DG comment
Buried history
Long service line up
News and notices
People
Branches
Forthcoming events

DG's comment............

For some time the Institute has been looking to see how it might make the papers read at Technical Meetings across the Institute more available to members. Many are published in the Transactions, and there is a drive to encourage presenters to format their papers in a manner that makes them more readily publishable. Not all members, though, subscribe to the Transactions.

The first of this year's Technical Meetings at the Coleman Street Headquarters held on 11 January was an overview of `Marine and Offshore Engineering in the 21st Century'. Three papers were given by a trio of distinguished presenters – Mr Maurice Storey, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Rear Admiral Jonathan Burch CBE, Chief Naval Engineer Officer and Mr Peter Gee, President of the Institute.

By way of an innovation, and an attempt to achieve the `Heineken Effect', the entire meeting was recorded on video tape and, provided the standards of reproduction are adequate, branches around the world will receive a personal copy for use at local meetings.

If the venture should prove successful and feed back demonstrates a market for such an addition to the Institute's information flow, then subsequent, selected technical meetings and lectures can expect similar treatment.

How long, one wonders, before we are producing CDs of like events for the use of members' Personal Computers?

Uncovering buried history

Atime capsule buried at 76 Mark Lane in 1955 has been recovered and will be reburied at 80 Coleman Street.
The capsule was buried during the ceremony marking the laying of the Foundation Stone of the Memorial Building by HRH Prince Philip on 16 November 1955.
The ceremony, presided over by the then President Mr H A J Silley, took place in the presence of 450 members and guests, among whom were the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of London, The First Lord of the Admiralty, the Lord Bishop of Stepney, Past Presidents of the Institute, heads of leading shipping companies and shipping organisations and other City dignitaries.
The ceremony was followed by a luncheon at the Mansion House, attended by 321 members and guests.
The items chosen to be buried represented the Institute of the day, the proceedings of the ceremony and a mint set of the current currency. As the Memorial Building is being sold for demolition the capsule was recovered late last year.
At the Finance and General Purposes Committee meeting on 1 December it was opened by today's President Peter Gee. It contained many interesting items relating to the history of the Institute and the 1950s. The contents included:
The Honorary Member Certificate, dated 10 January 1938, of Alfred Robertson who instigated the idea of the Memorial Building but died just before it was completed; IMarE Transactions of October 1955; the IMarE Royal Charter and By-Laws November 1954; Order of Proceedings for the Laying of the Foundation Stone; and a Programme for the Luncheon at the Mansion House.
Also included was currency of the day: A One Pound note, a Ten Shilling note and various coins — from a half crown to a farthing.
The F&GP committee has decided that the time capsule will be re-buried at 80 Coleman Street. The original contents will remain but items representing today's Institute and the Millennium will be added. It is yet to be decided as to what these items will be. It is thought the capsule will be buried when the Foundation Stone is relocated to the new HQ from the Memorial Building.

Long service line up

At the Council Dining Club Luncheon held at Coleman Street on 14 December 1999, 22 members from the London Home Counties area were presented with their 45-year membership certificates. The recipients are pictured here in the Parsons Room with IMarE President Peter Gee.

Front row (L-R):
N Swindells, RG Sayer, H Hughes, VJM Solomon, DA Cross, Mr Gee, I Bennett, R Milne, EA Stallard.

Middle row (L-R):
DJ Evans, D Royle, GH Richman, JS Dixon, RH Chadburn, J Spark, JD Stewart, MJ Andrews.

Back row (L-R):
CJ Beamish, AJ Thomas, FC Bown, BR Cunningham, TC Harris, HJ Davy.

Time for change — Annual Review

Members will note that distributed with this issue of the Bulletin is a Review of Institute activities over the past year. This Review is in place of an Annual Report to members in the format used in previous years. The Council felt that rather than a detailed historic report of the previous 12 months, members would appreciate more information on the Institute's direction and forward thinking for the future.
The new Review is intended to project a more modern and colourful image and detail the Institute's activities and finance in a more readable style. Some regular features remain, such as the Report of Council and technical meetings and conferences, but in a different and easily digestible form. The lists of corresponding members and past presidents and more detailed membership statistics may now be found on the IMarE web site.
The Report of the Branches, listing their Chairman and Honorary Secretaries, along with details of their technical meetings and events is now to be found inside this issue of the Bulletin. This may, in future, also be transferred to the web site. The Branch events list is useful in that Branches can see what subjects have been covered by others and may wish to chase those authors to give presentations at their own meetings.
It is hoped that the new style, which is also now more useful as a promotional publication, is welcomed by the membership. The Institute continues to explore new, modern and different ways to project itself and its activities, with the result being that more and more information is available via as many modern media means as possible.

Registered engineers earn more than non-registered

Engineers registered with the UK Engineering Council earn considerably more than the national average for their equivalent occupation, according to figures contained in a new document from the Engineering Council.
Engineers for Britain — Digest of Engineering Statistics 1999, reports earnings figures issued by the UK Office of National Statistics in the New Earnings Survey (NES). They reveal that the average gross basic salary before overtime for all those classified in the NES as professional engineers and technologists was £27 541 in the year to April 1999.
By contrast, the median gross basic salary for registered chartered engineers recorded in the same period was £37 994, according to the Engineering Council 1999 Survey of Professional Engineers and Technicians.
`This rather large difference between the national data and the EC survey, data which was gleaned from the professional engineers themselves, could stem from a number of causes,' says the EC. `However, it is clear that whatever the cause, registered engineers earn considerably more than the national average... it seems likely that not all those so classified in the NES are really professional engineers.'
The EC's survey shows the headline figures for average earnings for registered engineers (to April 1999) as £44 450 for Chartered Engineers, £32 842 for Incorporated Engineers, and £29 942 for Engineering Technicians. The median figures are, respectively, £37 994 (up 6.1% on 1998), £28 980 (up 3.5%) and £25 000 (up 3.7%).
Within the breakdown, by engineers occupations, of the NES figures, electrical engineers faired best with annual earnings of £32 095, followed by software engineers with £31 266, and electronic engineers £30 947. Civil/structural engineers followed with £29 192 and then process/production with £29 191. Mechanical engineers were next with an average gross of £29 111.

The Institute of Marine Engineers Guild of Benevolence Annual General Meeting

Notice is hereby given that the Sixty Sixth Annual General Meeting of The Institute of Marine Engineers Guild of Benevolence will be held at 80 Coleman Street, London, EC2R 5BJ on Thursday, 9th March, 2000 at 16:30 hours for the following purposes:

1. To confirm the Minutes of the AGM held on 11th March 1999.

2. To receive, consider and if thought fit, adopt the Annual Report and the Financial Statements for the year ended 30th September 1999.

3. To elect two members to the Guild Committee to replace those Committee members who will retire. The following members have been nominated and are willing to serve under the conditions laid down in the Rules:

• B. McDearmid CEng FIMarE FILMarE
• E C Pidgeon OBE CEng FIMarE
• J C Woodhead CEng FIMarE

4. To re-appoint Messrs. BDO Stoy Hayward as auditors to hold office until the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting.

5. To consider any other business.

By order of the Guild Committee, K F Read CBE CEng FIMarE FIEE, Honorary Secretary, 4th January 2000

N.B.

i) Copies of the Annual Report of the Trustees and the Financial Statements are available from the Honorary Secretary at the above address.

ii) Two vacancies on the Guild Committee will be created as the following will retire as Trustees at the AGM, viz.

• R Anderson CEng FIMarE
• P M Carr CEng MIMarE

iii) Members of the Guild may vote at the meeting in person or by proxy. Forms to appoint a proxy are available from the Honorary Secretary at the above address. Completed forms must be returned to the above address to arrive no later than 48 hours before the time of the meeting.

Guild of Benevolence Conversazione Tombola and Raffle December 1999

The Tombola and Raffle held at the Institute's Annual Conversazione at Grosvenor House on 17 December 1999 raised over £4800 for the Guild of Benevolence funds. This money helped to provide a Christmas Box of £65 paid to the 89 regular beneficiaries of the Guild.
The Guild Committee wishes to thank all those who participated in the fund raising activities on the night and to the following who either made cash donations or provided prizes for the tombola and raffle.
Mr & Mrs R Anderson, Appledore Shipbuilders, Mr & Mrs B Batten, Bibby Line Ltd, Bradstcok Group Services Ltd. Britannia Aggregates Ltd, Burmah Castrol Trading Ltd, Mr & Mrs I Burrows, Butterworth Heinemann, Caledonain MacBrayne, Calvey Marine, Mr P M Carr, Castrol Marine Ltd, The Corporation of Trinity House, Dr & Mrs J Cowley, John Crane Lips, Cromar Consultants, Mr & Mrs D Cross, Mr & Mrs D R Cusdin, J & J Denholm Ltd, Fleming Private Asset Management Ltd, Fuel and Marine Marketing Ltd, Furness Withy Shipping Ltd, Hebridean Island Cruises, Mr & Mrs B Hildrew, Sir Robert & Lady Hill, Hovertravel Ltd, D V Howells Ltd, Jotun-Henry Clark Ltd, Lothian Shipping Services (London) Ltd, Mr & Mrs P M Low, Mr D Lyon, Mr & Mrs D Maddison, McDonalds Restaurants Ltd, Mr & Mrs J McNaught, Mannings Marine Ltd, Milford Haven Port Authority, Mr G S Mole, Mr M Nash, Mr & Mrs S W Nicholls, Osprey Maritime (Europe) Ltd, Mr B Payne, Pearson PLC, P & O Cruises (UK) Ltd, P & O Nedlloyd Ltd, P & O Stena Line Ltd, Rolls-Royce Power Engineering PLC, Mr K Rowe, The Salvage Association, Saga Shipping Ltd, Sesmarine (International) Ltd, Shell Intl Trading & Shipping Co Ltd, Shell Marine Products Ltd, Mr S Speed, Standard Marine Services Ltd, BDO Stoy Hayward, Tindal, Riley & Co, James Troop & Co Ltd, Turbo UK Ltd, Michael & Pauline Vallis, Vosper Thornycroft (UK) Ltd, V Ships (UK) Ltd, Wärtsilä NSD Corporation, Westminster Dredging Co Ltd, Wightlink Ltd, R A Williams & Co Ltd, Charles M Willie & Co Ltd.

David retires — but not quite

The end of 1999 saw the retirement of David Morgan after six years service as the Institute's Manager — Professional Affairs. During this time David has made a significant and valued contribution to the Institute's membership and education and training activities and also the activities of the wider engineering profession through pan-institution working groups. He was also instrument in establishing the Institute's Small Ships Group and the Marine Engineers Certifying Authority (MECAL) both of which have proved to be most successful ventures for the Institute.The photograph shows David with gifts from HQ Staff presented by Keith Read, Director General, at his retirement luncheon in December. Following the presentation, David gave an entertaining resume of his career from Cadet to Superintendent Engineer to Senior Principal in the Department of the Environment before bringing his wealth of knowledge and experience to the Institute in 1993.However, David has not been allowed to escape completely — he has kindly agreed to continue to support the Institute's membership and MECAL activities through membership of relevant committees.We wish David well in his retirement.

Senior appointment at DERA

Cdre Richard Pelly, FIMarE has been appointed to the Executive Committee of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) as Senior Military Officer, succeeding Air Cdre Bill Tyack. He joins DERA with four key areas of responsibility spanning roles as head of profession for the military, a senior military customer link, military ambassador to maintain military awareness and understanding internally and as a key member of the Executive Committee.
Cdre Pelly has previously been Senior Service Officer at the Centre of Defence Analysis and before was Head of Machinery Controls and Surveillance Development at ARE, West Drayton.
He has been with the Royal Navy for 30 years, graduating from Selwyn College, Cambridge in 1972 and attaining an MSc in Marine Engineering.

New Year Honours

Order of the British Empire (Military Division)

Congratulations to Lt Cdr Timothy Charles Hodgson, CEng, MIMarE of Emersons Green, Bristol and Lt Cdr Anthony Graham Whetton, IEng, AMIMarE, of Yelverton, Devon who both received MBE's in the New Years Honours List.

Congratulations: Mr K Kozynchenko and Mr A Lazurenko were presented with the IMarE 1998/99 Prize of £50 and the IMarE 1998/99 Scholarship of £1000 respectively at the Baltic State Academy of the Fishing Fleet. Both winners were presented with their Awards by Academy staff on behalf of the Institute.

Obituaries....

A Shakoor

Mr Shakoor, a long serving IMarE member, died following a brief illness on 18 October 1999. He leaves his widow Huma, three daughters and one son.
He joined Lloyd's Register in 1969 and took up duty at Chittagong. He also served at Labaun (Malaysia), Shanghai, Jeddah and Karachi where he spent most of his time. He was popular amongst clients who liked his straightforward and helpful attitude. His funeral was attended by his colleagues and a large cross-section of mariners. He will be remembered for a very long time for his contributions to maritime community.

Peter Scott Rosseter

Peter Rosseter, a past Fellow of Council and Vice President, died on 3 December 1999 aged 76. Peter was a marine man to the core, he travelled the world in his capacity as Marine Sales Director for Hamworthy's Pump and Compressor Division and was a staunch supporter of the Institute throughout his travels, becoming the first and only non-Indian member of the Institute of Marine Engineers (India).
His career began on Merseyside with an apprenticeship between 1938 and 1941 with Henry Branch & Sons and Tough Brothers. He then sailed as a Marine Engineer Officer throughout the War with the P&O Group, and Cunard from 1946-51 obtaining his 1st Class Certificate and serving on some of the great transatlantic liners, in particular, the Queen Mary.
He came ashore in 1951 taking up a position as Technical Sales Engineer with Regent Oil Co where he remained until 1956 when he joined Hamworthy Engineering with whom he served for 31 years before retiring in 1987.
He joined the Institute as an Associate in 1950, becoming a Member in 1953 and a Fellow in 1973. He served as a Fellow of Council from 1975-79 and 1982-85 and was elected a Vice President in 1985 and served a five-year term in that capacity. He served on the Institute's Membership, General Purposes, Finance, Social Events and Conference Committees and the Board of Marine Management (Holdings).
Peter is survived by his four sons.

Gillbert Armstrong Kerr

It is with regret that the Western Australia Branch report the death of Mr GA Kerr who passed away on the 27 November 1999.
Known as `Gil' he was a foundation member of the Branch which was established on the 8 December 1961. A very active member in the past he held the positions of Committee Member, Honorary Secretary and Branch Chairman.
Gil also held the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Naval Submarine Service during WW2, one of the few Australians to do so. He is survived by his wife, two sons, daughter and five grandchildren. — DRA.

The Branch's first Annual Conversazione and Dinner Dance, held in Houston, Texas proved to be nothing less than a resounding success. More than 250 members and guests attended, travelling from as far afield as New York, Baltimore and New Orleans.
The celebrations took place against the prestigious backdrop of the Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa and kicked off with a lively cocktail hour, during which guests enjoyed the ivory tones of Ricky Diaz on Grand Piano. A banquet dinner followed, with the Ricky Diaz Orchestra setting the mood with 40s and 50s music.
After-dinner entertainment was provided by magician Walter `Zaney' Blaney, who bewildered the audience, whilst simultaneously relieving them of wallets, ties, and shirts. He was the hit of the evening and, of course, returned all personal effects in one piece.
Guest of Honour and Keynote Speaker, Frank J Iarossi, President and CEO of ABS, was presented with the Branch's first Maritime Award. Branch Chairman, R Stan Symon, had great pleasure in awarding him the prize for his significant contribution to the maritime industry. In a humorous acceptance speech, Frank thanked the Institute and congratulated the branch for the roaring success of the evening.
While local members contributed significantly, the success of the evening was made possible, in part, by the kind sponsorship of many prominent maritime companies and corporations. The branch would like to thank all the companies that provided generous support.

Branch Chairman R Stan Symon presents Frank J Iarossi with the first annual `Maritime Award'

Top Table (l-r): Keri B Waller, John Stansfeld, R Stan Symon, Helen Stansfeld, Millie Iarossi, Mark G Waller, Frank J Iarossi, Naomi Figueroa, Claus Windelev, Pauline Symon

Devon & Cornwall

In a talk entitled `Composite Developments at DML' given during December, Julian Spooner described advances in repair procedures using carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) on RN ships. This included the process of Resin Infusion under Flexible Tooling (RIFT) as a means of carrying out CFRP repairs to steel structures underwater.
HMS Liverpool had undergone such repairs, achieving a 30% reduction in structural stresses over conventional methods. Having proved itself in service, the method will be applied to other ships, with HMS Nottingham next in line.

• On 8 February Alan Lough, Principal Surveyor of Lloyd's Register, will present a talk on `System monitoring for large installations'. He will discuss the practical aspects of marine automation systems and future trends, machinery health/condition monitoring and current class requirements.
• A visit to Appledore Shipbuilders is planned for Saturday 25 March 2000. Further details from Joint Branch Hon Secretary G Davis, (tel: 01752 880135, email: geoffdavies@clara.net).

Western Joint

The first lecture of the new session was presented by Richard Swinburn of Rolls-Royce Marine Power on the `Development of new generation components to support the RN Electric Ship Concept.'
He began with an overview of R-R's involvement in the Electric Ship project and identification of target platforms for the new technology, and compared the new machines with the weight and size of existing equivalent equipment.
For its next event, on 6 October, the Branch members paid a visit to DERA Haslar and the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport. Following a brief lecture on the history of the Haslar site, members were given a guided tour of the research facilities by the General Manager, David Rainford. They were shown the towing tank, manoeuvring tank, the Quiet Water tunnel and the Cavitation Tunnel. It was also possible to see the construction and preparation of ship models for use in the manoeuvring tank.
After lunch the party visited the submarine museum and was given a guided tour of HMS Alliance.
In November members heard a lecture by Steve Rowe of BMT Fluid Mechanics entitled `Simulating offshore operations' (or how software can save millions). It was held at the University of Bath.

North West England

The Annual General Meeting is on Monday 7 February in the James Parsons Hall (1st Floor) at the Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street Campus, and afterwards the speaker will be Professor Tom Ruxton, the new President Elect.

West Midlands

30 members, their wives and friends relived the Second World War when they visited `Britain's best kept secret' at Bletchley Park in November.
The mansion and the grounds, previously owned by the Leon family, was bought by the British government and in 1939 the first Government Code and Cypher School staff took up residence.
Following the capture of the German Enigma code books the staff successfully cracked the U-boat cypher and thus altered the course of the war.
Members learned about the operation of the Enigma decrypt team, about Alan Turing who developed the `Bombe' electro-mechanical machines that greatly reduced the time required to break the Enigma keys, and about the world's first programmable computer, Colossus 1.
Everyone was enthralled and determined to return to find out more about the secret war effort and of those unsung heroes who played such a vital role during WW2.

Cyprus

Reductions in a ship manager's administrative costs were possible if shipowners adopted modern communications and utilised the internet, Branch members were told at the latest meeting.
Members heard an impressive presentation by Tony Morris and Arvid G Bergvall of 1 Sea Management on `Major cost saving with on-line purchasing and communications' in November at the Four Seasons Hotel, Limassol.
In times of dramatic growth of internet communications, the presentation discussed the latest development in on-line purchasing and communications that link vessels, ship management offices and suppliers.
The 1 Sea Management system was described as an easy-to-use, advanced integrated on-line Windows-based system encompassing the benefits of high-speed low-cost communication, flexibility of access to information with the highest standard of security.
A good turnout for the 7 December meeting when nearly 90 members and guests heard senior managers from Alfa Laval's Scandinavian and Dubai branches explain a new generation oil separator.
Ake Rudestad, Peter Sheppard and Reidar Halvorsen introduced the new SU separation unit which was said to offer the highest separation efficiency available on the market. A special test method developed during the design phase proved that extremely high and stable efficiencies were possible.
With its small footprint, the SU was claimed to be much smaller and lighter than earlier systems. A unique bowl design gave longer service intervals and spare parts used for planned maintenance would be reduced dramatically, cutting operating costs by as much as 50%.
The presentation started after light cocktails and ended with a splendid buffet in an internationally friendly atmosphere.

UAE

Advances in the construction of the centrifugal separator along with improvements in the respective control equipment were explained to members in Dubai by Kurt Poprawa and Peter Stuhrberg of Westfalia Separator.
The meeting, on 14 November, heard about the merits of operating separators without gravity discs and that the bowl was now constantly monitored and desludging took place as and when required, rather than as in the past when desludging was solely dependent upon timers.
An important use for centrifugal separators was now as bilge separators for vessels trading on routes deemed `Special Areas' where an oily discharge must meet a maximum oil content of 5ppm. This topic produced a very lively debate from many of the engineers present, which continued over drinks and a finger buffet.
On 2 December 380 members and guests attended the Annual Festive Season Party held on the lawn of the Dubai Trade Centre Club. During the evening a cheque was presented to the Seamans Club in Dubai to enhance its `Internet Cafe' for visiting seaman, and to the Seaman's Padre to assist with his work for destitute and abandoned seamen.
A presentation was also made of a decanter engraved with the Institute crest to Nick Aimes, Managing Director of Hydroscan South Africa for `Best Technical Presentation' to the Branch in 1998/99.
Four days later the subject of boiler inspections and conversions was discussed at an evening meeting. Malcolm Macrae, Technical Manager, and David Irving, Business Manager of Mitsui Babcock UK explained the various techniques traditionally used for boiler inspection.
These included dye penetrant, magnetic particle, ultrasonic thickness and material hardness checks through to the most recently adapted techniques such as ultrasonic sizing and locating, metallographic inspections using computer replication, and thermography.
The newer techniques had been developed to gather a greater quantity and better quality of data and reduce the downtime for such necessary inspections.

Newcastle, NSW

60 members and guests attended the Annual Ladies Night held on 15 November at the Bayviews Restaurant, Warner's Bay. In his welcoming address, Branch Chairman Frank Lloyd made particular mention of the presence of Alan Watkins, Honorary Vice President of Council, and Norman Taylor who received his certificate of 45-year membership of the Institute in 1991.
During the evening, Frank presented John Orpe, FIMarE with his 45-year membership certificate. John trained at Rolls Royce, UK, before entering the Royal Navy. After demobilisation he joined British Tanker Co, his first ship being British Hussar, a steam turbine vessel of 11 000 dwt built by Swan Hunter in 1924. After further service on T2 tankers and Doxford engined ships, he was appointed to the Head Office as Assistant Superintendent Engineer. Further service saw John managing construction of BP tankers in Australia and VLCCs in Japan. Taking early retirement, John set up his private engineering services company in Newcastle where he is still actively engaged.

John Orpe (right) receiving his certificate from Frank Lloyd.

Scottish

The Annual Dinner Dance was held at the Forte Posthouse Hotel, Glasgow on Saturday 6 November 1999 with approximately 380 members and guests attending. A Raffle and Tombola, with gifts donated by various companies, was run which raised over £2000 for charity. Amongst those benefiting will be The Guild of Benevolence and Fairbridge Trust (a charity which organises boat trips for disabled children).

• Ship vibration and noise – problems and solutions during design and operation
  Informal Technical Meeting, London, 10 February 2000
• A decision support system for heavy lift
  Evening Technical Meeting, London, 15 February 2000
• Feedback from seafarers
  Informal Technical Meeting, London, 24 February 2000
• Ninety Seventh Annual Dinner
  Social Event, Grosvenor House, London, 10 March 2000
• INEC 2000: Marine engineering challenges for the 21st Century
  Conference, Hamburg, Germany, 14 – 16 March 2000
• Container ships – design aspects of larger vessels
  Informal Technical Meeting, London, 16 March 2000

The Institute of Marine Engineers
Luncheon Club: Friday 11 February 2000

1230 for 1300 hours
80 Coleman Street, London EC2R 5BJ

Following on from the long series of successful Club
Luncheons held at the Memorial Building, this Luncheon Club provides an excellent opportunity for members and their guests to join colleagues and friends in the members' new headquarters building – 80 Coleman Street.

The cost per ticket is £20 (inc. 17.5% VAT) which covers
the cost of 3-course menu including wine.
To apply for tickets please see below

For futher information regarding these events, please visit our website: http://www.imare.org.uk or contact Laura Crane, IMarE Events Department on Tel: +44 (0)20 7382 2655, Fax: +44 (0)20 7382 2667 or Email: Lc@imare.org.uk