THE ECONOMICS OF A LONG TERM COATING

An important challenge during ship construction is the protection against corrosion of the ballast tanks. These tanks have many compartments, contain multiple structural elements and play a critical role in the seaworthiness. The majority of the ballast tanks are prepared and coated according to IMO Performance Standard for Protective Coating regulations (PSPC), using a light colored epoxy coating that, when maintenance is being performed by the crew, must remain in a “good” condition for 15 years. This method is set next to a protection system applied by a given owner who keeps its ships in an excellent condition for their complete lifetime using a long term coating. More attention is paid to the preparation and application of the coating and consequently it protects the ballast tanks for more than 25 years. These coating strategies are compared in an economic analysis, supplemented with a sensitivity analysis to evaluate the outcomes due to variable parameters. The results indicate that a long term coating only pays off for owners willing to keep the ballast tanks of their vessels in a good condition for the complete lifetime. The decisive factor is that a long term coating entails no recoating in dry dock. The latter results less toxic components in the atmosphere.

STABILITY FAILURE ANALYSIS IN THE OPERATIONS OF FLOATING DRY DOCKS

The main area of this work reflects a topic for which there is little or limited reference available and is carried out to meet the needs of professional and practical floating dry dock operators. The risk of hazards in floating dry docks is evaluated using a discrete fuzzy set theory (FST) and an evidential reasoning (ER) approach in a situation where historical failure data is not available. Fuzzy set modelling is used to estimate the safety levels of the causes of basic failure events in floating dry docks due to stability concerns using the concept of linguistic variables, and provides a framework for dealing with such variables in a systematic way. The ER approach is used to synthesise the estimated safety levels of the causes of hazards/basic hazard events. The results of this work will be valuable to dry dock masters and sister maritime engineering professionals.

EFFECTS OF MARINE CONDITION ON THE SPEED AND FUEL CONSUMPTION OF A FULLY – LOADED VLCC

Minimizing fuel consumption is a priority for ship-owners seeking to reduce their vessel costs due to sea conditions. One of the most reliable methods used to estimate fuel consumption is to identify field investigations for future voyages. The VLCC Salina was used based on daily field data collected over a proper period and year of 2014 was identified as a period of optimal performance after its periodic dry dock repair. According to verified results for Beaufort scales of 2, 3 and 4, the vessel exhibited an average speed loss of 2.2% due to wind and wave effects for a Froude number of 0.15 while its greatest speed loss was observed at angles of 30‒60° relative to its longitudinal axis. The results were finally used to develop a methodology for estimating fuel consumption of Salina and 3 other sister-ships, during future voyages, in the fleet of the National Iranian tanker company.

The Concept of Floating Shipyard

Shipyards are known as a land-based facility that ships steer to for docking and repair. This study represents an introductory conceptual study for a new principle of developing a Floating shipyard: changing the phenomena of a fixed site shipyard into a self-propelled floating shipyard. This Floating Shipyard can travel and conduct dry-docking activities at the client's location or even lift the client's vessel and travel to the F-Yard extension, taking advantage of having comprehensive repair or conversion. The arising challenges to this floating shipyard, such as lay-offs, restructuring, and environmental legislation, requires a balanced solution. The solution of all this relies on adapting talent management and competitive production tools during this massive undergoing change in its backbone structure. The Floating shipyard, here named "F-Yard", changes the mindset of dry-dock. This is because F-Yard travels to the client's location or is capable of pick the client's unit nearby the cargo destination, where it can complete the required dry-dock or repair. The cutthroat advantage of the F-Yard comes from self-propelled, where the other approaches depend on others for mobilizing and anchoring from one location to another. In addition, F-Yard could serve other industries, due to its fully equipped workshops, that able to serve different market needs such as oil and gas and renewable energy...etc. These open the door for a variety of business scope. F-Yard depends on front-end engineering and marketing teams to optimize its route and sort the supply chain requirements.

Design finite element method based models of floating dry docks strength

The features of global strength modelling of floating dry docks using finite element method are considered. Comparative analysis of two- and three-dimensional models was performed considering the interaction of the floating dry dock and the ship. To solve the problem of reducing the complexity of creating and the size of the finite element model, it is proposed to use the elements of a volumetric orthotropic body to model the main transverse beams of the pontoon. Hydrostatic elastic base of floating dry dock is represented as spring elements. The model of the dock support device includes spring and gap elements. The vessel is considered in the equivalent beam model. Results were obtained on such effects as redistribution of buoyant force due to deformation of the dock, incomplete inclusion of the towers in the general longitudinal bending of the dock, the effect of ship stiffness not only on the longitudinal, but also on the transverse bending of the dock.

Floating Shipyard: Drydock during the ship’s voyage

Shipyards are known as a land-based facility that ships steer to for docking and repair. This study represents a basic conceptual study for a new principal of developing a Floating shipyard: changing the phenomena of a fixed site shipyard into a self-propelled floating shipyard. This Floating Shipyard capable to travel and conduct drydock activities at the client's location or even can lift the client's vessel and travel to its next designated location, taking advantage of completing the dry dock and repair during the voyage. The arising challenges, to this floating shipyard, such as lay-offs, restructuring, and environment legislation requires a balanced solution. This solution, of all this, relays on the adaptation of talent management and competitive production tools, during this huge undergoing changes in its backbone structure. The Floating shipyard, here named "F-Yard", changes the mindset of dry-dock. This is because F-Yard travels to the client's location or capable of pick the client's ship towards the cargo destination, where it can complete the required drydock or repair. The cutthroat advantage of the F-Yard comes from self-propelled where the other approaches depend on others for mobilizing and anchoring from one location to another. Plus, F-Yard could serve other industries, due to its fully equipped workshops, that able to serve different market needs such as oil and gas and renewable energy...etc. These open the door for a variety of business scope. F-Yard depends on front end engineering and marketing teams to optimize its route and to sort the supply chain requirements.

“It is rather sickly here”

This chapter reviews Thomas Kirkpatrick's arrival from New York to Nassau to fill the new position in state of the consulate. It states that Kirkpatrick entered the consulate and found the office in a chaotic state. In preparation for the move, Kirkpatrick was able to sit down with George Harris and discuss resolution of the back-rent issue and other debts incurred by the office dating back to the repair of the windows Sam Whiting had broken out. The chapter also elaborates John Howell's idea that would help the Union: to establish a coal depot for US merchant ships on Hog Island near the dry dock. US Marshal for New York City Robert Murray introduced Howell as a true friend of the Union cause, who had provided much information on blockade runners. The chapter then narrates the downturn in activity in Nassau two days after Kirkpatrick's arrival: the return of yellow fever in 1864. Ultimately, the chapter discusses Kirkpatrick's recruitment of a couple of spies within the blockade-running companies and the surge of shipping in and out of Nassau. It further analyses Kirkpatrick's call for a new flying squadron to come to the Bahamas and reactivate Charles Wilkes's idea of nipping blockade runners off at the source.