions,

subject to a proposal from a party

or parties to the Annex, which

would then be considered for

adoption, if supported by a

demonstrated need to prevent,

reduce and control one or all

three of those emissions

from ships.

In the current Annex VI, there

are two SECAs designated,

namely, the Baltic Sea and the

North Sea area, which also

includes the English Channel.

IMO Secretary-General

Efthimios Mitropoulos said: "The

fact that representatives of some

100 Governments were able to

reach decisions by consensus on

complicated issues of great

importance to the environment

not only bears testimony to the

responsible manner with which

the members address

environmental matters nowadays,

but also to the great results that

can be achieved when states, with

the same concerns and

determination to produce

meaningful solutions to global

problems, work together under

the auspices of IMO".

Mitropoulos also commended

the progress in work on

greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)

from shipping, including the

search for practical means to

devise any mechanisms deemed

appropriate to address this

important issue. He welcomed the

MEPC's endorsement of his

proposal to expedite the IMO's

related work, in particular, as

regards the CO2 emission

indexing scheme and the CO2emission baseline(s).

INDUSTRY - NEWS FEATURE


Historic start to the year for the IMO


INDUSTRY - NEWS FEATURE

The Oslo meeting was

instructed to also look at market-

based, operational and technical

measures identified by the MEPC

57 Working Group on GHG-

related issues.

These measures were broadly

welcomed by the shipping

community, including the

International Chamber of

Shipping and Intertanko, both of

which sent messages of support

for the proposals.

Other initiatives

In addition to approving

proposed amendments to the

MARPOL Annex VI, the

committee, among other things,

also reviewed the current draft of

a proposed ship recycling

convention, pursued its work on

issues related to the ballast water

management convention,

designated the

Papahãnaumokuãkea Marine

National Monument as a

Particularly Sensitive Sea Area

and agreed that the discharge

requirements in respect of the

Mediterranean area would take

effect on 1st May, 2009.

Recycling of ships

Substantial progress was made in

developing the draft text of the

International Convention for the

Safe and Environmentally Sound

Recycling of Ships. This is

meant to provide globally

applicable ship recycling

regulations for international

shipping and for recycling

activities. The work paves the

way for the approval of the draft

at the October meeting, taking

the process one step closer to the

holding of a diplomatic

Existing engines: The MEPC

agreed a NOx emission limit of

17.0 g/kW for a diesel engine

with a power output of more than

5,000 kW and a displacement per

cylinder at, or above, 90 litres

installed on a ship constructed on

or after 1st January 1990 but

prior to 1st January 2000.

Cleaning systems: The MEPC

also agreed, with a view to

adoption by an MEPC

resolution, the draft revised

Guidelines for Exhaust Gas

Cleaning Systems. It was agreed

to forward the interim

washwater discharge criteria, to

be included in the guidelines, to

the joint group of experts on

scientific aspects of marine

environmental protection

(GESAMP) for its review and

comment. The interim washwater

discharge criteria will be revised

in the future as more data

becomes available on the

contents of the discharged

washwater and its potential

effects on the marine

environment, taking into account

any advice given by GESAMP.

Halons: The MEPC approved

a draft MSC-MEPC Circular on

the decreasing availability of

halons and forwarded it to the

Maritime Safety Committee

(MSC) for consideration and

concurrent decision.

VOCs: Draft guidelines for

the development of a VOC

management plan were

approved, with a view to

adoption at MEPC 58. The

purpose of the VOC

management plan is to ensure

that the operation of a tanker, to

which regulation 15 of Annex VI

applies, prevents or minimises

VOC emissions to the extent

possible. Regulation 15 requires

anybody regulating tankers for

VOC emissions to submit a

notification to the IMO, which

should include information on

the size of tankers to be

controlled, the cargoes requiring

vapour emission control systems,

and the effective date of such

control.

Liaison with ISO: The

MEPC instructed the IMO

secretariat to invite the

International Standardisation

Organisation (ISO) to consider

the development of a fuel oil

specification addressing air

quality, ship safety, engine

performance and crew health,

with recommendations for future

consideration by IMO and, if

feasible, to report back to the

committee at its October

session.

GHG: Reflecting the

committee's continuous

determination to reduce green

house gas (GHG) emissions

emanating from shipping

operations, the MEPC endorsed a

proposal to expedite the work

undertaken on GHG emissions, in

particular as regards developing

the CO2 emission indexing

scheme and the CO2 emission

baseline(s).

The MEPC agreed that a

coherent and comprehensive

future IMO regulatory framework

on GHG emissions from ships

should be:

Effective in contributing to the

reduction of total global GHG

emissions;

Binding and equally

applicable to all flag states in

order to avoid evasion;

Cost-effective;

Able to limit - or at least -

effectively minimise

competitive distortion;

Based on sustainable

environmental development

without penalising global trade

and growth;

Based on a goal-based

approach and not prescribe

specific methods;

Supportive of promoting and

facilitating technical

innovation and R&D in the

entire shipping sector;

Accommodating to leading

technologies in the field of

energy efficiency;

Practical, transparent, fraud

free and easy to administer.

Short-term measures include a

proposal to establish a global

levy scheme on marine bunker

fuel to achieve GHG emission

reductions. Under this scheme,

all ships engaged in international

voyages would be subjected to a

bunker levy established at a

given cost level per tonne of fuel

bunkered. With such a scheme

in place, a baseline of fuel used

and CO2 emissions would be

obtained.

Some of the measures

discussed could lead to

immediate reduction of CO2emissions and should be

implemented as soon as possible.

The MEPC endorsed the view of

the working group that a

resolution (to be adopted by the

MEPC and/or assembly), urging

the shipping industry and other

related entities to do so, should

be developed at an inter-

sessional meeting of the GHG

working group to be held in Oslo

from 23rd to 27th June.

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However, not everybody

was happy with the

MEPC's decisions.

According to one source quoting

UNCTAD, the IMO has grossly

underestimated the future growth

in CO2 emissions from ships by

over 500 mill tonnes per year.

This is the equivalent of the

entire current emissions output

from aviation, according to DK

Group, a leading Dutch marine

technology company. DK also

said that it believed that measures

to reduce shipping's carbon

footprint should be made

mandatory, not voluntarily, as

presently stipulated by the IMO.

A report prepared for the IMO

in December 2007 predicted

marine fuel consumption would

rise to 486 mill tonnes by 2020

with CO2 levels from ships rising

to 1,475 mill tonnes over the

same period. These figures were

claimed to be yet another increase

on previous figures used during

discussions at the IMO's MEPC

meeting in July 2007, according

to DK.

In February, CO2 levels from

ships were recognised as 1.12 bill

tonnes by the IMO's Bulk Liquid

Gases (BLG) working group.

However, DK's ceo Christian

Eyde Møller, said that his

company has already warned -

during a presentation at the

MEPC meeting in July 2007 -

that the IMO's emission

estimates at the time were far

too low.

"We continue to believe the

IMO is grossly underestimating

future growth in shipping. We

maintain that CO2 emissions

from ships could exceed 2 bill

tonnes in 2020, rather than the

IMO's 1.475 bill estimate. This is

substantiated by simple

calculations based on the huge

amount of newbuild vessels on

the orderbook and the amount of

fuel required to power them.

"In three years from the start of

2007 until the end of 2009 the

world fleet will grow by around

21% according to orderbooks -

equating to a rise of 240 mill

tonnes of CO2. It is predicted that

the growth in the world fleet will

continue at a minimum of 5-7%

per annum," Møller said.

"We should not cheat ourselves

about growth in CO2 output.

Regulators should have the

courage to challenge the industry

to deliver improvements in fuel

efficiency and emissions," Møller

continued, adding that the only

way to do that was to impose

mandatory measures. The IMO

recently stated in its report at the

BLG meeting that any current

measures to reduce emissions

should be conducted on a

voluntary basis.

At the latest MEPC meeting on

4th April, the IMO agreed to

implement new measures that

will likely see a phase-in of

distillates or 'cleaner fuels' and

increased scrubbing technology

over the next 12 years.

Moller added: "Costs of bunker

fuel will also spiral as the

shipping industry competes on

price for cleaner fuels with other

sectors such as the automobile

industry."

There are technologies that

already exist that can improve

fuel efficiency on existing vessels

by up to 10%, and by 30% to

40% on newbuilds, according to

the BLG's latest report released in

February.

"Shipowners understand the

economic value of fuel

efficiency," Møller observed.

"With fuel costs having gone up

from 20% to 50% of a vessel's

operational costs in recent years

and representing a huge $160 bill

per year to the shipping sector,

every per cent saved in fuel can

have a major impact on

profitability for owners."

The figures quoted came from

the United Nations Conference on

Trade and Development

(UNCTAD ), which stated in its

annual report 'Review of

Maritime Transport' that 2005

saw a net increase in the

worldwide fleet of 7.2%. At the

beginning of 2007, the world fleet

broke the 1 bill dwt mark for the

first time to reach 1.04 bill dwt

after expanding by 8.6%.

When linking that with actual

newbuildings in 2007 and order

books for 2008 and 2009 an

annual growth of a minimum of

7% after demolition of surplus

tonnage was taken into account.

Even if the most pessimistic

position is adopted, where

average annual growth from 2007

to 2020 is 5%, CO2 emissions

will still exceed 2 bill tonnes,

over 500 mill tonnes more than is

currently predicted, the current

entire emissions output from the

aviation industry.

The UCTAD report is

substantiated by analysts from

leading organisations including

Lloyds Register - Fairplay,

Clarkson, WTO, Drewry and

many others.

INDUSTRY - NEWS


TO

Future emissions grossly underestimated conference to adopt the

convention in Hong Kong in

May 2009 (subject to

endorsement by the IMO council

in June 2008).

The new convention will

provide regulations for the

design, construction, operation

and preparation of ships to

facilitate safe and

environmentally sound

recycling, without

compromising the safety and

operational efficiency of ships;

for the operation of ship

recycling facilities in a safe and

environmentally sound manner;

and for the establishment of an

appropriate enforcement

mechanism for ship recycling,

incorporating certification and

reporting requirements.

The third session of the joint

ILO/IMO/Basel convention

working group is to be held in

Geneva from 29th to 31st

October, 2008.

Ballast water

The MEPC agreed to grant

'Basic Approval' to four ballast

water management systems and

'Final Approval' to one ballast

water management system that

make use of active substances,

after consideration of the report

of the fourth and fifth meetings

of the GESAMP ballast water

working group, which met in

November 2007 and January

2008.

The MEPC also adopted a

revised Procedure for approval of

ballast water management

systems that make use of active

substances (G9), which updated

and clarified the procedure.

To date, 13 States,

representing about 3.62% of the

world's merchant shipping, have

ratified the BWM convention,

which was adopted in February

2004. It will enter into force 12

months after the date on which

not less than 30 States, the

combined merchant fleets of

which constitute not less than

35% of the gross tonnage of the

world's merchant shipping, have

become parties to it. TO

“With fuel costs having gone up from 20% to 50% of a vessel’s operational costs in recent years...

every per cent saved in fuel can have a majorimpact on profitability for owners.”

Christian Eyde Møller, ceo, DK Group

“

”

sectors to instil continuous

improvement into their work and

to engage in co-operation

between links in the chain of

responsibility, the organisation

explained.

The award was created to

recognise outstanding

accomplishments in continuous

improvement in the maritime

industry. The judging panel

consisted of Nicholas Fistes,

Intertanko chairman; Chris

Horrocks, former secretary

general of the International

Chamber of Shipping; Thimio

Mitropoulos, IMO secretary

general; Thomas Tay, general

secretary for the Singapore

Maritime Officers' Union and

Stephen Van Dyck, chairman of

the Poseidon Challenge.

At the same time, the TOTS

initiative was officially launched.

The main aims of TOTS are to

provide the tanker industry with

a clear standard of tanker officer

competence, on board and

onshore training and assessment,

and at the same time to provide a

level of comfort to those oil

companies that utilise officer

matrix requirements; to ease the

difficulties that tanker owners

are encountering with differing

'time in rank' and 'time with

company' requirements; TOTS

aims also to address the current

worrying trend in increasing

tanker accidents.

Intertanko said that TOTS was

needed because a number of oil

companies have in place their

officer matrix requirement based

on two elements:- 'time in rank'

and 'time with company'.

These requirements had

grown out of the perception that

officer competence across the

tanker industry did not

universally meet with some

charterers' growing expectations

for an officer's experience in

rank and familiarity with

his/her company operating and

ISM systems, arising from the

current rising trend in tanker

accidents.

implementation date.

The decision by Intertanko's

council in 2005 to help to lead

the continuous improvement

of the tanker industry's

performance in striving to

achieve the goals of zero

fatalities, zero pollution and

zero detentions went hand in

hand with the launch of the

Poseidon Challenge as a vehicle

to inspire and encourage

individuals, companies and

It was received on behalf of

IACS by the chairman of council

and coo of DNV Maritime Tor

Egil Svensen and was awarded

for its work on the successful

introduction of the new IACS

common structural rules for

tankers (CSR), including the

accelerated introduction of the

new IMO standards for

protective coatings (PSPC) more

than 18 months in advance of

their mandated IMO

At the Intertanko

Istanbul Tanker event

held last month, the first

Poseidon Challenge

Award ceremony was

held.

This went to the International

Association of Classification

Societies (IACS) and was

presented by Willem de Ruiter,

executive director of the

European Maritime Safety

Agency (EMSA).

INDUSTRY - NEWS


IACS wins first Poseidon Challenge award

TO


INDUSTRY - NEWS

Marine & Engineering and

Survival Craft Inspectorate.

New Regional Panels

Intertanko has also expanded its

Regional Panel structure. For

example, the Hellenic Forum was

extended to include Mediterranean

membership, while a new

Northern European regional

panel was being formed.

Intertanko claimed.

These included - Aksay

Denizcilik Ve Tic, Delta Tankers,

Exmar Shipmanagement,

Hyundai Merchant Marine,

Rederi AB Gotland, General

National Maritime Transport,

Makro Shipping & Ship

Management, Atlas Maritime,

Portunato & Cie, Vietnam Ocean

Shipping, Grupo TMM, Ya-Sa

Tankercilik Ve Tasimacilik and

Unigas Kosan.

The organisation also gained

13 new associate members, taking

the total up to 330. These were -

Conoco Phillips, Consilium

Marine Group, Ecopetrol, Fidena,

Gallagher Marine Systems,

Inchcape Shipping Services,

Kalmar Maritime Academy,

Norwegian School of Mercantile

Studies, Singapore Polytechnic,

Sonatrach, Spectec Holdings,

Sumitomo Heavy Industries

vice president, Maersk Tankers,

Denmark.

Also re-elected for a term of up

to two years were AET's Amir

Azizan, Bengt Hermelin, Samco

Services (as Vice-Chairman);

David Koo, Valles Steamship (as

Vice-Chairman); Emmanuel

Vordonis, Thenamaris Ships

Management;Graham Westgarth,

Teekay Shipping (Canada); J H

Lee, SK Shipping; Patrick

Decavele, Brostrom Tankers (as

Vice-Chairman); Robert Johnston,

OSG Ship Management and

Stefano Rosina of Premuda.

New members

Intertanko said 12 new members

had joined the organisation

responsible for a total of 71

tankers aggregating 7.1 mill dwt.

The membership now accounts

for around 80% of the

independent tanker fleet,

Also at the Intertanko

Istanbul Tanker event

last month, the

organisation announced

changes to its various

committees, gave a list

of new members and

unveiled new panels.

Executive Committee members

Lars Mossberg and Stephen Van

Dyck have completed their

maximum term, while Hans

Jørgen Firing and Michio Tamiya

resigned from the committee to

pursue other business interests.

Three new executive

committee members were

elected and confirmed by

council: These were Herbjørn

Hansson - chairman & ceo,

Nordic American Tanker

Shipping, Norway; Costis

Kertisikoff - ceo, Eletson

Corporation, Greece and

Kristian Morch - group senior

Intertanko announces committee changes and welcomesnew members

Maersk Tankers’ Kristian Morchjoins Intertanko’s executivecommittee.

TO

growth of shipping operation and

employment in the UK.

The UK CoS currently has 139

members and associate members

having 800 plus vessels of 22

mill gt.

Those with tanker or gas ship

interests include;-Anglo-Eastern

Crew Management (IOM), Bibby

Line, BP Shipping, International

Marine Transportation (IMT),

J&R Rix, James Fisher, James

Fisher Everard, John H Whitaker,

Latsco (London), Maersk Ship

Management, Northern Marine

Management, OSG Ship

Management (UK), Royal Fleet

Auxiliary, Shell Intl Trading &

Shipping, Unicorn Tankers

(International) and Zodiac

Maritime Agencies.

Meanwhile in the build up to

the UK's budget, the Government

withdrew proposed changes to the

UK's tonnage tax from this year's

Finance Bill. The move comes

after a signal by the European

Commission that it is reviewing

its interpretation of state aid rules

following industry lobbying.

"This move is both sensible

and practical," CoS director-

general, Mark Brownrigg, said at

the time, "though there is much

still to do to ensure that this is not

just a temporary reprieve. It

allows an opportunity for a wider

discussion within the EU of these

key issues and a more consistent

approach by the Commission on

the interpretation of its maritime

state aid guidelines."

Although still up in the air,

the CoS also believed that the

changes to the UK's non-

domiciled resident tax regime

announced in the March budget

would cause huge damage to

London's position as the

leading international maritime

services centre.

Marine insurance,

ship finance, law,

classification

societies,

shipbroking, education,

consultancy and others all

combine to form the largest

maritime services cluster, based

in London, Glasgow, Newcastle

and Southampton, plus other

centres.

Since 2000, shipping itself -

owning and operating ships - in

the UK has seen remarkable

growth as a result of the

Government's positive policies in

favour of investment, training and

the British register. The UK-

owned fleet has increased by

some 150% and the UK-flag fleet

- albeit from a very low base -

has more than quadrupled,

according to the UK Chamber of

Shipping (UK CoS).

This turnaround was of major

benefit to the UK economy, with

turnover of this key sector more

than doubling between 2002 and

2005 to almost £12 bill per year

and export earnings rising to

£9.4 bill.

Latest figures for the sea

transport account show a net

surplus of just under £1 bill in

2006. This improvement is

particularly remarkable since it

follows a 10-year period in which

the average net deficit for the

nation (what it spends on shipping

as opposed to what it earns from

it) was £500 mill per year.

In employment terms, the UK

fleet has increased the training of

officers for a sustained period of

six years by almost 30%. Indeed

both last year, and already this,

the UK has seen recruitment rise

by over 650. The growth in

trainee officer recruitment has

risen twice as quickly as the

number of UK-based ships.

Shipping combines with not

only maritime services but the

broader interests, including

shiprepair and marine equipment

manufacturing, lying at the heart

of the £40 bill turnover maritime

cluster in the UK. The CoS

expected that the fleet's current

expansion will continue into the

long term.

It warned that to be sustained

into the future, however, this

success needs a stable and

competitive environment, not

least in fiscal policy. The

adoption of tonnage tax by

shipping companies is conditional

on a 10-year commitment to

trading and training in the UK.

That requires confidence that the

regime will not be modified

without good cause and adequate

notice - and that decisions in

other policy areas do not reduce

the attractiveness of basing

shipping businesses in the UK

and of training UK seafarers.

That confidence has been

shaken over the last few years by

a sequence of changes and

reviews. The 2006 reform of the

taxation of finance leases and

proposed future changes to the

capital allowances regime

brought uncertainty, which

prompted questions regarding

further potential fleet expansion

and investment in the UK.

There were challenges too in

other policy areas - for example,

the law concerning the

employment of foreign seafarers,

currently under consultation.

Challenges may also come from

outside the UK, particularly in the

application of state-aids policy to

tonnage tax by the European

Commission.

The CoS emphasised that it

was essential that the UK

Government re-established a

strong focus on ensuring that its

successful shipping policy was

actively sustained and that the

conditions were right for further

Shipping and maritimeservices on a high

The UK is under threat from other

maritime centres worldwide

and needs to be vigilant.

INDUSTRY - UK REPORT


Mark Brownrigg.


time when technology is being

developed that will effectively

remove the pollutants from ships

emissions.

The proposal would mean:

An increase in the

consumption of diesel

equivalent to more that the

entire annual consumption in

the EU.

An increase in CO2 emissions

from refineries by about 15%.

A dramatic increase in the

world's consumption of its

declining oil stocks.

Major increases in the cost of

transporting the goods

necessary for daily life

Martin Watson, CoS recently

elected president, described the

proposal as "ill-considered and

dangerous". He added: "The move

would have little or no effect on

the environment, as power stations

in China and India would buy up

the heavy fuel oil no longer used

by ships. But it would have

appalling consequences for the

world's consumers."

Brownrigg commented: "While

the Government has clearly tried

to reduce the negative impacts -

and we hope this will encourage

some to reconsider their position

- we fear that this is another

negative change that challenges

the status of London as the

world's premier centre for

shipping business - at a time

when that status is already under

strong attack from other centres,

particularly Singapore, Dubai,

Athens and New York".

Before the IMO MEPC

announcement (see page 4), the

proposal to switch from heavy

fuel oil to diesel was attacked by

the CoS on the grounds that it

could cause a 50% increase in the

cost of diesel at the pump and

have a major impact on the cost

of goods in UK shops.

This move would massively

increase the world's demand for

diesel, requiring an increase in

crude oil production equivalent

to twice the entire annual output

of Saudi Arabia. Experts

predicted that the surge in

demand would send the price of

diesel soaring - What Car

magazine has already suggested

that the price at the pumps

would go up by 50%. A senior

oil industry spokesman

confirmed that the proposal, if

accepted, would have "a major

impact on oil production".

Shipowners would have to fit

new engines and fuel tanks, as

well as meet the increased fuel

costs - all costs which would

have to be recovered by charging

more to ship the world's goods.

The move would be an

unnecessary over-reaction at a

Wavespec LimitedConsulting Marine Engineers and Naval Architects

Specialists in the design, design

review, plan approval and

construction, commissioning and

survey of LNG Carriers, LPG

Carriers, Oil Tankers, Oil Product

Tankers and Chemical Carriers.

Fullbridge Mill, Fullbridge,

Maldon, Essex, CM9 4LE.

Telephone: ++ 44 (0) 1621 840447

Fax: ++ 44 (0) 1621 840457

General E-Mail [email protected]

Web Site: www.wavespec.com

Martin Watson.

TO




guaranteed market. However,

officers formerly on first name

terms with terminal staff will find

themselves in unfamiliar loading

situations on the other side of the

world. A master used to 'project'

work may find his ship trading in

the spot market.

New ways of doing business

will mean pressure on freight

rates, disputes over quantity and

quality, gassing-up and cooling-

The largest in terms of

tonnage entered is the

UK P&I Club,

managed by Thomas

Miller. The Club has a very active

loss prevention section headed by

Karl Lumbers who is a well

known orator on the shipping

circuit.

Lumbers and his team have

been producing DVDs on various

vessel types, including tankers.

The latest in the series concerns

gas carriers, both LNG and LPG.

Despite virtually having an

unblemished record, LNGCs in

particular are giving P&I clubs

and insurers cause for concern,

due to their increasing complexity

and numbers.

Indeed, the UK Club said it is

one part of the shipping industry,

which consistently has fewer

cargo claims than the rest.

Today, over 900 ships lift 50

mill tonnes of liquefied petroleum

gas (LPG) each year, as well as

20 million tonnes of ammonia

and petrochemical gases while

more than 200 ships carry 150

mill tonnes of liquefied natural

gas (LNG). That equates to

50,000 voyages since the 1960s

with no major incident.

Lumbers said that misinformed

opponents of gas ships have

portrayed them as bombs waiting

to go off. In fact, they're among

the safest ships afloat and have

consistently fewer cargo claims

than other types of ship.

Gas is the world's favourite

fuel and global economic growth

is increasingly dependent on it.

However, keeping up with

demand requires more ships,

more crews, more suppliers, new

technologies and new ways of

doing business. So how will gas

shipping meet the challenges of

these changes while maintaining

claims at a very low level?

These questions are addressed

in Gas Matters™, a 40-minute

DVD, produced by the UK P&I

Club for use by crew and onshore

staff. It aims to increase

awareness of the causes of P&I

claims for cargo damage and loss

in a rapidly changing technical

and commercial environment.

Gas Matters™ provides advice

on legal, technical and managerial

aspects of preparation for loading,

loading itself, the voyage,

discharging and changing cargo.

It contends that gas ships have

generally been built to the highest

standards and are technically

advanced. Positive tank pressure

prevents the creation of

flammable gas/air mixtures while

closed loading systems, double

hulls and cargo containment

designs minimise the chance of

cargo escaping. Gas terminals

employ complementary advanced

technology.

Being expensive, such ships

are well maintained with some

exceeding 40 years in service.

They have been operated by a

small pool of experienced

operators and skilled crew.

Above average manning levels

and high quality training have

kept down incidents caused by

human error. Further, most

LNGCs trade on project

contracts, shuttling between

familiar ports of call. However,

"ahead of gas shipping lies

turbulent change and dramatic

transition. It has been a world of

few surprises but not any

longer," Lumbers said.

Hitherto, the 'LNG club' has

had few members, enabling close

co-ordination between shippers,

carriers and receivers in a

Loss prevention -the key to success

As well as a leading classification society,

leading marine underwriters and brokers,

the UK boasts a plethora of P&I clubs.

Karl Lumbers.



Developing people is a

vast but vital investment. Bill

Wayne, general manager of the

Society of International Gas

Tanker & Terminal Operators

(SIGTTO), said: "Gas will

continue to play a major and

growing role in meeting global

energy demand. This will mean

more newbuild gas carriers,

more developments in terminal

facilities and an expanding

commercial base.

"All this activity is going to

bring in many new people to the

industry. If gas transportation is

to maintain its excellent safety

record, these new participants

have to be aware of the

sophisticated technology

involved. The UK Club's DVD

provides a first rate technical and

commercial overview of key

elements which underpin the

ongoing success of the industry,"

he concluded.

down time, and loss of hire.

Owners new to LNG will need to

understand how boil-off gas is

used as fuel during voyages.

On the hardware front, crews

used to maintaining ageing

LNGCs must learn about

reliquefaction and regasification

plants. Engineers with a lifetime's

experience of steam may have to

learn to love diesels, the Club said.

However, the growing market

will not be satisfied by those

already in the industry embracing

change. Perhaps the biggest

concern is the availability of

skilled and experienced

manpower to do all the new jobs

properly. It is estimated that the

growth of the LNG fleet alone

will call for at least 5,000 new

officers by 2010. Tempting staff

away from other companies

increases the industry's wage bill

without adding to the pool of

skilled people.

www.ukpandi.com

“All this activity is going to bring in many new people to the industry.If gas transportation is to maintain its excellent safety record, these new

participants have to be aware of the sophisticated technology involved. TheUK Club’s DVD provides a first rate technical and commercial overview

of key elements which underpin the ongoing success of the industry.”

Bill Wayne, general manager, (SIGTTO)

“

”

TO



seafarers' certification; and

('Flag-In') surveyors - into one

single cohesive unit with a

new attitude that will provide

real customer service and care.

An interactive Website:

www.ukshipregister.co.uk

On-line registration services -

two clicks away from start of

registration process.

24-hour assistance.

Registry of Shipping &

Seaman (RSS) now available

round the clock.

Customer forums held every

six months.

Customer feedback reports on

the performance of the UKSR

will be added to the monthly

agenda of the MCA executive

board.

Among some other marketing

initiatives was a visit to India at

the end of April to meet with

Indian shipowners. A seminar was

held on 22nd April in Mumbai.

Last year, the UKSR attended

the Nor-Shipping exhibition in

Oslo and Marintec in Shanghai.

This was the UKSR's first

attendance in Asia specifically to

meet with Chinese shipyards and

shipping companies.

Earlier, on 18th March this

year, the annual reception was

held hosted by UK Minister for

Shipping Jim Fitzpatrick, which

was sponsored by Evergreen

Marine (UK).

Run by the Maritime

& Coastguard

Agency (MCA), as at

the 31st March 2008,

the total number of ships listed on

Parts I and IV of the UK Ship

Register (UKSR) was 1,509,

totalling 14.36 mill gt.

Since it was re-launched in

February 2007 under the banner

of the UKSR, it has increased by

56 ships of 1.4 mill gt.

In the total number of vessels

registered were 139 tankers and

among the new recruits to the

tanker sector were Brostrom's

French subsidiary and Dutch-

based parcel tanker operator

Stolt-Nielsen.

The MCA administers the so

called 'Red Ensign Group', which

comprises the UK, UK Crown

Dependencies (Isle of Man,

Guernsey and Jersey) and UK

Overseas Territories (Anguilla,

Bermuda, British Virgin Islands,

Cayman Islands, Falkland

Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St

Helena and the Turks & Caicos

Islands), all of whom operate

shipping registers.

Among the Category 1

administrations are Bermuda,

Cayman Islands, Gibraltar and

Isle of Man. This grouping may

register ships of unlimited

tonnage, type and length.

Category 2 Registers include

Anguilla, British Virgin Islands,

Falkland Islands, Guernsey,

Jersey, Montserrat, St Helena and

the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Category 2 administrations may

register ships of up to 150 gt and

pleasure vessels, that is, those not

operated commercially of up to

400 gt (pleasure vessels, by

definition, refer to ships used for

sport or pleasure, which are not

operated commercially).

In recent years, customer

service has become the catalyst to

the register's growth. For

example, the MCA installed

customer account managers

(CAM) in Hamburg, to provide a

better level of service to the

growing list of German owners

joining the UK registry. This

approach is still very much the

MCA's philosophy.

The MCA is ISO 9001 and

ISO 14001 accredited and the

UKSR is constantly looking for

ways of improving the level of

service to its customers, the

MCA told TANKEROperator, by

way of regular feedback through

customer satisfaction surveys

and meetings.

Since its re-launch, some of the

recent improvements made

included the following:

Introduction of customer

account managers (CAM's)

providing ongoing customer

care with focused assistance

throughout and after

registration.

Re-branding. Much more than

just an exercise - it is real

change: new structure; new

identity; single direction.

The UKSR brought together

all sections - registration

promotion & marketing;

registry of shipping & seamen;

Fly the flagOne of the UK’s success stories in

the maritime field during the past

few years is the UK Registry.

TO

Hamburg-based Wappen Reederei has opted for the UK flag.

Summary of the UKSR’s selling pointsUK tonnage tax incentive.

Dedicated focused customer

service.

Qualship 21 status in US.

Number one performing

flag on the Paris MOU

'White List'.

UK-flagged ships not

targeted by Port State

Control regimes in world's

major trading areas.

Registration costs among

the lowest with no annual

renewal fees.

Annual £2.5 mill contribution

to Crew Relief Cost

Scheme to assist seafarers.

ISPS plan approvals and

verification audits at no cost

to owners and operators.

International reputation for

expert advice and guidance

with a proactive leading role

at the IMO, EU and quality

shipping committees.

Worldwide security threat

level information provided

to UK registered ships with

support from British

Consuls and Royal Navy

protection.

Quality Assurance offering

certification to ISO 9001

and ISO 14001 standards

with audits being taken in

harmonisation with ISM.



Quoted in a Bloomberg report,

he said: "It simply can't carry on

at the unprecedented rates of last

year. It has to slow down."

He suggested the surge of

orders in 2007 was driven by the

optimism about world trade and

China's need for raw materials.

Speaking in Shanghai, he

indicated that orders for tankers,

bulk carriers and containerships;

"…have all cooled this year amid

concerns about a global

slowdown and China's attempts to

damp its economy. In 2007,

world shipyards booked contracts

totalling 246.3 mill dwt, a rise of

43% over 2006."

On China's ambitions to be

lead global shipbuilder, he

commented: "For China to get to

the top of the industry, it needs to

diversify its vessel types. It will

take a great deal of effort to get to

the same level of sophistication

as Japan and South Korea."

Looking into his crystal

ball, Lloyd's Register

ceo Richard Sadler has

called on the shipping

industry to make preparations for

the global drive towards biofuels

and argues that if second and

third generation technologies are

successful, then current

projections of demand would see

the world fleet unable to cope

with the logistic demands.

Speaking at IMarEST's annual

Stanley Gray lecture, targeted at

shipowners, regulators,

economists, engineers and the

general public, Sadler concluded

that the increase in demand for

biocargoes would require an

additional fleet size of 400

handysize equivalents by 2030.

Moreover, with additional

environmental pressures, these

vessel requirements may well

increase. The International

Energy Agency (IEA) World

Energy Outlook projections for

biofuel demand may well be

inflated by political pressures to

find alternative bio energy in

shortening timescales.

The implications for the

shipping industry are significant.

Whether first or third generation,

whether biodiesel or bioethanol,

shipping will be at the heart of

the supply chain and anticipatory

investment will have to be made

by the industry.

Contradictory information

makes the risk in that investment

uncertain and therefore it is vital

to look at ways to hedge the

future - through flexible initial oil

tanker design for vessels to be

constructed now and converted in

the future to take advantage of

growing biotrade.

The biofuels industry is in the

early stages of low carbon impact

second and third generation biofuel

development. Companies investing

time and money in developing

technology into economically

viable and socially acceptable

solutions are naturally keeping

quiet about the technology or

products being developed.

Whether as a cargo or for use in

the engine room, these new

solutions will have to be

incorporated into marine systems.

Current ship designs are

constrained by current legislation,

creating poor designs if biofuel

becomes a large scale global

energy source. New standards may

be required to meet essential safety

and environmental needs and an

early start is essential to meet these

challenges. Sadler said that LR

welcomed dialogue with all

concerned and was ready to assist.

TankerOperator firmly believes

that the 'jury is still out' on the

future of biofuels shipments,

mainly on the grounds of future

political pressure. At present much

of the world's biofuels is produced

for domestic consumption, but in

time this could change.

Meanwhile from the other side

of the world, LR group president

Asia John Stansfield remarked

that orders for newbuildings may

fall by as much as 50% this year.

LR looks to the future The shipping industry may be ill prepared

to accommodate the global drive

towards biofuel use.

TO

Richard Sadler.

Naval architect joins theChamber of ShippingThe Chamber of

Shipping (CoS) has

appointed naval

architect, Adrian

Lester.

Lester joins the CoS' technical

department, replacing Paul

Holman who will retire on

Friday 30th May after 13 years

service.

He will be responsible for

construction and equipment,

ship stability, fire protection,

loadline, tonnage measurement

and the British Rig Owners'

Association.

With a strong interest in

environmental issues and an

MSc in Oceanography, he will

assist Rob Ashdown in that

particular area.

Lester previously worked as

a naval architect with the

MCA based in Southampton

and is a graduate member of

The Royal Institution of Naval

Architects (RINA).

Adrian Lester.


INDUSTRY - TURKEY

Landin said that it was uncertain

due to various initiatives, such as

a Far East pipeline connecting to

Nakhodka, export routes for

Kazakh production and the size

of the crude parcels using the

Straits (at present it is around

98,000 tonnes on average).

Vessel traffic system

To cope with the safety aspects,

a vessel traffic system (VTS)

was installed covering the

Dardanelles (Canakkale Straits),

Sea of Marmara and the

Bosporus. Yildirim claimed that

the level of safety had increased

markedly. The VTS was being

paid for by the Turkish

government and not by the

owners. At the VTS control

centre on the European side of

the Bosporus, 90 operators and

supervisors are employed, all of

which are master mariners.

The Bosporus/Dardanelles

Straits VTS will be fully

integrated with the Sea of

Marmara in the next couple of

months. Both the Straits' VTS

were inaugurated in 2004.

This region, from the

Dardanelles to the Bosporus,

including the Sea of Marmara,

accounts for 80% of Turkey's

energy demands and is 295 km in

length from the Black Sea to the

Aegean.

Fog, heavy winds and strong

currents can result in 400-500

ships waiting in the Black Sea to

transit the Bosporus at any one

time, mainly during the winter

months.

It was explained that as it was

not possible to widen the straits, a

The Turkish authorities

are increasingly aware

of the threat to the

local environment of

having such a strategic narrow

waterway running through the

centre of the city.

His Excellency Binali Yildirim,

Turkey's Minister of

Transportation explained at the

Intertanko Istanbul Event that

around 55,000 vessels pass

through the Bosporus each year

of which around 10,000 are

tankers and 800 are LPG carriers.

This equates to 150 mill tonnes

of liquid cargo transiting the strait

in vessels of up to Suezmax size.

A maximum limit of 300 m in

length is currently in operation as

the Bosporus has sharp 90 deg

bends and it is only about 700 m

wide at its narrowest point.

Although around 47% of the

vessels take a pilot at each end,

surprisingly for such a narrow

waterway, pilotage is not

compulsory. It only costs $175 to

hire a pilot, TANKEROperator

was told. However, there has

been no major accident in the

vicinity for four to five years.

According to Captain Tuncay

Cehreli, general director Turkish

Straits Vessel Traffic Service

speaking at the conference, he

said that the average waiting time

was 15.9 hours in 2006, which

fell to 14.7 hours last year.

However, a cause for concern

was that there was a vessel failure

noted every 1.6 days. For

example last year there were 225

failures of which 36 involved

tankers. This compared with 163

in 2006 and 138 in 2005. Many

of the smaller vessels in transit

are rather elderly, illustrated by

the average age of the tanker

traffic, which was 14.5 years,

despite the presence of modern

double hull MRs, Panamax,

Aframaxes and Suezmax tonnage.

Despite the Baku/Tbilisi/

Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline coming on

stream and others planned, the

number of vessels using the

waterway is still increasing. Many

of the larger vessels load at

Novorossiysk in Russia, which in

2007 handled 957 tankers

exporting 44.2 mill tonnes of

Russian oil, mostly in large hulls.

Tuapse handled 451 (4.4 mill dwt)

and Odessa 324 (10.6 mill dwt).

Figures produced by Chevron's

Captain Kjell Landin at the

conference showed that for

October through December last

year the size of tankers transiting

were as follows:-

Length up to 100 m = 362

100-150 m = 535

150-200 m = 610

200 m plus = 503

Broken down further, these

figures equated to 46

Panamaxes, 298 Aframaxes and

159 Suezmaxes transiting the

Straits during the three month

period. Aframaxes and

Suezmaxes showed a 5.7% and

7.4 % increase respectively

over the corresponding period

in 2006.

He then produced some figures

for tankers of over 200 m in

length using the waterway.

Currently transits are running at

2,140 per year with an average

vessel age of seven years. Around

91% of these are double hull and

96% take a pilot. Out of all the

tankers of 200 m or over, only

31% are Suezmaxes.

As for the future, Captain

At the southern end of the Turkish Strait lies the Dardanelles.

Tonnage increasing inthe Turkish Straits

One of the major waterways of the world, the Bosporus, bisects the huge city of Istanbul

with its population of 12 mill, which, is probably a slightly conservative figure.


INDUSTRY - TURKEY

carried out at Eregli in the Sea of

Marmara. It was the first Tier 3

oil spill exercise and was led by

Turkish agencies and Black Sea

Commission.

The co-operative regional

effort, known as Oil Spill

Preparedness Regional Initiative

(Ospri), has been built up down

the years by training and

facilitation with the help of the

major players in the oil industry.

However, on the minus side

Captain Landin said the oil slicks

were still appearing in the Black

Sea due to the lack of reception

facilities at the ports in the area,

as well as a lack of monitoring.

He also criticised the fact that

pilotage was not compulsory and

the pilot boarding areas were not

at desired locations.

Ballast water rules and policy

applications seem to vary at each

port and rewards were given for

"entrepreneur solutions", he said.

He called for shipowners and

regional governments to work

together to demonstrate to future

seafarers and shore staff that

there was a desire to improve

regional maritime standards

and to protect the marine

environment.

one-way traffic system was

introduced whereby vessels

heading North were allowed to

sail in a 12 hour period, before

the Southbound traffic was given

the go ahead to transit in the

second 12-hour window.

Yildirim claimed that by using

this method more vessels could

transit during the 12-hour periods.

In 2006, the total figure of vessels

transiting was 54,500, rising to

56,600 last year, of which 10,054

were tankers. By using the one-

way traffic system, he claimed

that the collision risk was now

zero. When the myriad of ferries

and local traffic criss-crossing the

Bosporus are taken into account,

some 2,500 vessels could be

using the Straits on any one day.

Previously, vessels were

allowed to transit both ways

simultaneously, except for

Aframaxes, Suezmaxes and

Capesize bulkers, which had to

wait at either end until the straits

were closed, allowing them to be

escorted through. When large

vessels were allowed to transit,

this delayed other passages by at

least 90 minutes, the time taken

for a large vessel to sail through

the 32 km long Straits.

The Dardanelles, or Canakkale

Straits, are longer than the

Bosporus at 83 km, taking around

three hours to transit. It is also

slightly wider at 1.4 km at its

narrowest point.

The Turkish authorities class a

tanker of over 200 m in length as

'hazardous' whether it is loaded or

in ballast. These are only allowed

to transit in daylight hours, which

in winter can be limited to six or

seven hours, depending on traffic.

Hence a build up sometimes

occurs at either end of both Straits.

VTS groundwork has also

started at Izmir and Izmit Bays,

plus the Mersin/Iskenderun area,

near the Ceyhan Terminal. Along

the vast Turkish coastline, AIS is

in use to observe, monitor and

control all vessels. A Search and

rescue (SAR) system is also in

operation with neighbouring

countries with whom co-

operation was described

as "good".

An illustration of the co-

operation seen between Turkey

and its near neighbours came in

September last year when a

regional oil spill exercise was TO

...oil slicks [are] still appearing in the Black Seadue to the lack of reception facilities at the ports

in the area, as well as a lack of monitoring.

Captain Kjell Landin, Chevron

“

”

The Bosporus can test even the best navigator with its 90 deg turns, two bridges and strong currents.


INDUSTRY - TURKEY

decided to enter the newbuilding

arena to upgrade and modernise

its fleet. In the meantime,

Cukurova Group was expanding

rapidly, which meant that the

parent had resources to fund

Geden's expansion plans.

The result of this move was a

newbuilding spree, which

triggered a number of orders for

tankers as well as bulkers. In

recent years many of these orders

were sold on for sizeable profits.

Today, Geden operates a fleet

of 18 vessels, including two Ice

Class 1A Aframaxes, two other

Aframaxes, five 37,000 dwt Ice

Class 1A chemical/product

tankers, one 47,000 dwt

chemical/product tanker plus

several large drybulk carriers.

The company's newbuildings

include nine 115,000 dwt

Aframaxes from Samsung, two Ice

Class 1A 37,000 dwt

chemical/product tankers and one

47,000 dwt chemical/product

tanker from Hyundai Mipo, 10

Suezmaxes from Rongsheng, three

50,100 chemical/product tankers

and four 73,500 chemical/product

tankers from SPP

Since the fleet expansion

programme started in early 2000,

thus far, 117 newbuildings have

been ordered valued at $5.79 bill,

many of which were sold at

a profit.

Another company called

Gungen Maritime & Trading

was believed to have a Suezmax

on order from Hyundai.

Med Marine is part of the Med

Group, which owns tugs and three

shipyards - Usmed Gemi Insa,

Medyilmaz and Eregli Gemi Ansa.

The company took delivery of

Below is a brief

snapshot of the

leading owners taken

from various sources.

Founded in 1973, Aksay

Denizcilik ve Ticaret is a

privately owned shipmanagement

and ship operating company

specialising in chemical, oil and

product tankers.

At the time of writing, Aksay

was believed to have 10 stainless

steel chemical/product tankers

ranging in size from 4,065 dwt to

16,150 dwt.

The company also has a

newbuilding prgramme in Turkish

and Chinese yards consisting of

six 16,500 dwt epoxy and

MarineLine coated chemical

tankers for 2008-2009 delivery,

plus two 19,800 dwt stainless steel

tankers for 2012-2013 delivery.

Newcomer Aktif Deniz (Active

Marine Management & Agency)

is believed to have five 115,000

dwt Aframaxes on order at STX.

Besiktas has three Suezmaxes,

one 26,000 dwt IMO II Ice Class

1A chemical tanker, four 18,000

dwt, one 11,200, one 8,000 dwt and

one 5,500 dwt chemical tankers.

The company also has one

25,600 dwt tanker, plus three

18,000 dwt and three 10,500 dwt

tankers on order.

At the beginning of April, BRL

Shipping Consultants reported

that Besiktas had sold the 2001-

built Suezmax Besiktas (164,616

dwt) to Double Hull Tankers, US

in a deal which included a 10

year bareboat charter to OSG at

$25,000 per day. The latter

boosted the sale price to $92.7

mill against her original

newbuilding value of $44 mill.

Koç group member Deniz

Isletmeciligi ve Tankerciligi

(Ditas) was established in 1974

by TPAO (Turkish Petroleum

Corp), IPRAS (Izmit Petroleum

Refinery.) and TÜRK

DONANMA VAKFI (Turkish

Naval Foundation). DITAS joined

the Koç Group on 26th January

2006 along with oil company

Tupras.

The company currently has the

Suezmax Cumhuriyet and the

15,000 dwt chemical tanker Ditas,

plus several others on charter.

On 26th July 2007 the first in

the series of eight 17,000 dwt IM0

II Ice Class 1A SK 5054 CD

design tankers ordered by Dunya

from three Turkish newbuilding

yards was delivered by Messrs

Gemak from the Tuzla Gemi yard.

This vessel was also the first of

three newbuildings that Dunya

entrusted the commercial

management to Brostrom thus

building upon the co-operation

between the two companies.

Dunya has four 46,700 dwt

chemical/product tankers, four

51,200 dwt chemical/product

tankers, two of the newbuilding

16,800 dwt tankers and three

others of 3,800 dwt in service.

In addition, the company has

six more 17,000 dwt tankers

building in Turkey, three 113,270

dwt product tankers on order at

SPP and five 52,000 dwt

chemical/products carriers to

come from Hyundai Mipo.

Another company active in

buying and selling tonnage is the

Furtrans Group, which dates

back to the late 1970s.

In the late 1990s, the company

broke into the tanker market with

a newbuilding project in a South

Korean yard for two 3,300 dwt

chemical tankers, which were

delivered in 1999 and 2000.

These were followed by a 6,500

dwt chemical tanker, which was

delivered from a Turkish yard in

August, 2000.

Over the years the company had

built up a considerable expertise in

newbuilding so the next strategic

move was to purchase ADIK

Shipyard in Tuzla Bay. The yard is

building two 18,000 dwt and three

8,100 dwt chemical tankers for its

own account.

These are all due to be

delivered this year. However, the

company admitted that judging

by past performances, it may well

sell some if not all of these

vessels under construction at

attractive prices.

Additional shipyard

investments are also being made.

The group is investing in a

similar size shipyard in the new

shipbuilding area at Yalova in the

Marmara Sea.

This yard will be operational by

this year with a capacity to build

up to four ships per year of up to

30,000 dwt. The intention is to

build a series of product tankers.

The total investment budgeted for

the new shipyard is $25 mill.

In terms of vessel types, the

group would like to operate

product tankers of up to 30,000

dwt but has also identified an

interesting niche in the 3,000 -

5,000 dwt small tanker for

Mediterranean trading

Geden Line was incorporated

in 1975 to carry out shipowning,

chartering and agency services.

In the late 1990's, Geden

Turkish ownersinvesting for the future

Although changing almost daily due to the massive investment in Turkish tonnage,

the country’s shipowners have around 1.5 mill dwt of tankers

representing about 30% of the fleet.

.

. .

.

³

³

³

( (

Panamax size.

At present the company has two

10,300 dwt and two 4,750 dwt

tankers building at Yardimci, plus

another three 17,000 dwt tankers at

Turkter.

In an unprecedented move,

Yardimci has established a tanker

subsidiary in Dublin.

Called Chemstar, it will initially

manage a fleet of six chemical

tankers worth Eur120 mill.

Chemstar's joint managing

director Mark Avery reportedly

said he would be using Irish banks

to finance the vessels. Avery also

said he would be looking for

assistance from Irish companies to

raise money on the capital markets

and that he hoped to float

Chemstar in two years' time.

Yardimci has 25 ships under

construction in Turkey, some of

which will be delivered to the

Irish company. It already has nine

vessels in operation.

The drivers for Yardimci

choosing Ireland were said to be

set-up support, Ireland's asset-

backed finance and investment

experience and expertise, the

country's international reputation

as a stable business and tax

environment.

a chemical tanker in 2004, which

was sold to Swedish interests a

year later.

Among the newbuildings is one

7,000 dwt and one 25,000 dwt at

Usmed, three 8,400 dwt at

Medyilmaz, one 11,240 dwt,

three 8,400 dwt and two 25,000

dwt tankers at Eregli.

Mehmet Kaptanoglu was

thought to have four Aframaxes

on order at HIC-Philippines.

Palmali was founded in 1998

as a transit agency for Bosporus

and Dardanelles Straits. Since

then the company has built up

fleet first for Caspian and Black

Sea trading and then moving onto

worldwide trading.

The company now owns a

shipyard in Tuzla and has its own

maintenance and newbuilding

department. It recently took over

the tonnage operated by Lukoil.

As for the vessels in service

controlled by Palmali, these

include two Aframaxes, 10 x

6,500 dwt Armada types, 10 x

7,000 dwt New Armada types, 10

x 6,600 dwt Mariner types, 11 x

3,200 dwt Brothers class, three

8,000 dwt Caspian types, nine

3,000 dwt Lenaneft types and one

4,200 dwt Volgoneft class.

The company also has at least

three 13,000 dwt vessels under

construction at a Russian yard.

Sener Petrol was founded in

1980 and from 1982 until 1999,

the group's main activity was

tanker management in the

spot market.

In 1999, Sener built its first

chemical tanker Erman S, which

is still in the fleet.

Today Sener has about seven

tankers in service ranging from

3,000 dwt to 6,000 dwt and also

owns a floating dock.

At least four newbuildings are

being shown in Turkish yards of

3,500 dwt, 5,650 dwt, 6,400 dwt

and 10,800 dwt.

Trans Ka Tankers

Management is part of the

Akbasoglu Group, which moved

to Tuzla in February of this year.

In March of this year the double

hull IMO II 13,300 dwt chemical

and oil tanker Kemal KA was

launched in China. She is the first of

two newbuildings, which will join

the six chemical tankers in service.

They primarily trade in the

Black Sea and Mediterranean

regions and range in size from

3,200 dwt to 9,000 dwt.

Ya-Sa Shipping Industry and

Trading was founded by Yalçin

Sabanci in May 1999 primarily as

a drybulk owner.

In 2004, Ya-Sa Tankers and

Trading was established to

expand further into the tanker

owning and management sectors.

Two Aframaxes were ordered

from Mitsui.

Today, the company has five

Suezmaxes on order at Samsung

and four 50,100 dwt chemical

tankers on order at SPP.

The Yardimci Corporation

was founded by Sevket Yardimci

in 1974.

The corporation owns and

manages a varied fleet including

chemical tankers.

In addition, Yardimci also owns

two modern shipyards - Yardimci

and Turkter Shipyards. Presently

the yards are full until about

2012, the group claimed.

Alongside these, the group is

also a partner and owner of a

very successful drydock concern.

In collaboration with an equal

partner, Gemsan Shipyard, a

drydock company Yardgem

Shipping was formed which owns

two floating docks and specialises

in drydocking, repairs and

maintenance of vessels up to


INDUSTRY - TURKEY

Shipbuilding is another

area that has seen and

will continue to see

massive expansion.

In 2003, the number of shipyards

only numbered 37. By 2007-

2008, this figure had climbed to

84 with the Tuzla area alone

accounting for at least 37. Tuzla

was built a few years ago as the

Istanbul authorities decided to

relocate the yards from the centre

of the city to a new purpose-built

site, over 50 km from the city.

Previously, many shipyards were

located in the Golden Horn area

in the city centre.

The original capacity was only

550,000 dwt in total, but this has

since risen to almost 2 mill dwt

and will reach a massive 8.6 mill

dwt by 2013 as another 57 yards

are being built. The shipbuilding

areas have been split into the

Black Sea, Mediterranean and

Aegean regions. Most are fully

booked for the next three to

four years.

Over the years, the size of

vessels able to be constructed has

risen to 25,000 dwt, but now

vessels of up to 100,000 dwt can

be handled. Orders amount to

around 600 vessels of which

around 100 are delivered each

year. The majority of the vessels

delivered today are

chemical/product tankers as

Turkey has found a niche market

in this sector, many on the back

of European orders, as well as

domestic contracts.

Metin Kalkavan, chairman of

the Turkish Chamber of Shipping

Shipbuilding on a roll

Turkey was an "emerging

shipping nation".

In 2002, the Turkish flag state

was on the Port State Control

Black List, but recently the flag

moved into the White List. Of the

vessels transiting, 24% of the

flags were on the Black List in

2006, compared with 79% in

2002 - a dramatic drop.

explained that Turkey had been

going through a five- year period

of economic growth, which has

led to stability in Turkish

shipping. This was a far cry from

the economic woes experienced

in 2001, he said.

He said that Turkish owners

were changing their portfolios

from drybulk to tankers and that

TO

TO

Tuzla – yards are literally on top of one another.

environment during the first

quarter of this year.

The final factor to be

considered in this evaluation was

the tightening of credit terms. To

model this it was assumed that

suitable project could still attract

10-year terms but that the non-

amortising 30% bullet was no

longer available. This assumption

would have the effect of reducing

cash flow and IRR.

McQuilling explained that it

had omitted other factors, such as

higher operating costs and

bunkers in order to simplify the

evaluation. However, it should be

taken into consideration that they

could increase significantly

going forward.

The impact of pre-construction

interest payments on acquisition

price is also growing. Extended

contract periods and high prices

have increased the real cost of

tanker contracts.

As an example McQuilling

considered a contract for a

newbuilding VLCC with 36

months delivery at a nominal

price of $127 mill and five 20%

progress payments due at contract

signing, delivery and equally

spaced in between. An additional

economic cost of $20 mill, or

This is despite the

tightening of credit

and the huge

orderbook due to

spawn a vast amount of tonnage

next year, said leading consultant

McQuilling Services.

As a result, there was a

growing perception that the

attraction in investing in future

tanker projects was waning.

In January 2007, the average

newbuildings prices were $127

mill for a VLCC; $77 mill for a

Suezmax; $62 mill for an

Aframax, $55 mill for a Panamax

and $45 mill for an MR type

products tanker.

At that time, finance could be

obtained on fairly easy terms.

McQuilling used 60% loan-to-

value with 30% non-amortising

bullet payment at the end of a 10-

year term. Interest rates were

higher and the rate used for the

loan was based on one-year

LIBOR plus 120 basis points,

or 6.5%.

In order to assess the free cash

flow during the financing period,

McQulling used an average

timecharter equivalent (TCE)

revenue stream based on the five-

year outlook published in January

2008 for newbuildings in the five

tanker sectors.

A simple discounted cash flow

calculation using these results and

a 25-year project life accounts for

all future cash flows and yields

the internal rate of return on the

40% equity investment in each

project as illustrated in the table

below.

It should be noted that the

internal rate of return is

calculated based on the

assumption that TCE earnings

continue at the level indicated for

the life of the project, which

McQuilling said was an

aggressive assumption.

Fast forward to the situation at

the end of March this year, it will

be seen that a number of things

have changed. Asset prices

continued to increase throughout

last year by an average of 9.3%

for both new and secondhand

tonnage across all sectors.

In an unusual twist, the

ongoing credit crisis actually

reduced the base interest rate

from a year ago as the consultant

now assumed a one-year LIBOR

rate forecast rate of 2.5%.

However, by the end of March,

banks were tightening up on their

criteria for lending and it was

assumed that the spread was

around 150 basis points, up from

120 basis points, resulting in a

risk adjusted interest rate for the

calculations of 4%. This

represented the cost of borrowing

reduced to a full 2.5% points over

the beginning of last year for

qualified projects and a bit of an

anomaly in the credit


INDUSTRY - FINANCE

Will it end in tears?At the end of March, tanker acquisition prices continued to climb for

both newbuildings and secondhand tonnage.

2007 Cost structure, TCE basis ($000/day)

VLCC Suez Afra Pan MR

TCE Revenue 37.5 31 27.4 26 15.4

Operating cost 10.5 8.5 7.5 6.5 6.5

Finance cost 27.4 16.6 13.4 11.9 9.7

Total cost 37.9 25.1 20.9 18.4 15.2

Cash flow* (0.4) 5.9 6.5 7.6 (0.8)

IRR on 40% equity (%)* 3.4 9.7 11.4 13.3 3.8

*Before tax basisSource: McQuilling Services

2008 Cost Structure TCE basis ($000/day)

VLCC Suez Afra Pan MR

Price ($mill) 155 94 76 65 55

TCE Revenues 37.5 31 27.4 26 15.4

Operating cost 10.5 8.5 7.5 6.5 6.5

Finance cost 35.3 21.4 17.3 14.8 12.5

Total cost 45.8 29.9 24.8 21.3 19

Cash flow* (8.3) 0.1 2.8 4.7 (3.6)

IRR on 40% equity (%)* 2.4 6.3 7.5 9.7 1.4

*Before tax basisSource: McQuilling Services


INDUSTRY - FINANCE

TCE earnings for the period

1998-2007.

McQuilling summed up its

survey by saying that the

evidence for an asset price

correction was mounting.

14% of the nominal price is

incurred by making the progress

payments before delivery and use

of the vessel, assuming a 10%

opportunity cost. If a four year

contract period is considered,

which may now be required in

certain yards due to the backlog,

this additional cost increases to

18% from 14% of the nominal

contract price.

Using tanker newbuilding

prices as of March this year,

along with a decreased cost of

borrowing of 4% on a 10-year

note and a more restrictive

finance structure without a bullet

payment, the cash flow and IRR

results are displayed in the table

on the previous page.

The IRR results above include

an assumption of increased scrap

prices from $375 per ldt to $600

ldt to reflect current levels. The

effect on IRR is an increase of

about 10-20 basis points.

Considering all effects, the

cash flow from tanker projects

using current acquistion and

financing assumptions has

reduced more than $4,600 per

day on average from results

projected at the beginning of

2007. Both VLCC and MR

projects are well down showing

negative cash flow during the

finance period. In fact, all tanker

classes indicate single digit

IRRs. Project internal rates of

return on investment have been

reduced by on average three full

percentage points for the five

tanker types evaluated.

Based on these results,

McQuilling said that they

believed the investment

attractiveness in tanker projects

was diminished from a year ago.

Both on a free cash flow basis

and rate of return basis, the

numbers were clearly less

enticing.

A relevant question would be -

what sustained TCE earnings

would be required to restore the

confidence to invest in this sector

at current asset prices? Of course

different operators will have

different breakeven rates, but

McQuilling assumed that a 15%

return on equity was desirable

and calculated the TCE return

needed to generate it.

The numbers in the table

above must be generated over

the 25 year life of the project in

order to realise a 15% return on

investment. Although history is

not a good predictor of the

future, it produced good datum

to be aware of. Also included in

the table are the 10-year average

TCE Earnings required for a 15% return on equity

$000 per day VLCC Suez Afra Pan MR

Required TCE 70.9 45.2 37.2 31.9 28

10-year average TCE 41.4 36.5 28.6 23.8 19.1

Source: McQuilling Services

TO

cause of total losses, but

collisions had overtaken

groundings as the next most

common proximate cause. Of

the weather losses, a total of

14 general cargo vessels over

25 years old were total losses

in 2007.

The 270% increase in major

serious losses over the 10-year

period was equivalent to

0.64% of the fleet suffering a

serious partial loss in 1998 to

1.73% in 2007.

Machinery damage continued to

be the major cause of serious

partial losses, with a frequency of

approximately 35% in the past

five years.

Commenting on the statistics,

Deirdre Littlefield, IUMI's New

York-based president said: "These

figures underline the relentless

surge in marine claims that has

come about due to a number of

factors, not least being the

shipping boom itself with ships

and crews being driven harder

than anyone can remember.

Further, the figures dramatically

demonstrate the volatility of

marine risks.

"Regrettably," she added, "this

dangerous spiking of the casualty

graph is happening when the

worldwide premium base for

marine insurers is flat and

competition is rife. Underwriters

are struggling to obtain realistic

increases in their pricing of risks.

But they can and must help

themselves by showing discipline

and practising responsible

underwriting.

"Risk calculation, not risk

taking, must be the underwriter's

primary concern," she said.

A new feature of this year's

New statistics

released in March

by the International

Union of Marine

Insurance (IUMI), which

represents marine underwriters

worldwide, indicated that the total

figure for the 2006 year had

jumped from an early estimate of

67 to 92 (all figures relate to

ships of 500 gt and over), an

increase of 37%.

By the end of March figures

reported so far for 2007 were 82

total losses (compared to 67 for

2006 at the same point). If reports

increased at the same level as

2006, said IUMI, by March 2009

the total would be 112.

Therefore, the downward trend

of total losses over recent years

will be sharply arrested. There

had also been an equally dramatic

increase in major serious or

partial losses.

IUMI said: "...727 serious

incidents have been reported for

2006, a 6% increase since the last

report, and a staggering 914 so

far for 2007. This is a 270%

increase in one decade,

1998-2008."

The statistics, relating to the

marine and offshore energy

markets, collated and analysed by

IUMI's facts and figures, ocean

hull and offshore energy

committees, were based on

information from a number of

authoritative sources, including

Lloyd's Marine Intelligence Unit,

Clarkson, Rigzone, Willis, and

the International Association of

Drilling Contractors.

Other highlights included:

The increase in tonnage lost in

2006 since the March 2007

report was published was 40%

(508,141 gt had risen to

715,032 gt). Tonnage lost in

2007 was slightly down on

2006 at the same point -

481,741 gt.

The increase in total losses

was also noticeable as a

percentage of the world fleet

where the percentage of

tonnage lost had almost

doubled from 2005 (0.06%) to

2006 (0.11%), with 2007 at

this stage standing at 0.08%.

Weather remains the major


INDUSTRY - INSURANCE

Total and partiallosses - a cause

for concernThere has been a dramatic increase in the

number of ship total and partial losses, and

the upward trend looks likely to continue.

ISU calls for greater rewardsThe insurance

community needs to

reward salvors more

fairly to reflect the

importance that

environmental

concerns have these

days.

Rewards should be given for

'environmental damage' to

more fairly reflect the

importance of the environment

said Arnold Witte, the

president of the International

Salvage Union.

He said: "We now need a

more equitable system for

remunerating the salvor. We

also believe that more focus on

environmental salvage will be

financially beneficial to all

concerned. An investment in

environmental salvage awards

would be far outweighed by a

reduction in pollution claims

costs. The ISU would welcome

the opportunity to put this to

the test, by introducing

environmental salvage awards

for a trial period."

He said the cost of failure to

prevent pollution can run into

billions. He urged the P&I

community to accept that new

approaches to reward for

salvage and spill-prevention

have a significant role to play

in reducing the financial

impact of pollution claims and,

at the same time, contributing

to lower levels of ecological

and economic damage.

Many shipowners as well as

the P&I clubs did not accept

that there is any case for an

environmental salvage award.

But Arnold Witte hoped to

bring them around to his way

of thinking. "We will be

working privately and,

hopefully, with some intensity

in the coming months with the

P&I clubs, as well as owners

and property insurers, to

convince them that there is a

more beneficial approach to

environmental issues."


scarcity of skilled seafarers to

operate increasingly sophisticated

vessels remains one of our main

concerns", warned Hammer.

To manage rising costs, marine

insurers must work more closely

with shipowners, class societies

and regulators to develop systems

to ensure a safer industry and

more effective tools to manage

risk. Rising environmental and

safety concerns had created an

increasingly regulated industry

and had encouraged industry

stakeholders - from classification

societies to ship managers, marine

insurance providers to shipyards -

to share more information.

Today, ship operators are

responsible for ensuring that

vessels under their control are in

compliance with current safety

regulations, while the

responsibility for the enforcement

of maritime safety rules lay

squarely upon the flag states and

the classification societies to

which they delegate, CEFOR said.

As part of the wider maritime

community, marine insurers

supported and played an

important role in the drive

towards quality tonnage.

Transparency greatly affected the

industry's ability to participate in

this battle. There was also

growing awareness that as

legislative and regulatory

standards had been tightened and

thus improved the quality of the

ocean-going fleet, the real issue

was not so much sub-standard

ships as operators with

substandard attitudes. To combat

this challenge, a closer

relationship between the different

stakeholders was necessary.

"The close-knit CEFOR market

has long been recognised for the

depth of its maritime expertise

and willingness to work in co-

operation with shipowners,

legislators, class societies, and

related maritime organisations.

Supported by CEFOR's unique

claims handling model and long

tradition of consensus building,

we will continue to embrace and

encourage increased transparency

in the future", said Hammer.

statistics and analysis concerned

cargo insurance. IUMI said that

2007 was another exceptional

year of development in world

trade. In just five years, the

volume of goods moved by sea

had risen by 50% and values by

more than 110%.

The demand from emerging

markets was still high, and also

contributed to the massive

increase in prices of raw

materials: iron ore and scrap

metals up by 200% since 2000,

crude oil by 137%, coal by 130%,

agricultural products by 55%.

"This creates a very positive

environment for cargo insurers,"

IUMI stated. It added that

although undoubtedly there are

uncertainties in the future, there

had been no sign of a slowdown

in trading activities.

In its shipping analysis, IUMI

noted the continuing growth of

the world tanker fleet, with 412

vessels delivered in 2007 and

only 75 scrapped. However, a net

growth of 337 compared with the

much stronger net growth of 411

tankers in 2006.

In shipbuilding, more than 80%

of contracted gross tonnage is

with South Korea, China and

Japan. Scrapping of the tanker

and bulker fleets remained very

low, about 0.5% of the world

fleet in both sectors.

Scrap prices had reached a new

high of $500 per lightweight tonne

- since gone to over $700 per ldt.

Tanker earnings dropped sharply

in 2007 compared to its drybulk

counterparts, being approximately

$30,000 per day, compared to

nearly $40,000 in 2006; but this

remained strong compared to the

$20,000 seen in 2002.

Scandinavian take

Much the same story came out of

CEFOR's annual statistics.

The Oslo based insurance

association said that 2007 saw an

alarming trend with the average

hull claim cost rising 86% over

the last five years. And with

claims costs likely to continue

growing in the future, the industry

must take further steps to manage

costs without risking safety.

According to CEFOR's 2007

Nordic Marine Insurance

Statistics (NoMIS), the average

cost of a claim occurring during

the period between 1995 and

2003 was $210,000. In 2007, the

average claim cost rose to

$386,000. When dividing all

claims by all vessels insured, the

claims costs per vessel have risen

from $58,000 to $105,000 over

the same period.

"This pattern is not confined to

specific segments of the

industry", said Helle Hammer,

CEFOR's managing director. "All

types of claims, with the

exception of fire and explosions,

have shown an increase in cost

per claim incurred in 2007.

Groundings and collisions are by

far showing the largest increase.

While the costs of all sizes of

claims - from small to large -

have all become more expensive,

the increase is particularly strong

for large claims."

Within different segments of

marine insurance, the picture

remained distressingly consistent.

The members of the International

Group of P&I Clubs were faced

with a considerable increase in

costs of their pooling

arrangement, covering claims in

excess of $7 mill. Indeed, the

severity of large claims was at

record high.

The high claims cost recorded

in 2006 and 2007 was not as a

result of random fluctuation in

claim severity or frequency, but

rather a result of several factors

that impacted the costs of claims.

Strong market conditions and the

rising costs of raw materials

resulted in price hikes for

virtually all claims cost factors,

ranging from higher rates for

towage and salvage craft, cargo

values, pollution combat

equipment, replacement parts,

and lack of capacity in repair

yards etc.

Costs were also impacted by a

negative currency effect, due to

the relatively low US dollar,

while repairs were often priced in

other currencies. Increased

environmental sensitivity had

created more complex and costly

salvage and wreck removal

situations, CEFOR claimed.

Buoyant market conditions had

also resulted in a shortage of

skilled and experienced crews to

operate a growing world fleet.

"With cost of accidents due to

human error on the rise, this

INDUSTRY - INSURANCE

TO

Deirdre Littlefield with Fritz Stabinger, IUMI’s secretary general.

shop test on a 6-cylinder, 46 cm

bore 6S46MC-C engine built by

licensee Brodosplit. The HFO

burning engine features

mechanically controlled fuel-

injection and exhaust valve

actuation. It is one of two engines

due to be installed in a twin engine

configuration on board a shallow

draught 70,000 dwt tanker,

building for Stena Concordia

Maritime - Stena President.

"The inclusion of VTA

technology on the axial TCA55

turbocharger allows up to 0.5 bars

in compressor output pressure

variation at part load, " said MAN's

Niels Kjemtrup, senior manager

process development. "The shop

tests included NOx certification of

the engine and the overall results

from the test bench showed

expected improvements at part load

in terms of fuel consumption, as

well as considerable reductions in

emissions of soot and unburned

hydrocarbons.

"Additionally there was

potential for improved engine

response under load changes. It

was also demonstrated that VTA

technology gave a useful new

dimension to the mechanically

controlled engine. The effects are

The company said that

the new variable

turbine area (VTA)

technology will be

developed for all types in the

TCR series radial and TCA series

axial turbochargers.

The TCA with VTA technology

is currently under test on a

medium bore, 2-stroke low speed

diesel engine intended for marine

application. The flexibility of air

and fuel management will be key

factors in meeting both the future

emissions legislation and the

expectations of the industry in

terms of overall engine

performance and fuel

consumption.

Using the VTA system the

volume of charge air can be more

accurately matched with the

quantity of injected fuel at all

points of an engine's load profile.

The result is reduced specific fuel

consumption in combination with

reduced HC and CO emissions

and improved dynamic behaviour

of the engine/turbocharger system.

For example, trials undertaken

with a VTA-equipped TCA

turbocharger on MAN's 2-stroke

4T50ME-X research engine has

proved that significant potential

for reductions in specific fuel-oil

consumption (SFOC) at part-load,

combined with significant

improvements in load acceptance.

In detail, the VTA system

consists of a nozzle ring,

equipped with adjustable vanes,

which replaces the fixed-vane

nozzle rings fitted in MAN's

standard TCA turbochargers. In

this way, VTA technology can be

easily retrofitted to turbochargers

already in operation.

By adjusting the vane's pitch,

the exhaust gases pressure can be

regulated and the compressor

output optimised at all points on

the engine's performance graph.

In order to minimise thermal

hysteresis and improve

adjustment accuracy, each vane

has a lever which is directly

connected to a control ring. This

is activated by two electric,

positional motors with integrated

reduction gear whose

development was an integral part

of MAN's VTA solution.

The adjustable vanes are

manufactured in heat and

corrosion resistant steel alloy.

The careful selection of fits and

materials ensures operation under

all conditions without sticking,

especially in applications where

engine burn heavy fuel oil, MAN

claimed.

Control of vane positions is

fully electronic with feedback or

open loop control with mapped

vane adjustment. A

comprehensive range of control

signals can be used, including

charge-air pressure after the

compressor and exhaust gas

temperature before and after the

turbocharger. MAN claimed that

by using this method, it can offer

control packages precisely

tailored to a specific application,

including both mechanically

controlled engines and those with

electronic management. For

retrofits, MAN Diesel will offer

complete packages including the

VTA nozzle ring, the actuator and

the associated control system.

MAN has recently completed a

VTA turbochargertakes its bow

MAN’s turbocharger division recently

released a progress report on the new,

variable output turbochargers.


TECHNOLOGY - PROPULSION SYSTEMS

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For example, in the VTA

system for the turbocharger used

in the tests, vane adjustment

angles range from 15% below the

smallest fixed nozzle ring to 20%

above the largest. The vane

adjustment range is matched to

the charge air requirements of the

engine via the electronic control

system software.

Thus, MAN said, the matching

process involves defining the

band in which vane adjustments

are possible by setting their

minimum and maximum pitch to

match the operating range of the

engine. Within these limits, the

vanes can be varied infinitely.

During the early part of this year,

the test engine was moved from the

testbed to the tanker, which was

due to run trials in August.

Commercial deliveries of MAN's

TCA and TCR turbochargers were

scheduled to start at the end of

2008. The systems will be offered

in all turbocharger sizes.

comparable to the use of variable

valve timing and electronic

engine control," he explained.

It was also established that a

further benefit was that the

additional charge air pressure at

part load from the VTA

turbocharger allowed the

electrically driven auxiliary

blowers to be switched off at

lower loads on 2-stroke engines.

Following shop tests, the engine

will be tested on board the tanker

during sea trials and its first trips.

To obtain the best possible

comparison, the engine fitted with

the VTA turbocharger will run

alongside the second engine fitted

with a conventional turbocharger.

A test theme will be the

simulation of emergency running

by operating the engine with the

VTA at high torque with the

second engine shut down.

As well as the stated effects on

engine performance, emissions

and fuel consumption, VTA

technology also makes the process

of matching the turbocharger to

the engine much easier.

In contrast to fixed geometry

turbochargers, where a suitable

nozzle ring with fixed vanes is

chosen from a number of

alternatives, there is only VTA

module per turbocharger size

covering all matching

possibilities, MAN said. This has

a range of vane pitch adjustment

slightly greater than the smallest

and largest fixed vane rings.

The VTA seen under test on a six-cylinder, 46-cm bore 6S46MC-Cdiesel engine built by MAN Diesel's Croatian licensee, Brodosplit,for the Panamax tanker Stena President.


TO

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W W W . B E C K E R - M A R I N E - S Y S T E M S . C O M

M A N O E U V R I N G M AT E R I A L H A N D L I N G C O M M U N I C AT I O N

reliable

MAN Diesel is to supervise the

construction, shop tests, on-site

installation and commissioning of

the engines, as well as participate

in the subsequent sea-trials.

The S50ME-B8 engines are the

first 2-stroke types to be delivered

with TCA 66 turbochargers with

variable nozzle rings technology

(VTA), which facilitate the control

of the scavenging-air pressure and

thereby compression and cylinder

maximum pressure (see page 24).

This gives a large degree of

freedom to secure the optimal

balance between NOx emissions

and fuel consumption, MAN

claimed.

Advanced engine

MAN Diesel's subsidiary MaK

has also made the headlines by

installing what it claims to be one

of the most advanced medium-

speed marine diesel engines

available.

A MaK 7M43C low emission

diesel engine (LEE) was fitted on

board Furetank's 16,000 dwt

chemical tanker Fure West.

This engine was claimed to

meet the IMO emission

regulations. MaK's parent, MAN

Diesel said the Fure West was the

first vessel known to be fitted

with an IMO II-compliant engine

running on heavy fuel oil (HFO).

Furetank Rederi based in

Donsö, Sweden, operates five

modern product and chemical

tankers in and around Europe.

Fure West and her sistership Fure

Nord were delivered by Edward

Shipbuilding of Shanghai in 2006

and 2004 respectively.

Each vessel is 144 m in length,

21 m beam with a nine m loaded

draught. They have a maximum

speed of 15.4 knots. The MaK

engines are rated at 6,180 kW

each operating at 500 rev/min.

Last January, MAN

Diesel announced that

it had added another

member to its family

of two-stroke licensees.

This came with the signing of a

contract with Zhenjiang CME

(ZJCME), a Chinese engine

manufacturer.

This licensee is a subsidiary of

the giant, state-owned China State

Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC)

industrial conglomerate and brings

the total of MAN's two-stroke

licensees in China to seven.

ZJCME already held a four-

stroke license with MAN Diesel

for the building of generating

sets. It signed the new, two-

stroke agreement on 16th

January and is to build engines

up to 50-cm bore.

MAN's senior vice president

for two-stroke licensing, Klaus

Engberg speaking last January

said: "At the moment, we are

seeing an unprecedented boom

in the contracting of ships,

particularly in China. However,

although engine production is

also on the increase, China is

still experiencing a shortage of

engines. We therefore warmly

welcome the decision of CSSC

and ZJCME to produce our

two-stroke engines."

MAN Diesel's Japanese licensee,

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding

(MES), has reached a new

milestone with its cumulative

production of MAN B&W-branded

engines reaching the 60 mill bhp

mark at the end of March, which

the company claimed was a world

record for a single brand.

The new milestone came hard on

the heels of the 50 mill bhp mark,

which MES reached three years

ago. This is mainly due to MES

extending its production facilities

within the last few years, pushing its

capacity to an impressive 5 mill bhp

per year. The new record came with

the completion of an 6S50MC-C

Mark 7 engine at MES's Tamano

Works on 26th March.

With over 90 years' experience

in shipbuilding, MES covers all

requirements from design to

production to meet the modern

market's multi-faceted demands.

The company was originally

established as the shipbuilding

division of Mitsui & Co in 1917

and entered a technical licensing

agreement with Burmeister &

Wain on 13th August, 1926. The

company built its first MAN

B&W engine in 1928, a four-

stroke, single-acting, trunk type

6125M unit.

MES currently constructs a

broad range of shipping including

tankers. A recent highlight came

last year with the 110,000 dwt,

double-hull Aframax Mare

Italicum, which was delivered

from MES's Chiba Works fitted

with a 7S60MC type main engine.

First order

At the end of last year, MAN

Diesel received its first order for

the new 6S50ME-B8 engine.

Earlier, TORM and Guangzhou

Shipyard (GSI) had signed a

contract to build seven 50,500 dwt

chemical/product tankers in China.

Each vessel will be fitted with

a 6S50ME-B8 diesel engine,

which will be delivered by DMD

Dalian Marine Diesel.


TORM will be the first recipient of the new engine.


MAN Diesel active onall fronts

MAN beefs up its licensees, one of which

claimed a record and wins orders for

its new engines.

TO


required for each individual

cylinder unit. A computer

automatically adjusts the feed rate

according to the engine's power

output. Pre-lubrication is a

sequence in the bridge-

manoeuvring system, but can also

be performed manually if required.

MAN claimed that the

lubricator had displayed very low

feed-rates both for marine and

stationary engines, with oil

consumption reduced to as low as

0.60 g/kWh.

Tanker maintenance

PrimeServ also recently won a

contract under its EMC engine

management concept on board a

shuttle tanker operated by the

Alaska Tanker Company (ATC).

The contract with the

shipmanagement and marine

MAN Diesel's after

sales division

PrimeServ,

recently developed

a new injector, with a specially

designed nozzle-geometry, to

further facilitate the installation

of the company's successful

Alpha lubricating system.

Since its introduction to the

market earlier in the decade, the

Alpha Lubricator has had a major

impact by cutting some 20-30% off

cylinder-oil costs, MAN claimed.

The introduction of the new

injector allows for a more flexible

installation thus reducing the

expense of retrofit projects. These

projects can now more easily be

adapted to ship schedules, due to

the elimination of the preparatory

grinding work that formerly

required the opening up of liners.

Accordingly, the need to

immobilise the engine, a

particular problem in the case of

tankers, has been removed.

Previously, grinding work was

required to adjust the spray

pattern and ensure the even

distribution of cylinder oil on

liner walls during emergency

running. Peter Rytter Jensen,

manager of MAN Diesel

PrimeServ's project division said:

"This is an issue that we have

been trying to resolve for some

time. Ultimately, we have

developed a unique injector that

allows us to perform the

modification work from outside

the cylinder liner, meaning that

engine immobilisation is no

longer necessary. This makes

installation of the Alpha

Lubricator significantly easier,

and we ensure that the lubricating

oil is still distributed as it should,

and remains in place upon the

liner surface."

The lubricating system is based

on the principle of injecting a

specific volume of oil into the

cylinder liner via a number of

quills after a certain, pre-set

number of engine revolutions.

The lubricator itself has a small

plunger for each lubricator quill

in the cylinder liner, and the

power for injecting the oil comes

from a hydraulic system, driven

by a pump station.

This station uses a pressurised,

loop system, while the lubricator

uses a high-pressure, positive dis-

placement system that ensures each

quill receives an equal oil volume.

The specific amount of oil

injected can be adjusted as


New injector unveiledAfter care service division is now an integral part of MAN Diesel’s operation.

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classed by ABS and were all built

by the National Steel &

Shipbuilding Company

(NASSCO) of San Diego,

between 2004 and 2006.

The tankers operate a shuttle

service between Valdez, Alaska

and Puget Sound, Washington,

San Francisco and Long Beach,

California, and occasionally

Barber's Point, Hawaii.

The contracts centre on the

vessels' diesel-electric propulsion

systems, which are each based on

four generator sets powered by

inline six-cylinder type 6L48/60

engines from the MAN Diesel

works in Augsburg. The generating

sets power two electric motors

driving controllable pitch

propellers, as well as covering the

vessels' other on board electrical

needs.

They are equipped to run on

both HFO and low sulphur

marine diesel oil when in coastal

or inland waters.

Building on the maintenance

contracts, PrimeServ is also

assisting ATC in an intensive

study of emissions-reduction

methods for the shuttle tanker

engines, including after treatment,

MAN said.


transportation concern based in

Beaverton, Oregon, covers the

vessel Alaskan Legend and gives

PrimeServ delegated engine

maintenance responsibility for all

four shuttle tankers in the ATC fleet.

They each have a payload of

1.3 mill barrels of oil and are of

double-hull construction. They

are registered under the US flag,

An injector can be fitted without shutting down the engine.


TO

Let us handle it

Profit from our experience

MacGREGOR is part of Cargotec Corporation

are to both China's shipbuilding

industry and global markets.

The joint venture company

Wärtsilä Qiyao Diesel (Shanghai)

began the manufacture of

complete marine diesel

generating sets in June 2006,

while the joint venture Qingdao

Qiyao Wärtsilä MHI Linshan

Marine Diesel (QMD) was

established in 2007 to

manufacture low-speed marine

diesel engines.

Wärtsilä has three licensees in

China - Dalian Marine Diesel

Works (DMD), Hudong Heavy

Machinery (HMM) and Yichang

Marine Diesel Engine Plant

(YMD).

Last month, Wärtsilä

and Zhenjiang CME

(CME) jointly signed a

licence agreement for

the manufacture and sale of

Wärtsilä RT-flex low-speed

marine diesel engines in China.

The agreement grants CME

the right to manufacture all sizes

of Wärtsilä RT-flex modern low-

speed engine types at its new

factory in Zhenjiang. However,

CME will focus on engines of 50

cm cylinder bore and smaller.

The main attraction claimed by

the new licence agreement is the

ability to manufacture Wärtsilä

RT-flex engines with common-

rail technology.

The new licensee is located at

Zhenjiang in Jiangsu Province up

the Yangtze River from Shanghai.

CME is a subsidiary of China

State Shipbuilding Corporation

(CSSC) and has been

manufacturing 4-stroke engines

for many years.

CME is building a new factory

on a 250,000 sq m site at

Zhenjiang for the manufacture of

low-speed engines. The first

engines are planned to be

completed in the second half of

2009. The new factory will have

an initial capacity to build

engines with an aggregate output

of about 300,000 bhp (220 MW),

later increasing to one million

brake horsepower (735 MW).

Support for the manufacture of

Wärtsilä's low-speed engines will

be provided by Wartsila

Switzerland.

Propellers

Last year, a joint venture

company - Wartsila CME

Zhenjiang Propeller Co - was

formed, which effectively

doubled the company's

production capability.

The company now claims to

be the biggest fixed-pitch

propeller manufacturer in China

and one of the biggest in the

world in this sector.

The new factory more than

doubles the annual production

output to 6,500 tonnes of

propellers. The maximum size of

propeller that can be produced is

around 140 tonnes by weight.

About 80% of the world's

newbuildings use fixed-pitch (FP)

propellers of the type

manufactured in the factory. Most

of the propellers are being sold to

the rapidly-growing market in

China. About 15% to 20% of the

production is exported.

The new factory concentrates

on larger FP propellers, with

diameters of more than 5 m. It is

designed for an annual production

of some 200 propellers.

Previously, Wartsila CME

Zhenjiang manufactured FP

propellers of up to 70 tonnes

weight at its old facility, which is

still in production. The new

factory also caters for the

machining of propeller shafts

enabling the company to deliver

complete FP propeller packages

with shaft lines and accessories.

The land area of the production

site also gives ample scope for

further expansion.

The new factory began test

production on 11th June last year.

It will be up to full production in

the second half 2008 when it will

have about 240 employees.

Production methods at the two

factories are very similar. There

is a single quality management

team serving both factories

according to ISO 9000

accreditation. There are clear

procedures for every task with

particular emphasis to ensure

that relevant procedures are

followed.

The new factory is

conveniently located about five

minutes drive from the original

propeller factory towards

Zhenjiang port at the Yangtze

River. The large FP propellers can

be readily shipped from

Zhenjiang to the shipyards.

Wärtsilä has steadily expanding

its capacity in China to serve the

country's rapidly growing

shipbuilding industry. Wärtsilä

now has five manufacturing

works and three engine-building

licensees.

In addition to the two

Zhenjiang factories, Wärtsilä has

another propulsion production

facility in China at Wuxi. That

factory, set up in 2005, now

manufactures all of Wärtsilä's

transverse thrusters. Deliveries

Wärtsilä looks EastChina and India high on the agenda for engines and manoeuvring systems.



SPOS®

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China, Croatia, Germany, India,

Japan, Korea, Argentina and

Vietnam for owners in various

countries including China,

Greece, Scandinavia, Germany,

India, Japan and the Netherlands.

They comprise 38 seven- and 119

six-cylinder engines, the

newbuildings include 37,000 to

60,000 dwt product tankers,

together with a number LPG

carriers, plus other types.

US approval

Late last year, Wärtsilä also

achieved Tier 2 marine

certification under the emissions

control legislation of the US EPA

(Environmental Protection

Agency) for the Wärtsilä 26, in-

line marine diesel engine type.

The Wärtsilä 26 engine is a

four-stroke heavy-duty marine

engine of 260 mm cylinder

bore by 320 mm piston stroke

built in in-line and Vee-form

configurations. It covers a power

range of 1,950-5,440 kW (2,650-

7,393 bhp).

More than 800 engines have

been delivered since its

introduction in 1996 and there

are engines operating with more

than 60,000 running hours. With

a swept volume of 17 litres per

cylinder the Wärtsilä 26 is

classified by the EPA as a

category 2 engine. Since 1

January, 2007 US-flag vessels

powered by category 2 engines

are required to meet the Tier 2

requirements.

For in-line engines the US EPA

Indian growth

India is another country of

growing importance and

recognising this, Wärtsilä decided

to manufacture controllable pitch

propellers (CPP) in India. The

Indian Eur5 mill CPP production

facility will be operational by the

end of this year.

CPPs will be built at the

existing Export Oriented Unit

(EOU) at Wärtsilä's factory at

Khopoli, near Mumbai.

The range of D-Hub CPPs

planned to be assembled in India

is from Type 4D330 and the

largest will be Type 4D1190. The

CPP installation consists of a hub,

propeller blades, hydraulics and a

Lipstronic remote control, as well

as other accessories as necessary.

Presently, Wärtsilä manufacturers

CPP`s in the Netherlands,

Norway and FPPs in China.

Currently, activities at the

Khopoli factory include engine

assembly, reconditioning of

engine parts, propeller blade

repair, manufacturing auxiliary

modules, gear boxes, HR nozzles,

oil distribution boxes and it also

houses the training school

Wärtsilä Land & Sea Academy.

RT-flex expands

Wärtsilä recently introduced a

new 'D' version of its RT-flex50

low-speed marine engine type.

The company claimed that this

version has a higher power

rating and lower fuel

consumption compared with the

existing 'B' version.

The maximum continuous

power output of the RT-flex50

has been raised by 5.1% to 1,745

kW per cylinder (2,260 to 2,375

bhp per cylinder) from 1,660 kW

per cylinder at the same running

speed of 124 rev/min.

Thus, with five to eight

cylinders in-line, the RT-flex50 in

the 'D' version covers a power

range of 6,100-13,960 kW

(8,300-19,000 bhp) at 99-124

rev/min.

At the same time, the brake

specific fuel consumptions

(BSFC) have been reduced by 2

g/kWh. Thus at the maximum

continuous rating R1, the full-

load BSFC has been reduced to

169 g/kWh from 171 g/kWh.

This fuel saving is made possible

by employing the latest, higher-

efficiency turbochargers,

Wartsila claimed.

Advantage can also be taken

of the flexibility provided by the

layout field for engine power and

speed to obtain greater fuel

savings. For example if a 'D'

engine is de-rated to the same

cylinder power output as the 'B'

version, then the BSFC at full

load is reduced by 4.5 g/kWh.

Wärtsilä RT-flex50 engines are

aimed at the propulsion of a

variety of ship types, including

product tankers. The first engine

entered service in January 2006

and by the end of August 2007, a

total of 157 engines aggregating

1,604 MW (2,180,900 bhp) were

delivered or were on order.

The engines have been ordered

for newbuildings contracted in

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Wärtsilä’s new Dubai facility.

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there are some 325 people

working for Wärtsilä in Dubai

and this number will be increased

to at least 400 before the end of

this year to handle the extra

business. Wärtsilä also plans to

open an office and workshop in

Dubai Maritime City.

Wärtsilä has been expanding

its network in the Middle East. A

branch office was opened in

Fujairah in April 2007 and in

Bahrain in January 2008. Further

offices are planned in Oman,

Yemen, Egypt and Qatar, as well

as additional offices and

workshops in Dubai. All these

branch offices will report to a

local head office for the Middle

East, which will be in Dubai.

This local head office will serve

14 countries.

One of the important features

of the new workshop is that it has

a new parts cleaning machine,

which complies with

environmental requirements and

reduces the wastage of water. The

machine works with 95% clean

water and with only 5% chemicals

and it has a closed system.

Another addition to the

workshops is new honing

technology. A new horizontal

honing machine has been installed

to hone cylinder liners with bore

diameters from 30 mm to 840 mm.

The process is CNC controlled for

high accuracy and improved

quality. Further new machines will

be added to the workshop in the

course of this year, Wartsila said.

Boiler services

Finally, Wärtsilä has acquired the

Danish-based company

International Combustion

Engineering (ICE).

Based in Aalborg, ICE

specialises in project engineering

and the service and repair of

steam boilers and ancillary burner

systems.

The acquisition of ICE will

expand Wärtsilä's service offering

into boilers. The company has a

strong market position and also

has a trading division that

supplies spare parts for boiler and

burner systems.

Tier 2, category 2, required

emission levels for total

hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides

(NOx) are less than 8.7 g/kWh. In

addition, the US EPA legislations

set limits for carbon monoxide

(CO) of 5.0 g/kWh and particulate

matter (PM) of 0.5 g/kWh.

Testing of Wärtsilä 26 engines

for compliance with the US EPA

Tier 2 legislation was successfully

performed in the Trieste engine

laboratory in Italy with fuels

meeting the EPA requirements.

The emission levels have been

lowered largely by reducing the

maximum combustion tempera-

tures. This has involved a comb-

ination of measures: Miller timing,

optimisation of the combustion

chamber, and of the fuel injection

equipment. In this way, the

emissions been reduced with a

marginal decrease in efficiency.

Dubai expansion

In April, Wartsila opened new

offices and a workshop in Dubai

to meet the rapidly growing

market demand from marine and

power plant customers in Dubai

and in the Gulf area in general.

The new workshop premises

with a floor area of nearly 10,000

sq m is located in the Dubai

Investment Park 2 (DIP2). It

enables Wärtsilä to offer a wide

range of services for engines,

ships, automation, propellers,

thrusters, alignment and in-situ

machining.

It also enables Wärtsilä to

handle larger work in terms of

dimensions and weight, and will

allow the use of the latest tools

and other maintenance equipment.

The building is 15 m in height and

is equipped with six overhead

cranes with maximum capacities

of 30 tonnes. As all activities are

undertaken under one roof, there

will be benefits in less handling

and better quality work.

Wärtsilä has been operating in

Dubai since 1992 and already has

a number of premises there.

However, the majority of the

Dubai employees will work in the

new premises, amounting to

around 310 people. Currently TO


detected, more frequent

examinations should be scheduled.

In some instances a loud sound

similar to an electric 'hum',

referred to as a change in 'tonal

quality' will indicate a bearing

failure that can be confirmed with

the use of a vibration analyser to

show the fault frequency.

There are two basic procedures

of testing for bearing problems:

The comparative and historical

method. The first involves testing

two or more similar bearings and

'comparing' potential differences.

Historical testing requires

monitoring a specific bearing

over a period of time to establish

its history. By analysing bearing

history, wear patterns at particular

ultrasonic frequencies become

obvious, which allows for early

detection and correction of

bearing problems.

Some general guidelines are:

1) Minimise variables. Try to be

as consistent from test to test

as possible.

2) Select one test point and

identify it for future tests.

3) Select same type bearings

under similar load conditions

and same rotational speed.

4) Test at the same angle.

5) If the inspection instrument

has frequency tuning, note

and use the same frequency.

6) Compare differences of meter

reading/dB and sound quality.

7) Establish a baseline by

comparing similar bearings,

using the lowest dB level for

the baseline.

8) Save the baseline reading for

future reference.

9) Compare this reading with

previous, or future readings.

The ultrasonic warning

appears prior to a rise

in temperature or an

increase in low

frequency vibration levels.

Ultrasonic inspection of bearings

is useful in recognising:

1) The beginning of fatigue

failure.

2) Brinelling of bearing

surfaces.

3) Flooding of or lack of

lubricant.

In ball bearings, as the metal in

the raceway, roller or ball

bearing begins to fatigue, a

subtle deformation begins to

occur. This deforming of the

metal will produce irregular

surfaces, which will cause an

increase in the emission of

ultrasonic sound waves.

A change in amplitude from the

original reading is an indication

of incipient bearing failure.

When an ultrasonic reading

exceeds any previous reading by

12 dB, it can be assumed that the

bearing has entered the beginning

of the failure mode.

This information was originally

discovered through experiment-

ation performed by NASA on ball

bearings. In tests performed while

monitoring bearings at frequencies

ranging from 24 through 50 kHz,

the space agency found that the

changes in amplitude indicate

incipient bearing failure before any

other indicators including heat and

vibration changes.

An ultrasonic system based on

detection and analysis of

modulations of bearing resonance

frequencies can provide subtle

detection capability, whereas

conventional methods are

incapable of detecting very slight

faults. As a ball passes over a pit

or fault in the race surface, it

produces an impact. A structural

resonance of one of the bearing

components vibrates or 'rings' by

this repetitive impact. The sound

produced is observed as an

increase in amplitude in the

monitored ultrasonic frequencies

of the bearing.

Brinelling surfaces

Brinelling of bearing surfaces will

produce a similar increase in

amplitude due to the flattening

process as the balls get out of

round. These flat spots also

produce a repetitive ringing that is

detected as an increase in amplitude

of monitored frequencies.

The ultrasonic frequencies

detected by the Ultraprobe are

reproduced as audible sounds.

This 'heterodyned' signal can

greatly assist a user in determining

bearing problems. When listening,

it is recommended that a user

become familiar with the sounds

of a good bearing. A good bearing

is heard as a rushing or hissing

noise. Crackling or rough sounds

indicate a bearing in the

failure stage.

In certain cases, a damaged ball

can be heard as a clicking sound

whereas a high intensity, uniform

rough sound may indicate a

damaged race or uniform ball

damage. Loud rushing sounds

similar to the rushing sound of a

good bearing only slightly

rougher, can indicate lack of

lubrication. Short duration

increases in the sound level with

'rough' , or 'scratchy' components

indicate a rolling element hitting a

'flat' spot and sliding on the

bearing surfaces rather than

rotating. If this condition is

TECHNOLOGY - CONDITION MONITORING

Ultrasonicbearing inspection

- the do’s and don’tsUltrasonic inspection and monitoring of

bearings is by far the most reliable method

for detecting incipient bearing failure*.

The listener should be familiar with the sound of a good bearing.



other is over-lubrication.

Normal bearing loads cause an

elastic deformation of the

elements in the contact area

providing a smooth elliptical

distribution. But bearing surfaces

are not perfectly smooth. For this

reason the actual stress

distribution in the contact area

will be affected by a random

surface roughness. In the

presence of a lubricant film on a

On all future readings, adjust

frequency to the original

level.

If the decibel level has moved up

8-10 dB over the baseline

accompanied by a uniform 'rushing'

noise, this is an indication of lack

of lubrication. A 12 to 16 dB rise

over the baseline accompanied by

crackling or popping noises will

indicate the bearing has entered the

incipient failure mode.

Slow speed bearings

Monitoring slow speed bearings is

possible with ultrasound

technology. Most of the ultrasound

instruments will have a wide

sensitivity range and some will

have frequency tuning. With these

features it is quite possible to listen

to the acoustic quality of bearings.

In extremely slow bearings (less

then 25 rev/min), it is often

necessary to disregard the meter

display and listen to the sound of

the bearing. In these extreme

situations, the bearings are usually

large (1/2 inch and up) and greased

with high viscosity lubricant. Most

often, no sound will be heard as

the grease will absorb most of the

acoustic energy. If a sound is

heard, usually a crackling sound,

there is some indication of

deformity occurring.

On most other slow speed

bearings, it is possible to set a

baseline and monitor as described

above.

Lubrication

It is important to consider two

elements of potential failure. One

is lack of lubrication while the

possibilities of small fissures may

develop, which contributes to the

'Pre-Failure' condition. Therefore,

aside from normal wear, the fatigue

or service life of a bearing is

strongly influenced by the relative

film thickness provided by an

appropriate lubricant.

Over Lubrication

The right amount of lubrication is

very important. If a bearing is

bearing surface, there is a

dampening effect on the stress

distribution and the acoustic

energy produced will be low.

Should lubrication be reduced to

a point where the stress distribution

is no longer present, the normal

rough spots will make contact with

the face surfaces and increase the

acoustic energy. These normal

microscopic deformities will begin

to produce wear and the

A lack of lubrication can easilybe identified.


CONDITION MONITORING

over-lubricated, the bearing can be

pushed excessively by the lubricant

causing additional wear of the

bearing. On the other hand, if there

is not enough lubricant, the bearing

will rub on the solid surface...again

causing friction and wear on the

bearings. Either case is detrimental

to the life of the bearing. In using

airborne/structure-borne ultrasound,

you can take the guess out of

lubrication.

To avoid lack of lubrication

note the following:

1) As the lubricant film reduces,

the sound level will increase.

A rise of about 8 dB over

baseline accompanied by a

uniform rushing sound will

indicate lack of lubrication.

2) When lubricating, add just

enough to return the reading

to baseline or until the

reading goes down.

3) Use Caution! Some

lubricants will need time to

run to uniformly cover the

bearings surface. Lubricate a

little at a time.

4) An alternative method is to

add lubricant until the sound

level drops off and then add a

small amount of grease to

assure the bearing has enough

grease to fill the cavity. It

would be prudent to recheck

the bearing within 24 hours to

verify that enough grease has

been added.

Over-Lubrication

When too much lubricant is put

into the bearing housing the

pressure builds up and can lead to

an increase of heat, which can

create stress and deformity of the

bearing or it can break or 'pop'

the bearing seal, allowing

lubricant to spill out into

unwanted areas such as a motor

winding, or allow contaminants to

enter the raceway, all of which

can lead to bearing failure.

To prevent this from occurring:

1) Set a baseline dB level.

2) On subsequent inspections do

not lubricate if the dB levels

are equal to or less than 8 dB

over the established baseline

level and the sound quality

has not changed.

3) If a reading is 8-10 dB over

the established baseline level,

add lubrication until the

sound level drops and stop

lubricating immediately at

this point.

Conclusion

Ultrasound instruments are quite

versatile and are ideally suited to

predictive/preventive maintenance

programmes. Their enhanced

sensitivity makes them ideally

suited to note early stages of

bearing failure and especially

lubrication conditions. By

electronically translating ultrasound

emissions down into the audible

range, these instruments enable

users to hear and recognise when

and when not to add lubrication

thus preventing over lubrication.

* Taken from an original

paper written by Mark

Goodman, VP Engineering,

UE Systems Inc.

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The unit is used for custody transfer, inventory control measurement and free water detection on marine vessels. Connected to a HERMetic vapour con-trol valve, the UTImeter Gtex avoids any gas release during operation and enables 3, optionally 4 measurements in one single operation, Ullage, Temperature, Oil-water interface level and Innage. By increasing safety and efficiency, Honeywell Enraf Tanksystem helps customers improve business performance.

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Over lubrication.

TO

Lifecycle usage

GL Pegasus can be used for any

type of ship. Shipowners can use

the 3D model throughout its

lifecycle to monitor the condition

of the hull.

GL claimed that the benefits are:-

Significantly faster reporting.

Higher-quality data.

No more redundant input for

reporting.

Optional fast re-assessment of

longitudinal strength (if

required).

3-D overview of thickness

measurements.

Online access to TM results.

Standardised formats for

historical data comparisons.

Support of requirements for

special ship types (for

example, tankers).

Earlier this year,

Hamburg-based class

society Germanischer

Lloyd (GL) issued its

'Guidelines for

Machinery Condition

Monitoring'.

These came into force on 15th

February this year and gave

information on the documents to

be submitted, survey

arrangements and planned

maintenance system to be used.

The requirements for the

design of condition monitoring

systems were outlined for the

installation, software and the

steps to acceptance. As for the

requirements for operation, these

cover operating personnel,

measurements, analysis, reporting

and the documents than need to

be available on board a vessel.

Also covered in the guidelines

were surveys, including the

implementation, final approval,

annual and non-periodical surveys.

Examples were given, which

included the scope, cranktrain

brearings of low speed diesel

engines, centrifugal pumps and

accumulator battery. Test

methods were also discussed

on the standards for lubricating

oil analysis.

Thickness measurement

A couple of years ago, GL

launched GL Pegasus, a software

tool to help owners and managers

with their thickness measurement

(TM) surveys.

Until then, the processing of

TM data - vital for corrosion

monitoring - was a time-

consuming, manual business. It

could take several weeks while

the reporting process could take

as long. Data was frequently

copied manually. Hot spots were

difficult to see. And there was no

sophisticated electronic

assessment support.

To initiate the Pegasus-based

TM process, all a shipowner has

to do is inform GL around eight

weeks before the TM survey is

due to be performed. During this

time, GL specialists will develop

a 3D structural model of the ship

for hull condition monitoring.

This model replaces the manual

drawings during measurements

and saves a huge amount of time,

claimed GL. The reason being,

that by planning the

measurements within GL

Pegasus, all taken TMs can be

automatically transferred from the

measuring device to the 3D

model within GL Pegasus.

GL Pegasus can also offer

significant improvements to the

reporting process, although the

measurement task itself remains

unchanged. Once the

measurements have been taken

and transferred to the program,

reporting is done automatically.

The reports produced comply

with IACS requirements.

In addition, it uses the TM data

and the 3D model of the vessel to

allow immediate scanning of the

results. The ship model is

supplied to the owner via the GL

fleet-management tool, fleet

online. This facilitates assessment

of the condition of a ship's entire

structure and its evolution over

time, as well as supporting

corrosion predictions and risk

maintenance.



Condition monitoring guidelines

Structural models can beproduced.

addition to the wear, the detergent

property of the oil will decrease,

becoming a catalyst for further

deterioration. A build-up of

insolubles will generally increase

the oils viscosity and create other

problems, such as foaming.

Ultimately, increased oil viscosity

will cause wear of bearings and

running surfaces, blockage of oil

ways and filters, and the fouling

around the piston pack and piston

top land."

"At Kittiwake, we're not just

experts in machinery condition

monitoring and fuel and lube oil

analysis, we are partners to the

marine industry, providing our

customers with the information

and the technology they need

to keep their fleets running,"

said Froome.

Kittiwake Developments

has improved its range

of on board oil condition

monitoring equipment by

launching the DIGI

Insolubles meter.

The compact DIGI meter is

designed to test for contaminants in

fuels and lubricants, which can

provide an early warning system to

impending machinery and

equipment failure. The device is

claimed to be simple to use and can

deliver accurate results in under

two minutes.

"This new handheld unit is

designed to put on-site, instant

and actionable oil condition

results straight into the hands of

the engineer," said Kittiwake's

marketing manager Paul Froome.

"With its waterproof casing and

battery power, the DIGI meter is

robust enough to withstand even

the toughest working

environments. It is an essential

addition to any ship-based

maintenance regime."

The test kit is claimed to be

unique and was developed by

Kittiwake using colorimetry. It

utilises Kittiwake's latest test

metering technology to provide

fast and highly accurate field

results. The unit comes complete

in a portable carry case with all

the agents and consumables

required for instant testing.

Froome said that the need to

monitor the level of insolubles and

soot inside ship machinery and

equipment is vital to guaranteeing

sound reliability and performance.

Insolubles are solid

contamination particles often left

in oil as a result of the build-up of

combustion related debris and

oxidation products. These can

include carbon from incomplete

combustion of fuel and, to a lesser

extent, lubricants, organic

polymers from oxidisation of the

lube oil and fuel. They also

contain sulphates from combustion

of fuel sulphur and reaction with

TBN additives and wear metals.

Metallic fuel ash and airborne

grit such as dust, dirt and silica

can also be present, as well as

asphaltenes - mainly from

engines using residual fuel oil.

"High insolubles will cause

lacquer formation on hot surfaces,

sticking of piston rings and wear

of cylinder liner and bearing

surfaces," said Froome. "In

Insolubles & Soot monitoring

TO

TO

become mandatory in 2011-2012.

The UKHO is currently talking

with OEMs regarding the future

of the digital product and a

service offering layers of data

should be introduced later this

year. One example of a layer

could be the position of various

wind farms springing up off the

world's coastlines in co-operation

with the energy companies.

Apart from including all of the

top 2,000 ports by the end of this

year, other enhancements to the

layers are being planned,

including the value it adds to its

paper charts, such as temporary

and preliminary Notice to

Mariners and finally all Notices

published.

ENC supporter

The UKHO stressed that it was a

strong supporter of ENCs. Studies

have shown that the use of ENCs

in ECDIS improves seafarers'

safety, helps protect the

environment and delivers tangible

cost savings.

Rear Admiral Ian Moncrieff,

the UK National Hydrographer

urged global hydrographic offices

to "get on with it", expressing

frustration at the number of ENCs

currently available.

Robinson commented; "In

providing a global ENC service,

we are making a concerted effort

to overcome the barriers of cost,

coverage and consistency in the

'take up' of ECDIS to drive

towards digital navigation, which

is widely accepted offers a safer

future for shipping.

"This launch, although

representing a key milestone in

the evolution of digital charting,

is really just the start...we now

have the basis on which to

develop a comprehensive set of

integrated data and services that

Effectively, as the

Admiralty Vector

Chart Service (AVCS)

is still not entirely

global, but the organisation said it

hoped to be able to cover 2,000

of the world's top ports, which

account for 98% of the world's

tonnage by the end of this year.

AVCS claim to fame is that it

will be able to provide navigators

with an integrated set of

electronic navigational charts

(ENCs) schemed in folios along

the major shipping routes

covering the world's top ports. It

comes together with ordering,

flexible licensing and updating

services.

The UKHO claimed that this

new service will mean that

seafarers now have access to

carriage compliant ENCs from a

single source and overcomes the

present requirement to carry,

maintain and use a mix of ENC,

Raster and paper charts drawn

from multiple sources.

AVCS can provide access to all

the previously available ENCs

and exclusive access to a number

of new ENCs, produced by the

UKHO in co-operation with

many of the world's hydrographic

offices to fill gaps in coverage.

To improve the quality, in

addition to ensuring that newly

produced coverage seamlessly

sits alongside existing coverage,

the UKHO has worked with

many other hydrographic offices

to improve the overall

consistency of the service.

SOLAS compliant

AVCS comprises only of official

ENCs produced by government

hydrographic offices and is

therefore fully compliant with

SOLAS for use in ECDIS. To

produce up-to-date ENCs, the

UKHO launched the Admiralty

updating service, which means

that in future chart amendments

can be more easily applied, the

UKHO said.

The service has been produced

with the help of the shipping

industry and trialled on board

several vessels, including tankers.

Feedback was used to refine the

process, the UKHO explained.

UKHO's chief executive Mike

Robinson said at the launch of

AVCS; "With AVCS on the

bridge, not only can paper

holdings be reduced significantly,

but also unofficial privately

produced 'aids to navigation' can

also be finally be put back where

they belong on a SOLAS vessel,

that is, ‘back in their boxes' and

nowhere near an ECDIS," in an

attack on the unofficial chart

producers.

This launch was viewed by the

UKHO as the first phase in future

digital development. Other phases

will be brought in over the next

three years and the digital

navigation concept may well

TECHNOLOGY - ECDIS


Rear Admiral Ian Moncrieff.

Digital chart servicealmost global

At the beginning of April, the UKHO

unveiled what is effectively a global

digital vector chart service.

worldwide can: -

Order ECDIS and ENCs for

customers 24/7.

Receive permits via email

within 10 minutes.

Renew existing licenses

online.

Utilise a new price enquiry

service giving a tailored

estimate for their clients.

will provide the mariner with all

he or she needs for safe

navigation in the digital world,"

he concluded.

Trials were carried out on six

commercial vessels, a Trinity

House tender and two Royal

Navy vessels. Among the

commercial vessels were

James Fisher Everard's Supremity,

the newly built Suezmax Rio

Genoa and the chemical tanker

Vedrey Fram.

Meanwhile, among the latest

ENC releases from the UKHO

within its Admiralty range are

Korea and Pakistan.

The first three Pakistani ENC

cells released provide coverage of

the key ports and approaches of

Karachi and Port Muhammad Bin

Qasim. A further 16 cells

completing the ENC coverage of

the country are expected to be

integrated into Admiralty

Services in the coming months.

Admiralty ENC service

customers can purchase the new

ENCs as required. Admiralty

ECDIS Service customers that

license folio 12 will be

automatically provided with the

relevant ENCs as they become

available at no extra cost.

Last November, the UKHO

introduced nearly 300 new cells

covering Korean waters,

following an agreement with

representatives of the Korean

Ocean Research Association

(KORA) on behalf of the

National Oceanographic

Research Institute. Around 40%

of world shipping trade passes

through Korean waters.

These new cells provide full

coverage of all major ports, as

well as comprehensive coverage

of the approaches and for transit

through Korean waters. Nearly

half of the 297 cells depict

harbour areas and these are well

supported by chart cells in all of

the scale bands, including

overview cells for planning

purposes.

Service upgrade

In the latest of a series of digital

service updates, the UKHO

worldwide network of over 140

distributors can now receive a

permit for ENCs online in less

than 10 minutes.

This improvement to the

UKHO's digital licensing and

ordering service now means it is

easier for customers to order new

and renewed licenses for the ENC

and ECDIS services, all through a

single interface and filled

automatically.

Following extensive

consultation with the Admiralty

Distributor network, the UKHO

now offers a fully comprehensive

Admiralty Product Ordering

Service (APOS) which links an

up-to-date digital catalogue to a

full licensing and permit

production service.

The UKHO's distributors based


TECHNOLOGY - ECDIS

Type approval secured

Earlier this year,

Northrop Grumman

Corporation's Sperry

Marine business unit

received type approval

from the UK

certification body,

QinetiQ, for its new-

generation

VisionMaster FT™

suite of marine

navigation systems.

The QinetiQ type approval

certified that the VisionMaster

FT ECDIS conformed to the

International Electrotechnical

Commission technical

specifications and IMO

performance standards.

The type approval also

authorised Sperry Marine to

mark the products with the

European Union Wheelmark

insignia, signifying compliance

with applicable European

Council directives. Sperry

Marine's VisionMaster FT radar

and chart radar systems also

received QinetiQ type approval

last year.

"With this type approval

from QinetiQ, the entire

VisionMaster FT family of

products is now certified to

meet international standards

for installation on ships subject

to the Safety of Life at Sea

Convention," said J Nolasco

DaCunha, vice president of

Sperry Marine. "This includes

Sperry Marine's unique

TotalWatch multi-function

bridge workstation, which

integrates all critical

navigation functions in a single

console. The TotalWatch

technology has the potential to

improve safety at sea by

enhancing situational

awareness for watchstanders."

The VisionMaster FT ECDIS

complies with all IMO carriage

requirements for navigating

without paper charts when a

backup ECDIS is installed.

The split-screen capability

permits two independent charts

to be shown simultaneously,

and a unique, picture-in-

picture window allows the user

to view specific areas of the

chart at different scales. The

ECDIS can be integrated with

the radar and automatic

identification system for

common target identification

and overlay of data on the

ECDIS screen.

QinetiQ is authorised by the

UK Maritime and Coastguard

Agency and European

Commission to conduct

conformity assessment

procedures on marine

equipment and issue certificates

of type approval.

TO

Mike Robinson.

the delivery of seven Master

and Backup Navi-Sailor

3000 l ECDIS systems for

Arcadia Shipmanagement.

The new vessels were

delivered from Hyundai

and Samsung.

On 1st April, Arcadia

Shipmanagement confirmed a

follow up order with Transas

Hellas for a system to be

delivered to STX and SPP

Shipyards in South Korea

between 2010 and 2011.

The Greek subsidiary has also

completed the delivery of two

similar systems for new tankers

building for Tsakos Shipping &

Trading.

The systems were delivered to

Sundong Shipyard during April.

Tsakos Shipping & Trading has

also confirmed a further order for

systems to be delivered to

Sundong during late 2008 and

through 2009.

In addition, Tsakos ordered

another system for a retrofit at

Lisnave in April.

Finally, Transas Hellas has

completed the delivery of a

system for a chemical tanker

building for Primera Maritime

Hellas. The delivery took place

at Ulsan in March.

Transas has been

awarded recognition for

its latest generation of

navigation products.

The result of extensive

development and testing, Navi-

Sailor 4000 ECDIS MFD (Multi-

Function Display), Navi-Radar

4000 and Navi-Sailor 3000 TCS

(Track Control System based on

NS3000 ECDIS-I) were approved

in March.

The certificates were issued by

DNV (Det Norske Veritas) for

ECDIS and BSH (Bundesamt

for Seeschifffarhrt und

Hydrographie) for Navi-Radar

respectively.

Alexander Sosonkin, Transas'

chief design engineer of the

navigation business unit said;

"With regard to the new Navi-

Radar certificate, Transas has

successfully converted to the

new 4000 series significantly

improving the quality of the

radar display. It is important

that by certifying this product

we've already partly covered

the requirements of the new

IEC 62388 standard for marine

radar equipment, which comes

into force in the middle of

this year."

Transas Navi-Sailor 4000 MfD,

also certified in March, is a new

product, which integrated the

company's type-approved ECDIS,

chart radar and conning display

software into one system similar

to that of an Integrated

Navigation System (INS),

allowing the navigator to switch

between applications at the touch

of a button.

The improved functions of

every single system combined

together lead to an

unprecedented multiplicative

effect. This can give the mariner

a whole host of additional

benefits including:

Customisation - a navigator-

friendly environment

providing flexible a setup of

tasks depending on the users

own bridge scenario(s).

Redundancy - Multi-

functional workstations with

flexible setup and enhanced

interconnection provide an

additional level of redundancy

for functions required by IMO

carriage requirements and

additional class rules.

Enhanced productivity - The

time required for the operator

to perform navigation routines.

Enhanced integration of

navigational data, databases,

and ship's particulars are

combined with an intuitive

user (human/machine)

interface.

Safety - intelligent and

efficient alarm management to

support a safe level of

situational awareness for the

navigator. Operator workload

and stress is significantly

reduced.

Information management -

increased levels of data

management from sensors and

static data used by all

navigation equipment.

The third approval was issued for

the company's Track Control

System (TCS) to Class C with

two new auto-pilots for Navi-

Sailor 3000 ECDIS benefiting

large vessels.

Among the shipping companies

opting for Transas navigation

systems were EMS Ship

Management (India), part of the

Eitzen group, who contracted the

company to install and

commission dual ECDIS on a

series of five chemical tankers,

which were under construction in

South Korean yards.

The vessels -Sichem Mumbai,

Sichem Manila, Sichem Hong

Kong, Sichem Beijing and Sichem

Edinburgh - were fitted with

ECDIS equipment, including

ENC charts and Transas TX-97

world chart folios.

EMS Ship Management had

previously ordered a number of

Navi-Sailor Dual ECDIS for its

Danish managed fleet.

EMS' Captain Sanjay Mehta

said the main reasons for

choosing Transas were:

Brilliant mapping and clear

graphics with worldwide

coverage.

With professional maintenance

service contract, the updates

can be sent to the vessel more

frequently and as and when

required.

Clear instructions.

Simple and logical menu

structure.

At night the screen

background changes to

different colours. This

works really well and reduces

eye strain.

Transas 24/7 helpline where

ships personnel are able to

contact Transas directly for

any kind of assistance

required.

Greek success

In addition, Transas Hellas

recently completed the deliveries

of three navigation systems to

major Greek shipowning

companies.

The first contract called for


TECHNOLOGY - ECDIS

Latest generation ECDIS and radar navigation systemsrecognised by both DNV and BSH

TO

They can learn and establish their

working routines based on the

equipment on board the vessel

and they do not have to adapt

their routines to a different

system after the training.

Common sense

System understanding is an

important part of the training,

allowing the end users to

understand from where the

navigation data is generated and

how to interpret the data. The

navigators should be able to use

common sense to judge the

validity of the information

displayed. Such training allows

the navigators to establish sound

daily work routines and

emergency procedures, which

will limit the risk of wrong usage

or erroneous interpretation of

information. A thorough

understanding of the chart

material available for use on

ECDIS and the limitation

generated by using the various

kinds of electronic charts is also

important to the navigators.

By adding a comprehensive

education programme for bridge

equipment, together with the

equipment design with a special

focus on safe operation, the safety

on board is pushed to a new level.

Furuno regards this as one of the

top priorities.

However, the

operation and the

concept in general

were in many cases

difficult to comprehend for the

seafarers, as it was a completely

new kind of system.

The maritime industry did their

utmost to secure a high level of

safety in the ECDIS, making the

equipment as reliable as possible.

This was to avoid system failures

and to enhance the performance

of the user interface to avoid

wrong usage.

Later the Integrated Navigation

System (INS) and Track Control

System (TCS) were introduced,

which in many ways eased the

operation but increased the

complexity of the navigation

system. Suddenly it became

necessary for the navigators to

understand the concept and

design behind the navigation

system. This added a new

dimension to the safety concern

of understanding of navigation

systems.

The INS and ECDIS both

collect a huge amount of

information and present it in an

easy understandable way to the

navigator. This has by all means

increased the level of situational

awareness and hence increased

the degree of safety. The INS and

ECDIS also monitor the condition

of the sensors and the quality of

the received data and notify the

operator in case of failures or

malfunctions of the sensors.

However, if anything in the

system fails, it is important that

the navigator should have enough

knowledge of the system to

identify the cause of failures and

take the necessary counter

measures. This becomes even

more vital in case of an

emergency caused by equipment

failure in bad weather conditions

or during difficult manoeuvring.

A fast response from the

navigator to notice a failure in the

system, to identify the cause of

the system failure and to judge

which counter measures should

be made is of utmost importance.

So, how do you accomplish that?

New role

Having built as much safety into

the equipment and system design

as possible and provided an easy

operator interface, the

manufacturers have done their

outmost to keep a high level of

safety in the operation of the

equipment. However, with the

introduction of these

sophisticated systems, the

manufacturer is put in a new

position, where provision of

education and system knowledge

to the navigators is becoming

more and more important.

One company, Furuno realised

the importance of this issue, and

in order to meet this new demand,

in 2005 it established a training

facility (Integrated Navigation

System Training Centre -INSTC)

in Copenhagen. The sole aim of

the training centre is to educate

the seafarers on the correct

operation of the equipment - both

at the ordinary work and under

extreme conditions. The centre

offers ECDIS education, bridge

management training and

product/system training.

To ensure and maintain a high

level of quality in ECDIS

training, the education

programme was audited and

certified by DNV SeaSkill™

allowing Furuno to issue official

ECDIS certificates in compliance

with IMO STCW 95 and course

code 1.27, which were

appreciated and accepted by the

maritime authorities.

One of the advantages of

receiving the certified ECDIS

training from the equipment

manufacturer is that the

navigators can become familiar

with the same brand of ECDIS, as

installed on board their vessel.

This way the navigators do not

face a different user interface

from the one that they were

introduced to during training.


TECHNOLOGY - ECDIS

When ECDIS was introduced to the maritime community with the purpose

of increasing safety of navigation, it provided so many new aids to

the navigator that it fulfilled the safety purpose straight away.

Safety through education

TO

Need anchors and chains?www.wortelboer.nl

transported through UK waters

had almost doubled in the five

years between 1998 and 2003.

The UK Government's

maritime strategy aims to

promote safe, efficient and

environmentally friendly

shipping; the (MCA) research

programme seeks to support those

broad aims.

Currently the MCA is working

on a number of projects related

to maritime environmental

protection with the aim of

improving the UK position with

respect to preparedness and

response to spills of oil and

hazardous and noxious

substances. The agency closely

monitors how the results of its

research have been taken

forward, how recommendations

are followed up and any

significant impact that research

has had.

BMT Group subsidiary

BMT Cordah has been

commissioned to help

anti-pollution authorities

meet one of the key

challenges in modern oil

spill response.

The company is carrying out a

study on behalf of the Maritime

and Coastguard Agency (MCA)

to review methods and

technologies for responding to oil

that becomes submerged or sinks

following spillage at sea.

Headline grabbing incidents

such as the Erika and Prestige

have highlighted the limitations

in current techniques for this

work in recent years.

Oils can submerge or sink

following weathering or

interaction with sediment and are

difficult to detect from the air, or

via remote sensing. If detected,

they will often have moved once

recovery has been organised and

may be dispersed in discrete

lumps over a wide area, reducing

the chances of recovery.

BMT Cordah, together with oil

spill specialists Alun Lewis and

Oil Spill Response and East Asia

Response, will review the

processes that are most important

in the sinking of oil to provide

guidance on the conditions in

which an oil spill might become

submerged.

Mathematical modelling

techniques will be developed to

improve forecasting of

submerged oil movement and

practical methods will be

researched and proposed for

detection and recovery of the oils.

Matthew Rymell, regional

director of BMT Cordah's

Southampton office commented;

"Oils that sink are also likely to

be extremely persistent, and can

affect wildlife long distances

from the original source - oil

from the Prestige was found as

far north as the Dover Strait.

"The frequency of oil spills

may be lower than ever but we

are also seeing increasing

volumes of heavy fuel oil

cargoes. The threat of

submergence during incidents

involving heavy oil is one that

spill response authorities cannot

ignore."

BMT Cordah has been active

in oil spill research and

consultancy for 15 years and

jointly produces the Oil Spill

Information System with NCEC.

The current study follows an

earlier MCA-funded research

project conducted by BMT

Cordah and Alun Lewis, which

estimated that volumes of very

heavy fuel oil cargoes - of the

type carried on Erika and -


TECHNOLOGY NEWS

BMT helps with oil spill response issues

added Hughes. "The courses also

serve as a prerequisite to Sperry's

traditional STCW95-compliant

Electronic Chart Display and

Information System (ECDIS)

training, and provide VMS-

specific instruction to officers

who have completed more

generic ECDIS courses."

Sperry Marine also produces

customised eLearning courses

based upon specific customer

training requirements. Entire

eLearning modules may be

created based upon customer

needs in a cost-effective, timely

manner, Sperry claimed.

VMS-based navigation systems

are installed on hundreds of

commercial and military ships

worldwide. The VMS integrates

inputs from multiple navigation

sensors and displays the ship's

location, movement and intended

route on an electronic nautical

chart. It has been type approved

by numerous national authorities

and classification societies to meet

IMO performance standards.

Northrop Grumman

Corporation has

launched a new

eLearning initiative to

support its Sperry

Marine voyage

management system

(VMS) ship navigation

software.

Sperry has produced a series of

DVDs containing video training

lessons covering various aspects

of VMS operation and

maintenance. The eLearning

DVDs condense several days of

normal classroom course material

into a few hours of concentrated

video instruction, which may be

used for introductory or refresher

training aboard ship.

"At Sperry Marine, we have

been creating high-quality

training DVDs for internal

distribution to our worldwide

field offices to ensure that our

service personnel are kept current

on new product installation and

maintenance procedures," said

Michael Hughes, manager of

product support and training for

Sperry Marine. "The internal

success of these DVD-based

training videos has led us to

expand this eLearning initiative

toward customer-focused training

packages."

The eLearning DVDs will

supplement Sperry's traditional

VMS courses, which are taught in

the company's training and

simulator facilities in

Charlottesville (Va), New Malden

(UK) and Hamburg. "It is often

impractical for crew members to

attend these formal classes due to

distance and schedules,"

explained Hughes. "The DVDs

provide a fast and cost-effective

means of distributing VMS

training courses over a large and

widely dispersed workforce, and

ensures that all personnel get the

same information in a

standardised format."

"These eLearning courses

effectively fill several niches for

our customers, including training

new-hires who have just reported

to the ship and providing

refresher training to sailors

returning from extended leave,"

Training packages for electronic navigation systems

TO

TO

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