Tag: bulk carriers

How to better regulate ship traffic through the Great Barrier Reef Environmentalists are hopeful an international report will give the Queensland government ideas on how to better regulate ship traffic through the Great Barrier Reef.Bulk carrier ID Integrity lost power off the far north Queensland coast on Friday and narrowly avoided being run aground on Shark Reef.It passed safely over the reef and will likely be towed to Townsville on Monday, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority says.The Wilderness Society's northern Australia campaigner Gavan MacFadzean said he was hopeful UNESCO would detail some options about shipping regulations when it releases a report on the state of conservation in the Great Barrier Reef.'We look forward to seeing some recommendations which make traversing the reef by bulk carrier safer,' Mr MacFadzean told AAP on Monday.'(We hope they) make specific recommendations about how we're going to handle this big increase in ship movements and port developments.'The report, due to be released next week, will make recommendations about whether the reef should be listed as a World Heritage site in danger.UNESCO last year rebuked the Queensland and federal government for failing to inform it about two major liquefied natural gas projects on Curtis Island.Mr MacFadzean ...

Focus on innovations in bulk carrier safety The Hellenic Technical Committee of international classification society RINA focused on innovations in bulk carrier safety at its recent meeting on Wednesday 9 of May 2012 at the Golf Club of Glyfada.Biagio Pugliese, Team Leader of Innovative Services at RINA, gave a presentation on the safe carriage of dangerous products like Nickel Ore in bulk carriers and the results of RINA studies into the problems of the transportation of such products. He highlighted the technical solutions proposed by RINA in that respect and the newly introduced class notation for cargoes likely to liquefy.Andreas Papalimneos, Manager of the Piraeus Training Center of RINA Hellas, announced the calendar of courses offered in Greece by his team and explained the long tradition of RINA in training and the human element through IMaPhil, RINA Academy and SOGEA. Under the chairmanship of Mr Akis Tsirigakis and Mr Theo Baltatzis, RINA's Hellenic Technical Committee is made up of the most prominent Technical Managers of well-known Greek shipping companies, as well as distinguished guests like NTUA professor Dr. Nikos Ventikos. At the recent meeting the RINA General Manager for Greece, Africa and Middle East, Stefano Bertilone, presented the re-organization of ...

Capable of operating for 95% to 99% of the time on LNG fuel A new, almost totally LNG-powered dry cargo inland waterway vessel will be operating on inland waterways in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and France.This will be the first ever medium speed, dual-fuel, mechanically driven inland waterway vessel capable of operating for 95% to 99% of the time on LNG fuel, with a minimum of pilot marine gas oil (MGO) used for ignition - although the engines are also capable of operating fully on MGO. In addition to two 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel medium-speed engines, Wärtsilä is to supply two fixed pitch propellers in a nozzle, the coldbox, and the LNG tanks.The 135m vessel has come about through a consortium of Koedood Dieselservice, Combi Group BV, Reederei Deymann, TNO, DST and Hochschule Emden-Leer with Wärtsilä Netherlands BV as the co-ordinating partner.The vessel is the first of three inland vessels that will serve as pilots for innovative, environmentally sound power systems (engines and propulsion) for inland shipping. All three vessels will be designed, tested and implemented within the ECO2 Inland Vessel project, part of a larger initiative known as MariTIM (Maritime Technologies and Innovations Model), sponsored by the EU.Source: ...

MV Flinterspirt went too close to the east side of North Uist A captain is facing criminal charges after a cargo ship MV Flinterspirit ran aground on rocks in the Western Isles.The MV Flinterspirt went too close to the east side of North Uist while heading south down the Minch on March 19.The 4500-tonne Dutch bulk carrier was on its way to Belfast from Sweden with a cargo of wood when it hit rocks on Flodday Mor on the very south east tip of North Uist around 10.45pm.Captain Konstantin Golubev is accused of failing to maintain a proper lookout and prevent the grounding while he was the master responsible for the vessel.The Russian is also accused of failing to alter course as required to prevent the ship suffering serious damage.In a separate incident, the 40-year-old skipper is also accused of being drunk in charge of the ship at Stornoway harbour three days after it grounded.It is alleged that he recorded an alcohol reading of 121mcg, more than three times higher than the legal limit of 35mcg.Golubev appeared at Stornoway Sheriff Court on Tuesday and was released on bail.None of the ten crew were injured when the vessel grounded last week.The ...

In the Sound of Mull, on 9 August 2011 MAIB issues report regarding Grounding of CSL THAMES, in the Sound of Mull, on 9 August 2011 as follows:At 1026 (UTC +1) on 9 August 2011, CSL Thames, a Maltese registered selfdischarging bulk carrier, grounded briefly in the Sound of Mull while on passage from Glensanda to Wilhelmshaven. The vessel sustained bottom damage to her hull, including a 3-metre fracture to one of her water ballast deep tanks, which flooded. There were no reported injuries or pollution.The MAIB investigation found that CSL Thames ran aground after the third officer had altered the vessel's course to starboard of the planned track to avoid another vessel. He did not notice that the alteration would take CSL Thames into shallow water, and the audio alarm on the electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS) that should have alerted him to the impending danger was inoperative.Further, the master's and other watchkeepers' knowledge of the vessel's ECDIS was insufficient and therefore no-one within the bridge team questioned the absence of the ECDIS audio alarm, or recognised that the system's safety contour setting was inappropriate for the planned voyage.Alfa Ship & Crew Management GmbH has taken a ...

From a European Company COSCO (Guangdong) Shipyard Co., Ltd (a subsidiary of the Company's 51% owned subsidiary, COSCO Shipyard Group Co., Ltd), has secured a contract from a European company to build a bulk carrier of 35,000 dwt.The vessel is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2013. Separately, COSCO (Zhoushan) Shipyard Co., Ltd (which is also a subsidiary of COSCO Shipyard Group Co., Ltd.) has secured two contracts and four option contracts from another European company to build a total of six units of 64,000 dwt bulk carriers with eco-friendly and fuel-efficient designs.The two contracts will become effective following approval from the shipbuilder's board of directors.Delivery of the two vessels is expected to be in the first quarter and the second quarter of 2014 respectively. Upon the approval of the two contracts, the shipowner has the option to declare two of the option contracts to become effective within 12 months and the other two option contracts to become effective within 24 months. Delivery of the vessels under the option contracts is expected to take place within 18 months after the option contracts become effective.The Company will make announcements as and when the shipbuilding contracts and/or the option contracts ...

DY4001 is the lead ship of the CROWN 63 series DY4001 is the lead ship of the CROWN 63 series, a series of 63,500-DWT bulk carriers, which recently completed its sea trial items made its return voyage on February 17.According the shipyard, the vessel's speed trial was proven beyond its design prediction and met all the guarantee. DY4001 was built by Dayang Shipyard, designed by Sinopacific Group Design, is owned by SETAF and is classed by Bureau Veritas.Compared to the CROWN 58 58,000 bulk carrier series, CROWN 63 has a 9% increased deadweight and reduced fuel consumption by 13% at the same service speed. Mr. Jean LABESCAT, Technology General Manager of SETAF was satisfied with the outcomes of the sea trial."DY4001 features outstanding performance and its design gives consideration to the owner's operating benefits." LABESCAT said.DY4001 will be delivered at the end of this February after which her sister vessels will be delivered in succession. As the key product of Dayang Shipyard of Sinopacific Group, the CROWN 63 series is expected to encompass a total of 22 vessels planned for delivery in 2012.Based on CROWN 58, the CROWN 63 has optimized its body lines and improved the design for bulbous ...

Capable of fuel savings of up to 14% Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Industry has delivered a new dry bulk carrier capable of fuel savings of up to 14%.The 57,000 dwt Aquila, delivered to its owner Delphin, is incorporated with the Mewis Duct, a propulsion improvement device for ships. The duct is able to reduce power requirement by improving water inflow toward the propeller to achieve higher overall propulsion efficiency.A bulk carrier running at 14 knots per hour would have exhausted 29.4 metric tonnes of bunker fuel without the Mewis Duct. Installation of the device would allow the bulker to burn 26 metric tonnes of fuel at the same speed.Source: Sea trade Asia

Report of the Working Group The IMO's Sub-committee on Stability and Load Lines and on Fishing Vessels Safety (SLF) at its latest meeting (SLF 54) this week has established a Working Group (WG) to review and finalise the draft guidelines that had been developed by an intersessional correspondence group.In reviewing the draft guidelines the WG also developed draft amendments to mandatory instruments proposed by the correspondence group (Annex 2 to the report of the WG). The WG agreed that the document should consist of two parts: the first part providing procedures for preparation and approval of tanker damage stability calculations, and the second part containing instructions for operation and demonstration of damage stability compliance.Furthermore, recognising that this would be the most appropriate method to comply with the damage stability requirements, the WG concluded that mandatory stability instruments should be introduced on tankers to which MARPOL Annex I, IBC and IGC Codes apply.The WG was of the view that the Guidelines should be finalised and issued as a completed package together with any amendments requiring the mandatory carriage of stability computers. With this view in mind, the WG submitted its report to the Sub-committee requesting clarification on whether the report should ...

Greed or incompetence results in tragic losses of lives, ships, cargoes Dozens of Asian sailors are being lost in regional waters as a result of either greed or incompetence on the part of ship captains or their employers. In the last incident 22 sailors are assumed drowned after a large Vietnamese bulk carrier, the Vinalines Queen, owned by the state shipping line, sank suddenly off the Philippines on Dec. 25. Only one of the crew survived, getting onto a life raft and being picked up by a passing British ship five days later.The story as reported by the wire services was of that one man's survival. But the bigger and unreported story is why such a large vessel would go down so suddenly. The weather was bad but nothing like so bad as should cause a ship of this size any difficulties.The answer almost certainly lies in its 54,000 ton cargo. Just like three Chinese ships which sank in late 2010, the vessel was carrying nickel ore from Indonesia to China. In the Vinalines Queen's case it was from Morowali in central Sulawesi to Ningde in Fujian in China for use in the steel industry. Four ships lost in just ...