Tag: barges

  The explosion-proof version of Alfa Laval’s chemical-free ballast water treatment system, PureBallast 3.1 EX, has received approval from the U.S. Coast Guard for use on barges sailing in U.S. coastal waters. The approval comes a year after Alfa Laval PureBallast received an IECEx Certificate of Conformity from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for use in explosive atmospheres on board ships in international waters. Alfa Laval introduced PureBallast, the first commercial chemical-free ballast water treatment system in 2006. Three years later, the company launched PureBallast 2.0 EX, which complied with ATEX directives, the European Union Directives for equipment use in potentially explosive atmospheres, such those on tankers carrying volatile cargo. Last year, PureBallast EX received an IECEx Certificate of Conformity from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for use in explosive atmospheres on board ships in international waters. Now this third-generation ballast water treatment system is approved for use on barge applications sailing in U.S. coastal waters, making it one of the first to be approved by the U.S. Coast Guard. “We’re pleased that PureBallast EX meets the stringent criteria for approval by the U.S. Coast Guard,” says Alfa Laval’s Stephen Westerling Greer, Global Business Manager of PureBallast. “U.S. Coast Guard ...

A Bolivian-registered sand-carrier, Oceanline SC208, had capsized 7.5 nautical miles north-east of Pedra Branca in Singapore waters

  Two companies involved in a 2012 oil spill while dismantling an unpermitted barge on the Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma have settled their penalties with the Washington Department of Ecology. Tacoma Industrial Properties (TIP) and RV Associates were penalized a combined $24,800 in June 2013 following the spill of around 25 gallons of oil on June 21, 2012. The spill occurred when the two companies were dismantling a derelict vessel known as the Hauff Barge without proper permits, causing a visible oil sheen that covered about 23 acres of the waterway, or an area equal to about 17 football fields. The settlement reached by TIP, RV Associates and Ecology reduces the original penalty from $24,800 to $17,000 in exchange for the parties agreeing to no further appeals or litigation stemming from the incident. The settlement required a $5,000 cash payment, while the remaining $12,000 will be satisfied by a plan that creates a salt marsh along the shore of the Hylebos Waterway. TIP and RV Associates will work with Soundview Consultants, an environmental consulting firm, to create new salt marsh near the site of the spill. The marshland will provide habitat for fish and wildlife, and increase the biological health ...

  NAPA and ClassNK,  announced that they have begun installation of new performance monitoring software on an Asian LNG carrier’s fleet. The new ClassNK-NAPA GREEN system has been installed in to work in conjunction with NAPA’s Gas Tanker Loading Computer, a loading support product established for more than a decade ago, to provide a full 360°view of the operation of these vessels. LNG Carriers have a unique operational profile, complicated by the ability to use wastage, or boil-off, from the cargo as fuel for the transit. This puts vessel crews in the centre of a delicate balance between the interests of the ship operator and the cargo owner when reporting performance and efficiency. To help square this circle, ClassNK and NAPA have developed a specialist ClassNK-NAPA GREEN solution for LNG carriers that ensures transparent and accurate measurement of performance and efficiency, including measurement of boil-off. The measurements are easy to interpret onboard by crew, as well as being remotely and automatically shared with shore-based reporting systems – delivering vital data that can be passed between owner, operator and chartering cargo owner. As with other ClassNK-NAPA GREEN solutions, the LNG-specific software also provides effective and actionable analytics around fuel consumption, trim, ...

  The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) issued a policy letter regarding the design standards for U.S. Barges carrying LNG in bulk. The policy  recommends design details for barges carrying LNG in bulk within the existing regulatory framework.  The increase in domestic production of natural gas has generated renewed interest in the transportation of LNG in bulk via barge. Applications include the transportation of LNG between shore-based facilities along inland and coastal routes and the use of barges to bunker ships which use LNG as a fuel. All barges designed to carry LNG in bulk must meet the requirements of 46 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Chapter I, Subchapter D (Subchapter D); however, Subchapter D is silent on details with respect to many design aspects (e.g., it requires “adequate notch toughness”, “suitable material”, “suitable for the temperatures”, etc.) Self-propelled vessels carrying LNG, in addition to Subchapter D, are required to meet Part 154 in 46 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter O (Subchapter O), which provides more detail specific to carrying LNG in bulk. Non self-propelled vessels carrying LNG, however, are not required to meet Subchapter O. The USCG has received requests from industry seeking clarity regarding the application of Subchapter D to non-self-propelled vessels carrying ...

TSB Canada issued its report into the loss of tow and subsequent grounding of two service vessels

  The programme of technical trials for Becker Marine Systems’ Hummel LNG Hybrid Barge were successfully completed, right in time for the beginning of the cruise ship season. The commissioning of the barge for low-emission power supply to cruise ships lying at port in Hamburg can thus start in May 2015. The operation of all five of the Hummel’s generator sets recently took place as part of class acceptance,“ reported Dirk Lehmann and Henning Kuhlmann, both Managing Directors of Becker Marine Systems. The trials of the gas motors powered using low-emission LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) fuel at the Port of Hamburg represented a departure for both Bureau Veritas, the French classification society, and the authorities involved. In collaboration with Bureau Veritas, the overall LNG Hybrid Barge system was tested and a variety of large load impacts and load spikes were simulated. The overall load transfer of 0 to 7.5 megawatts of power was achieved well below the time of two minutes set by the classification society. In addition, the trial generation of power for a large Hamburg-based company was already successfully tested in December 2014,” said Lehmann and Kuhlmann. The overall LNG Hybrid Barge system with gas motors is an impressive ...

Two new jack-up barges ordered by NPCC to feature Wärtsilä power generation and E&A solutions

WesPac Midstream and its affiliate Clean Marine Energy (CME), announced a construction contract with Conrad Orange Shipyard, Inc., a division of Conrad Shipyard, LLC, to build the first dedicated LNG bunker barge for the marine market in North America. This barge will be a critical supply chain component in ongoing efforts around the world to reduce the environmental impact of maritime activity through the conversion of ships to LNG. The first 2,200 cubic meter (cbm) barge is expected to be delivered in early 2016 and planned to initially be deployed in Tacoma, Washington, to service shipowner Totem Ocean Trailer Express’s (Totem Ocean) “Orca class” RO/RO vessels, in addition to other LNG-powered vessels. Subsequently the barge will be relocated to Jacksonville, Florida to serve TOTE’s (parent company to Totem Ocean) newbuild “Marlin class” container vessels and other LNG-powered vessels in the Port of Jacksonville. The LNG barge will feature one tank equipped with MARK III Flex cargo containment technology, from the French engineering and technology company GTT (Gaztransport & Technigaz), to be constructed by Conrad Orange Shipyard under GTT license. Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. will be responsible for the vessel’s design, with the American Bureau for Shipping (ABS) acting as the ...

Animated reconstruction shows events leading up to the collision between a sludge barge, being towed by the tugboat