Thursday, May 25,
2000
New fast ferry for Steamship Authority
One week ahead of contract schedule, the Woods Hole & Martha's
Vineyard Steamship Authority has taken delivery of Flying Cloud.
The Nigel Gee design Derecktor 41-meter high-speed catamaran
ferry was built by Derecktor
Shipyards in Mamaroneck, N.Y, 
Flying Cloud's speed during sea trials
was in excess of 39 knots. The boat showed great stability and
ride comfort thanks to its dynamic ride control system. Noise
levels are contained on both passenger decks and on the bridge.
The Steamship Authority plans to employ this vessel on its Hyannis
Port to Nantucket route. Its service speed of 36 knots will allow
a crossing time of less than one hour, significantly less than
the traditional designferries, which take over two hours to cover
the same distance.
The route serviced by Flying Cloud caters
to tourists as well as local residents. In view of this a dedicated
storage space for 30 bikes has been built into the bow cargo
hold. This space also has 8 bays for special luggage carts that
allow to quickly load and unload over eight thousands pounds
of luggage.
The Derecktor 41m is powered by Paxman
12VP185 diesel engines driving Kamewa 71SII water-jets that provide
a service speed of 36 knots with a full load of 300 passengers.
Passenger accommodation is with aircraft
quality seats on two decks with 171 passengers seated in a 3-3-3-3
arrangement on the main deck and 129 seated in a 4-4 configuration
with a central lounge area on the upper deck. Exterior seating
is also provided on the upper deck to allow passengers the option
of open-air travel. The boat has a large bar on the main deck,
is ADA friendly and has a four-season HVAC system capable of
removing moisture from the air and eliminating window fogging.
The pilothouse has 360-degree vision and is equipped with the
latest and most up-to-date navigational equipment, including
a night vision system that allows seeing ahead of the boat in
total darkness.
A particularly critical issue for the Woods
Hole Steam Ship Authority is the wake wash generated by the vessel
when operating in the wash sensitive areas at either end of the
route. The extremely low wash characteristics of the Derecktor
41m assure a particularly low environmental impact. In independent
tests carried out by Washington State Ferries, the hull design
used in the Derecktor 38 m was shown to have the lowest wake
wash of any fast catamaran operating in North America that had
been tested.
Warning on vessel arrests
in Egypt
The London P&I Club has warned its members about a spate
of vessel arrests in Egypt, and in particular the port of Suez,
in respect of claims for unsettled invoices for supplies and/or
services which have supposedly been provided to vessels.
Writing in the latest issue of its StopLoss
Bulletin, the Club says that, although suppliers have submitted
false invoices with apparently authentic signatures of ship's
staff and the ship's stamp, in most instances the master has
been unable to explain how these have been affixed to the invoice.
In other cases, invoices have been completely
forged. Suppliers and their lawyers have also ordered the arrest
of vessels as security in some instances.
The London Club's correspondent in Alexandria,
Eldib Advocates, has applied to the Egyptian Ministry of Justice
to have vessel arrests limited to those cases involving only
known and established suppliers. It has also asked the ministry
to support the creation of a system whereby arrested vessels
can be released immediately upon submission of a bank guarantee.
The Club says masters should not sign any
blank papers, particularly while in the Suez Canal area, and
should not leave any blank spaces above their signature on legitimate
documents which they do sign.
The Club has also reminded its members
that the Suez Canal Authority is the only organization in Egypt
authorized to take measures to protect the marine environment
in the port of Suez, and to impose fines. Other agencies, such
as the Society Marine Environment Protection Committee, are alleging
that they are empowered to carry out such tasks.
ExxonMobil predicts bunker
price rise following new EU laws
ExxonMobil Marine Fuels (EMMF), the world's largest supplier
of marine fuels, believes prices are likely to increase significantly
for low sulfur HFO sold in Europe when current EU guidelines
become law.
Speaking at the 21st Norwegian Shipping
Academy/Port of Rotterdam International Bunker Conference in
Rotterdam today, Sowmi Krishnamurthy, EMMF's general manager
Europe, Africa and Middle East, said, "We face a European
Council Directive 1999/32/EC which stipulates maximum sulfur
contents for industrial fuels. HFO will be limited to 1% sulfur
by January 1, 2003 and distillate fuels to 0.2% by July 1, 2000
and half that by January 1, 2008. Our customers, shipowners,
will have to run auxiliary engines on gas oil, and ISO spec fuels
DMX, DMA and B&C will not be allowed unless they are produced
to a reduced sulfur content. I have to tell you that refineries
in Europe face a major challenge in meeting this requirement."
According to Krishnamurthy, environmental
concerns will continue to challenge the shipping industry throughout
the world, with subsequent effects on prices. He said, "When
environmental concerns translate into additional curbs on what
can be burnt, prices will be pushed up as the costs to meet those
new regulations are incurred."
Krishnamurthy told the audience that fuel
prices are likely to continue to be volatile and supply chains
capricious, though proper marine fuels purchasing would help
offset the worst problems. According to Krishnamurthy,"Large
companies can, and many, like AP Moller, Gearbulk, Teekay and
others, already have, employed dedicated expert teams to buy
their fuel at the best price, while ensuring continuity of supply
and quality. Smaller companies will have to outsource that expertise."
He warned, though, that best practice purchasing
is based on flexible, pro-active supply management, tailored
to individual clients, requirements, rather than on long-term,
fixed supply contracts.
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