Carnival Corporation expects fourth quarter earning to take a hit as a result of voyage distruptions following last week’s engine room fire on Carnival Splendor. Carnival Cruise Lines has canceled Splendor sailings
Singapore’s Ezra Holdings is expanding its capabilities in the Gulf of Mexico. It has just announced the purchase of a fabrication yard in Houston. Ezra says the move complements its proposed $250
Rolls-Royce has signed a collaboration agreement with China’s Shanghai Bestway Marine Engineering Design Company Ltd (Bestway), a leading marine design and research company in China. The collaboration will focus upon development of
Things went wrong after an early morning engine room fire turned an “at sea” day into a nightmare of failed air conditioning, non-working toilets. And hours of waiting on line for a less-than-gourmet buffet of Spam and Pop Tarts dropped from a Navy helicopter.
Carnival’s Senior Cruise Director John Heald who was on the Carnival Splendor, blogged from the ship:
“There will be those who will say this has been ‘the cruise from hell.’ However, when you see the local news reporter with the huge hair talking to Mr. Angry remember that there are many many many many more who will tell you what they have been telling me and the crew and that is that Carnival as a company have done everything they can and continue to do so to help them through this difficult situation.
“One thing is for certain though … I doubt anyone onboard will ever ever want to eat a sandwich ever again.”
Still unanswered is the question of what caused the fire that broke out in the ship’s aft engine room at 6.A.M. Monday. The CoastGuard says that a preliminary investigation has been started and that the fire “was extinguished by onboard ship responders using installed systems. As a result, the ship’s generator lost power, disabling the vessel.”
Least likely cause? The one put forward by various blogosphere nuts who claim to have seen internal Russian security reports that the cruise ship was disabled by an EMP missile fired from a Chinese submarine.
November 12,2010
Called the “M-factor,” the vessel is powered by Volvo Penta marine diesel engines both for propulsion and for the bow thruster.
The ship is 85 meters long, 9.6 meter wide and has a load capacity of 1,500 tons, and is a relatively small ship with a very large cargo hold.
The size of the ship and its limited height enables it to sail in almost all European inland waterways. As it is mainly designed for the smaller channels and rivers it will use a 750 hp Volvo Penta D16-750 hp as propulsion engine. Usually this size of ship would be equipped with an engine producing at least 1,000 hp.
Mercurius has been searching for the most fuel efficient engine at part load. In this application, the engine will be operating at part load for at least 80-90 percent of running time.
On part load, the Volvo Penta D16 outperforms the competition in this power range and was thus selected as main propulsion engine.
To reduce emissions, the engine will be equipped with the STT Emtec SCR and POC filter system as a standard even though this is still not required by legislation. The SCR system cuts NOx by 70 to 90 percent and the POC filter reduces the PM by 40 percent.
The prototype will be built at Mercurius Shipping’s own shipyard in Begej and will be ready in May 2011. The plans are to build at least 4-6 ships yearly, depending on the success of this unit. A contract for the second ship has already been given to the Volvo Penta Center Terlouw in Rotterdam. It will deliver the main propulsion engine D16-750, Twin Disk gearbox TD-5170 and SCR system as a complete package to the Mercurius Shipping Group.
A Volvo Penta D12-400 will be installed as a thruster engine. The thruster will be delivered as a complete package including engine from the local manufacturer, Verhaar thruster systems.
The new facility is dedicated to the growth of engine sales in the commercial marine industry. The center also houses parts and serves as a logistics hub for MTU’s marine defense customers.
The nearly 8,000-square-foot facility is located in the St. James Industrial Park just west of New Orleans.
“MTU is one of the world’s major providers of diesel engines and propulsion systems for ships, ferries, tugs, river push boats and offshore supply vessels,” says Jeff Sherman, marine sales manager for MTU Detroit Diesel. “This new location puts us closer to both new and current customers in the Gulf of Mexico and Inland Rivers.”
The new facility is in addition to a network of 25 MTU distributors and a dedicated marine service center near Alameda, Calif.
MTU Detroit Diesels is a Tognum Group subsidiary. Its marine power solutions include the Series 60, Series 2000 and Series 4000 Iron Men engines, specifically designed to meet the unique demands of workboats.
For the higher power needs of commercial and military vessels such as the U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ship or U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutter, MTU offers its Series 8000 and Series 1163 engines. The MTU marine product line up covers a power range from 350 to 12,200 bhp. MTU also offers complete marine control systems.
Neptune, based in North Ferriby, East Yorkshire, England, has successful completed a series of rigorous in-water tests on the full-scale demonstrator of its Proteus NP1000 tidal stream power generator, it is now seeking a trade partner, which could be a shipyard or heavy engineering concern, who can demonstrate the capability to fabricate and build future production devices.
Weighing more than 150 tonnes and 20 m in length with a beam of 14 m, the Proteus NP1000 consists of steel buoyancy hulls, a vertically mounted turbine with a 6 m x 6 m rotor, and computer controlled flow vanes within a venturi duct.
Despite its size, the floating pontoon design means that the Proteus is largely unobtrusive when deployed, with more than 80 per cent of its bulk always hidden from view under the water. This low environmental footprint has now been approved by the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Test data indicate that when optimized for the tidal stream the Proteus NP1000 will be able generate at least 1,000 MWh/year. To put this into context the projected output would be enough to meet the energy needs of more than five hundred homes.
The recent tests included the powering-up and generation of electricity as proof of the commercial potential of the device’s power curve. Tow testing was carried out in three phases during August, September and October in Hull’s Albert Dock. The third set of experiments provided the final, critical, “proof of concept” hurdle and the device will now be prepared for commercial deployment in early 2011 at Sammy’s Point in the Humber.
Commented Nigel Petrie, Chairman, Neptune Renewable Energy Ltd (NREL): “We are delighted to have successfully come through the in-water testing phase for the Proteus Demonstrator which paves the way for the device to be commissioned shortly and installed, with the first electricity delivered in 2011. Having reached this key milestone, at Neptune we are now looking to identify a trade partner who is able to demonstrate that they have capability to work with us to manufacture and deliver future devices.”
Mr. Petrie said the company is also seeking equity providers to work with in order to help fund a series of arrays of the tidal stream power generators which are planned for the Humber in 2011 and 2012.
You can email Neptune at enquiries@neptunerenewableenergy.com
The agreement covers development of OPT’s PowerBuoy technology for application in Japanese sea conditions.
OPT’s PowerBuoy wave generation system uses a “smart,” ocean-going buoy to capture and convert wave energy into low-cost, clean electricity. The rising and falling of the waves offshore causes the buoy to move freely up and down and the resultant mechanical stroking is converted via a power take-off to drive an electrical generator. The generated power is transmitted ashore via an underwater power cable.
A 10 MW OPT power station would occupy only approximately 30 acres (0.125 square kilometers) of ocean space.
Under this new contract, the two companies will work together to develop a new mooring system for OPT’s PowerBuoy, customized for wave power stations off the coast of Japan. The new system will undergo testing at MES’s wave tank facilities to verify the results of extensive computer modeling. OPT expects to receive 18 million yen (approximately $220,000) for its development efforts. Work under this agreement is expected to be performed over the next six months.
In October 2009, OPT and a consortium of MES, Idemitsu Kosan Co., and Japan Wind Development Co. signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of wave energy in Japan. OPT and members of the consortium have since worked with the Japanese government to increase recognition of wave power in Japanese energy policy.
The Japanese government has pledged to target a 25 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2020 as part of its intentions to boost renewable energy sources to about 10 percent of primary energy supply by 2020. The Japanese government has specifically targeted wave energy as a component of this strategy.
Now OPT and MES intend to complete work on the mooring system and find a project site for an in-ocean trial of the PowerBuoy system.
OPT’s CEO, Charles F. Dunleavy, said: “We are very pleased to continue to build on our relationship with MES. This new agreement is consistent with OPT’s global strategy to form alliances with strategic partners in key markets. We believe working with MES will facilitate the realization of the great potential of wave power as a concentrated and predictable source of renewable energy for Japan.”
Ryoichi Jinkawa, Managing Director of the Business Development and Innovation Headquarters of MES, said: “We continue to be impressed with OPT’s technical strength and in-ocean experience. MES is very excited by the great business opportunity resulting from our relationship with OPT. We look forward to continuing to work with OPT in making our common vision of increasing the use of renewable energy a reality.
November 8, 2010
That makes ABS the the third largest classification society in terms of aggregate gross tonnage. But it believes it continues to be the largest society in terms of the number of vessels and offshore units in its class.
ABS has also held its position as the most favored classification society for new construction, a standing it has held for most of the last three years. The current order book is comprises 2,384 vessels aggregating 50.95 million gt.
“The continued strength of the newbuilding market, given the current global economic uncertainty, is surprising,” says ABS Chairman and CEO Robert D. Somerville. “New orders to ABS class continue to offset the uncommonly high level of deliveries providing a consistently high demand for our engineering and survey services and giving us the youngest fleet profile in our history.” More than 67 percent of the in-service ABS-classed fleet is now ten years of age or less.
Mr. Somerville says he believes that “superior service will remain the principle differentiator between the leading class societies, with ABS setting the standard.”
The latest fleet statistics show that ABS continues to hold the leading market share for newbuildings on order in both Korea and China, the world’s top two shipbuilding nations. The society is equally successful with shipowners with its 30 percent share of all Greek controlled tonnage on order clearly demonstrating its success in this most demanding market.
The recent establishment of a fifth operating division for Greater China, responsible for administering the society’s activities in the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan is the latest demonstration of the ABS commitment to superior service according to Mr. Somerville.
November 8,2010
Named the “neo Supramax 66BC,” the new ship is an enlarged version of Mitsui’s best selling 56,000 dwt type handymax bulker, for which it has received over 150 orders
Development of the neo Supramax 66BC design involved extensive consultations with shipowners and operators and investigations of more than 600 ports all over the world. The result is a ship designed to have wide beam (36 m) and shallow draft, taking into account current 56BC trading patters and the expansion of Panama Canal, expected in 2014.
The ship is a general use bulk carrier equipped with deck cranes and suited for the carriage of bulk cargoes including coal, iron ore, wheat, barley, soya beans, etc. It can also carry lengthy/heavy cargoes such as steel pipe and hot coil. Hatch openings are optimized for the existing cargo handling equipment at various ports.
Although the neo Supramax 66BC is larger than the 56BC, its fuel consumption less as a result of adopting Mitsui’s newly developed energy-saving hull form.
The shipbuilder is offering two specifications for the ship – Premium and Standard. The Premium model will achieves a reduction of CO2 emission by about 21 percent on a ton-mile basis with a further reduction of up to about 30 percent with the application of optional software and hardware .
Mitsui is also developing measures to meet future SOx and NOx emission controls and requirements for ballast water treatment system is adopted, which is a hot current topic among maritime industries.
Principal Particulars of the Ship
Length overall 200 m
Breadth 36 m
Depth 18.45 m
Full-load draft 12.9 m
Deadweight 66,000 metric tons
Service speed 14.5 knots
