Tag: Lloyds Register

Lloyd's Register Safety Alert Following an incident involving loss of steering on a Marshall Islands registered bulk carrier, the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada issued a Marine Safety Advisory Letter No. 07/11. The information obtained indicated the ship experienced a loss of steering control when the No.2 servomotor's wheel potentiometer failed while the rudder was at 10 degrees to starboard. The ship then ran aground.It was established that the control system manufacturer had published a service document recommending potentiometers to be replaced at five-yearly intervals on their similarly equipped steering consoles. Thisdocumentation was not found on board nor was the information present in the ship's steering gear manual.There was also no document to indicate that the potentiometer had been replaced since the ship was constructed in 1986. Lloyds Register has now conducted a search of its defect database and identified a number of similar failures in the last five years. These failures have occurred on various makes of steering gears with the majority being after more than five years of service.It is strongly recommended that owners and operators ensure all service bulletins are maintained up to date with a copy retained on board, and that necessary maintenance procedures are ...

New IMO regulations Lloyd's Register has developed a guidance note to explain the options included in new IMO regulation regarding Corrosion protection of crude oil cargo tanks.Following incidents resulting from structural failure in oil tankers, the IMO developed requirements aimed at inhibiting corrosion in cargo oil tanks by way of performance standards.These performance standards are now being made mandatory by an amendment to SOLAS: regulation II-1/3-11, Corrosion Protection of Cargo Oil Tanks of Crude Oil Tankers, adopted by Resolution MSC.291(87).For more information, click here.Source: Lloyd's Register

Requirements for new fast rescue boat launching appliances IMO Resolution MSC.218(82) introduced requirements for new fast rescue boat launching appliances, which entered into force on July 1, 2008.One of the new requirements was that fast rescue boat launching appliances be fitted with a 'wave compensator' device. These are automatic high-speed tensioning devices which prevent the davit wire fromgoing slack when launching fast rescue boats in adverse sea state conditions.In 2010 there was an incident on board a cargo ship, in which several crew members sustained serious injuries when trying to launch a fast rescue boat. The injured personnel were crewing the fast rescue boat when thelaunching appliance wave compensator device caused the boat to descend rapidly and hit the water, from height of approximately 18 metres. The accident was investigated and found to be caused by faulty installationof the wave compensator device.Recently, during installation testing of a fast rescue boat launching appliance, produced by a different manufacturer, the appliance was found to have a similar problem. This problem was also found to be causedfaulty installation of the wave compensator device.What should owners and operators do now?Owners and operators of ships should check if their vessels are fitted with fast rescue ...

Reducing the risks Scandpower and ModuSpec, a sister company in the Lloyd's Register Group, are working with leading owners and operators in the oil and gas sector to improve current methods of monitoring the performance of blow-out preventers (BOP) and reduce the risks relating to one of the industry's most safety-critical pieces of equipment.Scandpower and ModuSpec are pooling their resources with industry to develop a 'BOP Monitor' that is expected to significantly improve current processes of assessing risk during operations. The monitor will be a new application for Scandpower's proprietary RiskSpectrum software, which has already proved its value at one-half of the world's nuclear power plants."The BOP is a critical component in any hydrocarbon drilling operation and is often the final line of defence for protecting life and the environment. So there is high demand for a transparent and well-structured risk assessment approach that helps owners and operators to monitor the BOP's performance," says Duco de Haan, CEO of ModuSpec. "Because ModuSpec has been a global leader in helping to ensure the reliability of drilling assets for more than 25 years, we recognise the importance of industry participation in developing a product of this calibre."BOPs were thrust into the public ...

M.V. Aquilato has been delivered in China Lloyd's Register supervised the design appraisal, build and sea trials, verifying the performance of a new, modified 57,000 dwt ship based on a SDARI design. The M.V. Aquila, first in a new series of supramax bulk carrier designs, optimised to burn less fuel oil has been delivered in China on the eve of the Lunar New Year holidays.The efficiency improvements have been achieved by carrying out a number of straightforward - but effective - changes including: de-rating the main engine, a new propeller design which has been optimised for the de-rated engine, and fitting a mewis duct. The daily main engine consumption at a speed of 14 knots at ballast draft, which would have been about 29.4 tonnes, is now about 26 tonnes and the daily main engine consumption at a speed of 13.5 knots at design draft, which would have been about 29.8 tonnes daily, is now about 26.30 tonnes. The engine's output has been reduced by nearly 1,000 KW to 8,500 KW.Commenting on the delivery, Meng Cheng Jun, President of the Jiangsu Hantong Group, said that: "This vessel is the fifty-fifth vessel to be delivered since the establishment of our Hantong ...

Lloyd's List video David Osler and Liz McMahon speak to Lloyd's List Editor Richard Meade about the further implications of the grounding of Costa Concordia

Health and Safety Golden Rules published by Lloyd's Register The Lloyd's Register Group has published a set of Health and Safety Golden Rules which our employees must follow to keep themselves, and those people around them, safe. Some of these Rules, together with ourInstructions, are related to working over water, in particular the conduct of boat transfers. We would like to bring these to your attention so you can appreciate the requirements we are placing on our surveyors.Our surveyors and inspectors are required to do the following:1. Confirm that the risks are acceptable before starting work and if conditions change while they are workingThey will do this through survey planning meetings and discussions, identifying the main hazards and establishing the controls are appropriate. This activity will continue as they start the job and as they carry out the work so that any changes, including weather-related issues, are monitored.2. Undertake the work in the safest available way, for example using a heaving line to transfer equipment during a boat transferOur surveyors and inspectors have been trained in hazard identification and risk assessment and will therefore be following our hierarchy of controls which requires them, at all times, to work in the ...

ISO 50001 certification by Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register has awarded Maran Tankers Management, Inc. (MTM), the oil tanker management company of the Angelicoussis Shipping Group, with ISO 50001 certification as commercial ship operators continue to search for ways to lessen their environmental impact and operating costs.ISO 50001 is a voluntary international standard that specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving an energy-management system. It offers companies a systematic approach to continually improve energy performance, including energy efficiency, use and consumption."Certification to ISO 50001 was a milestone for our company," MTM Managing Director Stavros Hatzigrigoris said. "Having in place an effective and efficient energy-management system for the operation of our fleet brings real added benefits to the company and it allows us to be proactive in satisfying upcoming regulations, customer requirements and society's expectations."Energy management has become a critical part of ship operations in part because fuel is an increasingly major cost element for any shipping company, according to Sokratis Dimakopoulos, MTM's HSQE Manager."Improving energy efficiency reduces fuel consumption and operating costs for MTM and its clients. In addition, being energy efficient has become a legal and industry requirement and assists in reducing the environmental impact associated with CO2 ...

Ice class tankers receive special coatings A Norwegian based shipping company chose Ecospeed to give lasting protection to their two newbuild general cargo vessels. The first vessel, M/V Golfstraum, was delivered in November. Her sister vessel M/V Rystraum is planned for a 2012 delivery. Both vessels are of the highest ice class and will be trading in North Europe and the Baltic Sea.PHOTO: M/V GolfstraumBecause the most northern parts of the Baltic Sea are almost completely frozen during the winter season the owner wanted an underwater hull coating that would protect his vessels against the frequent impact of large pieces of floating dry ice. Ecospeed was therefore the ideal coating, requiring no more than a few touch-ups during future drydock visits and no full repaint.Ecospeed has also received the Lloyd's Register certificate that recognizes the coating as an abrasion resistant ice coating for vessels intending to navigate in ice conditions. For this reason the ice belts of both vessels, the area on the bow just above the waterline that is most prone to mechanical damage from sailing through ice, were also coated with Ecospeed.For over five years several vessels coated with Ecospeed have been sailing through the most severe Baltic ...

Expiry of tripartite agreements LR issues Statutory Alert regarding Provisional assessment of bulk chemicals in the Chemical Codes and MARPOL Annex II - Expiry of tripartite agreements as follows:The IMO's Guidelines for the Provisional Assessment of Liquid Substances Transported in Bulk (MEPC.1/Circ 512) detail requirements for tripartite agreements.Tripartite agreements for pure or technically pure products, which have not been classified by IMO, mixtures containing more than 1% of such products, or trade-named mixtures presenting safety hazards expire three years after their inclusion in the MEPC.2/Circular - Provisional Categorization of Liquid Substances.Withdrawals due to the new Guidelines for the Carriage of Blends of Petroleum Oil and Bio-fuelsThe following trade-name chemicals have been withdrawn by the flag authorities since they are now carried under the new IMO Guidelines for the Carriage of Blends of Petroleum Oil and Bio-fuels contained inMEPC.1/Circ.76Bio-fuel blends of Diesel/gas oil and Alkanes (C10-C26), linear and branched with a flashpoint ≤60C containing 75% or more petroleum oilE85 VSS, made by VerticalE85 VWS, made by VerticalE90 (Fuelstreamers, Inc), made by Fuelstreamers, IncE90 (Shell), made by ShellEtamax B (s), made by SEKAB BioFuels & ChemicalsEtamax B (w), made by SEKAB BioFuels & ChemicalsGasoline Blending Component SG90, made by Sugden BiofuelsSME B99, ...