The largest ever marine conference to be held in London, the World Maritime Technology Conference 2006 (WMTC), proved an inspiring platform for high level presentations and debate across the full gamut of marine engineering.

Delegates convened from around the globe to attend the official opening ceremony and hear an address given by HRH Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh, who is coincidentally Senior Honorary Fellow of event organiser (and publisher of this magazine), the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology.

The conference covered the latest developments in the naval sector by incorporating the bi-annual International Naval Engineering Conference (INEC). One presentation questioned why fuel cells have been so long to arrive in service and why reformers, in particular, are really not suited to be fitted in ships or submarines.

Delegates were also given updates on research into ground effect craft and a preview on how air cushion vehicles are predicted to perform. Electric propulsion was high on the agenda and discussion covered the numerous configuration possibilities as well as issues related to Quality of Power Supply (QPS). Separate presentations focused on the results of full scale trials of extreme fault conditions.

Comment on the Type 45 and Future CVS programmes came via a paper highlighting the lessons learnt during risk modelling and analysis for the Carrier project and was extremely well-received. Delegates also heard about new designs of replenishment ships and, notably, about new concepts of afloat support.

The marine engineering stream, meanwhile, comprised the tenth bi-annual ICMES (International Cooperation on Marine Engineering Systems) event which covered customary environmental themes such as emissions, ballast water treatment and bilge and waste management.

Hydrodynamics, propellers and ship motion were also included for the first time. This was a well-received addition to an already comprehensive agenda and is likely to be a regular component of future ICMES conferences.

Another highlight of the week was a paper on the evolution of podded propulsion given by John Hopkins, who recently retired as Managing Director of cruise vessel operator Carnival Corporation (UK). Delegates packed the conference hall to hear Hopkins give an insight into his first hand experience of pod technologies, in particular failure modes that afflicted early pod installations in cruise ships.

He explained how brush wear and movement problems caused by slip rings and swivels were resolved by stiffening the brush boxes and modifying brushes and rings, and how propeller bearing wear difficulties were overcome by the introduction of the ‘CARB’ bearing, featuring outer and inner racers.

With solutions now in place for most of the initial teething problems, Hopkins concluded with the message that while not a universal panacea for all ship types, podded propulsion technology is ‘more than capable of satisfying cruise ship propulsion requirements as well as those of icebreakers, ferries and specialist ships.’

The next WMTC event will be held in 2009 in Mumbai and will be hosted by the Institute of Marine Engineers ( India). A CD-ROM containing all the papers presented is available for £150. To order your copy, contact Lorraine Jordan +44 (0) 207 382 2606 or email lorraine.jordan@imarest.org

[SOURCE: MER]

Vikoma launched the Multiple Oil Skimming System (MOSS) — a new concept in oil recovery techniques — at Spill International 06 and has announced a contract to supply the MOSS system to Exxon Neftegas Limited (ENL) for its Sakhalin operations.

The MOSS has been designed to offer a complete packaged oil spill recovery solution that is easily portable, will recover oil with a broad range of viscosity and will allow fast reaction to spills in remote or difficult locations.

The supply of 12 Vikoma MOSS systems is part of a contract for oil spill response equipment worth over US$1.25M placed by Flour Daniel, on behalf of ENL. The contract also includes the supply of 11 Vikoma manportable mini Vac systems, two portable pipeline systems (for the transfer of recovered oil across difficult terrain) and seven 50m3 floating oil storage barges.

This unique system is ideal for use when responding to smaller spills – typically up to 10 tons of oil – in situations on beaches, harbours, small rivers and cross-country pipeline spills. Each component in the MOSS system is designed to be man-portable (one or two) and the container itself can be easily transported by road or air.

Andy Nash, Sales Director, Vikoma International Ltd, said: ‘Vikoma is the world leader in the design of oil spill recovery systems and our new MOSS design is a unique package that provides a complete oil recovery system that can be stored and deployed anywhere in the world, quickly and effectively.’ The MOSS system is designed to be portable and the container can be easily transported by road or air.

[SOURCE: JOT ]

WMTC PROVIDED a fitting forum for a CIMAC (International Council on Combustion Engines) Circle meeting, in which five panellists representing engine manufacturers, class and research organisations addressed a capacity audience on the challenges and opportunities associated with using gas as a marine fuel.

Ingemar Nylund from Wärtsilä Finland briefly charted the development of gas-fuelled engines from their shoreside origins to the latest in dual-fuel propulsion for marine applications. Per Einang from Marintek talked of the experience gained from the operation of LNG-powered car ferries already in use in Norwegian coastal waters. He went on to give a detailed technical description of five new car ferries currently under construction.

Norman Rattenbury from Lloyd’s Register offered a classification society perspective on existing safety codes and standards. He emphasised these rules will need to be adapted to match the requirements of LNG operation for a wider range of vessel types.

Lars Nerheim from the engine design consultancy Ricardo focused on the limitations of today’s technology and the challenges that lie ahead. His wellreceived presentation covered the boundaries of the current generation of dual-fuel engines as well as issues of ignition control, misfire detection and fuel mixture control requirements.

Dr Axel Hanenkamp gave a MAN B&W perspective before a lively debate with members of the audience directing an almost continuous stream of questions of both a technical and practical nature to the panellists.

[SOURCE: MER]

An industry project set up by technology consultants, OTM, has yielded an early result, thanks to co-operation and discussion between members of the oil and gas subsea industry worldwide. SIIS (Subsea Instrumentation Interface Standardisation) was set up only two years ago with the aim of standardising the interfaces deployed in the subsea industry.

OTM’s Annie Hairsine is the Network Manager, providing project management to the SIIS industry project. She is delighted that agreement on the protocol has been reached so soon.

‘SIIS focused on the interface between subsea sensors and the subsea control module,’ she says. ‘The group considered the interfaces required by all types of sensors in the subsea environment, and we consulted with the sensor vendors.

We also prepared cost comparisons and looked at the level of industry support for each of the three short listed options. We were scrupulously fair about the selection process, and eventually we reached agreement on a single standard.’

The Canbus CANOPEN interface type has been selected as the standard for the SIIS protocol, and this is seen as very good news for the oil industry worldwide.

Chris Lindsey-Curran, Senior Subsea Engineer at BP, said, ‘The upstream sector once again finds itself in a period of high demand, with the service sector and the operators all struggling for resources, both human and physical.

‘The oil industry is also striving to improve the performance of subsea systems through improvements in reliability. Historically, the service and operator companies have been free to choose interfaces, as there were no standards for subsea. This led to a plethora of communication protocols being adopted across the industry when interfacing to third party, external sensors.

‘Service companies and sensor suppliers will now not have to focus time on designing new interfaces but instead can focus their energy on improving the key elements of their products to provide better service.

The oil and gas operators will be able to save time in not having to select a protocol, but being able to quote SIIS as the standard. Sensor companies will no longer have to develop, qualify and test different interfaces to their sensors; this will save on engineering, manufacturing and inventory. Standardisation is also good news for the sensor suppliers, because they are free to focus on sensor development and not have to consider a myriad of interfaces to work with.

[SOURCE: JOT ]

IMarEST members and all users of the sea, now have a chance to influence proposals for new laws that will improve the management of the marine environment.

The UK Government has set out plans for its Marine Bill, a new framework for the seas, that will work towards delivering clean, healthy, safe, productive, and biologically diverse oceans and seas. We invite you to submit comments to us on the content of the bill to be incorporated into the IMarEST response.

You are welcome to comment on all aspects covered but there are specific issues on which we would particularly value your input and these are highlighted by questions throughout the document. When you respond it would be helpful if you can indicate clearly the specific questions to which your answers relate. The consultation covers a wide range of issues and we understand that you may only wish to respond to some of the questions.

DEFRA are also seeking information to help them to fully assess the potential environmental, economic and social impact of our proposals. Initial Regulatory Impact Assessments are provided in the document. When responding to the consultation please comment on the analysis of costs and benefits, giving supporting evidence wherever possible. Please also suggest any alternative ways to reach the objectives described and highlight possible unintended consequences of the proposals, and any practical enforcement or implementation issues.

Please send all comments to Dr Bev Mackenzie (technical@imarest.org) by Friday 9th June 2006.

The full text document can be found at
http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/marinebill/consult.pdf
(PDF 3Mb)

An international conference on maintaining a state of civil order' on today's troubled seas will be held in London on 22-23 June this year. Expert speakers from Britain, the EU and the USA will firstly set the legal framework to the questions of who has the right to decide what is civil order and then, who has the right to maintain it. They will then debate the counters and responses.

Civil order at sea is under threat from piracy on the high seas and robbery in territorial waters, with over 400 attacks a year world-wide, and container crime running into billions of pounds a year annually. Terrorist threats, though not as frequent or acute as those on land, are growing and an explosion in a port or near the coast could be catastrophic.

The legal framework at this Greenwich Forum conference will be set by Vaughan Lowe, Chichele Professor of Public International Law, University of Oxford and Brad J. Kieserman, United States Coastguard Chief of Operations, Law Group.

The extent of the threats, counters and responses will be defined by speakers from the armed services, the police, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, International Maritime Organisation, HM Customs and Excise, and the European Commission, amongst others. The EC has recently set up a new unit, Security Policy and Maritime Security, to help to co-ordinate an EU-wide response through joint intelligence gathering and civil/military and civil/private sector co-operation throughout the Member States.

The conference will also be addressed at dinner by Rear Admiral David Snelson CB, Chief of Staff (Capability) Royal Navy, and former Commander of UK Maritime Forces and Commander of Operation Telic (Iraqi Freedom).

For further information contact the Conference Secretariat on 0044 (0) 1737 559 892 or www.civilsea.com

For further information on any of the above visit http://www.imarest.org.To unsubscribe to this newsletter please click here and enter "UNSUBSCRIBE" as the subject.For information on joining The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology please click here.We would appreciate any opinions or views on how we could improve this newsletter for you. Please send all suggestions to emarine@imarest.org

© IMarEST, 80 Coleman Street, London, EC2R 5BJ, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7382 2600, Fax: +44 (0)20 7382 2670, info@imarest.org