MightyShips

RMS Titanic

2012-03-06T00:13:00.000-08:00

Lenght: 882 feet 9 inches (269.06 m) Breadth: 92 feet 6 inches (28.19 m)
Height: 104 feet (32 m)
GT: 46,328
Draught: 34 feet 7 inches (10.54 m) Displaced: 52,310 tons

RMS Titanic was a passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,517 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. She was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. One of threeOlympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, she was built between 1909–11 by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. She carried over 2,200 people – 1,316 passengers and about 900 crew.

After leaving Southampton on 10 April 1912, Titanic called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown, Ireland before heading westwards towards New York. She was sailing about 375 miles south of Newfoundland when she hit an iceberg four days into the crossing, at 11:40 pm (ship's time; UTC-3) on 14 April 1912. The glancing collision caused Titanic's hull plates to buckle inwards in a number of locations on her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea. Over the next two and a half hours, the ship gradually sank as she filled with water. Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which left the ship only partly full. A disproportionate number of men – over 90% of those in Second Class – were left aboard due to a "women and children first" protocol followed in loading the lifeboats. Just before 2:20 am Titanic broke up and sank bow-first with over a thousand people still on board. Those in the water died within minutes from hypothermia caused by immersion in the freezing ocean. The 710 survivors were picked up from lifeboats by the RMS Carpathia a few hours later.

The disaster was greeted with worldwide shock and outrage at the huge loss of life and the regulatory and operational failures that had led to it. In its aftermath, public inquiries were held in Britain and the United States that led to major improvements in maritime safety. One of its most important legacies was the establishment in 1914 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which still governs maritime safety today. Many of the survivors lost all their money and possessions and were left destitute; many families, particularly those of crew members from Southampton, lost their main bread-winners. They were helped by an outpouring of public sympathy and charitable donations. Some of the male survivors, notably the White Star Line's chairman, J. Bruce Ismay, were criticised for perceived cowardice for leaving the ship while women and children were still on board, and faced ostracism and social isolation.

Titanic has become one of the most famous ships in history, her memory kept alive by numerous books, films, exhibits and memorials. The wreck of the Titanic remains on the seabed, gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12,415 feet (3,784 m). Since its rediscovery in 1985 thousands of artefacts have been recovered from the sea bed and put on display at museums around the world.

Titanic was 882 feet 9 inches (269.06 m) long with a maximum breadth of 92 feet 6 inches (28.19 m). Her total height, measured from the base of the keel to the top of the bridge, was 104 feet (32 m). She measured 46,328 gross register tons and with a draught of 34 feet 7 inches (10.54 m), she displaced 52,310 tons.

All three of the Olympic-class ships had eleven decks (excluding the top of the officers' quarters), eight of which were for passenger use. From top to bottom, the decks were:

Boat Deck, on which the lifeboats were positioned. It was from here in the early hours of 15 April 1912 that Titanic's lifeboats were lowered into the North Atlantic. The bridge and wheelhouse were at the forward end, in front of the captain's and officers' quarters. The bridge stood 8 feet (2.4 m) above the deck, extending out to either side so that the ship could be navigated while docking. The wheelhouse stood directly behind and above the bridge. The entrance to the First Class Grand Staircase and gymnasium were located midships along with the raised roof of the First Class lounge, while at the rear of the deck were the roof of the First Class smoke room and the relatively modest Second Class entrance. The wood-covered deck was divided into four segregated promenades, for officers, First Class passengers, engineers and Second Class passengers respectively. Lifeboats lined the side of the deck except in the First Class area, where there was a gap so that the view would not be spoiled.

Dimensions and layout

A Deck, also called the Promenade Deck, extended along the entire 546 feet (166 m) length of the superstructure. It was reserved exclusively for First Class passengers and contained First Class cabins, the First Class lounge, smoke room, reading and writing rooms and Palm Court.

B Deck, the Bridge Deck, was the top weight-bearing deck and the uppermost level of the hull. More First Class passenger accommodation was located here with six palatial staterooms (cabins) featuring their own private promenades. On Titanic, the A La CarteRestaurant and the Café Parisien provided luxury dining facilities to First Class passengers. Both were run by subcontracted chefs and their staff; all were lost in the disaster. The Second Class smoking room and entrance hall were both located on this deck. The raised forecastle of the ship was forward of the Bridge Deck, accommodating Number 1 hatch (the main hatch through to the cargo holds), various pieces of machinery and the anchor housings. It was kept off-limits to passengers; the famous "flying" scene at the ship's bow from the 1997 filmTitanic would not have been possible in real life. Aft of the Bridge Deck was the raised Poop Deck, 106 feet (32 m) long, used as a promenade by Third Class passengers. It was where many Titanic's passengers and crew made their last stand as the ship sank. The forecastle and Poop Deck were separated from the Bridge Deck by well decks.

C Deck, the Shelter Deck, was the highest deck to run uninterrupted from the ships' stem to stern. It included the two well decks, the aft one of which served as part of the Third Class promenade. Crew cabins were located under the forecastle and Third Class public rooms were situated under the Poop Deck. In between were the majority of First Class cabins and the Second Class library.

D Deck, the Saloon Deck, was dominated by three large public rooms – the First Class Reception Room and Dining Saloon and the Second Class Dining Saloon. An open space was provided for Third Class passengers. First, Second and Third Class passengers had cabins on this deck, with berths for firemen located in the bow. It was the highest level reached by the ships' watertight bulkheads (though only by eight of the fifteen bulkheads).

E Deck, the Upper Deck, was predominately used for passenger accommodation for all classes plus berths for cooks, seamen, stewards and trimmers. Along its length ran a long passageway nicknamed Scotland Road by the crew, in reference to a famous street in Liverpool.

F Deck, the Middle Deck, was the last complete deck and mainly accommodated Third Class passengers, with some Second Class cabins as well, plus crew accommodation. The Third Class dining saloon was located here, as were the swimming pool and Turkish bath.

G Deck, the Lower Deck, was the last level that carried passengers and had the lowest level of portholes, just above the waterline. The squash court was located here along with the travelling post office, where mail clerks sorted letters and parcels so that they would be ready for delivery when the ship docked. Food was also stored here. The deck was interrupted at several points by orlop (partial) decks over the boiler, engine and turbine rooms.

The Orlop decks and the Tank Top were at the lowest level of the ship, below the waterline. The orlop decks were used as cargo space, while the Tank Top – the inner bottom of the ship's hull – provided the platform on which the ship's boilers, engines, turbines and electrical generators sat. This part of the ship was dominated by the engine and boiler rooms, areas that passengers would never normally see. They were connected with higher levels of the ship by flights of stairs; twin spiral stairways near the bow gave access all the way up to D Deck.

Engines

Titanic was equipped with three engines – two reciprocating four-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engines and one centrally placed low-pressure Parsons turbine – each driving a propeller. The two reciprocating engines had an output of 30,000hp and a further 16,000hp was contributed by the turbine. The White Star Line had previously used the same combination of engines on an earlier liner, the SS Laurentic, where it had been a great success. It provided a good combination of performance and speed; reciprocating engines by themselves were not powerful enough to propel an Olympic-class liner at the desired speeds, while turbines were sufficiently powerful but caused uncomfortable vibrations, a problem that affected the all-turbine Cunard liners Lusitania and Mauretania. By combining reciprocating engines with a turbine, fuel usage could be reduced and motive power increased, while using the same amount of steam.

The two reciprocating engines were giants, each 63 feet (19 m) long and weighing 720 tons. Their bedplates alone weighed a further 195 tons. They were powered by steam produced in 29 boilers, 24 of which were double-ended and 5 single-ended, which contained a total of 159 furnaces. The boilers were 15 feet 9 inches (4.80 m) in diameter and 20 feet (6.1 m) long, each weighing 91.5 tons and capable of holding 48.5 tons of water.

Lifeboats

Titanic carried a total of 20 lifeboats: 16 wooden lifeboats with a capacity of 65 people each and four Englehardt "collapsible" lifeboats (identified as A to D) with a capacity of 47 people each. In addition, it had two emergency cutters with a capacity of 40 people each. All of the lifeboats were stowed securely on the boat deck and, except for A and B, connected todavits by ropes.Those on the starboard side were odd-numbered 1–15 from bow to stern, while those on the port side were even-numbered 2–16 from bow to stern. The two cutters were kept swung out, hanging from the davits, ready for immediate use, while collapsible lifeboats C and D were stowed on the boat deck immediately inboard of boats 1 and 2 respectively. Collapsible lifeboats A and B were stored on the roof of the officers' quarters, on either side of number 1 funnel. There were no davits to lower them and their weight would make them challenging to launch.

Titanic had 16 sets of davits, each able to handle 4 lifeboats. This gave Titanic the ability to carry up to 64 wooden lifeboats, which would have been enough for 4,000 people – considerably more than her actual capacity However, the White Star Line decided that only 16 wooden lifeboats and four collapsibles would be carried, which could accommodate 1,178 people, only one-third of Titanic's total capacity. At the time, the Board of Trade's regulations required British vessels over 10,000 tons to carry 16 lifeboats with a capacity of 5,500 cubic feet (160 m3), plus enough capacity in rafts and floats for 75% (50% for vessels with watertight bulkheads) of that in the lifeboats. In principle, the White Star line could even have made use of the exception for vessels with watertight bulkheads, which would have reduced the legal requirements to a capacity of 756 persons only. Therefore, the White Star Line actually provided much more lifeboat accommodation than was legally required.

Sinking

At 11.40 pm (ship's time), lookout Frederick Fleet spotted an iceberg immediately ahead of Titanic and alerted the bridge. First Officer William Murdoch ordered the ship to be steered around the obstacle and the engines to be put in reverse, but it was too late; the starboard side of Titanic struck the iceberg, creating a series of holes below the waterline. Five of the ship's watertight compartments were breached. It soon became clear that the ship was doomed, as she could not survive more than four compartments being flooded.Titanic began sinking bow-first, with water spilling from compartment to compartment as her angle in the water became steeper.

Those aboard Titanic were ill-prepared for such an emergency. There was only enough space in the lifeboats for a third of her maximum number of passengers and crew, and the crew had not been trained adequately in carrying out an evacuation. The officers did not know how many they could safely put aboard the lifeboats and launched many of them barely half-full. Third-class passengers were largely left to fend for themselves, causing many of them to become trapped below decks as the ship filled with water. A "women and children first" protocol was generally followed for the loading of the lifeboats and most of the male passengers and crew were left aboard.

Two hours and forty minutes after Titanic struck the iceberg, her rate of sinking suddenly increased as her forward deck dipped underwater and the sea poured in through open hatches and grates. As her unsupported stern rose out of the water, exposing the propellers, the ship split apart between the third and fourth funnels due to the immense strain on the keel. The severed bow section headed for the sea bed, while the stern remained afloat for a few minutes longer, rising to a nearly vertical angle with hundreds of people still clinging to it. At 2.20 am, the stern sank, pitching the remaining passengers and crew into lethally cold water with a temperature of only 28 °F (-2 °C). Almost all of those in the water died of hypothermia or cardiac arrest within minutes. Only 13 of them were helped into the lifeboats though these had room for almost 500 more occupants.

Distress signals were sent by wireless, rockets and lamp, but none of the ships that responded were near enough to reach her before she sank. A nearby ship, the Californian, which was the last to have been in contact with her before the collision, saw her flares but failed to assist. Around 4 am, RMS Carpathia arrived on the scene in response to Titanic's earlier distress calls. 710 people survived the disaster and were conveyed by Carpathia to New York, Titanic's original destination. 1,517 people were lost, either drowning inside the sinking ship or freezing to death on the surface (kept from drowning by their lifebelts).

Survivors and victims

Of a total of 2,224 people aboard Titanic only 710, less than a third, survived and 1,514 perished. Second and Third Class passengers were least likely to survive. The highest survival rates were among women and children in First Class. The table below shows the survivors and victims for passengers and crew onboard the RMS Titanic. Passengers are subdivided into men, women and children for each class while crew is divided into men and women.

Person Category	Number Aboard	Percentage Saved	Percentage Lost	Number Saved	Number Lost
Children, First Class	6	83%	17%	5	1
Children, Second Class	24	100%	0%	24	0
Children, Third Class	79	34%	66%	27	52
Women, First Class	144	97%	3%	140	4
Women, Second Class	93	86%	14%	80	13
Women, Third Class	165	46%	54%	76	89
Men, First Class	175	33%	67%	57	118
Men, Second Class	168	8%	92%	14	154
Men, Third Class	462	16%	84%	75	387
Women, Crew	23	87%	13%	20	3
Men, Crew	885	22%	78%	192	693
Total	2224	32%	68%	710	1514

source: wikipedia

m/v Radiance of the Seas

2012-03-05T03:20:00.000-08:00

Lenght: 294 m
Beam: 32 m
Draft: 8.50 m
Deadweight: 90,090 m.t.
Year Built: 2001
Passengers: 2,100
Crew members: 860
Staterooms: 1,050
Decks: 12
Speed: 25 kn
Registry: Bahamas

Radiance of the Seas is one of the most beautiful cruise ships is operated by Royal Caribbean International. The vessel is with length of 294 meters and a beam of 32 meters. This ship is as luxury as 5-star hotel and will give you a nice feeling of board. You will feel perfectly on board and I’m sure that from the first sight you will love it. The displacement of the Radiance of the Seas is 90,090 gross tons, and when we are talking in numbers, I should announce that this vessel has 12 decks for its guests.

The last two decks are situated for perfect sea view, and are called penthouse. Only the most important persons on board have the opportunity to take a room there. The ship is as good equipped for the VIP guests as for the normal passengers. The total numbers of all passengers that may be on board is 2,100 and the number of crew that will serve the guests is about 860 members. The ship is registered in Nassau and sailing under the flag of Bahamas.
Interesting about engineer construction of the cruise vessel Radiance of the Seas is that it is the first gas-turbine ship built for the company of Royal Caribbean ships. The system gives to the vessel higher speed for less fuel consumption. With this system the vessel gets a speed of 25 knots, while crossing the ocean, and the maximum speed is with 2-3 knots more. This is very interesting to design such high technology engine and it is much more ecological, because the emissions of CO2 are less of diesel engines.

The ship is not only good ecological engineer outfit, but also good cruise ships with all luxury equipment for the customers on board. It doesn’t matter are you sailing in 1st or business class or you are VIP guest, you will feel like a king on board. On the whole area of 60 thousand square meters there are public rooms with casinos, restaurants, bars, lounges, cafes and shops. You are in some kind of sailing city on board of Radiance of the Seas. The beautiful ship was built in 2001, and for the year of building it is one of the best man made constructions. The Radiance of the Seas has some interesting innovations, just like gyroscope linked pools, which is stabilizing the top level with the horizon. But this is only the beginning and I cannot explain all extras that this ship has, but they are thousands. All the luxury is coming from it, in spite of its ages.

The Radiance of the Seas was built in Meyer Werft ship-yard in the town Papenburg in Germany. The ship was put on water on the date of 10th March, 2001. This was the day, when the 1st of all 4 sister ships were built for the ship-owner Royal Caribbean International.

m/v Vectis Eagle

2012-02-23T01:57:00.000-08:00

Carisbrooke Shipping took delivery of the first SUPER GREEN 8500 vessel from China’s Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding. The vessel was delivered after successful seatrials and started her maiden voyage in the direction of Korea to pick up her first cargo.

Designed by Groot Ship Design, the SUPER GREEN 8500 is a Germanischer Lloyd-classed, 8,500 DWT multi-purpose dry cargo ship. This vessel is powered by the MAK 6M32C Low Emission Engine.

Length o.a. : 109.95m
Beam mld. : 17.40m
Depth moulded to main deck: 11.40m
Draft: 7.93m
Air draft in ballast: approx 31.4m
Deadweight (approx): 8,500 tonnes
Gross tonnage (approx): 6,143
Net tonnage (approx): 2,458

Total cargo hold volume (excl tweendeck):
10,688 m3 = 377,400 cbft
Heavy fuel oil: 255m3
Gas oil: 222m3
Ballast water: 3,666m3
Fresh water: 76m3

1 Hold / 1 Hatch

Hold dimensions:
Length: 70.00m (tanktop) / 76.30m (at tweendeck height)
Breadth: 13.80m / 8.28m
Height: 11.30m / 5.30m
Vessel totally boxed over a length of 58.80m (BxH 13.80m x 11.30m),
narrowing box in front (LxBxH 11.20m x 8.28m x 11.30m),
lowering box aft (LxBxH 6.30 x 13.80 x 5.30)

Hatch dimensions:
76.30m x 13.80m / 8.28m

Tweendeck:
12 panels covering complete hold (LxB 70.00m x 13.80m/8.28m)
Clear height above / below tweendeck 5.27m / 5.35m

Grain bulkheads:
4 grain bulkheads, consisting of 8 tweendeck panels.

Load capacities:
Weather deck hatches: 2.5 ton/m2
Tweendeck load: 3.5 ton/m2
Tank top load: 18 ton / m2
Vent: 12 air changes per hour

Container fittings on hatchcovers:
dovetail fittings for container twistlocks (TEU & FEU)
& D-rings for lashing rods at 40ft corners
Containers in hold: 204 TEU
Containers on hatches: 174 TEU
Total: 378 TEU

2 x 80mt swl at 15m radius, starboard mounted cranes
max outreach 45 ton at 24m.

At sea in good weather conditions:
about 12.2 knots on about 9.6 mt IFO 380 cs

Propeller: 4.29m diam. CPP in nozzle
Bow thruster: 400 kW, 1,300mm diameter, frequency controlled

Source: carisbrooke

MV Tønsberg

2012-02-13T10:17:00.000-08:00

The RO/RO vessel MV Tønsberg is "Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA" 150 years anniversary vessel, named after our city of origin in Norway. Tønsberg is the world’s largest, most modern ro-ro vessel, specially designed to carry high and heavy cargo. The vessel was delivered from the yard in Nagasaki, Japan in March 2011 and is now commencing service.

Build year: 2011
Owner: Wilh. Wilhelmsen
Flag: Malta
Length over all: 265
Beam: 32.26
Depth to Upperdeck: 33.22
Draft, design/max: 11
Gross tonnage: 76,500

General
This new generation of RO/RO vessels for Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics Round the World Liner Service is designed for efficient transportation and handling of High & Heavy rolling cargo, Non Containerised Cargo (NCC), Breakbulk, Special Project Cargo and cars.

The RTW service is a 110 - 120 days roundtrip from Europe to US East Coast, Oceania, South East Asia, Far East, US West Coast, US East Coast across the Atlantic back to Europe.

Major design objectives: Optimum hull shape to give good form stability and low resistance, good transport economy, efficient and safe cargo handling, minimum environmental impact.

General Arrangement
The vessel is arranged with engine room aft, mooring decks forward and aft on deck 5 and wheelhouse forward to give space for weather deck cargo. Accommodation to be arranged for a crew of 36 in two tiers on the weather deck; one for public spaces and offices and one for living quarters to improve rest & recreation for the crew.

Low double bottom construction to reduce vertical centre of gravity of lightship and cargo.

Fuel oil in protected deep tanks forward and aft.

Deck no 5 is watertight to provide a second watertight barrier, in addition to the freeboard deck (deck 4). The hull will be constructed with double ship sides up to deck 5.

Pilot ladder, gangway, bunker station and Rescue boat (only port side) to be arranged in one continuous recess on deck no 5 on each side of the vessel. Free fall lifeboat to be arranged aft, with safe emergency walkway from the accommodation block.

Cargo hold
Cargo hold to be arranged for efficient and safe cargo handling with completely flush bulkheads or horizontal cargo support rails to support efficient stowing of breakbulk cargoes on all decks.

Generally, single row pillars at abt 15 m longitudinal spacing.

6 fixed cargo decks for H&H, NCC and breakbulk,: Deck 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7.

Deck no 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, including relevant internal ramps, to be strengthened for fork lift operations and roll trailers of varying payload. Main deck to be strengthened for heavy lift trailers including Samson type trailer.

3 hoistable decks for flexibility and maximum utilisation: Deck 4B, 6 and 8. Deck 6 and 8 is intended for cars and constructed with plywood plating to save weight. Although experience with hydraulic jigger winches in use in our present fleet is excellent, electrical winches will be used on the Mark 5 to eliminate the risk of hydraulic oil spills entirely.

Thorough studies of cargoes and trends have helped to determine the clear height of all decks. Part of the main deck will have a higher clear height than previous generations RO/RO ships.

Transverse ventilation of cargo holds to be arranged.

Cargo securing by means of closely spaced circular holes and cloverleaves. Side lashing points arranged on all heavy decks and top lashing points on the main deck to secure high and heavy cargoes.

Weather deck to be arranged for the traditional transportation of Aquavit containers; project cargo such as windmill blades and yachts.

Cargo Handling
All cargoes to be loaded and discharged over a wide and strong stern quarter ramp

Internal ramps to be arranged in succession for efficient and safe cargo handling. Internal ramps between fixed decks to be 8 m wide.

Internal ramps leading down from main deck to be of fixed type with ramp covers. Internal ramps leading up from main deck to be of liftable type. In general, the ramp system is arranged to allow simultaneous cargo operations on all decks.
4 m wide ramp to weather deck to be arranged to reduce dependence upon shoreside mobile crane.
All hoistable decks (deck 4B, 6 and 8) to be operated by electric winches arranged under each car deck panel. Hoistable deck no 6 and 8 to be constructed with plywood top plating in a steel frame to save weight.

Tank Capacities and Arrangement
The vessel will have two pair of ballast water tanks in the double bottom to avoid excessive amounts of WB and reduce the free surface effect. All WB wing tanks connected to anti-heel system.
Water ballast lines (GRE) to be arranged in double bottom with valves in a dry box for easy and continuous access.

WB tanks abt. 16,080 m3
Fuel Oil tanks (100%, excl settling & service) abt. 4,970m3
Fuel Oil tanks (100%, incl. settling & service) abt. 5,500 m3
Diesel Oil tanks (100%) abt. 650 m3
Fresh Water tanks (100%) abt. 475 m3

Machinery
Service speed 20.25 kn

The vessel is powered by one electronically controlled slow speed, two stroke main engine and propelled by a single fixed pitch propeller.
Electric power to be provided by a Steam Turbine generator and Shaft Generator in normal sea going condition. In port and during manoeuvring, electric power to be provided by 3 auxiliary generator sets (2,400 W each).
Efficient low resistance rudder and transverse thrusters forward and aft is fitted to enhance manoeuvrability.
All ancillary systems and fuel tanks to be arranged for operation on Low Sulphur Heavy Fuel Oil and Marine Diesel Oil.

Fuel efficient, modern electronically controlled main engine.

The Turbo Generator system is estimated to cut the total fuel annual consumption by about 5 - 6%. CO2, SOX and emissions of particles (PM) will fall proportionally; NOX emissions by about 3%.

All fuel oil tanks is protected against grounding and collision.

Ballast water treatment, 5 ppm bilge water separator and biodegradable stern tube oil contribute to reduced emissions to the sea.

Systems and equipment have been designed to minimize energy consumption. Examples include chill water air conditioning system, extra insulation in the accommodation bloc, dual speed water ballast pumps and several separate light zones in the cargo hold.

m/v Costa Concordia Salvage

2012-02-04T03:06:00.000-08:00

The super-sized cruise ship Costa Concordia is half-submerged off Italy's Tuscan coast. So what will happen to the 450-million-euro (£372m) vessel?

As divers desperately scour the 1,500 cabins for signs of life, and hopes fade of finding more people alive, thoughts have turned to rescuing the ship.

Maritime salvage specialists already have staff at the scene assessing the Can a stricken cruise ship be salvaged? options.

"Only a few salvage companies could handle a job of this magnitude," says Mike Lacey, secretary general of the International Salvage Union.

"This goes on all the time but you don't hear about it because they aren't as spectacular as this one. But there's always a ship in trouble somewhere."

So what might be the fate of the Costa Concordia in the weeks, months and possibly years ahead?

1. Underwater inspections

Search and rescue has priority, that's always the case, says Mr Lacey, but other underwater inspections will be under way to see what damage the rocks have wreaked to the hull.

"You can see the terrific damage above the waterline but who knows what has happened to the [submerged] starboard side of the hull?

"You can't put a ship like that on the rocks without doing damage."

2. Pumping out the fuel
Costa sinking: How it happened

Maps and stats on the grounded cruise ship

Although there is no evidence that any of the ship's 2,000 tonnes of diesel oil has yet leaked, there are fears that if it slips on the rocks, one of the 17 tanks could breach and cause a spill.

The island's mayor has warned of an "ecological time-bomb", and anti-spill booms encircle the ship to minimise the threat of an environmental disaster.

A Dutch company specialising in salvage operations, Smit, has been asked to remove the fuel.

Its operations manager Kees van Essen said the company was confident the fuel could be safely extracted through a system of pumps and valves which vacuum the oil out to waiting tanks.

The process, involving engineers and divers, would take two to four weeks.

3. Getting it upright

The process is called parbuckling, an old-fashioned way to get ships upright, says Mr Lacey. This involves barges with huge winches slowly heaving the ship into position, bit by bit.

"You need a huge turning movement - the power you need to apply to pull the thing into the vertical position. It's simple physics.

"There was a similar operation on the [capsized ferry] Herald of Free Enterprise in 1987 but that ship was a quarter of the size."

Air bags could be placed under the starboard side by divers and then inflated to help push it upright, he adds, but those alone would not have sufficient force.

4. Removing what's inside

There is a huge amount of food on the ship, which will smell if not removed.

And the passengers' belongings in cabins on the port side will also need to be recovered, says Mr Lacey.

Much of what is inside the ship and below the sea level is likely to be written off, he says.

Some of it is has already floated to the surface.

"A lot could be replaced quite easily but the bigger damage is to the bottom of the ship - the machinery and electronic systems."

5. Patching up the hull

The hole in the hull on the port side is 48.8m wide

"It's possible, with small areas of damage, to prefabricate a [steel] patch and put it into place," says Dawn Gorman, editor of the magazine, International Tug & OSV.

"But whether that's possible with damage this size, we don't know."

If it could be patched up, the next step would be to pump the water out and stabilise it, a very lengthy process, says Ms Gorman.

"But there's no point pumping the water out unless the damage has been patched up, and that's a big hole.

"It may be the ship isn't salvageable and it isn't possible to right it, patch it up and send it on its way, because fundamental damage has been done."

Last month the container ship Rena broke in two near New Zealand, after constant battering by the ocean, three months after it ran aground.

That's unlikely to happen to the Costa Concordia, says Mr Lacey.

"Rena was in a very exposed position so she got smashed up, but you won't get metal fatigue in this case. There isn't a huge fetch [the length of sea over which a wind blows] so she won't start rusting any time soon."

6. Getting it towed
Once upright, towing the ship using tugboats is very straightforward, and means it could be taken away for full repairs.

The Costa Concordia might be large for cruise ships, but not compared to some oil tankers and bulk carriers.

7. Scrapped

But given the damage, it may just be cut up and taken away in parts for scrap. The insurer has to assess the cost of repairs and the cost of getting it into a position to repair it.

"There's every possibility that it could be salvaged but it's going to be a very tricky salvage operation," says Richard Meade of Lloyd's List, a leading daily newspaper for the maritime industry.

"I think the likelihood is that this is going to be declared a total loss."

The car carrier Tricolor was cut up into nine sections after it sank in 2002 in the English Channel following a collision with a container ship.

Source: International Salvage Union

m/v Costa Concordia

2012-01-14T13:32:00.000-08:00

Costa Concordia is the largest and most luxury vessel from the family of Costa Cruises. The ship is the symbol of the largest cruise company is Europe. Costa Concordia is really amazing ship with length of 290.00 meters and beam of 36.00 meters. The cruise ship is having 114,500 gross tonnage and capacity for 3,700 passengers and 1,100 crew members.

These short facts are revealing in front of you the majesty of the cruise ship. Costa Concordia is the bijou of the cruise shipping in Europe. The vessel is sailing under the flag of Italy and proves the words for high quality and reliability. Many people claim that the ship was built around the largest on-board spa center of the world, instead of the opposite. This is quite expected if you know that Costa Concordia is having the largest spa center ever built on board of cruise ship. The Samsara Spa is large, luxury and fully equipped to give the visitors ability to have calm and relaxing time on board. But in spite of its size spa center is not the only one entertainment on board. Together with Samsara Spa guests have access to sport facilities, 4 pools, 7 restaurants and 13 bars. The night life is quite amazing with the luxury bars, lounges and dance-clubs. And after getting nice time in some of the clubs you can get a walk under the stars in some of the public parks, which are open 24 hours a day. The cinema on board is one of the highest rated attractions, because having the largest screen ever installed on board of cruise ship.

Many people prefer watching movies under the stars in the large facility instead of having drinks in the bars during the night. If you prefer the parties, definitely should visit the Havana bar, which is situated on the open air and give you great time in the hot summer nights.
The cruise ship is giving the guests amazing entertainments and places where kinds and children can enjoy themselves and leave their parents on the ship's life. The children center is having Grand Prix Simulator, Virtual world, Squok Club with PlayStation Entertainment, games, roundabouts and cradles. The kids will have happy time, while the parents will enjoy their vacancy on board. The cruise ship is having also large number of sport facilities with more than 2,000 square meters fields for tennis, soccer, basketball and volleyball. The fitness hall is part from the spa center and has good equipment to keep your form during the holiday you have. Costa Concordia is known as the European green-ship having nice parks and trees, which will make you feeling that you are in the most luxury resort.
With greatest regret we should tell that ythe cruise ship sank on 13th January 2012 close to the shores of Giglio Island. The ship had 3200 passengers on board and over 1000 crew members, when after a colision with a reef next to Italian shores.

January 14, 2012
The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia Aran aground on a sandbar off the west coast of Italy, killing three people.
The 3,200 passengers and 1,023 crew on board the Costa Concordia wereevacuated by lifeboats, helicopters and other ships in the area.

Costa Concordia Salvage

m/v Sovereign Maersk

2012-01-11T07:39:00.000-08:00

Name: Sovereign Maersk

Type: Container Ship

Lenght: 331.98 m
Beam: 42.80 m
Depth: 21.00 m
Draft: 14.50 m
Deadweight: 104,690 m.t.
GT: 91,560 g.t.
Capacity: 8,160 TEU
Year: 1997
Speed: 24.7 kn
Engine: MAN B&W 12K90
Power: 56,000 kW
Shipyard: Odense Steel

The large container ships impress us with size, capacity and technology development. Sovereign Maersk is one of the largest container ships built ever. The cargo ship is owner and managed by Ap Moller Maersk, which is one of the largest operators in maritime transport. Sovereign Maersk has large and impressive measurements and environmental technology. The cargo ship has overall length of 331.98 meters, beam of 42.80 meters and depth of 21.00 meters. The draft of the cargo ship, when the ship is fully loaded can reach 14.50 meters. The size of the vessel is not itself of the owner, but hull design is improved to have large capacity of cargo. The deadweight of Sovereign Maersk is 104,690 metric tons and the gross tonnage is 91,560 gross tons. The capacity of the container ship is 8,160 TEU, divided into 17 containers tiers and 13 rows. The cargo handling on such type of ship is really hard job, because of the large amount of different cargo types and destinations, but the improved Maersk Software is making this job really fast and easy. This is speeding up the work of the Chief Officer and the operation of the ship.

The cargo ship was built in 1997 in Odense Steel Shipyard in Denmark. The shipbuilder is definitely one of the highest quality and best known builders of the world, as most of the large European ships are built there. The cargo ship builders have made one of the most powerful, most profitable and most environmental ships, installing some of the latest technologies in shipping and engineering. Sovereign Maersk has main engine MAN B&W 12K90 with total output power of 75,000 hp (or about 56,000 kW). The main engine of the container ship has 12 cylinders, which is one of the most discussed engines on MAN. The engine has oil mist problem, which caused explosion of Sovereign Maersk, but the problem was quickly solved from the company of MAN. The container ship has improved propulsion system and propeller, which allow the ship to reach service speed of 21.0 knots (24.7 knots maximum speed). The container ships are in need of high speed because of the specific operations, which they are providing. The hull design and engineering were created to increase the propulsion power and to decrease the fuel consumption and the CO2 emissions. The company Maersk Line is operating with the ship is various locations and especially on long routes between Asia and Europe.

The cargo ship Sovereign Maersk is sailing under the flag of Denmark International Register and registered with IMO under 9120841. The call sign of the vessel is OYGA2 and the MMSI is 9120841.

Eoseas Concept Cruise Ship

2011-11-16T05:40:00.000-08:00

Eoseas is a concept cruise ship being developed by STX Europe in collaboration with Stirling Design International (SDI).
The 105,000t ship will have an overall length of 305m, breadth of 60m and draft of 8m. Eoseas is being developed as a part of the Ecorizon programme launched by STX France in 2007.

STX's Ecorizon programme

Ecorizon is a technical programme aimed at developing innovative marine clean technologies and alternatives to oil fuels. The project attained maturity in 2009 after two years of research and development work.
Jointly funded by STX Europe and the Regional Council, Ecorizon consists of five major work programmes including energy management, air emission management, water management, waste management and sustainable design.
Ecorizon addresses the entire environmental footprint of the ship throughout the design, construction and operation stages. The long-term goal of the concept is to reduce the use of non-sustainable energy to 50% by 2015.

Eoseas design and features

Eoseas incorporates a pentamaran hull design. The double hull design will feature long promenade decks on both sides of the ship.
The ship will be a trimaran on five hulls, of which two hulls on either side will have the same fore-and-aft plane. An air cushion under the main hull optimises the hydrodynamic characteristics of the vessel.
The double skin on the ship will function as a natural air conditioning system. The frictional resistance of the ship is reduced with the air film injection and the froude number is reduced by incorporating vertical bow.
Fresh water is generated onboard using highly efficient multistage evaporators and reverse osmosis. The ship will feature an advanced wastewater purification system to treat grey and black waters. An absorption chiller absorbs rain water from the upper decks. It uses heat generated from engines.
The design objectives of the Eoseas are to reduce power consumption by 50%, emissions of CO2 by 50%, SO2 by 100%, NOX by 90% and ash by 100%.

Accommodation onboard the concept cruise ship

Eoseas can accommodate 3,311 passengers in 1,403 cabins. There are 555 cabins for 1,089 crew members. The ship allows the passengers to fully explore the maritime environment. The passenger space ratio of the ship will be 31.7 when full and 37.4 based on lower berths occupancy. The cabins are designed to use natural lighting and are fitted with presence sensors and light sensors. The energy management systems in the cabins reduce energy consumption by 30%.

Propulsion and power

Eoseas will be powered by four dual-fuel LNG diesel electric generator sets. Each genset provides 8MW power for propulsion and hotel load. There are four screws, two pump propellers with shaft lines on the outriggers and two pump propeller pods on the central hull. LNG is stored in a storage system similar to that of LNG carriers and is transferred in a pressurised service tank. The ship will have an advanced heat recovery plant to recover thermal energy.8,300m² photovoltaic panels fixed on side and upper deck provide maximum power of 108MW and an average of 270kWe. The organic waste gasification plant onboard generates 300kWe syn gas which is used in the generator sets. The ship is equipped with an innovative sail concept patented by STX France. The sails mounted on five masts over 12,440m² significantly use wind energy for propulsion. STX France conducted 13 tank tests with different hulls and propulsion configurations during 2008 and 2009, achieving 17% improvements over conventional propulsion / hull systems. The innovative propulsion system aboard the ship enhances fuel efficiency, redundancy and manoeuvring.

source: http://www.ship-technology.com/

m/y Octopus

2011-11-15T05:28:00.001-08:00

Name: Octopus
Lenght: 126.20 m
Beam: 21.00 m
Draft: 5.66 m
Year: 2003
Shipyard: Lurssen Yachts
Passengers: 26
Engine: Mercedes Benz
Power: 19,200 hp
Speed: 20.0 kn

A lot of yachts impress us with their design, style, interior and engineering, but for Octopus the list is not so short. The luxury yacht is property of Paul Allen, one of the founders of Microsoft and the richest men in the world. The yacht is impressive with overall length of 126.20 meters, which is about 414 feet and the length between perpendiculars is 109.96 meters. The super-yacht was built in the yard of Lurssen Yachts in 2003, which is one of the highest quality yards, creating some of the most luxury and largest yachts of the world. The yacht Octopus has beam of 21.00 meters and draft of 5.66 meters.

These measurements are too large for motor-yacht and definitely can be compared with small ship, but Octopus is one of the most luxury motor yachts, which were ever built. The guests’ capacity of Octopus is only 26 persons, who will be served by 57 crew members and staff persons. The yacht Octopus is made by steel, while the superstructure is aluminum. These materials are providing reliability of traveling, high comfort and decrease of the deadweight. The yacht has 41 staterooms, divided into 3 categories – Owner site, VIP stateroom and Guests rooms. The owner suite is definitely the most luxury apartment on board, consisted by 2 rooms, large verandah, and luxury interior created by the interior designer Jonathan Quinn Barnett. The other staterooms are also quite luxury and highly comfortable, providing large living area and great sea-view.

The engineering of the yacht should be reliable and powerful, because otherwise the yacht will lose a lot from her beauty. The main engines are 8 units Mercedes Benz engines each with power of 2,400 hp (total 19,200 hp or 14,320 kW). These engines are giving for the yacht enough power to reach cruise speed of 17.2 knots and maximum speed of 20.0 knots. The yacht has 850 metric tons of fuel capacity and 175 metric tons of fresh water capacity. This bunkering is giving for the yacht range of sailing of more than 800 nautical miles. The yacht Octopus was refitted in 2008 and a lot of innovations were installed on board, for more comfortable and more environmental traveling. The luxury motor yacht has active and passive stabilizers, which are decreasing rolling in heavy sea. Also Octopus has AIS, ECDIS, NAVSAT and etc, which are increasing the safety of navigation all around the world.

Carnival Breeze

2011-11-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

Carnival Breeze is the third Dream-Class cruise ship being built by Fincantieri in Monfalcone, Italy, for Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL). She is the sister ship of Carnival Dream and Carnival Magic, which were delivered in 2009 and 2011 respectively.

Dream-Class cruise ships are the largest passenger ships ever built for CCL. They are also the largest cruise ships built in the history of Italian shipbuilding.

Carnival Breeze is anticipated to enter service in June 2012 with 12-day Mediterranean cruises. She will then be shifted to Miami, Florida, in November 2012 for year-round six and eight-day Caribbean operations.

Design, features and dimensions of Carnival Breeze

"Carnival Breeze will be powered by a diesel-electric dual propulsion engine."
The design of Carnival Breeze was developed from her existing sister ships and has the same outdoor set-up. Her design is inspired by tropical ambiances. She will be coated with warm colours and will be given chromatic colour shades created by Partner Ship Design (PSD).
PSD has also designed most of the public areas including the staterooms, central area, shops, promenade deck, dance lounge, restaurant deck, spa, bars, entertainment lounge and open decks.
A four-slide water park will be outfitted on the last deck. A promenade will run across the ship's external perimeter.
The 128,500t ship will cruise at a maximum speed of 22.5kt. She has an overall length of 306m. Length between perpendiculars is 269.2m and moulded breadth is 37.2m.

Construction of Carnival Cruise Lines' newest ship

Orders for the construction of the ship were placed by Carnival Corporation, the parent company of CCL, in December 2009. The first building block for the ship was put in place in December 2010.
Carnival Breeze remained dry docked for about nine months (December 2010 to September 2011) in the Monfalcone shipyard's dry dock area. Here, the building blocks were assembled and welded together to construct the midship.
A coin ceremony and float out of the ship took place in September 2011. Sea trials and interior designing are expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2012. The ship is expected to be delivered in May 2012..

Accommodation and staterooms onboard
A total of 3,690 passengers can be accommodated in 1,845 cabins. There will be 746 additional cabins to accommodate 1,386 staff members.
The ship's staterooms include the Interior, Ocean View, Balcony, Suite and Cloud 9 Spa staterooms.
Deluxe Ocean View staterooms feature a separate washroom and are suitable for families. Balcony staterooms are specially designed for smooth sea breeze and sea view experiences.
Ocean Suites offer more space and feature a big balcony, VIP check-in, bathroom with whirlpool tub and walk-in closet. Cloud 9 Spa staterooms feature private spa access and special amenities. .
Some of the Ocean View cabins can be provided with five berths and two bathrooms to accommodate larger families. All staterooms will feature a new Caribbean-inspired interior decoration, television, full bathroom with shower and copious closet and drawer space.

Dining, entertainment and other facilities on the Carnival Breeze

Blush Dining Room and Sapphire Dining Room are two of the ship's main dining rooms.
"Carnival Breeze is the third Dream-Class cruise ship being built by Fincantieri in Monfalcone, Italy."
They will offer a variety of starters, entrees and desserts. Lido Marketplace will have casual dining options with indoor or outdoor seating.
Sushi Bar, Cucina del Capitano, Lanai BBQ and Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse will be the other dining venues.
Cloud 9 Spa will be a two-level spa featuring a sauna, fitness centre, beauty parlour and thermal suites. There will also be a Thalassotherapy pool. The SportSquare sports bar will offer sports such as basketball, football, jogging and strength training.
Clubs and lounges will include Ovation Main Show Lounge, Limelight Aft Lounge, Liquid Nightclub and Piano Bar 88.
Club O2, Video Game Room and Camp Carnival will be dedicated play areas for children. A two-level health and wellness centre for children will also be available.

Power and propulsion

Carnival Breeze will be powered by a diesel-electric dual propulsion engine. Total electric propulsion will be 2 x 21MW.

source: http://www.ship-technology.com/

Port of Hamburg

2011-11-09T06:55:00.000-08:00

Port of Hamburg, the largest seaport in Germany, lies between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. It is the second biggest container port in Europe and the 11th biggest in the world.

Spread over 7,250ha, it is an important port for cargo transport between Central and Eastern Europe. It can be accessed from the North Sea through the Elbe River. The Port of Hamburg is a universal port capable of handling all kinds of goods. It offers a range of services for handling cargo, customs clearance, quality control, storage and packing or distribution. A total of 320 berths are available at the port.

Facilities at the German port

"The port is operated by the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), a public service institution."
The port features four large container terminals capable of high-performance handling. Three of the terminals are operated by Hamburger Hafen und Logistik (HHLA), a port logistics group based in Europe. Capacity of the terminals is being continually expanded to meet the growing demands for cargo handling.
HHLA Container Terminal Burchardkai is the Port of Hamburg's largest cargo handling facility. The terminal features nine berths and an area of 1.4 million square meters.It is equipped with 27 container gantries, including modern Twin-Forty container cranes which are capable of loading or unloading two 40-foot containers in a single movement. Maximum depth is 15.3m and quay length is 2,850m. The terminal will be expanded in the future to enable it handle 5.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).

HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder began operations in 2002 as a joint venture between HHLA and Hapag-Lloyd. The terminal is spread over an area of one million square meters and has four cargo berths. Maximum depth is 16.7m and length of quay is 1,400m. The terminal features 15 container gantry cranes.
The Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg features six berths and a quay length of 2,080m. Maximum depth is 15.3m and terminal area is 1.2 million square meters. Operated by Eurogate Group, the terminal is equipped with 24 container cranes. HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort has an area of 600,000m2 and four container berths. Maximum depth is 15.2m and length of quay is 1,230m.

The terminal is equipped with 12 container cranes. It features its own container rail station which has been operational since 2008. The station has 720m of track and three Transtainer cranes capable of handling block trains efficiently. The Port of Hamburg also features 42 multipurpose terminals capable of handling general cargo and bulk cargo. The general cargo terminals handle cargo such as vehicles, fruits, metals, iron, paper and cardboard. Some of these terminals include Wallmann Terminal, C. Steinweg Süd-West Terminal and Rhenus Midgard - Dradenauhafen. The port handled 2.6mt of general cargo in 2010.

"Port of Hamburg, the largest seaport in Germany, lies between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea."
Bulk cargo terminals are also available at the port and are equipped with grabs, suction equipment and conveyors. The port handled 40mt of bulk cargo in 2010. Companies handling bulk cargo at the port include Vopak Dupeg, Hansaport Hafen, Kalikai, G.T.H. Getreide Terminal Hamburg and Rhenus Midgard.
The port's cruise terminals include Cruise Terminal HafenCity and Cruise Terminal Altona.
Cruise Terminal HafenCity has two berths. Length of quay is 460m and maximum depth is 12m.
Cruise Terminal Altona opened in June 2011 and features one berth. Terminal area is 1,500m2 and quay length is 360m. Maximum depth is 10.6m.

Operator of the Port of Hamburg

The port is operated by the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), a public service institution. HPA is responsible for the development and maintenance of the port. It is also responsible for making timely investments to meet the demand for cargo handling.

Future plans for the second biggest container port in Europe
Capacity of the Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg is to be extended towards Bubenday Ufer. The expansion will enable the terminal to handle six million TEUs per annum. Construction is scheduled to be carried out between 2015 and 2019. Area of the Container Terminal Tollerort will be expanded and two additional berths will be constructed in future.

A new terminal is also being planned for cruise liners.

source: http://www.ship-technology.com/

Port of Philadelphia

2011-11-03T11:58:00.000-07:00

The Port of Philadelphia is situated on the bank of the Delaware River, 151km south of New York City and 216km north of Washington D.C. The port is believed to be the number one perishables port in the USA. The port facilities are located along a five kilometre stretch of the river within the limits of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The port was designated as a strategic military seaport by the Defence Department in 2002. It registered a 17% increase on its total cargo output in 2010, handling 3.64 million metric tons (mt) of cargo against 3.11mt in 2009. Containerised cargo grew from 222,900 TEUs in 2009 to 264,059 TEUs in 2010, an increase of 18% year on year. Non-containerised cargoes posted growth of 32%. The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA) takes care of the management, maintenance, marketing and promotion of the port facilities. The PRPA, created in 1989 by an act of the Pennsylvania legislature, is an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia Port design features

The depth of the river channel at the port is 40ft. The Packer Avenue Marine Terminal has an area of 112 acres. Its depth at mean low water (MLW) is 12.2m. Piers 96 and 98 have a combined terminal area of approximately 55 acres and an alongside depth of 9.75m. Terminal area of Pier 84 is 13.9 acres. It is served by a 260.6m long berth. Terminal area of Pier 82 is 13.3 acres, that of Piers 78 and 80 is 44.4 acres, and that of Piers 38 and 40 is 12 acres. Tioga Marine Terminal has a terminal area of 116 acres and alongside depth of 10.8m.

Philadelphia Port construction

The Port of Philadelphia is more than 300 years old. Most of the port's facilities, including piers and waterfront warehouses, were built and maintained by private concerns in its early years of operation. These facilities were built without major help from the central government or its agencies. Major improvements took place at the port in 1960s and 70s. The Packer Avenue Marine Terminal and Tioga Marine Terminal were built during this period. The PRPA, after its creation in 1989, built an additional on-dock warehouse at Tioga Marine Terminal, a forest products warehouse at the Piers 78/80 Forest Products Distribution Centre and a refrigerated warehouse at Pier 82. Delaware River Main Channel Deepening Project was commenced in March 2010 to deepen the main navigation channel to 45ft. The $311m project is being undertaken by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The federal government will fund about two-thirds of the cost and the remainder will be borne by PRPA.

Port facilities and critical functions

The Port of Philadelphia is served by two terminals and eight piers. The Packer Avenue Marine Terminal is the largest and the busiest facility, and is specialised in handling heavy lift, steel products, containers, frozen meat and fruits. It is served by six berths and a roll-on / roll-off (RO/RO) ramp. It has two dry and one refrigerated storage warehouses. The Tioga Marine Terminal is considered as a base for the Chilean fruit business. It also handles paper, containers, plywood, breakbulk cargo and steel. It has one compartmented warehouse, two dry warehouses and a cold storage with racked storage for 6,000 pallets. Piers 96 and 98 are served by two berths and specialised in handling automobiles, project, trucks and heavy equipment cargoes. They are facilitated with an auto-washing shed and a service building. Cocoa beans and cocoa products are handled at Pier 84 which is served by one container berth. The pier has two dry storage warehouses. Pier 82 is a 13.3 acre facility specialised in handling breakbulk, paper, fruits and vegetables. Piers 78 and 80 handle newsprint, coated paper, wood pulp other forest products. Pier 80 has two container berths with RO/RO ramps. Piers 38 and 40 are served by three container berths.

Operators involved in the Port of Philadelphia

Packer Avenue Marine Terminal is operated by Greenwich Terminals, while Tioga Marine Terminal is operated by Delaware River Stevedores. Piers 38, 40, 78 and 80 are operated by Penn Warehousing and Distribution. Pier 82 is operated by Horizon Stevedoring, while Dependable Distribution Services is the operator of Pier 84.

Equipment used at the versatile port

Packer Avenue Marine Terminal has one Kocks heavy lift container crane, three Kocks container cranes, one Paceco container crane and two Hyundai container cranes. Terminal equipments include 11 toploaders, 100 forklifts and eight reach stackers. Piers 96 and 98 are equipped with forklifts, shuttle equipment and rail loading equipment. Piers 78 and 80 are provided with more than 100 customised lift trucks, 40 tractors, 30 vans, 35 flatbeds and five fifth wheels. Piers 38 and 40 are provided with 25 forklifts, 30 tractors, 20 vans and 35 flatbeds. Pier 82 is equipped with a Liebherr Mobile Harbor Crane. Tioga Marine Terminal is set up with two Kocks container gantry cranes and a Liebherr Mobile Harbor Crane.

Future plans for construction and expansion

The PRPA has planned to expand the port facilities by constructing Southport Marine Terminal in order to increase the port's capacity by three times. The terminal is estimated to cost $2bn to $3bn and is expected to be completed in 2014. Bids for the design and construction of the facility were sought in May 2010. A consortium of Delaware River Stevedores, Marine and Ports America Group and Hyundai Merchant Marine Shipping Agency was selected as the winning bidder in October 2010.

Port of Brisbane

2011-11-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

The Port of Brisbane is the largest general cargo port in Queensland, Australia. It is located at the mouth of the Brisbane River, about 15 miles from the Central Business District of Brisbane, Queensland. The port is currently the fastest growing container port with 978,814 TEUs traded in 2010-11; it is the third busiest port in Australia with its total trade being 33 million tons in 2010-11.

Port of Brisbane details

The Port of Brisbane is a purpose-built 7.5km² facility and is accessed via the Moreton Bay.
General cargo berths have alongside depths of 29.52ft to 45.93ft; container berths have depths up to 45.93ft and oil berths up to 46.91ft. Grain berth is 42.65ft deep and the coal berth is 44.29ft deep.

Port of Brisbane construction

The port emerged as a main commercial centre in mid-1800s. Cairncross Dockyard was built during World War II. The industrial and port structures changed forever after the completion of two major phases of development which began in the 1960s. The first container terminal was built in 1969. The general purpose berth and terminal was opened in 2009 at an investment of A$57m. Wharf ten, a 1,220.47ft dedicated container berth, was opened in June 2009 at a cost of A$65m. Berths 11 and 12 are under construction and are scheduled for completion in 2012 and 2014 respectively. The construction contract for berths 11 and 12 was awarded to Smithbridge Australia in September 2010 and June 2011 respectively.

Facilities at the general cargo port

Most of the facilities are located at the Fisherman Islands. The port is served by 29 operating berths and more than 23,622ft of quayline. Container terminals include seven container berths with 5,905.51ft of quayline. The general cargo and motor vehicles terminal has three berths with a total length of 2,296.58ft. The terminal handles containers, break-bulk cargo, motor vehicles and other roll-on roll-off cargo. Dry-bulk terminals include a coal terminal, grain / cottonseed / sugar terminal, woodchips terminal, cement / clinker plant, general purpose wharf and general purpose berth. The Pinkenba bulk terminal, Pinkenba and Gibson Island fertiliser / chemical plant, Queensland Bulk Terminal, Bulwer Island cement / clinker plant and Hamilton wharves / Maritime wharves are located upriver. Wet-bulk terminals handle crude oil and refined products. Vegetable oils are also shipped through these terminals. Brisbane multimodal terminal (BMT) acts as an interface between the container terminals and the road and rail networks. It facilitates movement of goods and cargo in and out of the port by rail. Dry dock and ship repair facilitates are available at Forgacs Cairncross Dockyard. Wharves eight, nine and ten feature 1,796 plug points for refrigerated goods and 5,766 ground slots for dry goods. Wharf three has 15,000m² storage sheds.

Operators of the Queensland port

The Queensland Government has leased the port to PBPL for a period of 99 years.

PBPL is owned by the Q Port Holdings consortium, comprising Global Infrastructure Partners, Industry Funds Management, QIC Global Infrastructure and Tawreed Investments. As per the lease agreement, PBPL is responsible for management and development of the port and its facilities. Australian Amalgamated Terminals (AAT) operates berths one, two and three. Berths four, five, six and seven are operated by DP World Brisbane, while Berths eight, nine and ten are operated by Patrick Terminals. Berths 11 and 12 will be operated by Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH).

Equipment used

Berths one to three are equipped with a mobile harbour crane and a 66t single-lift container crane. Berths four, five, six and seven are equipped with two Super Post-Panamax twin-lift container cranes, two Post Panamax single-lift container cranes and two Panamax single-lift container cranes. Berths eight, nine and ten are served by 27 machine-controlled straddle carriers and five gantry cranes. Two of the cranes have heavy lift capacities of 40t, two are 75t and one is 80t.

Future plans for the Port of Brisbane

PBPL has drafted a future port expansion plan to add 2.3km² of port land and provide increased berth space. The reclaimed land will be filled over 15-20 years. Another project is the sand extraction project, for which approval has already been granted by the Environmental Protection Agency. A total of 15 million cubic metres of sand will be extracted from the Spitfire Channel in Moreton Bay over 15 years.

Port of Amsterdam

2011-11-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

The Port of Amsterdam is a tideless port located on the banks of the North Sea Canal and IJsselmeer, a shallow artificial lake located in the northwest part of the Netherlands.

The port is connected to major international transport flows such as the North Sea, Den Helder, Markermeer, IJsselmeer and the River Rhine.

The port is the second largest in the Netherlands in terms of transshipment. It is ranked fourth among European ports. In the first half of 2011, the port handled 37.5 million tons of cargo, an increase of 5.7% compared to the first half of 2010.

The total amount of transshipment in 2010 was 72.7 million tons. A total of 198,530 sea cruise ship passengers and 264,540 river cruise ship passengers visited the Amsterdam port in 2010.

The Amsterdam port authority, as part of the local government, is responsible for operation, management and development of the whole port area.

Design of Port of Amsterdam

The Port of Amsterdam comprises 680ha of water surface and 1,960ha of land area that consists of port sites, quaysides, roads, railways and dikes. Of the total land area, 310ha is allocated for infrastructure, 1,305ha is issued for business sites and 345ha is available for rent or lease.

The port can be accessed from the sea as well as from inland waters. The sea route access is through the North Sea Canal. Oranje locks and Amsterdam Rhine canal provides access from inland waters. The maximum draught reserved to use the lock is 13.72m. The North Sea Canal is 275m wide and 20km long at the approach.

The port authority has taken various environmental measures to improve the natural environment in the port area. The Port of Amsterdam, in cooperation with Municipality of Zaanstad and Amsterdam's Department of the Environment and Buildings Inspectorate, has initiated a project called Afval = Grondstof (Waste = Raw Material).

The basic principle of this project is that residue flows and waste material produced by one company might become a source of raw material or source of energy for another company. The port provides project management, subsidy applications and location to those companies which want to exchange residue flows.

The port has also initiated the Port of Amsterdam Sustainability and Innovation Fund. For this, the authority is giving two million Euros in the form of subsidies for projects that can lead to sustainable and innovative development in the port area.

Other environmental measures include use of wind turbines for power generation, installation of shore power outlets at all public barge mooring facilities, production of energy by incineration of waste and installation and expansion of vapour recovery units in oil terminals.

Construction timeline and history

The first major development took place in the later half of 16th century and in the 17th century. The Ooster and Westerdok dikes were built in 1832 and 1834 respectively. Construction of the North Sea Canal in 1876 enabled seafaring vessels to reach the Port of Amsterdam. The first part of the West port was built in early 1930s for a Ford car factory and the first part of the Asiahaven harbour was built at the end of 1970s. The Afrikahaven harbour was opened in 2000. An all weather terminal was opened in 1998 by Waterland Terminal, a multipurpose, stevedoring and terminal operating company. The Passenger Terminal Amsterdam was opened in 1999 and Amsterdam Container Terminal became operational in 2001.

Facilities and equipment at the Port of Amsterdam

The Port of Amsterdam is a multifunctional port capable of handling, storing and shipping cargoes ranging from cocoa beans to coal, and from paper to oil. The port is served by three types of terminals for breakbulk, containers and energy. The Koopman Car Terminal has a surface area of 350,000m2. Its maximum depth is 12m and quay length is 350m. Automotive stevedore and RO/RO activities are performed here. The Amsterdam Marine Terminal handles containers, RO/RO and general cargo. Its quay length is 210m and maximum depth is 10.5m.

The Amsterdam Container Terminal has a total surface area of 620,000m2. Its quay length is 645m and maximum depth is 15.5m. The terminal is served by five 100mt gantry cranes. The VCK Terminal, located in Suezhaven / Beringhaven, is an all round logistic service provider. It has a total surface area of 175,000m2 and is equipped with a 55t crane. The Waterland Terminal is also located in Westhaven. Its covered surface area is 77,500m2 and open area is 110,000m2. The terminal is equipped with three gantry cranes. BP Amsterdam Terminal has a total surface area of 880,000m2 and maximum depth of 14.6m.

Operators at the major European port

The Koopman Car Terminal is operated by Koopman Logistics Group. The Amsterdam Container Terminals / Amsterdam Marine Terminals are operated by Amsterdam Container Terminals (ACT) BV.
Some other operators operating breakbulk terminals include Ter Haak Group, VCK Group and Waterland Terminal BV. Operators of energy terminals include Overslag Bedrijf Amsterdam, Rietlanden Terminals, Oiltanking Amsterdam, Eurotank Amsterdam, NuStar Energy, Noord Europeese Wijnopslagbedrijf (NEWOB), Vopak, Westway Terminals, Tankstorage Amsterdam Greenmills, Vesta, Icova, Nuon and Afval Energie Bedrijf.

Future plans for the Port of Amsterdam

The port authority is planning to build a new sea lock to simplify access to the port region. For this purpose, a covenant was signed by the Government of Netherlands, Province of Noord-Holland and the city of Amsterdam in November 2009. The new lock is expected to be operational by 2016.

m/v Siem Swordfish

2011-11-03T03:30:00.000-07:00

The Siem Swordfish is a new ROV (remotely operated vehicle) support vessel constructed for Siem Offshore AS by Kleven Werft at their yard in Norway (hull number 315, keel was laid in October 2006). The ship is of an MT 6016 L design (designed by Marin Teknikk AS) and will operate in a variety of different waters carrying out ROV support, subsea surveys, diving support, deep-sea crane operations, inspection, repair, construction and maintenance.

The ship, which was delivered in June 2007 (christened in Gerainger Fjord on 27 August 2007), is on a five-year charter to Veolia Environment Inc (with an option to buy the vessel when the charter is complete). The 4,800-gross-ton vessel is of a clean design (Clean Class and COMF-V rate 3) which means lower fuel consumption and lower emissions with a notation of DnV X 1A1, ICE C, Supply vessel, SF, E0,DYNPOS-AUTR, Comf-V(3),Naut OSV (A), Clean Design, DK(+), Helideck-S.

Technical

The ship has an overall length of 103.7m, length between the perpendiculars of 96.8m, loaded length of 94.8m, a beam of 19.7m, a draft of 6.2m, net tonnage of 1,450t and a deadweight of 4,500t.

The ship's propulsion is diesel electric driven and makes use of frequency controlled propellers, pumps and fans. The ship is powered by Caterpillar engines and uses Rolls-Royce AZP100FP azimuthing thrusters to provide main propulsion (able to make 16kt). There is also a Kongsberg SDP21 dynamic positioning system for accurate maintenance of position when engaged in operations.

Accomodation

Accommodation on board the ship is arranged for 100 crew and personnel. There are 24 single-berth cabins with separate bathroom, 24 double-berth cabins with separate bathroom, three four-bed cabins and eight one-plus-one-man cabins (Pullman).

"Siem Swordfish was delivered in June 2007."

Additional space onboard for work activities includes a conference room with nine seats, a four-person office on the shelter deck, a sky lobby reception and TV room, one conference room on the captain's deck, two survey / operations rooms on the bridge deck, and three large offices on the main deck.

Work equipment

The ship is equipped with four cranes from Hydra-marine including: one 150t active heave compensated subsea crane, one 70t active heave compensated subsea crane and two 5t deck cranes. The large crane (Hydra-marine HMC 3568) is capable of making a 150t lift and can operate to a depth of 3,000m using 64mm galvanised non-rot wire.

The work / cargo deck area is 1,150m² with a strength of up to 10t/m² (deck cargo capacity is 2,150t). There is a 7.2m × 7.2m moon pool with a flush hatch and also various ROV areas such as a workshop, LARS area, storage area and launch area. The ship also has a helideck that is rated for S92 (Sikorsky helicopters).

source: http://www.ship-technology.com/

m/v Thames Fisher

2011-11-03T03:21:00.000-07:00

The 4,765dwt Thames Fisher is the first of three double-hulled product tanker vessels built at the Vickers Shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness for James Fisher Tankships. The vessel was delivered in October 1997. Its two sister ships, Humber Fisher and Mersey Fisher were built in 1997 and 1998, respectively. The Mersey Fisher is slightly different and features a modified crossover connection on the cargo manifold. This enables the vessel to carry a greater range of parcels.

Design

The Thames Fisher has a gross tonnage of 2,760t and a net tonnage of 1,464t. The distance between the bow and centre manifold is 48m. The manifold spread is 4.8m and it has a 15.5m beam.
The Thames Fisher is 91.4m long overall and has a 6.02m design draught. The vessel's ballast parallel body length is 40m.

Cargo systems

The Thames Fisher has cargo tank volume capacity of 5,100m³ at 98%. The vessel was designed to carry refined oil products with a flashpoint below 60°C, and some categories of edible oils. The cargo piping and manifolds had been manufactured from stainless steel. The cargo system volume comprises five pairs of tanks, with capacities ranging from 550m to 3,405m. The vessel can unload a full cargo in about six hours. This is enabled by a series of ten 175m³/h (at 100m head) deep well hydraulic cargo pumps supplied by Frank Mohn.

"The Thames Fisher has a gross tonnage of 2,760t."

The cargo tanks also feature the use of stainless steel heating coils. These are able to maintain cargo temperature at 65°C allowing a high degree of flexibility in the types of cargo that can be transported. The vessel's thermal oil heater is a Wanson Termopac 2,500 3SC unit rated at 2,907kW. By using separate lines and pumps, up to six tanks can be simultaneously loaded/discharged. During loading/unloading a Whessoe gauge is used to provide temperature and volume information, supported by an MMC vapour lock. Immediately in front of the accommodation unit lie two 63m capacity slop tanks. These were designed to carry cargo if necessary. The ballast system is composed of 11 tanks, which total 2,200m. Two Transvac eductor-jets and Desmi ballast pumps have been fitted.

Propulsion

Propulsion is provided by a Ruston 8RK 270M main engine. This eight-cylinder in-line turbo-charged, four-stroke diesel unit is capable of delivering 2,300kW (3,083bhp) at 886rpm. It gives the vessel sufficient power to maintain a service speed of 12kt at 90% MCR. Fuel consumption is estimated to be around 9.6t of diesel per day. With a bunker capacity of around 180m, this gives the vessel a range of approximately 3,000nm. The two Cummins engine-driven alternator has an output of 600kW at 800rpm. A 600kW Stamford International shaft alternator has also been fitted. For a back-up power supply, there is an emergency generator that is capable of producing 95kW. The Thames Fisher has an Ulstein 3.5t thrust capacity bow thruster unit and a high lift rudder. It also has a 3,200mm diameter CP propeller, as well as the 600 AGSCKP main engine gearbox.

Automation and control

The cargo control system, accessed via the raised catwalk, houses the key cargo and ballast tank controls and pressure gauges. There are two 0.5t SWL hose handling davits fitted to handle the cargo hoses. All valves are opened and closed manually and there is no remote cargo handling control system on the bridge.
The bridge is well equipped with an array of navigational and communications aids including two Kelvin Hughes Nucleus anti-collision radar systems, one of which has an ARPA facility. GMDSS- standard communications are provided through a Marconi Salvor 6 unit.

source: http://www.ship-technology.com/

m/v Ken Wave

2011-10-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

Name: Ken Wave
Type: Bulk Carrier
Lenght: 189.99 m
Beam: 32.25 m
Draft: 12.69 m
Deadweight: 70,000 m.t.
GT: 31,759 g.t.
Engine: B&W 6S50MC-C
Power: 9,070 kW
Speed: 14.5 kn

Ken Wave is bulk carrier built in 2010 by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding with deadweight of 56,104 metric tons. The ship is having overall length of 189.99 meters and length between perpendiculars of 182.00 meters. The beam of the ship is 32.25 meters and the draft, when the ship is fully loaded can reach 12.69 meters. The bulk carrier Ken Wave is having gross tonnage of 31,759 gross tons and cargo capacity for more than 70,000 cubic meters, which is providing large profits for the owner. The bulk carrier was built in the Chiba Works Shipyard, which is one of the best Asian workplaces for building of large vessels. The builders installed quality and reliable engine Mitsui-MAN B&W 6S50MC-C , which is providing total power of 9,070 kW at 125 rpm . The main engine is quite high revolutions for ship engine, but

having low fuel consumption and giving pretty large service speed of 14.5 knots. The main engine is complies with all the requirements of MARPOL and IMO for low CO2 emissions and provide s high number of flexibility . The ship is designed to be from Handymax type and is part of the series of Mitsui , which are highly appreciated on the market and orders are flying to the shipbuilder. Ken Wave is made according to IACS Common Structural Rules designed with hull shape to de effective and fuel saving. The main engine is designed to have low fuel consumption and how lub oil consumption, based on high effective propulsive performance . The bulk carrier Ken Wave has 5 cargo hold and all of them are designed to be proper for different cargoes even heavy cargoes. The holds have high strength of the hatches for reliable carrying of cargoes through the oceans all over the world. The ship Ken Wave is very modern and has everything to give high profits for the ship-owner and ship-operator. The bulk carrier has large cargo capacity for the size and measurements. This is quite important for the years of financial crisis, when the whole maritime transport is one of the sectors, which were mostly hurt from the world business.

m/v Berge Ichiban

2011-10-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

Name: Berge Ichiban

   Type: Oil Tanker
   Lenght: 322.95 m
   Beam: 60.00 m
   Depth: 29.55 m
   Draft: 18.65 m
   Deadweight: 298,552 m.t.
   GT: 159,397 g.t.
   Year: 2000
   Speed: 16.0 kn
   Engine: B&W 7S80MC
   Power: 25,490  kW

Tanking about large sailing vehicles we should definitely notice Berge Ichiban. The oil tanker has overall length of 322.95 meters and beam of 60.00 meters. The depth of the board if 29.55 meters and the draft of the VLCC is 18.65 meters, while the ship is fully loaded. The deadweight of Berge Ichiban is 298,552 metric tons and the gross tonnage is 159,397 gross tons. The very large crude carrier has main engine MAN B&W 7S80MC (Mark VI) with total power of 25,490 kW at 79 rpm. The service speed of the ship is 16.00 knots, while the maximum one is 17.1 knots. Ships from the class of Berge Ichiban usually have lower speed and they are clumsier, but this crude oil carrier was designed with high speed with low fuel consumption. The cargo ship was built on February 2000 in the ship-yard Hitachi Zosen (now known as Universal Shipbuilding Corporation. The cargo ship was built for Bergesen D. Y. ASA, which is one of the largest ship-owners of the world. The ship is double hull cargo vessel created according to latest requirements of MARPOL73/78 and IMO. The ship is created with increased protection for marine pollutions, in case of grounding, accidents and collisions. The design, which was used from the Japan ship-builders was with creating ballast tanks in the double boards with ensured stability and increasing of meta-center height. This reducts the free water surfaces and heeling of the ship. The application of high quality steel plates is limited to only longitudinal for the upper deck and the double bottom to increase and improve the fatigue strength.

The main reason from building large ships is to be profitable. Of course sometimes requirements of the companies for high profits are same with requirements of IMO and ecological organizations for low fuel consumption, improved shape of the ships and low marine and air pollution. The cargo ship Berge Ichiban covers all these requirements, because the ship-designers created this vessel with energy-saving shape, which is improving the power of the main engine and decrease the water resistance. The ship-builders also installed enormous large bulb for crashing the waves and decrease overflow of the bow. Also the super steam dust installed before propeller is increasing the power given from the main engine to the ship. This increases the speed even in heavy seas. The special paint over the boards of Berge Ichiban is giving also good decrease of water resistance. The ship is operating between Europe and US in regular router through Atlantic Ocean.

m/v Arctic Voyager

2011-09-06T10:09:00.000-07:00

Name: Arctic Voyager
Lenght: 289.50 m
Beam: 48.40 m
Depth: 26.50 m
Draft: 11.90 m
Deadweight: 75,434 m.t.
GT: 118,571 g.t.
Capacity: 140,000 cub.m.
Engine: Kawasaki UA-400
Power: 27,000 kW
Speed: 19.3 kn

Arctic Voyager is really one of the most interesting, in engineer point of view, ships carrying Liquid Natural Gas, built last years. The vessel was ordered from Lloyds TSB Equipment Leasing and built by the famous ship-builder Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation according to requirements for the project “Norway Snowvit”. This feature of the LNG Carrier means that vessel is with boosted hull, which can sail in ice. The vessel was built according to latest developments of shipbuilding and designed to endure heavy seas and hard weather conditions. The overall length of Arctic Voyager is 289.50 meters, while the length between perpendiculars is 277.00 meters. The beam, of the vessel is 48.40 meters and the depth is 26.50 meters. The draft of Arctic Voyager, when the ship is fully loaded can read maximum value of 11.90 meters. These measurements are giving to the vessel deadweight of 75,434 metric tons, while the Gross Tonnage is 118,571 gross tons. The cargo tank capacity is over 140,000 cubic meters, which is large amount of cargo, which can be transported by this new and modern LNG Carrier. Arctic Voyager is really one of the most reliable ships, built ever. It is really hard to design and build vessel with large cargo capacity, reliable strength and ships’ stability. The main engine of the Arctic Voyager is Kawasaki UA-400 steam turbine, which is producing total power of 27,000 kW at 81 rpm. This power is enough for the vessel to operate, keep cargo in proper temperature and sail with service speed of 19.3 knots. The maximum speed of Arctic Voyager is over 20.7 knots. This high speed and reduced fuel consumption are making the vessel useful and very profitable for the ship-owner.

The ship Arctic Voyager is built according to latest requirements of IMO and we can tell that LNG Carrier is environmental, cheap and profitable. The new comfort class notation of COMF-V reduce the noise, vibration level and make life on sea better for the officers and seamen on board. The new system for ballast loading and replacement is installed on board. The high productivity rudder and new powerful bow thruster are used for easy maneuverability in ports, while berthing and unberthing. A forcible LNG vaporizer is installed on board to convert fuel gas. Really these improvements are made for easier and more environmental operation from officers. The ship Arctic Voyager is one of the best and most modern LNG Carriers built 2008.

m/v Simon Stevin

2011-09-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

Length Overall 191.5m

Breadth 40m

Draught 8.5m

Depth 13.2m

Length Between Perpendiculars 175m

Simon Stevin is a deepwater mining and fallpipe vessel that was delivered in early 2010. With a load capacity of 33,500t, she is considered to be the largest vessel of her kind in the world.

She is also the first purpose built fallpipe vessel. Nordnes is the second largest fallpipe vessel.

Ordered by Dredging and Maritime Management, a subsidiary of Jan De Nul Group, the vessel was built by Construcciones Navales del Norte (CNN).

The vessel was built as part of Jan De Nul's 2007-2011 investment programme worth €1.8bn.

The vessel will be mainly utilised in the offshore market to install oil and gas pipes at large depths. The ship started off operations with two rock dumping projects in Australia.

Simon Stevin design and features

"Simon Stevin is a deepwater mining and fallpipe vessel that was delivered in early 2010."

The basic design of the vessel was developed by Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam. The structural design was completed in cooperation with the builder CNN and the owner Jan De Nul. The hull was designed in close cooperation with Bureau Veritas (BV).

The vessel has the capacity to carry 33,500t of quarry rock in two large rock hoppers located on the main deck that can hold 20t/m2. The two hydraulic excavator cranes discharge the rocks into the fall pipe module. Weighing 2,000t, the fall pipe module was built in Antwerp, Belgium.

It is as large as an apartment complex consisting of 70 apartments spread over eight floors. The rocks can be discharged into the sea to a maximum water depth of 2,000m. Depending on period and direction, the vessel can operate in a wave height of 3.5 to 4.5m.

The fallpipe is tied beneath the vessel so the rocks can be placed with great accuracy and features an ROV (remotely operated vehicle) that accurately positions its lower end. A second ROV is used for surveying and other interventions.

The 191.5m long vessel features a helicopter landing platform. A total of 70 people can be accommodated onboard. The breadth of the vessel is 40m, draught is 8.5m and depth to main deck is 13.2m. The length between perpendiculars is 175m. The vessel also features a moon pool which is located between the two rock hoppers. The ship, when fully loaded, can cruise at a speed of 15.5kt.

Construction of the deepwater mining and fallpipe vessel

The order for the construction of the vessel was placed in 2007. The first steel was cut in December 2007 and the keel was laid in April 2008 in Sestao, Bilbao, Spain. She was launched in March 2009. Construction lasted 26 months and the ship was finally handed over to her owner in February 2010.

Propulsion, power and performance

Simon Stevin is a diesel-electric vessel fitted with two bow thrusters and four propulsion thrusters. It is powered by a series of five MAN Diesel 32/40 main engines.

Each engine can generate 4,500kW at 720rpm. The engines are manufactured by STX Engine Company, a Korean licensee of MAN Diesel.

"The vessel was built as part of Jan De Nul's 2007-2011 investment programme worth €1.8bn."

The MAN Diesel 32/40 four stroke engine runs on heavy fuel oil (HFO). Its design is optimised to achieve uninterrupted operation at loads down to 20% and to accept overloads of 10%. The engine is fitted with a jet-assist device that injects compressed air directly into the compressor wheels of the turbochargers to attain quick response to high and sharp load variations. The engine requires minimum maintenance and has low lube-oil consumption (0.5 to 0.8g/kWh). Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology incorporated in the engine helps to restrict NOx emission levels below the upper limits set by the IMO (International Maritime Organization).

The vessel is also equipped with an auxiliary diesel generator set and a 350kW emergency generator set.

source: http://www.ship-technology.com/

m/v CMA CGM Christophe Colomb

2011-09-01T12:05:00.000-07:00

Vessel Type Container Ship

Delivery November 2009

Christened July 2010

Speed 24.3kt

Classification BV CleanShip, Green Passport

Owners CMA CGM

Operator CMA CGM

CMA CGM Christophe Colomb is one of the largest container ships in the world. It is also the largest container ship ever to cruise under French flag. The ship was delivered to CMA CGM Group on 10 November 2009 in South Korea. It was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) at Geoje Shipyard in South Korea. The ship was christened by Christine Lagarde, Minister of Economic Affairs, Industry and Employment in July 2010 at Terminal de France, Le Havre.

Christophe Colomb is the first of the eight sister ships ordered by CMA CGM. The subsequent vessels in the series will be named after great explorers Marco Polo, Vasco de Gama, Amerigo Vespucci, Corte Real, La Perouse, Magellan and Zheng. The second ship, CMA CGM Amerigo Vespucci, was delivered in July 2010. In technical terms, these ships will be very similar to MSC Daniela Class ships.

As decided by the owner, the ship will be deployed on the FAL 5 (French Asia Line), which is operated in partnership with Maersk. On this line, CMA CGM will deploy its one vessel, while nine vessels will be deployed by Maersk. Through this decision, CMA CGM is expecting to optimise its new transport capacity and improve service quality.

Christophe Colomb design

With an overall length of 365.5m and beam of 51.2m, the ship is capable of holding 13,300TEUs of cargo and ten passengers. The designed gross tonnage of the ship is 153,022t, net tonnage is 81,900t and the deadweight has been kept at 157,092t. The length between perpendiculars, and depth of the ship, have been maintained at 349.5m and 29.9m, respectively.

"CMA CGM Christophe Colomb is one of the largest container ships in the world."

Ship construction

The ship has been built in compliance with the MARPOL 12A regulations which became effective from August 2010. The ship has been built with a steel double-hull to protect its fuel tanks located underneath the superstructure. In general, a container ship has its single superstructure established on the deck.

The superstructure of Christophe Colomb is, however, located in the front. This adjustment allows the ship to be better visible from the bridge and utilises maximum space. To further maximise the use of space, the engine room has been built close to the propeller. In order to minimise the environmental footprint of its activities, the ship has been fitted with numerous environmental technologies. In order to treat bilge, engine and grey water, the ship is equipped with additional tanks. These tanks are linked with connecting pipes to allow the extraction of hydrocarbons by injecting hot water.

The ship is also equipped with a Fast Oil Recovery System which is a new pollution prevention technique developed by JLMD. This system helps in rapid recovery of hydrocarbons without going through the hull.

Accommodation

Christophe Colomb is furnished with four double-bedded and one twin cabin to accommodate its ten passengers. The ship also has a dedicated passenger lounge, library and an outside terrace. There is also a swimming pool and gym to allow passengers to stay fit.

Christophe Colomb propulsion

The ship is installed with WARTSILA 14 RT-flex 96C diesel propelling engine. The electronic injection system of the engine allows the ship to reduce its bunker fuel consumption by 3% and oil consumption by 25%. " In order to minimise the footprint of its activities, the ship has been fitted with environmental technologies." The ship also has two 4,125kVA- 4,755HP and two 4,800kVA-5,435HP diesel generators. Christophe Colomb has got the distinction of being the first vessel of the CMA CGM Group to be equipped with a Pre-Swirl Stator and twisted leading edge rudder.

While this innovative rudder edge reduces energy consumption and CO2 emissions by optimising the water flow, the Pre-Swirl Stator helps in maximising propulsion efficiency by altering inflow angles to the propeller. Working together, both these devices are capable of cutting down fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 2% to 4% by optimising the overall hydrodynamics of the ship.

The ship can cruise at a top speed of 24.3kt but if required it can be operated at a super eco-speed of 14 to 15kt.

source: http://www.ship-technology.com/

m/v Disha

2011-08-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

Name: Disha
Type: LNG Carrier
Lenght: 277.00 m
Beam: 43.40 m
Depth: 26.00 m
Draft: 11.40 m
Deadweight: 81,097 m.t.
GT: 94,058 g.t.
NT: 28,217 n.t.
Capacity: 138,097 cub.m.
Engine: Kawasaki UA-306
Speed: 19.9 kn
Shipyard: Okpo Shipyard
Year: 2004

Definitely the LNG Carriers are among the most dangerous ships sailing around the seas. They are carrying compressed natural gas, which is flammable and easily exploding. The gas carriers are having large requirements for their machinery, their tanks and their support. The ship, which will be in our eyes today, is the LNG Carrier Disha. This vessel is one of the largest gas carriers built ever. The overall length of the ship is 277.00 meters, while the length between perpendiculars (important for ship maneuvering) is 266.00 meters. The moulded beam of the LNG Carrier Disha is 43.40 meters and the moulded depth of the ship is 26.00 meters. When the ship is fully loaded the draft can reach 11.40 meters. The ship has summer deadweight of 81,097 metric tons. The gross tonnage of Disha is 94,058 gross tons, and the net tonnage is 28,217 net tons.

You can imagine what is the size of the ship easily and will understand that the danger, which this vessel provides is high in every mile sailed. Disha is newly built gas carrier, property of India LNG Transport Company and operated by The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd. The LNG Carrier was built in 2004 by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering at their Okpo Shipyard. The quality of the vessel is proven because too much requirements should be followed by creating such large gas carrier. The ship Disha is double hull, which is required for all tankers built after 1994. The capacity for the tanks is for 138,097 cubic meters liquefied natural gas. The machinery of the vessel is really reliable and the main engine is a steam turbine from Kawasaki, type UA-306. The main engine provides to the propulsion system more than 68,400 h.p. The speed, which the ship can reach is 20.5 knots, while the service speed is 19.9 knots. The ship machinery is really from highest quality, to provide reliable work of the ship in any conditions. The main boilers are two, Mitsubishi MB-4B-NS, having maximal evaporation 63,000 kg/h. The turbo generator is Mitsubishi AT42CT-B with power of 3,450 kW. The diesel generator is STX 8L 32/40 with power of 3,664 kW. And finishing with the machinery should mention that the steering gear is created from YooWon Industries, with type YSFTX2-380-2. Really the ship Disha has impressive design and great machinery, which can made each voyage reliable and safety.

The vessel Disha is hired by Petronet LNG to import gas on the company terminal in India. The ship is making regular voyages between Petronet terminal and the port of Qatar - Dahej. The ship Disha registered in Malta and having IMO number 9250713 and call sign 9HSJ7. Really the ship has high capacity and the voyages are very profitable for the company. Together with the machinery, the crew should also be reliable, because of the source of the cargo carried. In all cases the liquefied natural gas carrier Disha describes the necessity of high quality ship-builder in ordering vessels for dangerous cargo.

m/v British Emerald

2011-08-24T05:51:00.000-07:00

Name: British Emerald
   Type: Gas Carrier
   Lenght: 288 m
   Beam: 44.2 m
   Draft: 26 m
   Speed: 20 kn

The largest vessel that is carrying LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) definitely is one of the most beautiful technical outfit built ever. It is part from the fleet of BP Shipping, but it was built is South Korea in the ship-yard of Hyundai Heavy Industries. This ship is the first from the series of diesel-electric gas vessels with dual-fuel (DFDE). It was planned for the ship-owner and will give a new movement into LNG carriers. The vessel is combining a economic and operational factors in some great correlation, which is making this vessel very important and very good for the ship-owner and even for the whole shipping industry. The power system is consisted by main engine, which is giving almost the whole power for the moving of this vessel. The innovations for the power systems are making this vessel unique. The power is well controlled by electric propulsion system, the system Ecobot and some other control systems. All this is building one engine that is giving enough electricity for the whole ship and for the tanks. The heart of the new DFDE is the Ecobot system, which is using LNG gas that evaporates from the tanks during the transportation, to fuel the main power engine. The main engine work pretty good with gas and heavy fuel oil, only depends from the situation. The new DFDE system is nearly 2-4% more expensive than the other older one, but it is with more than 10% more effective.

The vessel British Emerald is the largest ever built LNG Carrier. The ship can carry 155,000 cubic meters natural gas. Its measurements are 288m length and 44.2 m breadth. The depth of British Emerald is 26 m. The speed that the vessel use for crossing is 20 knots, and the maximum speed is about 23 knots.

How big are cruise ships

2011-08-24T05:39:00.000-07:00

m/v Faust

2011-08-24T05:34:00.000-07:00

Name: m/v Faust
Type: Car Carrier
Lenght: 228 m
Beam: 33 m
Draft: 11.5 m
Deadweight: 30,383 m.t.
GT: 71,583 m.t.
Capacity: 8,000 units
Year: 2007
Speed: 21 kn
Engine: MAN B&W 7S60

The largest Car Carrier in the world is named motor vessel Faust. The ship is one of the interesting engineer outfits. The vessel was built in 2007 in the ship-yard of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering DSME. The ship is sailing under the flag of Sweden and with its deadweight of 30,383 metric tons in maximum draft is the largest car carrier built ever. Well the number looks too low, but car carriers are designed to carry light cargoes, and their freeboards are too big. That is the main reason this one to have so little deadweight. But m/v Faust has not so little measurements. The Gross Tonnage of the vessel is 71,583 metric tons, with a length of 228 meters and a beam of 33 meters. The maximum draft of m/v Faust is 11.5 meters and the Air Draft of the vessel is 52 meters. The capacity of the ship is for nearly 8000 cars, but this large vessel is designed to carry not only cars, but also trucks.

The vessel Faust is very interesting ship, which is sailing over the all continents. The stern ramp has a width is 9.5 meters and a height of 6.5 me ters. The ramp has a capacity of 240 tones. The m/v Faust has 13 decks, 5 from which are hoistable. The whole capacity area is about 67,300 cubic meters. As I said the vessel can carry not only cars, but also trucks and busses. This is making the work of engineers harder, because the difference inthe weight of cars will make some lift or will make some twist of the construction. The maximum allowed trucks or busses to be carried are 468 and then will have place for nearly 3,484 cars. So large and difficult to be designed vessel needs from strong engine with a lot of power to move is quickly through the water. Vessels from Ro-Ro type, in which are also Car Carriers, needs a lot of speed. The vessel Faust got its speed from a main engine B&W 7S60MC-C. The maximum speed that the vessel reaches is 21 knots, and the crossing speed is about 19 knots.

The call sign of m/v Faust is SLKQ (Sierra Lima Kilo Quebec) and the IMO number is 9332925. The vessel is operated by the ship-owner Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics. The ship is very interesting in the engineer’s point of view. This is the main reason to present it to your attention and to explain the general data of it.