Monday 10 October saw the launch of the major conference programme for the World Maritime Technology Conference (WMTC 2006) being organised by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) in partnership with 24 of the world’s key maritime organisations, and to be held in London’s Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, 6-10 March 2006.

There are keynote speakers of great distinction in both plenary and streamed sessions including:

• Commissioner Joe Borg – Directorate-General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, European Commission
• Vice Admiral Conrad C Lautenbacher Jr – Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA
• Administrator Admiral Robert E Kramek – President and Chief Operating Officer, American Bureau of Shipping
• Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, First Sea Lord (designate) UK
• Sir David King, the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser

This is the second conference in the triennial WMTC series and follows on from the highly successful inaugural conference organised by the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) in San Francisco in 2003, which was attended by 750 high-level delegates drawn by a wealth of technical papers split into six streams over three days. The series was conceived as a response to the perceived need for a single global forum that comprehensively tackles the technical and business topics affecting the maritime industry.

For further information regarding each technical conference stream please click on the link below.

http://www.wmtc2006.com/technical/

For more news on the conference:

http://www.wmtc2006.com/news/

WMTC 2006 is sponsored by ALSTOM, Inmarsat, Lloyd’s Register, P&O Cruises and Rolls-Royce

A US marine aquaculture task force has been established to address aquaculture’s risks and benefits, and to recommend national aquaculture standards for the future development of oceans, announced the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). It is guided by the principle that marine aquaculture must be conducted in a way that does not harm fish and wildlife and the ecosystems on which they depend, said WHOI.

According to WHOI, aquaculture – the farming of fish and shellfish – accounts for one-third of seafood consumed in the world today. The industry is growing rapidly as wild fish stocks decline and consumer demand for seafood continues to rise. The US Department of Commerce has called for a fivefold increase in domestic aquaculture production by 2025. Although most aquaculture in America is currently inland or near the shore, much of the growth in aquaculture is expected to come from fish and shellfish farms in ocean waters. To facilitate this growth, the commerce department recently sent legislation to Congress that would greatly expand aquaculture in federal waters extending from three to 200 miles offshore.

‘This task force comes at the perfect time,’ said Rear Adm (ret.) Richard Pittenger, chair of the task force. ‘Two major ocean commissions have recommended ecologically sustainable marine aquaculture and the Bush administration and Congress are in the early stages of contemplating how this should be done.’

‘Opening up our oceans to aquaculture holds great promise and great risk. If we proceed carefully and thoughtfully, we can produce benefits to the nation. If we proceed recklessly, we could add to the injuries we have already inflicted on the oceans. I look forward to working with all interested parties to make sure that if the United States promotes aquaculture, we do it right.’

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 70% of the seafood Americans consume is imported, and at least 40% is farm raised. In 2002, the US ranked tenth in worldwide aquaculture production, accounting for just over one percent of the global market.

[SOURCE THE MARINE SCIENTIST]

An extensive study has been completed into predicting the resistance caused by immersed transom sterns and the likely effect on required shaft power of fitting large transom sterns to new or existing vessels.

The project was undertaken by BMT SeaTech Ltd in response to the growing trend for slow to medium speed vessels to be fitted with immersed transom sterns. The effect of fitting transoms to higher speed vessels, where the transom usually runs dry, are generally well understood. But BMT SeaTech asserts that previous methods do not allow for assessment of using such sterns for slower speed vessels where the transom usually runs immersed (or wet).

Traditionally, transom sterns that run wetted are regarded as poor design practice and are generally avoided as they can cause a large increase in resistance.

Following model tests conducted on various transom configurations, BMT SeaTech now has a set of data which it says can be used to assess modern vessel designs with larger transom stern areas. It can make predictions about their performance in hull form optimisation studies for new vessels with immersed transom sterns; powering performance assessments and comparative studies; as well as powering estimates for ship conversions such as crane barges. Such conversions typically involve the removal of the existing stern which gives rise to large immersed transom sterns.

In the past such vessels have often encountered problems in achieving design speed and have also had severe cavitation and vibration issues. Model tests were conducted on each transom configurations Numerical wave and flow calculations were carried out for each transom configuration

[SOURCE MER ]

Extraordinary creatures that inhabit extreme underwater conditions are being investigated by University of Leeds scientists in a three year project. These deep-sea communities could reveal an evolutionary history different to anything else on earth and even give clues to how life could exist on other planets.

The creatures live around incredibly hot hydrothermal vents and are unique because they depend on bacteria living inside them for their own survival. These bacteria take their energy from hydrogen sulphide in the vent fluid. ‘They're among the fastest growing animals on the planet – a full community can grow in just three years,’ said earth and environment lecturer Dr Crispin Little.

‘Vent communities are dependent on geochemical rather than solar energy sources and this buffers them from almost all major events, such as mass extinctions or climate change. ‘Their evolutionary history is likely to be radically different to other, photosynthesis- based communities – they may even mirror life forms on other planets.’

Very little is known about the geological history of these animals, discovered only 20 years ago, in particular how they become fossilised. Dr Little and geochemistry colleagues have been awarded a NERC grant to design and build seafloor fossilisation experiments to investigate this fundamental process.

‘We've already found a number of fossils, but don't know how they came to be there,’ said Dr Little. ‘Until we know more it’s very difficult to interpret the fossil record we already have.’

Pieces of hydrothermal animals have already been placed in titanium mesh cages at hydrothermal vent sites 3.5km down in the ocean. Dr Little will return to these sites in the East Pacific Rise off the coast of South America over the next three years to examine the fossilisation process.

[SOURCE THE MARINE SCIENTIST]