JULY 15, 2016 —A federal grand jury in Charleston, South Carolina, returned an indictment today charging Aegean Shipping Management S.A. and Aegeansun Gamma Inc. [both of which are units of the Piraeus,
ML: Tell us a bit about your background. How did you get started in the marine business?
MD: Originally from the UK, my introduction to the Marine world can be traced back to growing up and learning to sail in my early teens—as well as the influence of my father, a mechanical engineer. To complement my understanding of science and engineering, and my sailing hobby, by the time I was University age, I chose to undertake a Naval Architecture and Offshore engineering degree. A graduate of both the Lloyds Register (LR) internship program and Lloyds Register Graduate training scheme, I have been fortunate, but also driven to obtain a diverse understanding of the global supply chain and Marine business as a whole over the 16 years I have worked for LR. Having held a variety of roles across our business and areas of operations—from London, Dubai, South Africa, South East Asia and now the Americas—each role has been an incredible professional and personal learning experience, and has given me a broad view of our clients, their challenges, the global interconnected nature of our Marine business as well as the place and importance of Lloyd’s Register both now and as we look to the future.
ML: You’ve worked with Lloyd’s Register in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Are the challenges for a classification society any different in Americas than the rest of the world?
MD: Irrespective of geography, at Lloyd’s Register our primary aim is about helping to shape the future of shipping, while delivering solutions today – helping clients and stakeholders make the best commercial decisions based on the best technical insight. Over the years this has seen an evolution in how and what all Classification societies view as their part in the industry, from core classification to industry and individual client advisors. Clearly irrespective of geography, many of our client challenges are similar and I think one thing my global experience has taught me is that there are many synergies between geographies, segments, and clients that enable us in the Americas to be agile and expedite the best solutions for our clients.
In the Americas specifically, we operate across 14 countries and it’s important that we have both the right existing as well as future resource and knowledge base to address the challenges of our client bases as markets, ship segments, energy and social economic policies impact their operations and future strategic direction across those countries. Looking at the future of our services across the Americas, therefore, we have recently made enhancements to how we serve and work with our client bases across the region. Outside of our core Classification business and surveyors on ships, this ranges from working with the Royal Canadian Navy to developing a Regulatory regime for Naval Safety and their shipbuilding program to developing new propulsion configurations with our GE COGES (COmbined Gas turbine Electric and Steam) Joint Industry Project for LNG and ULCS construction right across the spectrum to helping understand small scale and inland waterways LNG solutions in the Gulf, South and Central America. While the challenges may be geographically unique, and different markets may require different solutions, our aim has always been to provide solutions and aid decision making for our industry.
ML: What are the biggest challenges faced by vessel operators today? Complying with stricter environmental regulations? Cybersecurity? Crew training?
MD: As you know these are very interesting times for the Marine Industry as a whole and inherent stakeholders there-in. Interestingly with the downturn in many sectors, we are seeing the emergence of an industry that, while remaining the enabler of world trade, is more open to drive innovation, offering interesting, dynamic technical solutions and careers as we search for answers to questions about the future of Marine and Offshore. The solutions to many of the challenges faced by owners today are also increasingly coming from other industries or providers not traditionally known within Marine. Aside from the ongoing regulatory changes, we are working with many owner/operators and shipyards across the world in so many areas. Sensors, data and robotics could drive safer, autonomous operations and surveys; new fuels are going to emerge to help lower greenhouse gases as well as improve local air emissions; new software tools will be developed to improve vessel design and safety oversight while also optimizing performance outcomes; and a new cyber enabled shipping that will see the development of things that we can’t predict and possibly lead to a significant and exponential disruption in the industry. We are also seeing the increasing challenge of obsolesce in newer and newer assets as well as a shift in firstly attracting then maintaining and training next generation crews.
These are very technological, challenging yet interesting and visionary times for Marine and Offshore.
ML: How do you see class evolving over the next decade? What challenges does your organization face in the years ahead?
MD: The role and place of Class societies has markedly changed over the last decade and looking forward the pace of industry change and technological advancement means we are already scenario planning for what may be needed in the next decades. It’s critical we understand and address these changes not only in terms of future core surveying capabilities and technologies but importantly to remain relevant and agile in maintaining our technology leadership and aims as an industry advisor. We often say “We are our people” and as someone who’s worked across the globe I have seen first-hand the breadth of our global knowledge base, connection and industry expectations. Ensuring we adapt to these changing needs is vital as well as ensuring we continue to invest either time or capital in understanding and shaping technology impacts to our own business with the agility to redefine what we do. To this aim we’ve working closer with industry visionaries many of whom reside in the Americas both historical marine companies but increasingly from outside of Marine. Real world solutions to industry challenges such as our joint venture project with Siemens, Dresser-Rand, Waller Marine and Conrad are examples of greater cross-industry collaboration in meeting tomorrow’s challenges.
JULY 15, 2016 — Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) reports the official opening of the Arison Maritime Center, a EUR 75 million facility just outside Amsterdam dedicated to providing
Marine Log: Tell us about the history of The Pasha Group
George Pasha IV: The Pasha Group is a family-owned, third-generation diversified global logistics and transportation company. My grandfather, George W. Pasha, II, known to many as “Senior,” founded the company in his second career. He was an automotive engineer and worked for distributors of the early classic cars such as Duisenberg, Cord and Velie, selling and servicing their products. He purchased a “Flying A” service station across the street from Fort Mason in San Francisco in December 1941, five days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The station was an immediate success mainly due to my grandfather’s reputation as an excellent mechanic.
A year later, Senior expanded his operations to provide storage for privately owned vehicles of World War II personnel assigned overseas. This eventually led to the 1947 incorporation of the first Pasha business, Pasha Overseas Automobile Processing Company.
Over the next 20 years, the company grew, especially when George W. Pasha, III (my dad) joined his father and established the first independent automotive port processing terminal on the West Coast at Fort Mason and a body shop on Fisherman’s Wharf to service, repair, and provide a “showroom ready” product. Inheriting his father’s keen business sense, “George III” expanded the company over the years by establishing state-of-the-art automobile facilities up and down the West Coast and in the mid-Atlantic. Today, we market automotive processing services at the Ports of Grays Harbor, WA; San Francisco and San Diego, CA; Baltimore, MD; and Manatee, FL. Our facility in National City Marine Terminal opened in 1990 and has processed over 5 million vehicles to date.
My dad formed a stevedoring and trucking company alongside the auto terminal business to create a comprehensive logistics solution from unloading of inbound vessels to delivery to dealers. In 1972, Pasha Maritime Services was formed and the stevedoring business diversified, adding break-bulk and general cargoes of all types to the service offering. In 1987, Pasha opened an omni-terminal at berths 174-181 in the Port of Los Angeles to provide stevedoring and terminal services of steel products including steel slab. The local company was renamed Pasha Stevedoring & Terminals, as it’s known today.
In the 80’s, the company diversified in the domestic and international logistics business and Non-Vessel Ocean Common Carrier businesses largely through acquisition. One such acquisition was AFI Worldwide Forwarders, one of the pioneering forwarders serving the household goods moving requirements for the U.S. Department of Defense. This expansion brought the company to many corners of the globe.
Both my grandfather and dad had an affinity for Hawaii. My grandfather arranged shipment of military members’ privately owned vehicles to and from Hawaii out of San Francisco. In the 90’s, the company arranged for shipment of new cars for several of our OEM clients. In 1999, the company formed Pasha Hawaii and commenced ocean service between the Mainland and Hawaii in 2005, introducing the first Jones Act-qualified, modern pure car/truck carrier to the domestic trades. The MV Jean Anne, named after my grandmother on my dad’s side, has ably served the market providing efficient carriage of autos, trucks, buses and rolling stock of all shapes and sizes including Stryker tactical wheeled vehicles, rail cars, and construction material and equipment.
In 2015, we welcomed the MV Marjorie C, a combination container/roll-on/roll-off (ConRo) vessel. The Marjorie C, named after my grandmother on my mom’s side, is the only one of its type to ply the Mainland/Hawaii trade lane. The 26,000-ton vessel was engineered from a proven design by Grimaldi in Croatia at Uljanik Shipyard and is the largest ever built at VT Halter in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Pasha Hawaii added Marjorie C to not only offer increased Ro/Ro service to existing customers, but to diversify our service offering by expanding our container capabilities and frequency of service.
Quickly following the introduction of the Marjorie C into the Mainland/Hawaii trade, The Pasha Group also expanded operations via the acquisition of Horizon Lines’ Hawaii business units, and welcomed team members from Horizon Lines and subsidiaries Hawaii-based Hawaii Stevedores, Inc. and the California-based operations of Sea-Logix, LLC. In addition to adding four U.S.-flag, Jones Act containerships, the growth in overall scale and associates supporting these Hawaii business units resulted in a nearly doubling in size of The Pasha Group.
This month, Pasha Hawaii is enhancing service for both container and Ro/Ro cargo from the West Coast to Hawaii Island, with the addition of the Marjorie C providing direct service from Los Angeles to Hilo.
This new route complements the Jean Anne’s current bi-weekly service from San Diego to Hilo. By recently deploying all four container ships to service our LA-Hawaii Express (LHX) and CA-Hawaii Express (CHX) routes, we were able to adjust Marjorie C’s route to include a fast, reliable, 5-day direct call from Los Angeles to Hilo and bring weekly roll-on/roll-off service to Hawaii Island.
ML: How did you get started in the marine business?
GP: I was always fascinated and proud of the business my grandfather founded and my dad diversified and built. I spent summers working for the company gaining experience in all of our divisions. After I received my Economics degree from the School of Business at Santa Clara University, I entered the world of finance, joining Wells Fargo Bank’s training program with the intent of pursuing a career in international banking.
The 80’s were a period of rapid growth and my dad asked me to join him and manage part of our forwarding and logistics divisions. To be able to support my dad in his endeavors was very rewarding. As the oldest of five children, I’ve always felt a great responsibility to both my family and the company. Together my dad and I successfully expanded the scale and breadth of the company. In 2008, I was appointed CEO and assumed responsibility for all divisions of the company, still working very closely with our Chairman, George III.
ML: Tell us about The Pasha Group shipping and logistics business model. How has it evolved over the years since your business first started in 1947?
GP: Growth has been strategic and measured with the goal of having the infrastructure, resources, and capabilities to become a world leader in diversified global logistics and transportation services. Growth and diversification has been largely organic, endeavoring to realize synergies between the divisions and staying close to what we understand and do well. Great effort has been made to stay true to our family values, and through them we strive to support a highly performing group of professionals whose mission is to deliver excellence to a broad base of world-class clients.
The model for many years was asset light. People and property leases in strategic locations were our most important assets. In an effort to allow the company to remain relevant and competitive for another generation or more, beginning with the construction of the MV Jean Anne, we have become a very capital intense business. In 2015, we invested more than $350 Million in our business – a large departure from asset light. However, our newest vessel, the Hawaii assets of Horizon Lines and other transportation assets are all very complementary to the core business. We have leveraged off of the existing organization and internal competencies while complementing with the experienced management, operators and sales folks that joined us from Horizon.
ML: Last year, Pasha added the Marjorie C. Have you been pleased with the performance of the new vessel? Do you have plans to add additional RO/RO vehicle carriers?
GP: Marjorie C has proven to be a great fit for the Hawaii trade. The ConRo vessel has improved our service capabilities through increased capacity and frequency for autos and oversize cargoes as planned. With her unique design, she offers great flexibility by serving a dual role of providing container service while simultaneously serving our Ro/Ro customers. We have also been able to directly call the neighbor islands. Marjorie C features the latest in fuel and emission savings including a shaft generator which uses excess power from the main engine to support electrical needs together with powering of reefer containers.
We are currently actively engaged with the U.S. shipyards to develop our vessel investment strategy. The strategy will balance the needs of the trade, Pasha’s strengths and the opportunity to embrace the latest technologies to assure efficient carriage of goods between Hawaii and the mainland.
ML: Last year, Pasha acquired the Hawaii operations of Horizon Lines. What assets and personnel did that involve and how has the integration of those assets been progressing?
GP: Pasha acquired nearly 900 California and Hawaii-based team members that supported Horizon’s Hawaii business, as well as its subsidiaries Hawaii Stevedores, Inc. (HSI) and Sea-Logix, LLC. In addition, we formed a Dallas service center and brought more than 30 ex-Horizon professionals aboard in that office.
Pasha now owns four former Horizon U.S.-flag container ships (Spirit, Reliance, Pacific and Enterprise) operating alongside Jean Anne and Marjorie C. This provides our customers with increased cargo capacity and the widest range of ocean transportation services between Hawaii and the Mainland. We also expanded our ports to include Los Angeles and Oakland, and more than doubled the frequency of our sailings.
HSI provides us with our own experienced manpower to load and offload cargo in Hawaii, and with Sea-Logix, we now have our own container trucking fleet to pick up and deliver our customers’ cargo, as well as provide trucking to other companies. Adding these businesses has strengthened our integrated shipping and logistics offering to our customers and leveraged synergies within The Pasha Group as a whole.
It’s been a year since the acquisition and the integration of our new employees and assets. The transition has progressed very well. Our success with this very large and complex transaction is due to the dedication of our employees, both current and former Horizon personnel, all of whom share Pasha’s key core values of teamwork, innovation and excellence.
Combining the two businesses allowed us to more effectively serve our expanding customer base while maintaining our customer service philosophy.
ML: Operators are under tremendous environmental regulatory pressure. How has Pasha addressed the issues of emissions, ballast water treatment and sustainability in its operations?
GP: Environmental management is one of the key responsibilities of our in-house Performance Management Team. Route planning, heat balance, hull resistance, and engine performance are just a few of the parameters regularly analyzed to ensure optimum performance on all of our vessels. We currently have projects underway to install stack analyzers and automatic engine tuning to further increase our fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. Through our Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan we provide the most up-to-date guidelines to our crews for energy conservation.
We are in discussions with Ballast Water Treatment manufacturers and have completed engineering reviews. Currently there is not a USCG approved unit available. When approved systems become available we are prepared. Currently we minimize all ballast water exchange.
Environmental sustainability is important to Pasha and we support long-term ecological balance. We are studying alternative fuels with less environmental impact such as liquefied natural gas. The use of reusable or recycled products is encouraged.
To help eliminate pollution from port-related operations, we are also very proud to announce recently that our Pasha Stevedoring & Terminals L.P. team at the Port of Los Angeles is partnering with the Port to launch the Green Omni Terminal Demonstration Project, a full-scale, real-time demonstration of zero and near-zero emission technologies at a working marine terminal. At full build out, Pasha will be the world’s first marine terminal able to generate all of its energy needs from renewable sources.
ML: What do you see for the future of Pasha? What lessons could you impart to other operators regarding best practices?
GP: The next several years will entail filling in our organization to bring our standard as close to excellence as we can. Meanwhile we will focus on fundamentals of continuing to invest across the company in a balanced way that will promote health and growth across all of our divisions.
JULY 15, 2016 — Plans for this years Danish Maritime Days (October 24-28, 2016) are advancing. With many independent events on the agenda, Danish Maritime Days brings together a broad spectrum of
JULY 14, 2016 — Incat Crowther America, Lafayette, LA, reports that the Veecraft Marine shipyard in in Cape Town, South Africa, has completed two 35 m offshore security patrol vessels — M/V
One of the biggest concerns in shipping is finding and retaining qualified mariners. This is further exacerbated by the downturns in the oil and bulker markets, where vessels are being laid up or sold for scrap, leaving crews to find work where they can, possibly outside of the industry. Even before these mariners actually get their jobs, there is a plethora of regulatory barriers to obtain the original Certificate of Competency for officers, and even numerous hoops to jump through for the unlicensed as well. The 2010 Manilla Amendments to the STCW and the Maritime Labor Convention of 2006 have created further requirements than seen previously.
First and foremost a mariner must obtain a Transportation Worker Identity Credential (TWIC). In the past, mariners background checks were conducted by the USCG. Now the TWIC card reduces the Coast Guard need to conduct said checks, since the TSA is doing so. An original TWIC costs $128.00 out of the prospective mariner’s pocket, before they even have credentials or a job. At this point we are going to focus solely on the U.S. Mariner. Although STCW has standardized much of the training, the implementation in different countries can be vast.
The second step, and sometimes the most difficult to complete is the mariner physical. One would think that it is as easy as walking in to your family doctor’s office, handing them the form, and doing the physical. Unfortunately many doctors are not equipped to deal with the more specific items such as the color vision test. If your doctor cannot do this, then going to the eye doctor may suffice, but call ahead. Yours truly has found that not all eye doctors’ offices have the requisite tests that the Coast Guard wants. It is best to go to an OSHA clinic or a doctor who conducts FAA pilot physicals. The entire medical requirements can be found in NVIC 01-14.
The next step is to have a drug screening. Not any drug screening is acceptable. This must be done in accordance with 46 CFR 16.220, filled out on the appropriate DOT form and submitted to a USCG approved testing facility. This can range from $50 to $150 depending on your location. Many civil service drug tests do not count for the USCG requirements.
With the addition of an entry level rating application and the fees totaling $140 for MMC issuance and evaluation, a mariner is ready to begin looking domestically for a job. At this point the prospective mariner has possibly spent well over $400 of their own money, just to get a credential to work on board. What can an Able Seafarer expect to make? The monthly minimum according to the ILO is $614.00. Now on a U.S.-flag vessel, this low of a wage likely will not be seen. But U.S. seafarers working on foreign-flag vessels may see this.
This, however, is only the beginning. Gone are the days where an Ordinary, or even a Mess man could work their way up the hawse pipe all the way to Captain, without having to take an inordinate amount of classes and jump through bureaucratic hoops.
The next rung on the ladder to advancement is the Rating Forming Part of a Navigational or Engineering Watch. In order to accomplish this the candidate must either have a Qualified Assessor sign off on certain competencies. This is in addition to the required six-month sea time. Another option for the seafarer is to complete a training program approved by the USCG that includes two months of sea time. The price of this course? Anywhere upwards of $1,000.00.
After that, one can either go to a Maritime University, Union Training Center, local Captains School or acquire the requisite sea time and have the competencies signed off on in order to become a vessel officer. Either way the process takes several years of hard work, study, and dedication. In the end it is all worth it. But once you reach officer level, the workload to upgrade that license increases substantially. We will also touch on customer specific requirements for the training of crew and officers.
When I graduated SUNY Maritime in 1997, the school had not fully implemented STCW 95 in to the curriculum yet. Therefore, after graduation, myself and many of my classmates stuck around for a few weeks to complete these requirements. Nowadays the STCW requirements are included in to the curriculum and the cadets graduate ready to sail. From there however, the price of ambition can be high as we will see. Once upon a time officers would sit for each and every upgrade to their license. Now, at least on the deck side, a Third Mate only needs sea time to upgrade to Second Mate. Engineers are far more complicated as the type of plant must be taken into consideration. Plus, I am a deck officer, so I’m a little biased on the subject.
Upon upgrading to Second Mate, this officer must now go through a large amount of training to upgrade to Chief Officer. If the prospective Chief Officer has someone willing to sign off on their Celestial Navigation and Advanced Navigation competency sheets, they have just shaved 80 hours off of their training. If not, then the prospect may be taking close to 450 hours of training. This can be up to 12 weeks of classroom time. The cost? Upwards of $10,000.00. This is before paying the Coast Guard their fees for examination, evaluation, and license issuance. If the mariner is lucky their employer or union sponsors them for this training. As a former union sailor, I had no out of pocket costs for this training. If the mariner does not have a sponsor for this training, the price tag is quite substantial, especially in a market such as this, where jobs are becoming more and more scarce.
One would be led to believe that there could not possibly be any more training required after this. This is not necessarily the case. Management officers are often required to have undergone the Medical Person in Charge training and Fast Rescue Boat. Of course there is also the specialty training that needs to be taken in certain trades such as Person in Charge for Tankers, or Liquid Carriers, Crowd control and Crisis Management for those working passenger vessels. Those officers working for Military Sealift Command may be required to take Small Arms, Chemical, Biological, Radiological Defense Officer (CBR-D), and a manner of other courses dependent on the vessel the mariner will sail upon. These extra courses can total another month or two of the mariner’s off time.
There is a fair proportion of the maritime industry with personnel who have never spent any significant time at sea. That in it of itself is not a problem; not all jobs require seagoing experience. For many however, the mariner is viewed as a tool and not a person who has hopes, dreams, and aspirations. These mariners spend on average six months a year on the ship. Some may trade coastwise, some international
If six months is spent on the ship and then contract requirements or career ambitions require further training, a mariner can only have a total of a few weeks off each vacation to spend with family, friends, and loved ones. I am not proposing that we reduce the educational requirements. I believe that we will see a downward trend in accidents across the board in the coming years due to increased training. But other measures need be considered by ship owners and managers in order to allow the mariners to have a fair amount of time off to do the things that life may require of them and get that much needed rest in order to return refreshed and ready for work. If we are to retain the talent that is required to crew the vessels, than we must remember their humanity.
An increasingly technical world – on board and ashore – and a growing mariner shortage have conspired to make maritime education and training more important than ever. The maritime world plays a significant role in moving the global economy and its goods, people and power. Educational institutions ensure those responsible for moving the world’s assets across the seven seas are well-qualified and prepared for their roles.
According to the latest BIMCO and ICS manpower report, the industry is facing a need for nearly 150,000 officers in the next decade and is already short 16,000 officers. The need to keep men and women sailing on their licenses for longer, and to recruit and train new officers, is growing steadily. In times of high demand, it is not unknown for the quality of a product to decrease. Yet that is an unconscionable risk for the maritime industry and its regulatory agencies. In fact, requirements to earn and upgrade a license are becoming more stringent, meaning that maritime educators must take additional steps to ensure the necessary requirements are met for all entering the fleet.
Additionally, vessels and operating procedures are becoming increasingly complicated; it is imperative that the men and women in charge of them and their cargo know what they are doing.
At SUNY Maritime College in New York City, the professional education and training department is responsible for giving professional mariners the continuing education they need to stay current and qualified under changing regulations. The program also trains students for limited tonnage licenses, playing an important role in the nation’s brownwater fleet.
For more than 100 years, SUNY Maritime has educated and trained merchant mariners, changing its curriculum, facilities and program offerings to align with the needs of the industry and U.S. Coast Guard requirements. Once again, the college is working to meet the growing mariner demand and to ensure that they succeed in their pursuit of Coast Guard mariner credentials.
The changes – among others – include offering additional courses to help licensed mariners maintain and update their skills as well as building facilities to train new mariners. The Manila amendments to the International Convention on Training, Certification and Watchkeeping standards, approved in 2010, go into effect at the end of the year. Safety is, and always will be, paramount to the maritime landscape, and the Manila amendments are designed to enhance crew safety at sea.
The amendments require, among other things, that all mariners take regular courses in basic training, renew their endorsements, and pass leadership courses to upgrade and maintain their credential.
No longer is experience at sea enough.
Basic training, which covers all the subjects most important to a vessel’s safety, still teaches basic firefighting, personal survival techniques, personal safety and social responsibility, and basic first aid. But now mariners will need to take the course, or a version of it, every five years in their professional careers.
After the end of the year, mariners entering the profession will take the original 40-hour course that has been taught for years and which introduces them to onboard safety operations. A 16-hour refresher course will be required for all who have not accrued 360 days of sea time in the past five years. An 8-hour course has been designed for mariners who have accrued the 360 days in a five-year period.
Nor is it enough anymore to earn lifeboatman, fast rescue boat or tankerman-PIC endorsements once and carry them for life. Once the Manila amendments go into effect, mariners must renew these qualifications to keep them.
These courses are being developed by a variety of players, including state maritime academies like SUNY Maritime.
Industry professionals, executives and thought-leaders have always prized safety over all else—safety of their crews, their vessels and, lastly, of their cargo. But tragedies like the sinking of the El Faro serve as an unfortunate reminder to all of us of how dangerous our industry can be and how necessary these skills are for the well-being of all who sail.
Safety practices and awareness are, of course, the most important thing that maritime educators impart to their students. This is a dangerous field and there are too many things that can go wrong.
But the Manila amendments have also recognized the increasing importance of a second set of skills related to teamwork and leadership, not only for those in leadership positions but for all officers onboard a vessel.
The essence of Coast Guard licensure training, at SUNY Maritime and elsewhere, is focused on developing mates and engineers who can work together and make decisions. The Coast Guard requires a regimented lifestyle and, though interpretations of that lifestyle vary, the focus is in developing an individual’s character and leadership skills so that the safety of the crew and vessel are paramount, rather than individual wants and needs.
But the regimental program at SUNY Maritime, in keeping with STCW standards, now includes leadership and teamworking training, while professional mariners can come to the campus to take the individual course. The course will focus on case studies, workload management, maritime conventions and regulations, and situational awareness to enhance decision making skills.
STCW standards also include training for those looking to advance into personnel management positions on both the deck and engine sides of vessel operations. More training has been added to ensure that officers can work together to, once again, ensure the vessel’s operations go as smoothly and safely as possible. The 35-hour course is required for all chief mates, masters, second engineers and chief engineers. It focuses on managing and training shipboard personnel, building situational awareness, and optimizing the use of engineering and bridge resources, among other things.
These requirements are the latest expansion of the necessary training for licensed mariners.
As the scope of training expands, so too have the resources and facilities at the academies which have grown and become more sophisticated. Ships and other vessels are increasingly technical and, though training ships and cadet commercial shipping assignments offer real-world experience onboard, it is unwise to allow a future mariner to sail without previous knowledge and virtual experience.
Simulation technology has become so advanced that cadets and mariners can gain experience with nearly any situation before ever stepping onboard. In a simulator, future mariners can practice standing watch anywhere in the world on a vessel powered by any form of fuel. As the global fleet changes from steam to diesel to, increasingly, natural gas in an effort to reduce pollution, these opportunities help professional mariners gain the experience they need to sail for a variety of companies and on a variety of vessels.
All of the maritime academies have expanded their simulation centers and systems in recent years. At SUNY Maritime, in the past year programs have built or expanded a tug and barge simulator and a full mission engine room simulator, which is enhanced with a 20 desktop station classroom to allow as many students to gain experience as possible.
These technologies, as complex as they are, can only produce data from which a student can learn. The equipment allows for—indeed it requires—a large amount of human interaction.
After all, the human element is by far the most important element of any vessel at any time and in any place. Interpreting the data onboard a simulator allows a professional mariner to correctly interpret the data coming from a vessel’s systems and act based on that data to ensure the safety of the vessel, cargo and crew.
Simulators and simulation systems are imperative for cadets and mariners to become familiar with the equipment onboard a vessel and that they will someday use and be responsible for. Simulation allows them to learn, within a controlled environment, what a navigational bridge or engine room is capable of and how to harness it to move a vessel safely from one port to another. Such training exercises allow students to make mistakes and learn from them without risking millions of dollars, environmental damage and lives.
Simulators at SUNY Maritime, as at the other academies, are nothing new. SUNY Maritime has several Class A bridge simulators, radar/ARPA ECDIS labs and a liquid-cargo handling simulator. As onboard technology and simulation programs become increasingly sophisticated, maintenance and software upgrades ensure that future mariners are getting the best experience possible and that which most closely mimics the world they will be sailing in after earning their Coast Guard licenses.
Partnerships with maritime companies help to ensure not only that new mariners are getting the appropriate training, but that current mariners can also return to maintain and upgrade their credentials. The ATB simulator at Maritime College has been supported and expanded through the generosity of Bouchard Transportation Company, Inc. The latest expansion includes two Class B stations to allow coordination between up to three tugs and a barge.
Mariners and cadets working in SUNY Maritime’s engine room simulator have the additional benefit of being able to train remotely through cloud technology. The simulator is no longer bound to the room in which it is confined, and trainees are able to spend additional time with the equipment. This capability, combined with digital textbooks, means that the possibilities for training and continuing education are endless.
These simulators and additional STCW courses help our nation’s mariners adapt to and thrive in an ever-changing industry. The same way that any other professional must adapt to the changes brought on by the information revolution and a changing world, so too must the mariner. Indeed, since the mariner travels the world and plays such a large role in the functioning of the global economy, the needs for continuing education and training are perhaps even more important than most other professions.
Getting a return on investment (ROI) is more important than ever in today’s challenging business climate. A new standard soon to be released for measuring changes in ship hull and propeller performance should provide an important tool for hull coatings manufacturers to demonstrate ROI to shipowners.
“Poor hull and propeller performance is estimated to account for around 10 per cent of the world fleet’s energy costs ($30 billion),” says Geir Axel Oftedahl, Jotun’s Business Development Director, Hull Performance Solutions.
Oftedahl believes that the new ISO 19030 standard, which prescribes practical methods for measuring changes in ship-specific hull and propeller performance, “will provide much needed transparency for both buyers and sellers of fuel saving technologies and solutions, and, in doing so, enable the industry to operate with genuinely enhanced efficiency and environmental performance.”
Since 2013, Oftedahl has been working with a group of experts on developing the standard. ISO 19030 expected to be publically available this year.
Jotun will now switch from using its own methodology for gauging performance to the ISO 19030 standard to ensure that the HPS offering is fully compliant.
Hull Performance Solutions (HPS), which was launched in 2011, combines the use of SeaQuantum X200 silyl methacrylate antifouling coating technology with a full suite of sensors to measure hull performance and speed loss.
Jotun offers a guarantee, promising to refund customers the cost of the HPS upgrade if their vessel hulls failed to meet performance targets.
This past March, Jotun released data for its first five-year dry-docking of a vessel treated with HPS. Gearbulk’s Penguin Arrow recorded a fuel saving of $1.5 million, cutting CO₂ emissions by some 12,055 tonnes, across the 60-month period.
www.jotun.com
SHIPOWNERS CAN GET CARBON CREDITS
Meanwhile, AkzoNobel’s marine coatings brand, International, has pioneered a different approach for incentivizing shipowners to switch from a biocidal antifouling system to a biocide-free hull coating: carbon credits.
The methodology financially rewards ship owners for using sustainable hull coatings that improve efficiencies and reduce emissions.
Earlier this year, Greek tanker and bulker operator Neda Maritime Agency Co. Ltd. was the first shipowner awarded carbon credits through AkzoNobel’s plan. Neda received 13,365 carbon credits, potentially worth $60,000.
The carbon credits were accrued by the tanker vessel Argenta, which was converted from a biocidal antifouling system to a premium, biocide-free advanced hull coating from AkzoNobel’s Intersleek range –part of the company’s International brand –that is proven to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions on average by 9%.
Costas Mitropoulos, Technical Director at Neda Maritime, said: “As the shipping industry faces more pressure to improve its sustainability, we continue our commitment to further increase our environmental performance standards. To that respect we see a great potential in AkzoNobel’s pioneering carbon credits initiative as part of our strategy to deliver sustainable and successful business.”
www.international-marine.com
NEW THERMOPLASTIC COATING
Another form of ROI is a long-lasting, durable product. That’s certainly been the case for Tefcite, a broad spectrum antifoulant powder coating that provides a corrosion resistant barrier to fiberglass, FRP, steel, carbon fiber, aluminum and wood.
Tefcite has been successfully marketed to recreational boaters and J. Zach Hall, President of Bay Area Thermo Coatings, LLC, Vancouver, WA, sees potential for Tefcite in the commercial marine market. “We believe there is tremendous value to be gained protecting and maintaining marine assets for the commercial marine sector,” says Hall. “In fact, we currently have commercial marine end users interested in the product and are getting traction coating aluminum and steel vessels.”
Tefcite, which has a continuous service life of 15+ years, was approved by the EPA in May 2014 for use as a copper containing anti-foulant on the West Coast in Oregon and Washington, with California product registration pending.
California, known for being on the green bleeding edge, has the most striongent regulations regarding the copper leach rate from anti-foulings. Tefcite has a copper leach rate of 13.5 micrograms per centimeter squared per day, which is the maximum rate allowed by California.
Tefcite is applied using a specialized mobile thermal spray system process called High Velocity Impact Fusion.
www.baythermo.com
The use of ballast water is critical to the safe operation of ships, but also poses challenges due to the need to maintain the structural integrity of ballast water tanks (BWTs) despite highly corrosive conditions. Appropriate protective coatings act as barriers to corrosion and if applied carefully to properly prepared surfaces can significantly extend the life of BWTs. Two-coat epoxy systems are commonly used today, but rapid curing polyurethanes have performance properties that make them attractive as alternative coating solutions, including tunable properties that allow the formulation of flexible yet hard coatings that resist cracking, excellent adherence to steel, high resistance to corrosion, chemicals, and abrasion and fast return to service.
Ballast tanks located at the bottom, around cargo holds, and near the bow and stern of ships provide a mechanism for maintaining balance. Water is filled or released from the tanks to stabilize and trim ships during sailing and to keep them evenly afloat during the loading and unloading of cargo. Ballast water tanks (BWTs) are typically dedicated for this purpose. Ballast tanks are also used to adjust the buoyancy of submarines and stabilize offshore oil platforms and floating wind turbines.
In marine vessels (tankers, bulk carriers, etc.), ballast tanks typically comprise the largest surface area of steel. Corrosion of these tanks can therefore significantly reduce ship safety and operational life. In the past, ships suffering from severely corroded ballast tanks have experienced total failure of their hull shell plates. There is general agreement in the industry that prevention of corrosion in BWTs is the second most important factor after design integrity in determining the operating life of a ship.
Corrosion prevention in BWTs is not a simple matter, however. The water in ballast tanks can have a high salt content, vary in the type and concentration of other ions and have a wide range for pH and may also contain corrosive chemicals. Empty ballast tanks, on the other hand, are exposed to corrosive atmospheres that cycle with the temperature of the tank. Tanks, when partially full, are also subject to continuous movement of the water.
In fact, different parts of ballast tanks corrode via different mechanisms and at different rates, and empty tanks behave differently than tanks that are often filled with water. For Example, some parts of tanks are exposed to cyclic heating and cooling and/or local heating from warm, adjacent cargo tanks and engine rooms. Additionally, the exterior of the BWT is exposed to the weather above the water line and the differing temperatures of the sea below the water line. Therefore the same tank can experience uneven thermal cycling due to the extreme differences in its exterior exposure. Because the upper portion of the tank is exposed to extreme thermal cycling and repetitive wet and dry service, anodic oxidation is the main source of corrosion in this part of the tank. On the other hand, the bottom area of a tank is constantly exposed to the sea and therefore is maintained at a lower temperature and is subject to cathodic blistering. Any microbes in sediment on the bottom can also cause microbial corrosion.
Many other factors such as bacterial biofilm, mechanical vibration and effectiveness of sacrificial or impressed current anodic protection play a moderate role in determining the rate of corrosion in ballast water tanks.
To prevent corrosion in BWTs, high-performance protective coatings are applied during construction of the ship. Typically two thin layers of a suitable coating with a total dry-film thickness of approximately 300-320 microns are sufficient to provide an effective barrier against corrosion. Such coatings must meet many regulatory requirements related to their environmental and performance characteristics.
Current Coating Technologies
Preferred coatings not only provide a long lifetime of protection (15 years or more is required by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Performance Standard for Protective Coatings (PSPC)¾see below), they must be easy to apply under the varying conditions found at different shipyards around the world and easy to maintain. Coatings that provide greater coverage for less material usage and are more tolerant of poorer surfaces are also in demand. A low volatile organic compound (VOC) content (< 250 g/l) is also necessary.
The majority of BWT coatings applied today are epoxy-based systems. Most are solvent-based, high solids formulations, although some European shipbuilders use solvent-free coatings to meet the requirements of the EU Solvent Emissions Directive (SED). The latter 100% solids epoxy systems have good performance properties, but tend to suffer from poor wetting properties and slower curing rates at low temperatures. Good wettability is necessary to ensure that pitted areas are filled rather than bridged, and thus do not leave a void below the paint film that can act as a starting point for corrosion.
Rapid curing is a very desirable property for BWT coatings because it translates into shorter construction times for new builds and reduced time in dry-dock for recoating and repair. The US Navy has developed a series of 100% solids coatings based on amino polyols prepared from either alkanol amines and polyfunctional epoxy materials or polyamines and monofunctional epoxides that are applied using plural component equipment, which eliminates the poor flow concerns. They are referred to as “single-coat” systems because the necessary two coats can be applied in one day, rather than in two. The technology for a light-to-medium-duty coating based on a medium-viscosity resin has been licensed and is commercially available. In a study at a commercial shipyard in Asia, the rapid curing coating, which meets the IMO PSPC requirements, was shown to provide a nearly 40% increase in painting productivity and a 20% overall cost savings.
Advantages of Polyurethanes
Certain polyurethane (PU) coatings have also been shown to have significant potential as highly protective barrier coatings for ballast water tanks. Specifically, 100% solids rigid and structural polyurethane coatings are promising because they cure very rapidly, even at cold temperatures, and have superior resistance properties.
One of the major issues with epoxy coatings is their inability to build desired dry film thickness at sharp edges, corners, weld seams and other defect sites. Coating failures generally occur first in these areas, usually do to crack formation. Unfortunately, there are many of these sites present in BTWs. While the PSPC does require that sharp edges be addressed prior to coating, this problem remains a concern in the industry. Advances in epoxy coating technology have helped, but further improvements are still desired.
Polyurethanes have the key advantage of property tunability. Careful selection of the polyisocyanate and polyol segments can provide coatings with very specific properties. For ballast water tank applications, a hard coating is needed that retains some flexibility to allow for high film builds at edges, seams and defect sites. This unique mix of properties, which cannot be achieved with epoxy systems, is possible with polyurethane coatings. Careful preparation of the PU resin and development of the formulated PU coating can provide coatings with desirable edge retention properties.
With the appropriate choice of starting materials, it is also possible to formulate polyurethane systems with curing times that allow for the application of perfectly smooth, high-build coatings. These barrier coatings are applied with no defects in one continuous application and serve as abrasion- and impact-resistant protective barriers to corrosion. Furthermore, because they contain no solvent, 100% solids polyurethane coatings are “green” coatings that meet stringent environmental regulations, and most are odor-free, providing a better shipyard application environment than high-solids epoxies.
Surface adhesion, as for all coating applications, is crucial for BWT coatings and has a significant impact on coating performance. More forgiving coatings that have strong adhesion to the different types of steel used in shipbuilding and the different types of surface conditions that can be present are therefore highly desired for the protection of ballast water tanks. Polyurethanes meet this requirement and generally surpass the adhesion properties of many epoxy systems.
The inherent barrier properties of polyurethane coatings are also excellent. PUs show high resistance to corrosion and chemicals. In addition, they provide superior abrasion and impact resistance, which is not true for epoxies systems. Finally, the very rapid curing of polyurethanes over a wide temperature range makes them suitable for application to water ballast tanks regardless of where they are built or dry-docked and ensures reduced coating times during newbuilding and fast return to service for repair/maintenance operations.
Performance Requirements: PSPC and Invasive Species Control
The IMO PSPC became effective in 2008 and provides specific requirements for the types of corrosion control coatings that can be used on ballast water tanks, as well as appropriate application, inspection and maintenance procedures. Extensive documentation is also specified in the standard. The intent is to have all BWTs coated with systems that will provide a 215-year service life.
Coating systems must be pre-qualified/certified prior to use in ballast water tanks. Certification can be obtained from an approved, independent testing laboratory, through demonstrated performance in the field for a minimum of five years, or by presenting results from previous, relevant tests. Coating application during the newbuilding process must be extensively monitored, and inspections performed at numerous phases. For example, testing of the surface profile and water-soluble salt content are required before application of the first coat, and a thorough inspection of the first coat is necessary before the second coat can be applied. These requirements can slow down the coating process and increase the cost. Consequently, rapid-cure coatings that allow the application of two coatings in a single day are attracting significant attention.
Recent regulations attempting to prevent the spread of invasive species through ballast water must also be considered when installing BWT coatings. There have been several cases of the transport of invasive species around the world, some of which have had severe ecological and/or economic impacts. However, many of the current chemical technologies available for destroying harmful marine organisms in ballast water are based on oxidizing agents (e.g., chlorine dioxide, ozone) that are damaging to the coatings and can lead to corrosion problems. Mechanical systems based on filtration/separation and those that use ultraviolet radiation tend to be less problematic. Therefore, it is crucial that testing of corrosion control coatings for ballast water tanks be performed under maximum treatment conditions for a given application.
A Word about Surface Preparation, Quality Assurance and Maintenance
As with all coatings, surface preparation is critical to the performance of BWT coatings. In fact, lack of proper surface preparation is one of the main causes for coating failures in ballast water tanks. It is imperative that appropriate surface preparation standards (SSPC/NACE/ASTM) be met. Attention should be paid to both surface profile and soluble salt content.
Application conditions must also be considered, as temperature and relative humidity during application can affect the ultimate performance of many coating systems, particularly epoxies. While most large, modern shipyards have enclosed areas for conducting abrasive sand blasting and painting (with temperature and humidity control), some smaller facilities do not. Work is therefore performed under ambient conditions using power tools, which can result in poor surfaces for coating. Polyurethanes offer advantages in these situations, as they have superior adhesion to poor surfaces and temperature and humidity do not impact their curing or ultimate performance properties.
PUs are Good for Potable Water Tanks
The properties of polyurethanes that make them ideal as corrosion protection coatings for ballast water tanks also make them well-suited for use as protective systems for marine potable water tanks. Many polyurethanes meet the requirements of the ANSI (American National Standards Institute)/NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) Standard 61 – Drinking Water System Components, which establishes stringent requirements for the control of leachables and extractables from materials that come in contact with either potable water or products that support the production of potable water.
Conclusion
Preventing corrosion in ballast water tanks is crucial for ensuring the safety and longevity of on marine vessels. While epoxy systems are currently the most common coatings used in this application today, properly formulated, fast-curing polyurethanes are attractive alternatives with significant potential to reduce lengthy coating processes, increase shipyard productivity and thus reduce costs.