Figures released by the Committee reveal that ClassNK newly registered 964 vessels totalling 25.7m gross tons in 2012, setting new records for both number of vessels and total gross tonnage registered in a single year. This caps more than a decade of incredible growth by the Society, and marks the tenth straight year that ClassNK has set a new record in terms of total tonnage added to its register.

Additions to the NK register in 2012 were driven by newbuilding registrations, coinciding with a peak in new building deliveries worldwide. As the shipbuilding industry has grown since the turn of the century, ClassNK has set a new record for newbuilding registrations every year since 2000, with NK registering a new record of 692 vessels totaling 20.3m gross tons over the course of 2012.

Speaking on the announcement, ClassNK, Chairman and President, Noboru Ueda stated: “Our achievements in 2012 have set a new standard for both ourselves and the maritime industry, but we firmly believe that these successes are only a reflection of the trust we have earned from shipowners and shipyards around the world.”

Registrations of vessels transferred to NK from other class societies amounted to 272 vessels totalling 5.4m gross tons, more than 28% in terms of ship numbers and 21% of gross tonnage registered by the society in 2012. This too marks a new record for ClassNK, roughly doubling the Society’s previous record of 137 vessels totalling 2.9m gross tons set in 2011.

Addressing the record number of transfers, Mr Ueda noted: “Our growth in Europe in particular has increased our registration of existing vessels, with transfers of German owners alone accounting for roughly 20% of all existing tonnage registered in 2012.”

Mr Ueda went on to say that “While newbuilding registrations are forecast to fall in the years ahead, we expect to maintain our current record breaking pace of registrations through this year, and hope to report similar figures in 2013.”

An Agreement of Cooperation has existed between the two Organizations since May 1982, revised following the privatization of Inmarsat in 1999. IMSO and IMO enjoy reciprocal observer status at the meetings of each Organization, and exchange information on their activities and programmes of work in the field of maritime communications for maritime safety and efficiency of navigation.

Mr Sekimizu also met the Executive Chairman of Inmarsat, Mr Andy Sukawaty, and visited the Inmarsat Satellite Control Centre.

Captain Pacha-Vicente said “IMSO is honoured to receive Mr Sekimizu on his first visit to IMSO in his capacity as the IMO Secretary-General, although he has in the past attended many IMSO meetings. The working relationship between IMSO and IMO is most important as it recognizes the crucial role that GMDSS plays in the safety of life at sea, and the important improvement that its modernization over the next few years will bring to shipping. In addition, as LRIT Coordinator, IMSO continues to work closely with IMO in ensuring the system is efficiently implemented and fits the purpose for which it was created.

Mr Sekimizu said “my formal visit to IMSO today reflects the strong sense of co-operation between the Heads of two Organizations and our exchange of views about a number of issues surrounding satellite communications for ships reconfirmed the established value of our partnership which is fundamental to the activities of both Organizations to maintain sound legal and administrative frameworks for sustainable shipping.”

Reference & Image Credits

imso

ISS Egypt has however suspended all husbandry services at all Egyptian ports including crew changes and transfers, Cash to Master and shipments delivery as road transportation is currently deemed unsafe by the company due to the anti-government action nationwide. ISS Egypt also recommends for the safety of all personnel that any embarking/disembarking is postponed until the situation settles.

ISS Egypt will continue to monitor developments on behalf of ship owners and operators and will keep customers updated.

ISS Egypt has however suspended all husbandry services at all Egyptian ports including crew changes and transfers, Cash to Master and shipments delivery as road transportation is currently deemed unsafe by the company due to the anti-government action nationwide. ISS Egypt also recommends for the safety of all personnel that any embarking/disembarking is postponed until the situation settles.

ISS Egypt will continue to monitor developments on behalf of ship owners and operators and will keep customers updated.

The approved type of the ship (project name – “Gaz-Ice”) in some respects exceeds the characteristics of four state-of-the-art LNG carriers of “Velikiy Novgorod” series currently under construction in South Korea for Gazprom Marketing and Trading (GM&T) and Shell under the supervision of RS and Lloyd’s Register.

As required by GM&T, two alternative designs were developed and approved, with a dual fuel diesel-electric engine (DFDE) and with two-stroke low-speed engines equipped with a sophisticated gas injection system (ME-GI) which, according to calculations, allow to reduce fuel consumption more than twofold as compared with a “conventional” steam power plants.

Membrane type cargo tanks of “Gaz-Ice” with capacity of about 170,000 m3 will enable the transportation of different LNG cargo sizes and a significant boil off rate reduction owing to the use of new technologies that increase the strength and thermal insulating properties of the membrane.

“The design that has been approved by RS was developed by Korean shipbuilders together with the world’s leading shipowners and LNG carrier operators. It reflects the latest advances in gas carrier design and construction, in particular, it boasts a main propulsion plant and cargo system of outstanding efficiency. The design meets the highest environmental requirements (ECO-S notation), provides for a set of measures and equipment for operation at low temperature (Winterization (-30) notation) and Arc4 ice class which allows to use the ship for transportation of liquefied gas along the Northern Sea Route,” said Pavel Shikhov, RS Chief Operating Officer and Head of Classification and Development Directorate.

“The demand of Gazprom Group and other Russian companies for a cost-effective and environmentally friendly tanker fleet for trading and export operations require a comprehensive approach based on a combination of innovation, best achievements of the international shipbuilding science and, practice and an increase in the ‘Russian content’ in the construction of these ships. GM&T’s successful experience in the commercial operation of LNG carriers, the current construction of “Velikiy Novgorod” and “Pskov” gas carriers with our strategic partners ОАО “Sovcomflot” and RS, as well as the development of “Gaz-Ice” allowed us both to define the basis for the future gas-carrying fleet of the Group and to initiate the process of preparing for the construction of these ships in Russia by 2018,” said Mr. Nikolai Grigoriev, Director of Global Shipping and Logistics of Gazprom Marketing & Trading.

Approval of a modern gas carrier design for Gazprom Group is an important step to strengthen the RS position in the area of classification of high-tech ships made as part of ongoing enhancement of marine gas transportation expertise in RS.

Being an important and integral link in developing national expertise in marine transportation of gas, RS was one of the first in Russia to start building the required potential in that area. The recent 3-4 years were especially productive in that respect. Below is a list of high-profile events of the year 2012 which is far from being complete:

• March 2012: opening of a Design and Newbuilding Support Centre in the Republic of Korea (Pusan), which is inter alia intended to support gas carrier construction;
• May 2012: start of technical supervision over construction of a series of 4 gas carriers at STX Offshore and Shipbuilding shipyard;
• September 2012: signing of an agreement on cooperation in gas carrier design with Gas Transport & Technigaz (GTT);
• September 2012: additional training seminar for RS surveyors in the RS Personnel Training Centre, in the course of which thirty five more RS specialists received theoretical training;
• November 2012: start of practical training of RS specialists who completed theoretical training on gas carriers at the STX Offshore and Shipbuilding Shipyard. Upon completion of the practical training program 30 more surveyors will join the ranks of RS specialists having knowledge in the area of marine transportation of gas, construction and operation of gas carriers;
• November 2012: participating in type tests of a new control system for dual fuel low-speed engines (ME-GI) at Hyundai shipyard in Ulsan;
• December 2012: Approval in Principle of the possibility to use GTT membrane systems for cargo storage for ships of Arc7 ice category for operation in the conditions of Russian Arctic and along the Northern Sea Route.

The potential gained by RS in marine transportation of gas enables it to participate in prospective large-scale gas carrier construction projects. Further dynamic capacity building is a solid basis for strengthening RS positions on the classification services market in the sector of high-tech ships for LNG transportation.

Reference

rs-class

The 40 housing units shipped out on Tuesday, January 29^th were manufactured by Champion Homes at their Sangerfield, NY (Oneida County) factory.

“We understand these modular units will be home to the Exxon/Mobile Hebron Project workers,” said Rich Hendrick, the Port’s General Manager. The project, which other energy companies are involved with, will recover an estimated 660 million barrels of oil.

“In addition to project cargo, we’ve seen more and more oil-related shipping coming into the Port,” said Hendrick. “We continue to receive crude oil for our two oil terminal operators—Buckeye Partners and Global Partners–from various sources via Canadian Pacific Rail. The crude is then transferred to barges and shipped to various refineries up and down the East Coast.”

Image Credits

hdnux

The EEDI (Energy Efficiency Design Index) specifies how many grams of CO2 a ship may emit per transported ton and nautical mile travelled that all newly built ships must meet from 2013. The EEDI aims to reduce fuel consumption and resultant CO2 emissions not only through engine technology measures, but also through changes in the ship’s geometry. The Centras newbuildings saved more than 3 tons of fuel per day compared to the standard design the company had previously used in designing its Capesizers. The resultant EEDI value was calculated as being 5.38% lower than the reference value required by the International Maritime Organization in its EEDI legislation due to come into force next year, a result Centrans reported as it being “very satisfied” with. The vessels received their EEDI compliance certificates from Lloyds Register in late 2012.

Ole Grøne, Senior Vice President – Low-Speed Promotion & Sales – MAN Diesel & Turbo said: “This is an interesting project that shows that even our mechanical engines are capable of satisfying EEDI requirements. That said, I would add that our electronic ME-C engines are capable of delivering even better EEDI values.

Reference

mandieselturbo

Accepting the award on behalf of WSS Dubai, Sondre Ajer, General Manager UAE said: “We are extremely proud to receive this accolade, and our sincere thanks go to the Dubai Government for their continuous efforts to constantly improve efficiencies within Trade and Logistics.”

Alongside Mr Ajer, Flemming Andersen, area logistics manager WSS Middle East said: “With a month-on-month compounded growth of 54% for online transactions, the Dubai Fleet & Logistics team have demonstrated great interest and considerable expertise in utilising the online tools made available by the Dubai government entities.”

Speaking at the event, Eng. Mahmood Bastaki, CEO of Dubai Trade commented: ” Transactions on the Dubai Trade platform in 2012 reached approximately 14.9 million compared with 12 million in 2011. This is a direct result of our team’s success in creating optimal IT solutions and reflects the benefits realised by our customers in terms of time efficiency, cost reduction and environmental benefits, in addition to the fact that we provide a secure platform and enhanced transparency for customer transactions.”

The next generation Inspection, Maintenance and Repair (IMR) vessel, the Seven Viking, is co-owned by Subsea 7 and Eidesvik and has been constructed in partnership with Ulstein.

The ICE-C class vessel with a crew capacity of 90 and a top speed of 17 knots, will work for Statoil on a five year contract. It has been custom-built according to the operator’s specifications to carry out tasks including inspection, maintenance and repair of subsea installations in addition to scale treatment and RFO work scopes (Ready For Operations).

The vessel Godmother is to be Christine Sagen Helgø, the Mayor of Stavanger.

Subsea 7 Vice President for Norway Stuart Fitzgerald said: “The collective effort, and strong cooperation, between Ulstein, Eidesvik and Subsea 7, has resulted in the Seven Viking. The Seven Viking represents another class leading asset in the Subsea 7 fleet and captures Subsea 7’s unparalleled experience with IMR operations in harsh environments. The design and build of this state of the art vessel would not have been possible without the expertise and dedication of many people within both Subsea 7 and our project partners, and we take pride in their achievement. We look forward to many years of safe and efficient operations with Seven Viking for our Customer, Statoil.”

Jan Fredrik Meling, CEO Eidesvik Offshore said, “We in Eidesvik are very satisfied with the close and constructive cooperation with Subsea 7. The relationship between our companies has developed over many years and has enabled us, together with Ulstein, to launch this outstanding vessel.”

Gunvor Ulstein, Ulstein Group CEO said, “Ulstein is proud to deliver a vessel of unmatched technical and operational capacity in its sector, and I am confident that the Seven Viking will meet Statoil’s expectations.”

The Seven Viking incorporates the X-BOW® hull line design to reduce motion in transit and gives increased stability in the potentially high waves that characterise the North Sea. Despite this enviable stability usually associated with size, this version of the Ulstein SX148 design has been crafted to be compact in stature – measuring only 106.5 metres long and 24.5 metres wide. The dimensions will allow the Seven Viking to manoeuvre with ease in confined spaces, such as between platforms, accessing difficult to reach areas.

Thanks to a clever configuration whereby hull space is maximised and equipment is integrated within a large hangar area, the Seven Viking and its crew have the ability to carry all necessary maintenance equipment on board, ensuring that operational downtime is kept to a minimum.

Safety, efficiency and environmental considerations have been the prime focus for the three partners when developing the Seven Viking, which carries the Clean Design notation.

A customised module handling system (MHS) has been integrated in the ship’s hangar for the safe launch and retrieval of subsea modules weighing up to 70 tons through the moon pool.

To facilitate cooperation and communication, all operational personnel are gathered in one area adjacent to the hangar, with panoramic windows in the control room giving a full overview of this key activity area. The Seven Viking has been developed to meet the highest working environment standards, and is classified as a comfort class COMF-V (3) vessel. Minimal noise levels in the hangar have been achieved by opting for electric winches for the ROVs, the MHS and other utility equipment.

Notable environmental initiatives include diesel electric propulsion, which reduces atmospheric emissions, and the electrical winches which nullify the risk of emissions of hydraulic oil.

Reference & Image Credits

ulstein

The 18,500 ton jacket was build in the US. In Corpus Christi the jacket was loaded on the 260 meters long barge H-851, world’s largest launch and cargo barge owned by Heerema Marine Contractors.

Fairmount Marine, part of the Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group, was contracted by Heerema Marine Contractors and mobilized the tugs Fairmount Summit and Fairmount Alpine to Corpus Christi. From this port the convoy set sail for the 9,000 miles voyage.

It took only 54 days at an average speed of 6.9 knots to deliver the barge in the Tamar field. Upon arrival the Fairmount Summit and Fairmount Alpine assisted in the launching and installation operations.

The Tamar gas field is classified as the largest deepwater natural gas discovery in 2009. Production is expected to start in the second quarter of this year.

After launching the Tamar jacket Fairmount Alpine was released and went on to her next assignment. Fairmount Summit continued with barge H-851 for a 5,150 miles voyage towards the Far East.

Fairmount Marine is a marine contractor for ocean towage and heavy lift transportation, headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Fairmount’s fleet of tugs consists of five modern super tugs of 205 tons bollard pull each, especially designed for long distance towing, and a multipurpose support vessel. Fairmount Marine is part of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group.

The Royal Navy provides the main defence of the UK’s seas and overseas territories and ensures safe navigation, transport and trade in national and international waters.

The security of trade and other maritime operations is critical to UK interests around the world but can be threatened by international crime, which is increasingly using the same waters for unlawful activities such as the movement of people and weapons.

Maritime Constabulary Operations and Maritime Security Operations already use the full spectrum of tools available to the Royal Navy but some hostile activity can be difficult to detect in busy and congested waters where it is hard to identify and stop the few illegal operations out of the vast number of legitimate civilian activities.

More effective tools are now needed to strengthen the UK’s response and reduce the risks to trade and shipping.

The MOD’s Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE), which is part of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), is seeking proof-of-concept research proposals from industry and academia to improve the security of maritime operations. Areas of interest include:

• the determination of unlawful activity at sea by developing breakthroughs in the way that activities such as piracy or the transportation of weapons can be detected when unlawful craft and lawful craft look very similar.

• the response to hostile activity at sea by developing new technology, and other solutions, that can provide a graduated range of responses, particularly non-lethal and non-destructive means, when interdicting craft that are carrying out unlawful activities.

• small arms accuracy at sea by developing new tools, such as effective training aids, that are representative of small arms operations on maritime platforms and can provide the feedback on marksmanship accuracy needed to develop performance.

David Sherburn, who leads the maritime research programme at Dstl, said:

“It’s vitally important we reach out to industry and academia which have experience with equipment delivery, technology development and innovation to ensure we get the broadest and most coherent science and technology package of ideas and solutions for the front line commands.”

CDE proves the value of novel, high-risk, high-potential-benefit research sourced from the broadest possible range of science and technology providers, including academia and small companies, to enable development of cost-effective capability advantage for UK Armed Forces and national security.

Successful proposals from a previous maritime-related CDE call, ‘Innovation in Technology for Unmanned Maritime Systems’, have been funded with academia and industry, including small and medium-sized enterprises.

These aim to demonstrate solutions for everything from novel technology for the safe and quick recovery of unmanned systems to technology that can reduce the drag of unmanned systems using micro vortex generators or autonomously power an unmanned system using the energy from ocean waves.