Tag: hull

Designed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries A new bulk cargo carrier ship, designed by Japan-based industrial machinery manu- facturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), uses the company's Mitsubishi air lubrication system (MALS) and an efficient hull form and enhanced propulsion system to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 25%.As the first commercial application of the new design, MHI will provide its conceptual design and green technologies for three grain carriers to be built for Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADMC), of the US, the company announced."The new bulk carrier design adopts the company's proprietary MALS, which reduces frictional resistance between the vessel hull and seawater by using air bubbles produced by blowers at the bottom of the vessel, along with a high-efficiency hull form and an enhanced propulsion system to enable reduc- tions in CO2 emissions by about 25%, compared with conventional bulk carriers.Bow Shape The three grain carriers will also feature a newly designed bow shape that will reduce wave-making resist- ances. For propulsion, the ship adopts a system to effec- tively convert the main engine power into propulsion power by positioning fins forward of the propellers and placing particular grooves in the propeller boss cap, the com- pany explains.The three grain ...

Rapid Empirical Innovation technology US naval architecture and research company M Ship Co says that its REI (rapid empirical innovation) technology allows it to take hull testing away from the towing tank and test scale ship models at sea.The company says that its REI approach allows models to be towed in real-life weather conditions by a self-powered FLOWT (fast, low-cost, open-water testing) platform. Among other claimed advantages, this is said to save designers, naval architects and builders 50%-80% of the cost of using a conventional towing tank, without sacrificing accuracy or waiting for tank access."The REI programme certainly is an unconventional approach to conventional tank testing," said M Ship Co executive director and co-founder Bill Burns, describing the FLOWT platform's 6m pontooned hull, which employs knife-edged hulls, multiple computer work stations and various adaptable structures, "but the implications of it are of far-reaching importance to the people who shape our industry."Burns explained that two different hull models can be evaluated in tandem, providing direct hull-to-hull comparisons. After the hulls are fabricated they are outfitted with identical high frequency accelerometers that provide comprehensive motion and acceleration comparisons. The models are then tested on the FLOWT platform, providing real-time force, trim and ...

Improvements in performance, efficiency and environmental emissions BMT ARGOSS and International Paint announces the formation of a partnership that can deliver demonstrable and transparent improvements in performance, efficiency and environmental emissions for the global shipping fleet. By deploying International Paint's world class fouling control coatings in conjunction with the BMT SMARTSERVICES system, ship owners and operators will be able to benefit from a measurable reduction in energy use and CO2 emissions.The system developed by BMT ARGOSS will independently monitor and report to stakeholders, the performance of their vessels.BMT SMARTSERVICES builds on the successful track record of BMT SMARTPOWER which is an advanced onboard, real-time performance monitoring and reporting system which acquires and records data automatically from ship sensors and provides valuable ship performance information to the crew and shore based management.When employed as a package, the BMT system can be used with International Paint's Intersmooth?SPC, the world's only self-polishing copolymer biocidal antifouling that offers 4%¹ savings and 37 years of proven performance on over 33,000 ships, as well as Intersleek?, the latest generation fluoropolymer foul release coating that offers fuel and emission savings of up to 9%.Han Wensink, Managing Director of BMT ARGOSS commented: "BMT SMARTSERVICES will clearly and transparently ...

The hull was newly coated with Ecospeed, a glass flake vinyl ester resin underwater hull coating When British Antarctic Survey's RRS (Royal Research Ship) Ernest Shackleton​ was drydocked recently in Denmark, the superintendent, engineers and paint specialists there to check the condition of the hull paint were amazed.After two seasons of battering its way through ice up to 2.5 meters thick with a high content of gravel and volcanic lava adding to its abrasiveness, the hull coating was virtually intact and undamaged.This was in strong contrast to the Shackleton's previous drydocking, when almost the entire hull, bearing a conventional ice-going underwater hull coating, was practically stripped to bare, unprotected steel.The difference lay in the fact that when the Shackleton left drydock in 2009, the hull was newly coated with Ecospeed, a glass flake vinyl ester resin underwater hull coating proven to have extraordinary anti-corrosion protective strength and flexibility. Even though Ecospeed is not intended specifically for ice-going ships and icebreakers, it consistently outperforms the specialized ice-going ship bottom paints.The success of the new underwater hull coating on the Shackleton, whose hull can genuinely be said to undergo the harshest of conditions of just about any vessel afloat, is a story ...

After two seasons of breaking ice up to 2.5m thick the hull coating was intact Belgian company Ecospeed reports that when British Antarctic Survey's RRS Ernest Shackleton was drydocked recently in Denmark, checks on the condition of the hull paint showed it to be virtually intact.After two seasons of breaking ice up to 2.5m thick with a high content of gravel and volcanic lava adding to its abrasiveness, the hull coating was almost undamaged. This, says Ecospeed, was in contrast to the ship's previous drydocking, when almost the entire hull, bearing a conventional ice-going underwater hull coating, was practically stripped to bare, unprotected steel.During Ernest Shackleton's 2009 drydocking, the hull was newly coated with Ecospeed's glass flake vinyl ester resin underwater hull coating, which the company claims is proven to have extraordinary anti-corrosion protective strength and flexibility.Even though Ecospeed is not intended specifically for ice-going ships and icebreakers, the maker says that it consistently outperforms specialised ice-going ship bottom paints.Source: The Motorship

Crew members are safe A ship from Panama carrying 3,000 tonnes of goods sank at a dock in a Suez Canal port on Thursday as a result of a punctured hull.All of the ship's crew members were safely rescued by teams who rushed to the scene immediately after the shipwreck, Head of Egypt's Red Sea Ports, Rear Admiral Abdulqader Jaballah said, quoted by Middle East News Agency (MENA).Operations to safely carry the ship out of the water are being carried out, the official said, adding that the incident has not whatsoever affected traffic at the port.Source: KUNA

Having a large hole ripped in its hull The Darwin Harbour Master is investigating an incident where a pilot boat crashed into fuel tanker and had a large hole ripped in its hull.On thursday afternoon the Darwin Port Corporation pilot boat had the large gash on its ports side repaired at Cullen Bay Slipway.Darwin Port Corporation spokeswoman Melissa Reiter said the pilot boat collided with the ship's stern on Tuesday afternoon.Ms Reiter said the large hole was above the water line so the boat managed to make it to port under its own steam. "There was a small risk that it would sink," Ms Reiter said.The pilot boat was chaperoning the fuel tanker Cyprus Galaxy into the harbour when the incident happened.Ms Reiter said the pilot boat was travelling beside the ship at high-speed when it crashed.Source: NT News

Government asserts Louisiana company misrepresented hull strength of converted vessels The United States has filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., against Bollinger Shipyards Inc., Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC and Halter Bollinger Joint Venture LLC, the Justice Department announced. The suit alleges that Bollinger, which is headquartered in Lockport, La., made material false statements to the Coast Guard under the Deepwater Program.The government's complaint alleges that Bollinger proposed to convert existing 110-Ft Patrol Boats (WPBs) into 123-Ft WPBs by extending the hulls 13 feet and making additional improvements. As a result of Bollinger's misrepresentations about the hull strength of the converted vessels, the Coast Guard awarded a contract to convert eight Coast Guard 110 foot cutters to 123 foot cutters. The first converted cutter, the Matagorda, suffered hull failure when put into service.An investigation by the Coast Guard and the prime contractor, Integrated Coast Guard Systems, concluded that the calculation of hull strength reported by Bollinger to the Coast Guard prior to the conversion was false. Efforts to repair the Matagorda and the other converted vessels were unsuccessful. The cutters are unseaworthy and have been taken out of service."Companies which make false statements to win Coast Guard contracts ...

A Hong Kong registered container vessel lost 31 containers overboard Hong Kong Marine Department issues Merchant Shipping Information Note regarding Falling of containers causing hull damage.This Note refers to all Shipowners, Ship Managers, Ship Operators, Masters and Officers Containers on board a Hong Kong registered container vessel fell overboard and pierced the bunker oil tanks causing devastating oil spill. This information note draws the attention of the shipowners, ship managers, ship operators and officers the lessons learnt in the accident.The Incident1. A Hong Kong registered container vessel lost 31 containers overboard in gale force weather during cyclone off the coast of southeast Queensland, Australia. About 270 tonnes of fuel leaked into the sea as a result of the damage to the bunker tanks caused by the overboard containers. The oil spilled into the sea causing serious pollution.2. The investigation into the incident conducted by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau revealed that the condition of the cargo lashing equipment was poor and its maintenance and inspection programme was inadequate.Lessons Learnt3. The maintenance of cargo securing gears is of vital importance to ship stability, safety of life at sea and protection of the marine environment. A maintenance and inspection progromme should be ...

It improves fuel efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has adopted the use of a new low-friction ship-bottom paint to improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.The high smoothness of the paint, Seaflo Neo developed by Chugoku Marine Paint, reduces friction drag between the hull and the water, improving fuel efficiency by 3-5% compared to an identical vessel with a conventional hull coating.The new environment-friendly paint is also low in volatile organic compounds, a major source of air pollution.The paint was applied to car carriers Eternal Ace and Brilliant Ace.MOL moves aggressively to adopt various technologies that will contribute to reducing the environmental burden of its business activities, it said.Source: Seatrade Asia