Marine Lover

Coral reef of Manokwari a nice snorkeling destination

2012-05-17T13:08:00.001+09:00

As a tour guide, I have accompanied a lot of tourists on various snorkeling trips in Dorey bay and the Northern Coast of Manokwari. Geographically, the regency is located within the coral triangle that extends from the Philipines to Indonesian archipelago. Last year, I accompanied 4 guests from Jakarta. They were the participants of Aci.Detik.Com - a program from one of the most popular news sites in Indonesia that sent 60 youths throughout the country for free to promote the tourism potentials of Indonesia. The Dorey bay attracted the attention of scientists in Europe after Alfred Russel Wallace conducted a research trip in 1858.
The hard coral reef of Dorey bay is the natural habitat of hundreds of species of marine animals including the striped surgeon fish, and parrot fish as well as scorpion fish.

The above underwater photographs created by Miss Audrey Jiwajennie show how diverse and how beautiful the corals are. I have been providing snorkeling tours to tourists since 2010 to raise awareness among city dwellers about the importance of coral reef to human life from the economic, and environmental perspectives. As the tropical rainforest of the ocean, coral reef is able to provide food and absorbs CO2 gases.

When Manokwari became the capital of the newly formed West Papua province by the Government of Indonesia, the population of the city is rising rapidly. This causes increasing pressures on coral reef. Fishing activities are rising as well as the drifting of plastic wastes from the city to the corals after rainy days. I hope that the introduction of ecotourism scheme to the coral reef areas in Manokwari will attract more attention from the local government to give more attention to the management of wastes.

If you are interested in snorkeling in Manokwari, please, contact me via e-mail: charlesroring@gmail.com.

Snorkeling in Manokwari

2012-05-07T03:39:00.001+09:00

Do you like snorkeling? Have you ever snorkeled in Manokwari? If not, then you should try it. This city is located in the bird's head region of New Guinea - the largest tropical island in the world. It is not difficult to go to Manokwari. First, you need to fly from your country to the capital of Indonesia which is Jakarta. If you don't like the huzzle and buzzle of the metropolitan city, you can check the airlines in your country whether they have flights to Bali or Manado (two tourist destinations in Indonesia). From this city, you can take a domestic flight served by Batavia Air, Express Air, Lion Air or Sriwijaya Air to Manokwari - the capital of West Papua province. This city stretches along the Dorey bay with the magnificent view of Arfak mountains in the south and three small tropical coral islands in the bay.

When I mention coral islands, you know that there must be coral reef thriving around these islands. To enjoy snorkeling, you need to bring your own snorkel, mask, and fins. Don't forget to also bring your underwater camera. As a snorkeling guide, I have guided beach lovers to enjoy snorkeling in various places of the Dorey bay where the coral reefs are still in pristine condition. When you descend yourself to the reef, you will see hundreds of species of marine animals and plants. When you are in the water, I and the boat driver will continue monitoring your movements to make sure that everything is OK. Sometimes, we will ask you to avoid swimming too close to the beach because big waves may push you to the hard corals.

In addition to the Doreh bay of Manokwari, another snorkeling location that is highly recommended to tourists is its north coast area also called Pantura. The best snorkeling time is between May and October. After that the waves here will be bigger and more suitable for wave surfing. Please, contact me at peace4wp@gmail.com, if you need me to guide you on several snorkeling trips in Manokwari.
Also read: Snorkeling in tropical island of Manem

Archicad 15 and its new boat object

2012-03-22T01:29:00.002+09:00

Archicad 15 as one of the best BIM software in the world has got new 3D boat objects in its Visualization library. Although this software is not considered as the recommended tool for designing boats, it is a powerful design software that is used by architects to design homes and buildings. With this boat object, Archicad shows its potential to be used in shipyards and ship design office. However, there are a number of things that the marine industry needs from a ship or boat design software. Some of them are the ability to design hull forms, and the ability to perform such calculations as hydrostatics, cross curves - intact and damage stability, bending moment and shear force, as well as resistance and propulsion.
I hope that there will be software developers who are interested in coding a number of plug-ins for the above ship and boat design features so that this powerful product from Graphisoft can also be used in marine industry.

The above motor boats that are presented in Archicad 15 environment clearly attracts the attention of naval architects to see the drawing tools which the Archicad has whether they can be used for designing boats or yacht and ships.
From my personal experience in using Archicad, I know that this BIM software can be used to design the interior of boats but it does not have tools for calculating the stability, propulsion and strength of ships. We will wait and see whether Graphisoft is interested in extending Archicad's capability for marine application. by Charles Roring

Marine Engines of Oasis of the Seas

2012-03-20T03:55:00.004+09:00

Each of the cruise ship Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas is powered by 3 x Wärtsilä 12V46D marine engines and 3 × Wärtsilä 16V46D engines. Three 20-MW ABB Azipod propellers are used to propel each ship. These are electric propellers that can be turned 360 degrees to provide high maneuverability to the ships in restricted waters. In addition to their excellent maneuverability, the use of Azipods allows naval architects and marine engineers to have more flexibility in choosing the installation locations of the marine engines with their the generator sets. Azipod propellers in the Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas have eliminated the need for such conventional propulsion system as main propulsion motors, long shaft-lines and bearings, and rudders.

Because of these eliminations, the spaces inside the ships' hull can be used for more payload. For engineers who worked in the shipyard, the use of electric propulsion system could save more installation hours. As the manufacturer of the Wärtsilä 46 engine, Wärtsilä says their marine engines are fully in compliant with IMO Tier II exhaust emission regulations set out in Annex VI of the MARPOL 73/78 convention. Marine engines that were mounted in vessels on or after January 1 2011 have to face the stricter regulation. Here is the graph that shows the IMO Tier II emission regulations that I got from the brochure of Yanmar Marine Diesel Engine product guide.

The six Wärtsilä 46 marine engines generate electrical power that is used to propel each of the cruise ships and to supply electricity for the operation of the floating hotels and all the systems of in vessels. by Charles Roring

Passenger Ship KM Dorolonda

2012-03-10T00:16:00.003+09:00

Traveling by ship is one of my favorite ways to explore new places and towns in Indonesia. My trip to Bali from Manokwari started on Christmas day 2011. I went to Surabaya by passenger ship KM. Dorolonda. After arriving in the city, I would continue my trip by car to Bali island where at Ketapang Port of East Java, I had to cross the Bali strait by a ferry boat to Gilimanuk. My destination at that time was Ubud - the center of art and culture of the Balinese people. This vessel is operated by PELNI - a state owned passenger lines in Indonesia. The vessel was constructed in Germany at Jos Meyer shipyard. Indonesia as the largest archipelago needs a lot of ferries to transport people and goods from one island to another. That's why PELNI lines have ordered tens of passenger ships and ferries from Meyer Werft.
Even though all of the PELNI passenger ships are not considered as luxurious cruise ships, they have been equipped with advanced navigational system and GPS tracking system.

In Indonesia, millions of people travel by ships because it is cheap. Most of the modern passenger ferries and cruise ships are powered by diesel engines. In the past, steam turbines were the preferred choice because they were relatively calmer than marine diesel engines that produce more vibrations. With more improvements in the design of marine internal combustion engines, they become smaller but can deliver higher power.
My personal reason for traveling by ships is more on my educational background. I studied Naval Architecture in Pattimura University of Ambon city. I always want to study the interior of ships that I travel with. So, I took the opportunity of going to Surabaya with KM Dorolonda by taking a lot of pictures of this vessel. I also made a lot of pictures of traditional wooden boats, container ships and pontoons that I saw at every port that KM Dorolonda made as her ports of call.

Although more Indonesian people now prefer to travel by airplanes, there are more people in the country who still choose ships and boats as their preferred mode of transportation. More often the capacity of the ships is too small to accommodate thousands of people who use them. For instance, when I was traveling by this KM Dorolonda, I saw hundreds of people staying for a few nights at the outer decks of the vessel. I was really concerned about this situation because of safety concerns. As a naval architect, I know that as long as the waterline does not exceed the plimsoll mark, the ship is still safe enough to cross the ocean. However, PELNI as the operator of tens of ferries that carry thousands of passengers - often in over capacity condition, must give more attention on providing life saving equipment in the passenger ships. In addtion, the addition of surveillance cameras and security personnel in the vessels are a must to ensure that frequent criminality incidents can be stopped in the ships. There are a lot of incidents in Indonesian passenger ships where passengers lost their belongings. Pickpocket is also a common criminal case that frequently occurs during the embarkation and de-embarkation of passengers in every port of Indonesia.
As a matter of fact, PELNI ships have got the potentials to be promoted as affordable transport vehicles for foreign tourists who want to travel around Indonesia in cheaper cost. This can only be realized if the ships are cleaned regularly and criminality during the sea voyage as well as during the loading and unloading of passengers at ports have been eliminated. by Charles Roring

Balinese House in Watercolor painting

2012-02-23T10:27:00.002+09:00

This is not a 3D rendering of a house model in Archicad and Revit or other BIM softwares. This is a painting of an outdoor view from a veranda of a Balinese house in Ubud town that I painted in watercolor. Watercolor is one of the most difficult painting medias yet it was frequently used by architects to visualize their design concept to clients. Today there are a number of BIM softwares that can render a 3D model that look real.

The use of watercolor as a manual rendering tool is decreasing with the development of more sophisticated BIM software that can visualize design ideas in 3D and render them in more realistic views. However, the use of drawing pencils and watercolor painting are still being used by some designers due to their flexibility and ease of use particularly on models that have unique forms and complicated 3D curves that cannot easily be drawn in CAD software. Such curved models include wooden statues, carvings or relief on the legs of chairs and pillars of houses, or hull form of a ship. Although most of the BIM softwares can be used to create models in 3D environments, only CAD software with NURBS features that can visualize such complicated curved forms easily. For architectural design, the most recommended software is Google Sketch. Google has provided the free version of the software that can be downloaded from the official website of sketchup. In addition to the free edition, the Google Sketchup Pro 8 which can be obtained for 495 US dollars has got more features that designers and architects can use to model their design concepts in 3D environment. In version 8, Google introduced solid tools that greatly enhance Sketchup as a powerful BIM software. Google Sketchup can be used by naval architects to model ships and boats in 3D if special plugins such as the bezier lines are installed into the software. by Charles Roring

Cruise Ship Costa Concordia Defueling Process

2012-02-18T22:38:00.003+09:00

The defueling of cruise ship Costa Concordia is being carried out at the moment. Around 2,380 tonnes of fuel were still inside the fuel tanks of the cruise ship when the accident occurred. Fuel has to be pumped out of the sunken ship to minimize possible marine pollution that may happen anytime. The ship capsized on 13 January 2012 after running aground a rock close to Giglio island of Italy. The removal of fuel from the sunken capsized cruise ship is being done by Neri/Smith salvage team. If the weather is good, it can be completed in March.

Even though the official report about the real cause of the accident has not been released. Experts say that it was caused by human error. The ship had deviated from her usual route when she hit a rock near the island of Giglio. Many lifeboats and life rafts could not be launched because the cruise ship capsized so fast. This accident has raised concerns among naval architects and marine engineers whether the current IMO or SOLAS regulations are safe enough or should be reviewed for further improvements.
The Costa Concordia accident reminds us to similar accident that happened nearly 100 years ago to passenger liner RMS Titanic that sank after hitting an iceberg. Following the Titanic accident that took more than 1500 lives, the first SOLAS convention was introduced in 1914. Today the amended version of SOLAS 1974 that is used by ship designers, builders and operators regarding the safety of life at sea.
All efforts have been done to ensure that all ships are built in accordance to rules and regulations from classification societies and IMO. The Costa Concordia incident should be reviewed from all aspects of the operation of ship. Even though the rules have been considered safe and adequate for the operation of ships, the factor of human error must not be ignored.
We still don't know what the Costa Cruises are going to do with the ship once the fuel oil has been pumped off from tanks of the Costa Concordia. by Charles Roring

Yacht Design in 3D View Modelling

2012-02-14T02:18:00.001+09:00

Sailing yacht is a boat that is propelled by wind and to certain extend by a small diesel engine. Today, ship and boat design software can be used to visualize the hull form of a yacht in 3D view. Ship designers or naval architects can use the available hull forms and modify them according to the principal dimension of the new hull which they want to design or create a new hull from scratch. Please check the official website of proteusengineering.com to get download the demo version of the software.
In fastship software, the visualization of the hull of yacht initially is given in half-breadth view. It can be confusing for the customer who has ordered the design. First time user of Fastship can easily present a complete hull form of the yacht by pressing Reflected Image button in the toolbars to show both sides of the hull form.

To see the effect of the reflected image, we can rotate the hull of the sailing yacht by pressing the spin button and then with the computer mouse we bring the cursor to the hull and begin dragging it to left or right and up or down. Now, look at the above picture of the yacht that I have rotated to the left. The main deck covers the whole top area of the hull. Sailing yacht has got a long vertical keel or fin to balance the wind force on the sails and mast of the yacht. by Charles Roring
Also read:

Gun Boat Surface Visibility Viewing Options in Fastship Software

2012-02-11T03:35:00.009+09:00

Today I am not going to discuss reviews about cruise ship such as the Oasis of the Seas or the Allure of the Seas. I will talk about ship or boat design from the perspective of a naval architect. In this post, I want to explain a little bit about Surface Visibility Viewing Options in Fastship. Fastship is a ship design software for naval architects. In naval architecture, the software that are usually used for designing ships are Maxsurf, Delfship, Autoship, Orca, and Fastship. For home design or BIM architecture, such softwares as Revit Architecture, Archicad and Sketchup are the most common tools. I wrote some articles about Archicad in this blog. If you are looking for tutorials on the use of Archicad, please, check the old archives of this blog.
Fastship - as ship modelling tool has been developed by Proteus Engineering. If you have never heard about it, you can go to proteusengineering.com and download its demo version software to see how it works. When a ship has been designed from NURBS curves and surfaces, her whole drawings can be presented on the computer screen using several surface visibility option toolbars such as perimeter, sections, intersections, mesh, solid, and lights.
By pressing each toolbar, we can see the appearance of the fast patrol boat on the computer screen.
The first toolbar that I pressed is the Mesh one. When the Mesh is activated, the hull of the boat is presented in isoparametric lines that have been computed directly from the control points (Net).

As you can see on the above image, the hull of the boat is shown on the profile plan where only the curves or contour of her buttock lines are visible. Her waterlines and sections can only be seen as grids.

Then I go further by pressing the Solid and Lights viewing options located on the toolbars of the Fastship software. Now the gun boat design looks more 3 dimensional if the toolbar button of solid and lights are pressed as shown on the following picture of the hull design.
Gun boat is a type of fast patrol boat that is used by maritime countries to protect their waters against pirates, smugglers or foreign fishing vessels. To achieve high speed, the hull has smaller block coefficient and knuckle lines. In modern warfare, sometimes fast patrol boat is not only equipped with guns but also torpedoes. Another software that is good for designing hull, superstructure and appendages of ships and boats are delftship.
Propulsion unit
Today, most gun boat and fast patrol boat are powered by at least 2 marine diesel engines with 2 small diameter propellers to boost the speed of the boat of up to 30 knots. Marine engines are small and reliable in all operational condition of the boats. In certain designs of naval vessels, the exhaust pipes are installed on both sides of hull plating below the water line to avoid the heat of the exhaust gases from being detected by heat seeking missiles. Special valves are installed on the hull plating of the boats to prevent sea water from entering the exhaust pipe to the marine engines.
Piping Materials
Naval vessels use high quality pipes to save weight. While in most merchant ships the pipes are made of steel, the piping system in fast patrol boat uses CuNiAl pipes that are more resistant to corrosion and are light.
Hull Materials
To achieve high speed, gun boats and fast patrol boats (FPB) have to be constructed from light materials such as light steel, aluminum, fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) and plywood. The use of carbon fiber is also being considered even though the cost of such material is quite expensive. Most often when the hull is made of steel, the superstructure will be constructed from aluminum to keep the center gravity (VCG) in lower position.
Also read: Fastship and Delftship for Naval Architects

Oasis of the Seas Destinations

2012-01-22T01:10:00.006+09:00

Oasis of the Seas as one of the largest cruise ships in the world sails around the Caribbean islands on 2 different routes, i.e. Eastern and Western Caribbean islands. Also as the premiere ship in marine tourism industry, the cruise vessel can accommodate 6,296 (guests) who are served by 2,165 crews.

The destinations for Eastern Caribbean are the ports of call of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Nassau, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
For the Western Caribbean, the ports of call will be Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Labadee, Haiti; Falmouth, Jamaica; Cozumel, Mexico; Fort Lauderdale, Florida

One of the port of calls for Oasis of the Seas is Nassau. Nassau as the capital of the commonwealth of the Bahamas is a popular travel destination for American holiday makers due to its very close location with the United States (less than 300 km from Miami, Florida). The government of the Bahamas had to spend more than 30 million dollars to do the dredging of the seabed around the pier, and improve the facilities in the harbor where the ship would dock. Song of Norway - the first cruise ship in Royal Caribbean International's fleet also made Nassau as her first port of call. More than 60 percent of the the Bahamas GDP come from tourism. Since tourism is the lifeblood of the Bahamas such investment to safely accommodate the Oasis of the Seas is worth it. Here cruisers can enjoy shows and entertainment as well as tours around the city.
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas is a nice port for those who want to enjoy swimming along beautiful white sandy beaches, or master the art of bargain at hundreds of duty free shops along the main street of Charlotte Amalie or in the Havensight Mall.
MV Oasis of the Seas are equipped with advanced navigational technology to guide her around the Caribbean seas. With such technology, we hope that the crews of the cruise ship will be able to perform their duties without experiencing any troubles both at sea and at ports. The Costa Concordia accident in Giglio island of Italy was most likely caused by human error. It is an expensive lesson for all of the cruise ship operators. Crews of cruise and passenger ships need to handle their vessels with care so that the capsizing of Costa Condordia would not repeated again - now and in the future.
Marine Engines that power the cruise ships
Both Allure of the Seas and the Oasis of the Seas are powered by Wärtsilä V46 marine diesel engines. They are not directly coupled to the shafts of the propellers. These marine engines generate mechanical power that is converted into electrical power. The electrical power is used to run the propeller and to provide electricity for the lighting and air conditioning, as well as other electronic devices of the world's largest floating hotels. The diesel electric power plant scheme is more suitable for passenger ships and cruise ships because it improves the maneuverability performance of the vessels. In addition, the diesel electric marine engine installations save more spaces at the stern of the ship due to the elimination of shaft tunnels that run across several compartments in conventional marine propulsion design of merchant ships. Charles Roring

Cruise ships with all inclusive vacation packages

2012-01-19T18:22:00.008+09:00

Holiday makers often ask if there are all inclusive vacation packages offered by big cruise ships in the tourism market today. Honestly, I have never heard about the availability of such all inclusive packages from big cruise ships, except for some small and very specialized tours from luxurious super-yachts, because the prices will be so expensive. Every port of call that a cruise ship visits has a wide range of places to go and things to see. Most cruise ships do not include them in their cruise pricing. Usually the price of the ticket which a holiday maker pays for a cruise tour only includes shipboard accommodation, ocean transportation, most meals, some beverages, most on-board entertainment, transfer and sightseeing. Personal expenses during shore and land excursions are not included in the cruise pricing.
Trying to provide all inclusive vacation packages in large cruise liners such as the Oasis of the Seas, the Allure of the Seas or the Carnival Miracle and the Carnival Pride, will make the ticket prices to become very expensive for the holiday makers. In other words, the expensive all inclusive vacation tours will discourage people from traveling by cruise ships.

Land vacation service providers such as beach or island resorts or land excursion tour agencies can provide the all inclusive vacation packages within certain planned itineraries which they have prepared and carefully calculated the cost and profit. But these resorts will not provide excursions off their premises for free either.
Free facilities
Although most of the cruise ships do not provide all inclusive tour packages, they have a lot of on board facilities and activities (most of them are free) which passengers can enjoy while sailing with them. For example, the swimming pool, jogging track, central park (in Oasis of the Seas), lots of comfortable chairs on which to read or enjoy sunbathing. Those who like sport can try playing table tennis and going to the fitness center.
What cruisers have to pay
Massage service and spa are also available at massage rooms usually near steam sauna and salon at upper deck. Cruisers must know that massage service, beauty salon and barbershop, shore excursion and other items of personal nature are not included in the cruise rate. At nights passengers of Carnival cruise liners can watch music and dance performances at the main show lounges of the ships.
Carnival cruise lines even have developed Youth Programs that have been categorized into three main groups, i.e. Carnival Camp (for children ages 2-5, 6-8, and 9-11) where toys, arts and crafts are part of their main activities ; Circle C for young teens (ages 12-14) who prefer sports, and latest video games, and Club 02 for teens (ages 15-17) who like video games, dance and non-alcoholic drinks. These Youth Programs are supervised by staff with college degrees in related fields and have professional experience in caring children.
Most Appealing Destinations to Cruise
Today the most popular tour destination is the Caribbean islands, Alaska and the Bahamas. As the standard of living of people in Asian countries is getting better, China and Bali island of Indonesia are increasingly popular for holiday makers. In the next ten years, more families in China, Hongkong, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and Indonesia will buy cruise packages for tours in Asia and the Caribbean. Cruise ship operators in Europe and the Caribbean islands have to begin opening their businesses in Asia if they want to be part of the growing market. by Charles Roring

Cruise Ship the Legend of the Seas visits Port of Benoa Bali

2012-01-17T17:43:00.011+09:00

This afternoon I watched a news on MNC TV which says that the Legend of the Seas had just arrived at Port Benoa of Bali island. Bali as one of the destinations in Indonesia is usually served by cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas. It is interesting to see that another cruise vessel, i.e. the Legend of the Seas operated by the Royal Caribbean International (RCI) visits Bali - famously called the island of the gods. The RCI has got 22 ships in its fleet - categorized in 6 classes including Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas - two largest cruise ships in the world sailing the Caribbean seas.

Bali is the most popular tourist hub in Indonesia. In 2010, around 2.5 million international tourists from around the world came to Bali. The number of travelers going to Bali is increasing significantly after the launch of Eat, Pray, Love (EPL) - a novel written by Elizabeth Gilbert in 2006 and later in the form of film in 2010 with the same title starred by Julia Roberts. The novel and the film depict Gilbert's spiritual or personal journey for self discovery in Ubud - a small town in Bali which has been the center of art and culture.
The recent cruise ship accident in Italy where cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground a reef near the island of Giglio, nearly 100 years after the sinking of Titanic, has not discouraged holiday makers from traveling by marine vessels. Titanic hit an iceberg in the Atlantic ocean whereas the Costa Concordia hit a rock in the Mediterranean sea. These marine accidents have raised questions to how safe cruise vessels should be designed and constructed and whether the current IMO or SOLAS regulations need more improvements to avoid similar accidents in the future.
With improved security condition in Bali and other tour destinations in Indonesia, the government have optimistically increase their target to 8.5 million foreign tourists in 2012. The arrival of the Legend of the Seas in Bali has been regarded as a positive development to marine tourism industry in Indonesia.
Raja Ampat and Manokwari - two other potential destinations for cruise ships
All of the cruise liners that sail the Indonesian waters have not put Raja Ampat islands, the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia in 2011, in their itinerary because the regency has not developed adequate infrastructure for them. Raja Ampat has been claimed by international marine biologists as the global epicenter for marine biodiversity. Raja Ampat islands are home to more than 1600 fish species and three-fourths of the world's known corals. The nearby mountain range of Arfak in Manokwari regency is a world class hiking destination for travelers who want to watch birds of paradise, cuscus and blyth's hornbills. The Doreri bay of Manokwari is the best destination for shipwreck diving in Indonesia. by Charles Roring
Related articles:

Where is Bali?
Cruise ships Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas

Cruise ship stability concerns after Costa Concordia accident

2012-01-17T04:05:00.008+09:00

The recent cruise ship accident in Italy where Costa Concordia ran aground a reef raises concerns among vacationers whether it is safe to travel by a cruise ship or not. The Costa Concordia deviated too far from her usual route and hit the reef of the island of Giglio. Shortly after running aground the rock, her hull suffered from severe damage that allowed massive amount of sea water to enter the ship. She capsized rapidly forcing the passengers and the crews of the cruise ship to abandon her for safety. Until now the rescue works are still going on to search for the survivors trapped inside the sunken hull and superstructure of the ship.

Costa Concordia was an Italian style cruise liner sailing the West Mediterranean Sea usually on a 7 night cruise visiting ports of Civitavecchia, Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma De Mallorca, Cagliari, and Pallermo.
Cruise ship and passenger ship have been designed by naval architects to have positive stability with the metacentric point (M) is above the center of gravity (G). If the point of metacenter is at the same height or below the center of gravity, the ship is said to be in neutral or negative stability. Naval architects who design ships know this initial stability criteria. They will always design ships including the cruise ship Costa Concordia and Oasis of the Seas with positive metacentric height even when they sail with full passengers on board and through rough seas.
Watertight bulkheads
The case will be different when the hull plating of a cruise ship suffers from severe structural damages that cause all or significant percentage of her watertight enclosures or compartments to loose their ability to keep the vessel remain afloat in upright position. Watertight enclosures or bulkheads have been constructed in merchant ships to protect them from drowning. When one of the compartments of a ship is flooded with water, crews will shut the hydraulic doors that connect the compartment with other watertight enclosures to prevent water from flowing into the whole area of ship's hull thus preventing the ship from sinking.
Balancing technique
It is also possible to flood one or more compartments of a damaged cruise ship to restore her to upright position when huge amount of seawater entering a certain proportion of the ship's hull and threatens to capsize her. For example, if a ship collides with a rock at her hull causing sea water to enter the front compartment, another compartment at the stern area of the ship can also be flooded with water to balance her position.
Advanced Navigational Equipment
Today, modern cruise ships such as Costa Concordia from the Italian cruise line company - Costa Cruise, the Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas - operated by Royal Caribbean International, have been equipped with advanced navigational equipment that are guided by satellites and radars. The captain of Costa Concordia cruise liner and her crews have more than enough technology to sail their vessel safely even through uncharted waters.
Judging from the nature of the accident where Costa Concordia deviated too far from her usual route in calm weather, the most possible causal factors of this accident would be the failure of the navigational instruments at the bridge of the ship or the mistakes done by the captain and the other crews of the ship - or both. by Charles Roring
related articles: Stability of cruise ship; Cruise Ship and Passenger Ship

Cruise ships The Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas

2012-01-07T19:46:00.004+09:00

Two cruise ships, the Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas, are operated and owned by the Royal Caribbean International. Both of them are now holding world record as the largest cuise ships in the world. However, according to shipgaz magazine on No. 6 December 10, 2010 edition, the Allure of the Seas is 5 centimeters longer than her sister. The LOA (Length Overall) of the ships is 361 meters. If we compare these modern cruise ships to Titanic - the most famous Trans-Atlantic passenger ship, her LOA was only 269 meters. Cruise ship Allure of the Seas is served by 2,384 crews whereas the Oasis of the Seas by 2,394 crews.

For February 2012, Allure of the Seas offers a 3 night trip to the Bahamas with rates starting from 499 US dollars for interior staterooms to 999 USD for suite/deluxe rooms. She will bring her guests to CocoCay, a private island in the Bahamas that belongs to Royal Caribbean International where they can enjoy swimming, sunbathing and snorkeling. Another interesting attraction of the Bahamas itinerary is feeding the stingray at Blackbeard Cay. Both the Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas sail the Caribbean seas.
Lovers of coffee based bavarages can now enjoy coffee latte served by trained baristas from the first floating Starbucks cafe on boad cruise ship M.S. the Allure of the Seas on her Royal Promenade deck. The pricing for the coffees will be similar to the ones which customers usually pay at on land Starbucks.
Evironmentalists have expressed their concerns on the impacts which giant cruise ships cause to marine environments particulary on the coral reefs that thrive at or near the ports in the Caribbean islands where the ships regularly visit.
Costa Concordia accident and possible cause of her rapid capsize in shallow water
In addition, the recent Costa Concordia accident in Italy has raised concerns about the need to limit the number of passengers a cruise ship can carry. Costa Concordia ran aground a reef in well charted waters of Giglio island and capsized quickly. Shallow water around the reef might be the main cause for her rapid capsize. A ship that runs a ground a reef or sand will sit on it with shallow water around. This will make her loose significant hydrostatic pressure on much of the surface of her hull. When the weight of the ship that is concentrated on her center of gravity cannot be balanced by the hydrostatic pressure that is concentrated in her Center of Buoyancy, she will capsize easily. The center of buoyancy of the ship will move lower to the keel area where the hull was now supported by the reef creating a couple force with the weight of the ship that turn her into the sea. This accident reminds people about a tragic accident of the sinking of ocean liner RMS (Royal Mail Steamer) Titanic in the Atlantic ocean in April 1912. The accident claimed more than 1,500 lives.
Such accident where ships run a ground or run over a reef is not a new thing in maritime history. Naval architects who design ships have calculated the hydrostatic and stability properties of the marine vessels to make sure that they are safe and stable before they are constructed. Ships are designed to float in upright position on the water and not on a very shallow water on a reef. So, the possible causes of the accident might be some failure in navigational instruments or devices or human error. by Charles Roring

Oasis of the Seas Pricing for Budget Traveler in February 2012

2012-01-05T22:44:00.008+09:00

Oasis of the Seas cruise ship provides 7 night tour to Western Caribbean region to marine lovers. By paying 965 US dollars, travelers can begin cruising the Caribbean islands on Saturdays 4 or 18 February 2012. The accommodation for this price is the Interior staterooms that have two beds, television and a couch with a small table and a desk.

According to the official website of the Royal Caribbean International which I have just read today, the above price includes the shipboard accommodation, ocean transportation, most of the meals, some bavarages and most onboard entertainment.
Oasis of the Seas leaves her port of call in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 5.00 p.m for Labadee in Haiti. She will arrive in the morning at 8.00 a.m. on the third day. Oasis of the Seas docks at Labadee until 7.00 p.m. when she leaves the port for Falmouth of Jamaica. Then she sails to Cozumel of Mexico and arrives on Day 6. She will return to Fort Lauderdale again on Day 8.
Cozumel is a small tropical island in the eastern coast of Mexico. It is a famous destination for scuba divers who want to see the beauty of the coral reef or explore the San Miguel town. There are hundreds of restaurants in the island offering delicious seafood and other Mexican food to tourists. Jewelry, t-shirts and other handicrafts are offered by various duty-free shops at the port.

As the largest cruise ship in the world, Oasis of the Seas cruise ship is devided into 7 distint onboard areas. One of them is the Central Park. This public space is a nice place for travelers who want to enjoy the fresh air of sea while walking through a garden that has been planted with tropical plants and trees. Travelers can enjoy massage and other body treatments at Vitality at Sea - SPA and Fitness Center. Try bamboo massage or Thai herbs massage to relax your body and mind. There is also Elemis whose methods of treatments are based on the science of aromatheraphy. After receiving the whole treatment in the SPA, travelers can enjoy healthy food and drinks at the Vitality Spa Cafe of the cruise ship.
In addition to pricing for budget travelers, Oasis of the Seas also offers her suites on standard rates from 4,115 US dollars. With this price, travelers will get two twin beds (which can be converted to Queen), private bathroom with tub and a spacious sitting room with table and sofa.
Along the journey to the Western Caribbean islands, travelers can enjoy shore and land excursions on separate prices such as sightseeing and city tour in Labadee or adventure tour in Falmouth of Jamaica. For further information about Oasis of the Seas pricing, please, visit the official website of RoyalCaribbean International.

New Cruise Ship Terminal in Bali

2012-01-03T12:12:00.002+09:00

Bali, the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia, will be able to receive large cruise ships in the near future when the construction of a new Tanah Ampo cruise terminal is completed. The cruise ship terminal is located in Karang Asem regency in the east of Bali. According to the plan from port operator Pelindo III and local government - as mentioned in the Jakarta Post daily newspaper, the warf of the terminal will be extended to between 300 and 500 meters in length. With such length, Tanah Ampo cruise terminal will be able to accommodate even the world's largest cruise ship, "the oasis of the seas" whose length is 361 meters. Unfortunately, Oasis of the Seas does not have itinerary to Bali island. Tanah Ampo is not far from the beautiful resort town, Candidasa. When cruise ships approach the shore, passengers will be able to see the magnificent view of Gunung Agung, still an active volcanoe that is covered with tropical rainforest.
In addition to Tanah Ampo cruise terminal, another port which has been the port of call for cruise ships in Bali is Benoa. Upon the completion of Tanah Ampo, Port of Benoa will focus its services on cargo ships.
As the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia, Bali received 2.57 million foreign tourists in 2010. The number of visitors going to Bali is rising significantly immediately after the launching of Eat, Pray, Love (EPL) movie which starred Julia Roberts depicting Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir in her spiritual and love pilgrim in Italy, India and finally in Ubud town of Bali island. by Charles Roring

Ganesha Bookshop in Ubud town of Bali

2012-01-02T19:44:00.001+09:00

On my first day arriving in Ubud town of Bali island, the first place that I visited was Ganesha bookstore. It was located on the corner of Tjokorda Putra street and Jembawan street. This small bookstore has a good collection of books about Bali and Indonesia. When I explored every shelf of the bookshop, I found some interesting titles such as the Ecology of New Guinea Volume 1 and 2, and Diving Indonesia's Bird's Head Seascape.

Unfortunately, when I asked one of the staffs of the bookshop whether she has "Birds of New Guinea," she said that she didn't have it. There are some Japanese and European tourists in the Ganesha bookshop. Most of them were interested in books about Bali that are written in English language.
Besides selling books, Ganesha bookshop also sells postcards, and maps. All of us know that every trade has its tools. Since I also work as a tourist guide in West Papua, I really need a good map to show the locations of places both in the mountains and coastal areas in Manokwari regency to tourists who want to go hiking, camping and birdwatching, snorkeling. I bought a tourist map for West Papua for Rp. 95,000.
Ubud is a small town which has been a culture center for Balinese people for hundreds of years. I really enjoy traveling around Ubud and I will miss this town so much when I have to leave it. by Charles Roring
Also read: Oil Painting Gallery in Ubud

Watching Monkey in Ubud Forest of Bali island

2012-01-01T23:22:00.002+09:00

Bali is the most popular travel destination in Indonesia. It is located between Java and Lombok islands. One of the most favorite tourist attractions in this tropical island is the monkey forest in Padangtegal village of Ubud. Here, you can see hundreds of monkeys (macaca fascicularis) sitting in the trees or walking on the pathways. If you go there, don't bring a big bag filled with food with you while walking through the jungle. Monkeys may chase you and jump to grab the bag particularly when you walk alone. There are a lot of villas, hotels and homestay rooms in Ubud. So, you can easily find a room for you to stay when you go to Bali - the island of the gods.

Besides visiting the monkey forest, you can also see paintings, carvings, or enjoy spa and massage services provided by various galleries and resorts in Ubud. The number of tourists going to Bali has risen significantly after the release of Eat, Pray, Love (EPL) film starred by Julia Roberts in August 2010. by Charles Roring
Also read:

Old and New Year Night 2012 Celebration in Kuta and Jimbaran Bali

2012-01-01T01:15:00.002+09:00

Several hours before the Old 2011 and New Year Night 2012, Kuta beach was crowded with domestic and international tourists. Most of them would celebrate New Year by watching fireworks, eating and drinking with friends along the beach or dancing on the streets while listening to disco music. Beach hotels in Kuta provide live music concerts to their guests. Kuta beach is located in the south west of Bali. It has been a must see destination for beach goers who want to enjoy sunbathing, swimming, wave surfing and watching sunset.

After spending one hour in Kuta beach, we continued our trip to Jimbaran for dinner. While waiting for the grilled fish, and squid, I walked around to take the night landscape pictures of Bali. I used Nikon Coolpix P500 to shoot the landscapes of Kuta beach and the Ngurah Rai airport. I had to try several settings of the camera to find the best one for night shooting. Finally, I knew that the "aperture priority auto" as the best setting for the camera to shoot the beautiful night landscape of Jimbaran, Kuta beach and the airport areas. There were not many people eating in Jimbaran area during the old and new year night 2012 celebration. That's why we could enjoy the delicious sea food dinner that was served at around 7.30 p.m. While I am writing this short article inside a bungalow in Ubud, the sounds of fireworks are exploding in the air. Ubud is the town where a novel portrayed Elizabeth Gilbert personal life and movie Eat Pray and Love which starred Julia Robert were written and filmed. The computer clock on the bottom right corner of this laptop indicates that it is 23.58 Bali time. From the bottom of my heart, I wish you Merry Christmas 25 Dec 2011 and Happy New Year 1 January 2012. A healthy and beautiful life are waiting for you in the coming days. by Charles Roring
Also read: Where is Bali?

Air Asia Promotion in Ubud Bali

2011-12-30T18:54:00.001+09:00

Air Asia has just launched a unique promotional campaign in Ubud, a small tourist town in Bali island. Every year millions of travelers visit the island of the gods. Most of them go by airplanes. In order to attract more customers, Air Asia hire several cyclists to ride their bicycles around the town. There is a small carriage attached at the back of each bicycle with red banner from Air Asia. "We give you the world - Fly thru from Bali to Tokyo, China, Taipei, Osaka, and Korea." This ads campaign can easily attract the attention of pedestrians on the streets of Ubud. Located in the north of Denpasar, Ubud became the destination for artists, dancers, musicians and Hindu priests, and the royality from Java when the Kingdom of Majapahit collapsed in 1400s. The arrival of these people triggered the rapid development of the Balinese society in all sectors of their life. Ubud now is famous for its village life, Balinese culture and art life that bring tourists closer to nature. Every cyclist wears Air Asia t-shirt and red hat. Bali is the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia. The competition among the airlines is tougher than ever before.

I like this advertisement campaign because it also promotes cycling lifestyle. When I saw three cyclists with the Air Asia banners, I stopped for a while to take some pictures of them. The way Air Asia promotes its services to tourists is excellent. I believe that more travelers will fly by Air Asia after seeing the ads. People in Ubud and other tourist hubs in Bali need more environmentally friendly vehicles to reduce street congestions which have now become daily scenes in Bali. by Charles Roring
Also read:
Flying to Manokwari
Plan your next trip to Surabaya city

The Magnificent View of Gunung Botak in District Ransiki of Manokwari

2011-12-12T12:18:00.001+09:00

Two days ago, I went to Gunung Botak (meaning Mount Bald) with a German tourist, Gertraud. It took around 1.5 hours by ojek (motor cycle taxi) from Ransiki to the mountain. It was my second trip to the mountain. The first time was when I went cycling from Bintuni to Manokwari together with some mountain bikers. We spent one night near the mountain before continuing our mountain bike tour to Manokwari. During my trip with Mrs. Gertraud, along the way, we saw dense tropical rainforest, vegetable gardens and cacao plantation. Gunung Botak is located in the south of Manokwari. Tourists who go to Ransiki always want to see the mountain because it has got a very beautiful scenery. There are no rainforest in the Botak mountain. Trees cannot go on the hills of the Gunung Botak because its soil is hard and lack of nutrients to support the growth of large trees. Only its coastal area that is covered with trees.

There are some fishing villages at the foot of the mountain. Traditional fishermen and children like to go to the sea with their outrigger canoes to catch fish. The seabed in the waters around Gunung Botak is covered with pristine coral reef. The coral reef is the tropical rainforest of the ocean. That's why this marine environment is the habitat of thousands of species of marine animals and plants.
While I was taking pictures of the surrounding scenery, I saw some Papuan boys and children walking along the road back to their village carrying some fish.

The sea has been the source of food for them. There are not many tourists visiting Gunung Botak. I hope that one day, I can return to this Gunung Botak to see its beautiful scenery and friendly Papuan people again. by Charles Roring

Tropical house Ventilation and Air Filter System

2011-12-04T22:26:00.001+09:00

How should the ventilation system be installed in a tropical house?
Jalousie Ventilation
In tropical region, the average temperature is usually higher than in sub-tropical region. However, the humidity of the air is high. A tropical house has to have enough ventilation holes to let air flow smoothly into and out of the rooms of the house. The cheapest ventilation system that can be installed or made in a tropical house is the jalousie windows which ensure the passive coolings of the house. Jalousie is the most efficient ventilation system but it has to be covered with mosquito net to prevent mosquitoes from entering the house particularly the bedrooms.

Natural Air Filter
If the house is located near a busy street, the air around the area will be mixed with smoke and dust. Smoke contain toxic gases. If possible, the ventilation holes should not be constructed facing the street. The jalousie windows can be made on both sides of the house. However, such arrangements are often impossible to be implemented. Most of the houses in big cities share wall on both sides of the houses and the only walls that function as ventilation system are the front and the rear ones. To reduce the number of dust from entering the house, finer net has to be installed on the jalousie holes (above the windows) and curtain and be installed on the jalousie glass windows. Another way that is very effective in reducing the amount of dust is by planting flower plants near the windows and decorative trees at the front yard. The leaves, branches and twigs and shrubs of the plants will be able to filter the air creating a healthier living environment.
Today, house design software such as Archicad has been used by architects to design houses that is more integrated to the environment using its eco-designer features.

Indonesian Coast Guard Boat in Manokwari Harbor

2011-11-08T23:17:00.001+09:00

When I was in Manokwari harbor last month, I saw a mono-hull fast boat parking at the pier. The background of this boat was the building of West Papua's provincial house of representative. It belongs to KPLP which stands for Kesatuan Penjagaan Laut dan Pantai or simply the coast guard of Indonesia. Because most of its hull and superstructure are made of FRP material, the boat is light and can move very fast on the water.

I didn't see any armaments installed on the main deck of the boat. Perhaps only the Indonesian navy that is allowed to have guns aboard their patrol boats and ships to defend the territory of Indonesian. So, the main task of the KPLP boat, perhaps, is to oversee the water from smugglers, or foreign fishing boats. I did not have any chances of exploring its interior because there was no one inside the boat. In my opinion, it looks more like a pleasure boat than a coast guard boat.
To run in higher speed on the surface of the water, the boat needs to have smaller block coefficient and powerful engine. Smaller Cb will compromise the size and arrangement of the rooms inside the hull. Because patrol boat is used mostly for one day trip at sea, it will not be a problem for its crews. by Charles Roring
Also read: Inflatable boat

Archicad Tutorials

2011-11-08T11:19:00.001+09:00

A lot of people land on this blog after typing archicad on the search engine. I know that I used to discuss a number of features of the BIM software that are related to house design but now I don't write about them anymore. Sometimes I talk about wooden house design or present my own building design that I make using Google Sketchup, another 3D modelling software that can be used by architects or other designers to visualize their design concepts on the computer screen in 3D models.
Since Archicad 12, Graphisoft as the company that creates the BIM software, a special add on called EcoDesigner has been introduced to help architects make evaluation about the energy consumption of the buildings or houses which they design. Because most of the house owners demand their houses to be environmentally friendly or consume less energy, architects need the EcoDesigner add on to assess whether their designs have met the requirements or not.
So, if you are looking for tutorials on how to use Archicad, you can read my old posts or go to the official website of Archicad i.e., Graphisoft.com and then click the Education tab at the top bar of the website. There, you will find a lot of training modules that have been prepared for anybody who is willing to master the architectural software. Graphisoft develops the software for architects but not for naval architects who study ship design. The appropriate software for them are Delftship, Maxsurf, Rhino Marine and etc.
My articles about Archicad
Archicad 12 software for Architects
Archicad promotion in Indonesia
Archicad and Revit for House Design
Creating a rounded corner wall in Archicad
Designing simple bedroom with Archicad
Designing round wall room with Archicad
Dimensioning of round wall in Archicad
How to design roof with Archicad

FRP Boat used by a fisherman in Manokwari bay

2011-11-07T19:22:00.000+09:00

FRP or Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic is a kind of material that is used in the construction of small boat. One day, when I was guiding some Dutch tourists to a jetty in Kwawi area of Manokwari, I saw an outrigger FRP boat that was approaching the beach. Its main hull was made of FRP material but its outriggers were made of wood and bamboo. FRP is light and anti corrosive. However, it is not easy to find FRP materials in Manokwari. That's why most of the fishermen still use wood and bamboo to make their boats.

Most of the outrigger boats are powered with Yamaha outboards with 3 bladed propellers. The Yamaha outboards are available in 15, 25, and 40 horse power. In addition to Yamaha, other outboards manufacturers are Mariner, Johnson, and Honda. But Yamaha is the most popular engine for the fishermen.
Manokwari is the capital of West Papua province in the bird's head region (vogelkop) of New Guinea island. Its waters is rich of coral reef fish and deep sea fish due to its location that is facing the Pasific Ocean. Tourists who come to Manokwari can enjoy fishing, snorkeling, or wave surfing. Those who like mountains and rainforest can go hiking in Arfak mountains to watch wild animals such as birds of paradise, cuscus and tree kangaroo. When guiding tourists for snorkeling off the coast of Mansinam island or Anggresi beach, I always rent a boat from a fisherman. His boat is not made of FRP materials but the conventional wood but its design is very similar to the outrigger FRP boat above.
Related articles: Wooden boats in the Dorey bay of Manokwari, Passenger boat and ferry boat in Manokwari harbor