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R e p o R t i n g o n M a R i n e B u s i n e s s & t e c h n o l o g y s i n c e 18 78
January 2020
CEO SPOTLIGHT How Chris Allard Took Metal Shark into the Big League
navy shipBuilding Is a change in the fleet mix ahead?
passengeR vessel safety Dive boat fire raises big questions
CONTENTS
36 Departments 2E ditorial New Year, New Business
40 Features
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NAVY SHIPBUILDING Major Change in Fleex Mix Ahead Order books at major U.S. yards are swelling, but the Navy has a new Force Structure Assessment in the works that could change things to favor smaller vessels
22
CEO SPOTLIGHT Chris Allard, Metal Shark CEO After a busy few years, Metal Shark has emerged as a leading force in its market sector in a short time
4 INLAND WATERWAYS Eastern Delivers 70th Boat in FMT Series
6 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS 8 Wellness The Double-Edged Sword of Stress
10 VESSEL OF THE MONTH Matson Inc.’s Lurline
26
12 UPDATES • Lockheed Martin Wins $1.95 Billion Saudi MMSC Order • WETA Exercises Option at Mavrik for Second 300-Passenger Ferry • Callan Marine Says Big New Dredge Will Be a “Game Changer”
17 Inside Washington Congress Passes FY2020 E&WD Appropriations Bill
24 OP-ED Fires on passenger vessels 33 Newsmakers Carpenter Named President of AWO
29 31 40
SUPPLIER ROUNDTABLE The Year Ahead Suppliers focus on compliance and growth in 2020 despite competition MARINE ENGINES EPA Tier 4: The Bullet That Cannot Remain Unbitten The technology is pretty well understood, but getting it installed in a real-life boat can be tricky FLEET MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE A Data-Driven Passage A growing choice of fleet management software helps make people, ships and operations safer and more efficient A Q&A WITH CASTROL How Castrol’s tackling IMO 2020 Castrol’s Cassandra Higham chats with us about fuel lubricants and IMO 2020 compliance
34 Tech News Saga LNG’s LNT A-BOX Carrier
36 safety Handling Ice on Vessels
January 2020 // Marine Log 1
EDITOR’S COLUMN
MarineLoG JANUARY 2020 Vol. 125, NO. 1 ISSN 08970491 USPS 576-910 Subscriptions: 800-895-4389
Tel: +1 (402) 346-4740 (Canada & International) Fax: +1 (402) 346-3670 Email: marinelog@omeda.com PRESIDENT Arthur J. McGinnis, Jr. amcginnis@sbpub.com Publisher Gulf Coast & Midwest Sales Jeff Sutley jsutley@sbpub.com
Photo Credit: Shutterstock/ marekuliasz
New Year, New Business
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he year 2020 is here, and there’s a lot to look forward to in terms of funding for various maritime projects in the United States. And, oh yes, the IMO 2020 sulfur cap is here. Late last month, two substantial spending bills were signed into law that include strong budgets for ongoing inland waterways construction and maintenance as well as port dredging and investment. The president also signed off on a defense bill that codifies MARAD’S Military-to-Mariner program to helps veterans from sea services obtain civilian mariner licenses. Contained in the spending package for FY2020 was $7.65 billion for the civil works mission of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the inland waterways system and port dredging. That amount is $652 million above the current spending level and $2.69 billion more than the president had requested earlier this year, according to the Waterways Council Inc. And on January 6, MARAD announced the award of more than $7.5 million in grants to nine Marine Highway projects. They include funding for several container-on-barge projects, conversion of a ferry from diesel to hybrid— and improving barge access to a spaceport. In fact, the barges will be going to MARS (the MidAtlantic Regional Spaceport), with the project that is receiving grant money being Virginia’s Wallops Island M-95 Intermodal Barge Service in the amount of $96,425. Sponsored by the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, the grant will be used
to design a new trestle and combination dock/ ramp to support the loading and unloading of barges and research vessels at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS). The project will improve public safety, generate jobs in a rural area and increase the site capabilities of MARS. Unrelated to recent government news, maritime suppliers, engine manufacturers and software providers are looking forward to business growth and development in the new year. This issue features stories on these markets and more throughout. Not to be overlooked in 2020 is U.S. Navy shipbuilding (see page 18). Order books have been swelling as the Navy continues steadily on track toward a 355-ship battle force fleet and major shipbuilding contracts continue to be issued. But that could change, with a Navy Force Structure Assessment in the works that could substitute smaller unmanned vessels for conventional warships. Meantime, you can read more about IMO 2020 in a Q&A with global lubrication giant Castrol on page 40 of this issue. Happy New Year!
EDITOR-In-Chief Heather Ervin hervin@sbpub.com web EDITOR Nicholas Blenkey nblenkey@sbpub.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Paul Bartlett paul.bartlett@live.co.uk European EDITOR Charlie Bartlett charlie.bartlett@runbox.com Art Director Nicole D’Antona ndantona@sbpub.com Graphic Designer Hillary Coleman hcoleman@sbpub.com MARKETING DIRECTOR Erica Hayes ehayes@sbpub.com PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Mary Conyers mconyers@sbpub.com Integrated Account Manager US East/West Coast & International David Harkey dharkey@sbpub.com SALES REPRESENTATIVE KOREA & CHINA Young-Seoh Chinn corres1@jesmedia.com CLASSIFIED SALES Jennifer Izzo jizzo@mediapeople.com Circulation DIRECTOR Maureen Cooney mcooney@sbpub.com CONFERENCE DIRECTOR Michelle M. Zolkos mzolkos@sbpub.com CONFERENCE ASSISTANT Stephanie Rodriguez srodriguez@sbpub.com
Heather Ervin Editor-in-Chief hervin@sbpub.com
CONTRIBUTORS Emily Reiblein Crowley Maritime Corporation Capt. Matthew Bonvento Good Wind Maritime Services Judy Murray
Marine Log Magazine (Print ISSN 0897-0491, Digital ISSN 2166-210X), (USPS#576-910), (Canada Post Cust. #7204564; Agreement #40612608; IMEX Po Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2, Canada) is published monthly by Simmons-Boardman Publ. Corp, 88 Pine St. 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10005. Printed in the U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and Additional mailing offices. PRICING: Qualified individuals in the marine industry may request a free subscription. For non-qualified subscriptions: Print version, Digital version, Both Print & Digital versions: 1 year, US $98.00; foreign $213.00; foreign, air mail $313.00. 2 years, US $156.00; foreign $270.00; foreign, air mail $470.00. Single Copies are $29.00 each. Subscriptions must be paid in U.S. dollars only. COPYRIGHT © Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 2020. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without permission. For reprint information contact: PARS International Corp., 102 W 38th St., 6th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10018 Phone (212) 221-9595 Fax (212) 221-9195. For Subscriptions, & address changes, Please call (US Only) 1-800-553-8878 (CANADA/INTL) 1-319-364-6167, Fax 1-319-364-4278, e-mail marinelog@stamats.com or write to: Marine Log Magazine, Simmons-Boardman Publ. Corp, PO Box 1407, Cedar Rapids, IA. 52406-1407. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Marine Log Magazine, PO Box 1407, Cedar Rapids, IA. 52406-1407.
2 Marine Log // January 2020
John Wooldridge Michael J. Toohey Waterways Council, Inc. Simmons-Boardman Publishing CORP. 88 Pine Street, 23rd Floor, New York, N.Y. 10005 Tel: (212) 620-7200 Fax: (212) 633-1165 Website: www.marinelog.com E-mail: marinelog@sbpub.com
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inland waterways Golding Barge Line Expanding Vicksburg Operations
Eastern Delivers 70th Towboat in Long Running FMT Series
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he Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) reports that inland water transportation company Golding Barge Line is expanding operations in Vicksburg. The project is a $20 million corporate investment and will create 25 jobs. “Mississippi’s transportation network is one of the best in the country, from our integrated highway and interstate systems to our waterways that provide companies like Golding Barge Line with exce p t i o n a l , co n ve n i e n t a c c e s s t o consumers around the countr y,” Gov. Phil Br yant said. “I thank the Golding Barge team for adding new jobs i n Vi c k s b u r g a n d for their continued trust in our workforce and business environment.” Golding Barge Line specializes in the movement of refined petroleum products, petrochemicals and chemical products throughout the U.S.’s inland waterway system. The company is expanding its Vicksburg operation in response to market opportunities and new contracts. “We are excited about this opportunity to grow our business. This expansion will provide more employment opportunities, as well as increased stability and job
security for the current Golding Barge Line team,” said Golding Barge Line President Austin Golding. “This new equipment will operate around the country within the supply chains of some of the world’s largest oil companies. The revenue it generates will come out of those companies and into our community through payroll and our vendor partnerships. Being in Vicksburg gives us a recruiting advantage, and that advantage has allowed a small family-owned operator to compete with large publicly traded operators.” The development authority has approved the company for the Advantage Jobs Rebate program, which provides a rebate to eligible businesses that create new jobs that exceed the average annual wage of the state or the county in which the company locates or expands. “Golding Barge Line’s expansion in Vicksburg is an exciting economic development win for the people of Warren County, creating dozens of new career opportunities that will benefit the local economy while supporting the Mississippibased company’s continued successful growth for years to come,” said MDA Executive Director Glenn McCullough Jr.
The company is expanding its Vicksburg operation in response to market opportunities and new contracts.
4 Marine Log // January 2020
astern Shipbuilding Group, Inc., Panama City, Fla., has delivered the MV Jaden Pasentine (Hull 200) the 70th in the long series of inland towboats that the company has been building for Florida Marine Transporters LLC of Mandeville, La., since 2004—the largest single owner, single shipbuilder, new construction program with the same class towboat design in U.S. shipbuilding history. This aggressive new construction program has been successfully been completed with ontime deliveries and consistently on-budget. Built at Eastern’s Allanton shipyard in Florida to a design by Gilbert Associate, Boston, Mass, MV Jaden Pasentine measures 90 by 32 by 10 feet and is powered by two Caterpillar 3512C Tier 3 diesel engines rated at 1,500 HP at 1,600 RPM, and supplied by Louisiana Cat Power Systems of Reserve, La. The reduction gears are direct-coupled Twin-Disc Model MG-5600 with a 6.04:1 reduction, supplied by Stewart Supply, Inc. of Harvey, La. Electrical power is provided by two 99 kW John Deere 4045AFM85 99KW Tier 3 generator sets rated for 60 Hz, at 208 V AC provided by Kennedy Engine Company of Biloxi, Miss.
NTSB Reports on Costly BargContact with Grain Terminal
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he National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued its report on an October 2018 incident in which a barge pushed by an ARTCO towboat slammed into a grain terminal causing extensive damage. According to NTSB, on October 23, 2018, the Andrew Cargill MacMillan was pushing 42 loaded barges southbound on the Lower Mississippi River, near Tallulah, La. While rounding a bend, the tow touched bottom, and the head of the tow contacting breasting dolphins and a conveyor at the Farmers Grain Terminal at Mile 442.4. The conveyor was destroyed, and the dolphins and a lead barge were damaged. There were no injuries and no release of pollutants. Damage was estimated at $8 million for the conveyor and dolphins and about $74,000 for the barge. The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the contact of the tow of the Andrew Cargill MacMillan with the Farmers Grain Terminal breasting dolphins and conveyor was the pilot’s over-reliance on floating aids to navigation, which resulted in the tow being out of position and sliding too deep into the bend to recover and successfully complete the turn.
Photo Credit: Golding Barge Line
The MV Carol Ann Golding
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS WELCOME TO
Industry Insights, Marine Log’s quick snapshot of current trends in the global marine marketplace. In this edition, we take a look at U.S. container imports at the six largest ports. At those ports (in addition to four others), container imports dropped 7.9% in November 2019 (similar to October’s 8% decline). Those sharp downturns are directly related to the China tariffs. West Coast ports all saw large declines, while East Coast ports also saw a decline by its largest percent in over three years. November’s overall performance was below
the 5.2% decrease for the last three months, and the 1.3% increase for the last 12 months. Also in November, East and Gulf Coast port volume declined 3.8% (versus a .7% decrease in October), while West Coast ports decreased 11.2% (versus 14% in October). Despite these numbers, East and Gulf Coast ports have performed much better since mid-2016 due to an expanded Panama Canal that allows more economical water service instead of intermodal service via the West Coast.
Top 6 Ports Based on Import Volume in November 2019 (Nov % change)
East Coast
West Coast
Gulf Coast
PORTS
TEUs
Source: John McCown, Blue Alpha Capital
6 Marine Log // January 2020
Electric and Hybrid Propulsion Clean, Quiet, Proven BAE Systems’ HybriGen® electric power and propulsion system saves fuel, reduces emissions, and increases engine life with its patented technology. The HybriGen system not only provides electric propulsion but also powers the hotel loads by efficiently utilizing lithium-ion energy storage or the variable speed genset. Ask us how we can help your vessel be more efficient with BAE Systems’ electric and hybrid marine solutions.
Red and White Fleet’s Enhydra Electric Hybrid Passenger Vessel
gettozero.com CS-19-B91
WELLNESS COLUMN
The Double-Edged Sword of Stress strategy at every opportunity. Do not let a single one pass without using it for practice. Over time, the practice will become easier and you can train yourself to default to a mitigation strategy by force of habit.
Exercise. This strategy addresses the effects of stress on the body. Just 22 minutes per day of a simple activity, such as, walking can help boost your mood and improve your health. Studies show it lowers blood pressure, increases immune system function and helps the heart muscle regulate more effectively.
Conscious Activity.
8 Marine Log // January 2020
stockpiling any extra as fat for later replenishment. According to Dr. Amit Sood, chair of the Mayo Mind Body Initiative, the body can recover from an acute stress event in anywhere from 30 minutes to a few days. But what happens when the stress response is forced to continue? Blood pressure stays high, heart rate stays elevated and cortisol reaps havoc on our metabolism. Systems that support fast action go into overdrive while the immune, digestive and other systems continue to work at reduced power. This is where stress can take years off a life. In 2009, the Nobel Prize in Medicine went to a group who studied the death of cells. They confirmed that those under chronic stress had shortened telomeres. Telomeres are the bound edges of DNA strands. The shortening of telomeres and damage to the binding can produce errors in how DNA tells cells to behavior for example how to replicate. Poorly behaving DNA kills off a cell and has shown to have adverse impacts on agerelated diseases like cancer and heart disease. While we would all love to remove stress from our lives, few of us have that option. Our only choice may be to mitigate it or change our perception of it. Here are a few mitigation strategies that may help alter our relationship with things that stress us out.
Patterns. Take time to write down the top two stressors in various aspects of your life. Observe any patterns in your stress and response. Look for similarities among them. Eliminate what you can, and specify a planned strategy for the stressors that need to remain in your life. Stick to practicing your mitigation
Good Cry. In his book, The Mystery of Tears, Dr. William Frey identifies that tears generated from high emotions contain stress hormones and toxins that build in the body from the stress response. Tears pull out the hormones not used in the fight-or-flight response, and help reduce the stress response of heart rate and blood pressure more quickly than if you were to allow those hormones to remain in the body. Crying it out does have its benefits. Our body’s response to stress is a double-edged sword. Great for the moment a pedestrian darts in front of oncoming traffic and terrible if it continues without a reprieve for years. Creating ways to mitigate the effects of stress and change habitual responses may be a health-promoting goal and practice to take on for 2020. Nothing in the article constitutes medical advice. All medical advice should be sought from a medical professional.
Emily Reiblein
Director-Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) Crowley Logistics
Shutterstock/ WAYHOME studio
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tress changes how our body operates. Our muscles tense and heartbeat and respiration quicken, while eyesight narrows. Brain function also becomes singularly focused. This stress response helps us manage immediate danger, but our health can suffer when stress continuously impacts us over a prolonged period. Stress is the term we use to describe when our physical or emotional demands are high, and a cascade of physiological changes respond. This demand, when made too often or too vigorously, can lead to an early death. The American Psychological Association has linked chronic stress to six leading causes of death in the United States: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver and suicide. Approximately 75% of all doctor’s office visits are for ailments that relate to stress. We ignore stress at our own peril. A stress response is desirable and life critical when an immediate danger confronts us. Our body supports life-saving actions by releasing the hormone adrenalin, also known as epinephrine. The release of adrenalin and other stress hormones cause a narrowing of arteries and slows or shuts down energy to systems that can’t help mount a fight-orflight response. Energy gets diverted from systems like the digestive and immune system to pumping blood harder and faster into your heart, brain and muscles. A part of this emergency response system is also the hormone cortisol. Cortisol enhances response to the environment around us, alters how memory and learning processes work, and prompts cells to absorb and even store glucose faster to leave more energy for immediate use and aggressively
Meditation is well researched and has shown to be effective at reducing blood pressure, lengthening telomeres (yes, it grows them back), and much more. But if sitting is not for you, other mindfully performed activities can help decrease stress in your life as well. Activities like yoga and tai chi have all shown benefits to stress relief and can be done for free by following online videos and books. Classes are also abundant in almost every major city, domestic and foreign.
Vessel of the Month
Lurline on sea trials.
Matson Inc.’s Lurline
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onolulu-headquartered Matson Inc. rounded out 2019 by taking delivery of its newest vessel, the largest combination container/ roll-on, roll-off (ConRo) ship ever built in the United States, from General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. Christened Lurline, the new ship is the first of two Kanaloa Class ConRo vessels being built for Matson by NASSCO at a total cost of approximately $500 million for the pair and the third of four new vessels that Matson is putting into service between 2018 and 2020. With delivery of the Kanaloa Class ships, along with its two new Aloha Class ships, Matson will have completed the renewal of its Hawaii fleet, allowing it to retire its seven older steamship vessels that will no longer comply with environmental regulations in 2020 without substantial modification Lurline will make its maiden voyage to Hawaii this month, departing Oakland and Long Beach, Calif., on January 9 and January 11, respectively, and arriving in Honolulu on January 15. The 870-foot-long, 3,500 TEU Lurline
10 Marine Log // January 2020
provides the capability to transport containers, automobiles, trailers and rolling stock. The garage provides four decks for up to 800 autos, two decks for trailers and features a stern quartering ramp.
LNG-Capable Main Machinery NASSCO partnered with South Korea’s Daewoo Ship Engineering Company to provide a state-of-the-art ship design and material package that incorporates a MAN B&W 6G90ME-C10.5-GI LNG-capable main engine and four LNG-capable auxiliary engines, compliant with IMO Tier III emission requirements. At 870 feet long, 114 feet wide (beam), and with a deep draft of 38 feet, the 59,522 grt Lurline is not only now Matson’s largest ship but also one of the company’s fastest vessels, with a top speed of 23 knots, helping ensure on-time deliveries in Hawaii from Matson’s three West Coast terminals in Seattle, Oakland and Long Beach.
Green Technology Both new Kanaloa Class vessels will feature
state-of-the-art green technology, including a fuel-efficient hull design, environmentally safe double hull fuel tanks, fresh water ballast systems and the first IMO Tier III dual fuel engines to be deployed in containerships serving West Coast ports. Both new vessels will enter service fully compliant with new International Maritime Organization (IMO) emission regulations going into effect January 1, 2020. Under the latest IMO requirements for engine manufacturers, IMO Tier III engines reduce the levels of particulate emissions by 40% and nitrogen oxide emissions by 20%, as compared to IMO Tier II standards. “We are proud to deliver the lead ship of the Kanaloa Class,” said Dave Carver, president of General Dynamics NASSCO. Named in honor of an ocean deity revered in the native Hawaiian culture, the new Lurline is the sixth Matson vessel to bear the name. The original Lurline was Capt. William Matson’s second vessel, a brigantine built by Matthew Turner, shipbuilder of Benicia, Calif., in 1887. Named by sugar tycoon, Claus Spreckels, the vessel made its first sailing from San Francisco to Hawaii on June 16, 1887.
Photo Credit: GD NASSCO
The largest ConRo ship ever built in the United States enters service
Update MMSC is based on the Freedom variant of the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship class and, like the Freedom LCS, the four Saudi ships are slated to be built at Fincantieri Marinette Marine.
Lockheed Martin
Wins $1.95 Billion Saudi MMSC Order
In good news for shipbuilder Fincan-
tieri Marinette Marine, Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Md., has been awarded a $1,955,776,266 contract for the detail design and construction of four Multi Mission Surface Combatant ships (MMSC) for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The MMSC is based on the Freedom variant of the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) class and, like the Freedom LCS, the four Saudi ships are slated to be built at Fincantieri Marinette Marine. The kingdom, under the auspices of the Navy’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, is procuring the ships. Lockheed Martin says that the MMSC takes the proven capabilities of the U.S. Littoral
Combat Ship and the inherent flexibility of the Freedom-variant hull to meet the unique maritime requirements of international navies. The MMSC has a range of 5,000 nautical miles and can reach speeds in excess of 30 knots, using the same combined diesel and gas turbine propulsion system as the Freedom-variant LCS. The MMSC integrated combat system solution leverages the domestic LCS integration of the 57-mm Mk110 deck gun and SeaRAM, and expands multi-mission capability through integration of Over-The-Horizon surface-tosurface missiles, port and starboard 20-mm remote guns, a new fire control radar and a forward centerline 8 cell MK 41 Vertical Launch System equipped with RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles. The MMSC is also equipped
with the AN/SLQ-25 Torpedo Defense System. The Saudi FMS order, which has been in the works some time, is a useful addition to the Fincantieri Marinette Marine backlog as it awaits a U.S. Navy decision on who will build its FFG (X) frigates. Lockheed Martin, which had been planning to offer a design based on the MMSC, has withdrawn from that competition, but Fincantieri remains in the game with a design based on Italian parent Fincantieri’s FREMM frigate. The other three contenders are Austal USA, with a design based on the Independence variant LCS, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, with a design based on Spain’s Navantia Álvaro de Bazánclass F100 frigate and Ingalls Shipbuilding, with an undisclosed parent craft design.
T h e S a n F r a n c i s c o B ay A r e a
Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) is to exercise a $14.8 million build option for a second 300-passenger high-speed ferry from La Conner, Wash., shipbuilder Mavrik Marine Inc. to support growth of San Francisco Bay Ferry service. The vessel will be a sister ship to the Dorado, currently under construction at Mavrik and slated to join WETA’s fleet this year. “WETA is moving aggressively to rapidly expand San Francisco Bay Ferry capacity as opportunities become available,” said Nina Rannells, WETA’s executive director. When completed in 2021, the second 12 Marine Log // January 2020
vessel from Mavrik Marine will bring the design, construction and delivery will be fleet to 17 vessels and 6,000 total seats, both funded through a combination of State Proposition 1B grant funds, proceeds from all-time highs. WETA has added six new ferries with the sale of recently retired ferries and State a combined 2,490 seats, to its fleet since Transit Assistance funds. 2017. This vessel investment has allowed WETA to extend San Francisco Bay Ferry service to Richmond and add much-need capacity on the popular Vallejo, Alameda and Oakland routes. Ferry ridership Vessel is being built to a design by Australia’s has doubled since 2012. One2three Naval Architects T h e n e w v e s s e l ’s
Image Credit: Lockheed Martin, WETA
WETA Exercises Option at Mavrik for Second 300-Passenger Ferry
Update Davie to be Canada NSS Strategic Partner The Government of Canada has
announced that Queb ec shipbuilder Davie has pre-qualified to become the third strategic partner under the countr y’s National Shipbuilding Str ateg y (NSS). The NSS’s third yard will build six program icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard. Davie will now move to the next stage in the selection process, the Request for Proposal and evaluation stage. This will include a third-party assessment of the shipyard’s infrastructure, submission of a formal proposal, and a due diligence process to ensure the shipyard is financially capable of performing the work and making any necessary upgrades to its infrastructure. This assessment is similar to the process previously undertaken in 2011 to s e l e c t Ir v i n g S h i p b u i l d i n g I n c . a n d Seaspan Shipyards as st r ateg ic par tners under the NSS. Once this phase is completed, the Government of Canada will begin negotiations for an umbrella agreement, which is expected to be put in place in late 2020. Davie is Canada’s largest and highest capacity shipbuilder but was disqualified from the 2011 process because at that time it was going through a financial restructuring.
10-year period. The associations say the IMRB can be put in place by 2023 via amendments to t h e ex i s t i n g I M O Conven t i on for t h e Pre ve n t i o n o f Po l l u t i o n f ro m Ships (MARPOL). The shipping industry’s proposal will be discussed by governments in London at the next MEPC meeting in March 2020. The aim of the proposal is to accelerate the development of commercially
UNCOMPROMISED
CONTROL
HT Series
Shipowners to IMO:
Low Submergence Requirement
Reduce GHG Through Fuel Levy
Small Hull Penetrations
Shipping associations representing
more than 90% of the world fleet are calling for a $5 billion R&D program to be set up to find ways to eliminate CO2 emissions from shipping. The industry associations have subm i t te d a p ro p o s a l to I M O’s Ma r i n e E nv i ron m en t a l Pro te c t i on Com m i t tee (MEPC) calling for establishment of an International Maritime Research and Development Board (IMRB), a non-governmental R&D organization that would be overseen by IMO Member States. The IMRB would be financed by shipping companies worldwide via a mandatory R&D contribution of $2-per-tonne of marine fuel, which would generate about $5 billion in core funding over a
viable zero-carbon emission ships by the early 2030s. IMO’s CO2 reduction targets include an absolute cut in the shipping’s total greenhouse gas emissions of at least 50% by 2050, regardless of trade growth, with full decarbonization shortly after. The 2050 target will require a carbon efficiency improvement of up to 90%, which is incompatible with a continued long-term use of fossil fuels by commercial shipping.
Auxiliary Propulsion/ “Take Home” Capability Effective Thrust in Currents JT Series
Waterjet Bow/Stern Thrusters Up to 2,200HP
Proudly Made in the USA!
January 2020 // Marine Log 13
Update
St. Johns Ship Building Makes Its Mark in the Ferry Sector
First in a series of 354-passenger Incat Crowther design ferries for New York operator. Over the years, St. Johns Ship Building, Palatka, Fla., has delivered
Double-Ended Ferry St. Johns has also recently been busy with a series of three 152- by 52-foot steel passenger/vehicle ferries. Designed by Elliott Bay Design Group, they feature a vehicle deck is reinforced to be able to handle heavy equipment and construction vehicles
Double-ended vehicle ferry seen under construction at St. Johns’ 100acre shipyard.
Image Credit: St. Johns Ship Building
a diverse range of steel work boats and barges. Another specialty is both steel and aluminum ferries, where the yard has recently been busy with two state-of-theart projects.
These include a series of 354-person capacity Incat Crowther designed aluminum passenger ferries destined for a New York-based operator, the first of which was delivered in July last year. “We are proud that our experienced craftsman were able to perfectly execute the Incat Crowther design and deliver this first of the series aluminum passenger ferry at our nearly 100-acre facility,” said Steven Ganoe, director and president of St. Johns Ship Building. “We have a team that can build, service and repair all types of vessels. Our aluminum and steel fabrication provides unparalleled quality and workmanship.” The 97-foot, 1 inch long Incat ferries have a beam of 27 feet, 11 inches and are propelled by two Baudouin 12M6.3 diesels, each delivering 970 kW at 1,800 rpm, turning twin five-bladed Michigan propellers via 2.609:1 ratio ZF marine gear boxes to give the vessel a 24 knot service speed. Steering is by Jastram, and ancillary equipment includes a Humphrees Intercepter stabilizer system.
14 Marine Log // January 2020
Update including concrete trucks. The pilothouse (command) has a height above the water of 30 feet, and the vessels have a bridge clearance (loaded/unloaded) of 40 feet. Main propulsion is delivered by twin CAT C18 engines, each rated at 600 bhp at 1,800 rpm and giving the vessel a service speed of 10 knots, while ship’s service power is provided by two Caterpillar C4.4 marine generator sets. Marine gear is a Hundested Type CPG 38, 5.53:1 with the vessel’s two 67-inch diameter, four bladed controllable pitch propellers also being by Hundested. The vessel features an AVENTICS engine control system and the steering system is by Jastram. The ferry can carry up to 30 vehicles. These ferries feature luxury accommodations for passengers in air-conditioned comfort with couches, beverage holders, phone charging stations, indirect lighting and flat screen TVs. The passenger capacity of 150 includes three lounges— two separate on main deck guests (16 seats) and employees (24 seats), and an additional second deck lounge for guests (9 seats).
Callan Marine Says New Dredge is a “Game Changer” Galveston, Texas-based dredging contractor Callan Marine recently launched the General MacArthur, one of the largest cutter suction dredges in the U.S. market, at the C&C Shipyard in Belle Chasse, La. At 290 feet in length and with a 9-foot draft, the General MacArthur has a 24,000 total installed hp. Powered by three Cat-MAK diesel engines, the dredge has a fuel capacity of over 300,000 gallons, giving it the capability to work on all U.S. coasts and waterways, as well as globally. Wi t h a 3 2 - i n c h c u t t e r, t h e G e n eral MacArthur is designed to perform capital, maintenance and beneficial use dredging (such as marsh creation and beach renourishment). It has a dredging depth range of 90 feet, with an 800-mm suction and discharge pipeline diameter. In addition to powerful mechanical specifications, the General MacArthur is built with crew accommodations that include a full galley, gym, TV/rec room, laundry facility, conference
room, engineer’s office and captain/chief engineer staterooms in addition to 33 beds (all staterooms have private bathrooms). “The General MacArthur is a true game changer for the dredging industry,” says Maxie McGuire, president of Callan Marine. “With its combined scope, power and accommodations, we will see project speed and quality increase at unprecedented rates.”
The 32-inch cutter General MacArthur is anticipated to start work in early 2020.
Image Credit: Callan Marine
H1300 OB
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January 2020 // Marine Log 15
Update
Major Marine Highway Grants The Maritime Administration has announced the award of more than $7.5 million in grants to nine Marine Highway projects. They include funding for several Container-on-Barge (COB) projects, conversion of a ferry from diesel to hybrid—and improving barge access to a spaceport. Projects receiving funding include:
Florida, South Carolina: M-95 Fernandina Express COB Service (awarded $1,291,800)—Sponsored by the Ocean Highway and Port Authority of Nassau County, the grant will support the purchase of marine terminal handling equipment for the efficient loading and unloading for the Fernandina Express COB service. Kentucky, Louisiana: PaducahMcCracken COB Marine Highway Project (awarded $480,000)—Sponsored by the Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority, the grant will be used to support the purchase or lease of facility and transportation equipment at a Baton Rouge facility that will be used to load and unload containers.
Louisiana: Baton Rouge-New Orleans Shuttle of the M-55 (awarded $1,040,000) —Sponsored by SEACOR AMH, the grant will be used to purchase six new purpose-built barges and lease one towboat. The vessels will be used to support the growing Port Allen-to-New Orleans container shuttle.
Virginia: James River Expansion Project (awarded $189,840) —Sponsored by the Port of Virginia, the grant will be used to purchase equipment in support of the existing James River Expansion Project on M-64 to help the Richmond Marine Terminal provide a more efficient barge service.
Michigan: Lake Erie Shuttle (awarded $1,101,735) —Sponsored by the Port of Monroe, the grant will be used to support the Lake Erie Shuttle Service, including the purchase and installation of a crawler crane.
Virginia: Wallops Island M-95 Intermodal Barge Service (awarded $96,425)—Sponsored by the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, the grant will be used to design a new trestle and combination dock/ramp to support the loading and unloading of barges and research vessels at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.
Oregon: Port of Morrow M-84 Barge Service Expansion (awarded $1,623,200) —Sponsored by the Port of Morrow, the grant will support the expansion of barge services from the Port of Morrow to Portland, Ore.; Vancouver, Wash.; and Longview, Wash., to enhance two marine terminals. Texas: Houston Gateway and Gulf COB Central Node (awarded $180,000) —Sponsored by the Port of Houston Authority, the grant will support the development of an Operational Plan.
Washington: Seattle-Bainbridge Island Ferry Service (awarded $1,500,000) —The grant will be used to support the conversion of one of two ferries used in the Seattle-Bainbridge Island Ferry Service from diesel to hybrid, resulting in a significant reduction in emissions.
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Congress Passes FY2020 E&WD Appropriations Bill
T
he Waterways Council Inc., (WCI) reports that Congress has passed the Fiscal Year 2020 Energy and Water Development (E&WD) and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The House passed the bill on December 17 by a vote of 297-120, and the Senate approved the bill today by a vote of 71-23. The president is expected to sign the bill into law. WCI says that passage of FY20 appropriations bills was critical, as short-term Continuing Resolution (C.R.) funding for the federal government expired at midnight December 20. The FY20 E&WD bill funds the Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works mission at $7.65 billion, $652 million above the FY19 enacted level and $2.69 billion above the president’s budget request. Very significant in the bill, notes WCI, is the adjustment by Congress of the construction
cost-share for Chickamauga Lock, this time to 65% General Revenue funding/35% Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF) (from 50%/50%) for one fiscal year (FY20). This change enables efficient funding of all ongoing construction projects to advance their delivery date and lower final project costs. The bill utilizes more than full-use of the estimated receipts of the IWTF that includes additional prior-year revenues to yield a very strong investment level of $317 million for FY20. The Construction account will receive $2.68 billion or $1.37 billion more than the president’s FY20 request, and $498 million more than the FY19 enacted level. The Corps’ Operations & Maintenance account is funded at $3.79 billion, which is $1.86 billion above the president’s record-level FY20 budget request. H a r b o r M a i n t e n a n c e Tr u s t Fund (HMTF) projects will receive $1.63 billion, an increase of $665
million above the president’s FY20 request. Once again, Congress will meet—and exceed by more than 11%—the HMTF target set by the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014. Mississippi Rivers and Tributaries will receive $375 million in FY20. The Investigations account funding is $151 million, which is $74 million above the FY20 Administration request and $26 million above the FY19 enacted level. Included in the president’s budget, as well as the FY20 bill, is Pre-Construction Engineeering Design funding for the Three Rivers Project in Arkansaws at $1.5 million. The Inland Waterways Investigations account received a 50% increase in funding ($3.25 million more than the FY19 level) that will allow for authorized projects and on-going studies to compete for additional funding in the Corps’ 2020 Work Plan, expected 60 days after enactment of this bill.
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January 2020 // Marine Log 17
Navy Shipbuilding A 780-ton upper bow unit is lowered into building dock at Newport News Shipbuilding.
Navy eyes big changes in future fleet mix
New force structure assessment likely to change fleet mix
New Force Structure Assessment There are signs that shipbuilders will have a whole lot of other questions to ponder over the next several months. The Navy is about to press the reset button. The 355-battle force ship goal is the result of a Force Structure Assessment (FSA) conducted by the Navy in 2016. Under current plans the 355ship battle force would be reached in FY2034 and the mix would include 10 aircraft carriers, 117 large surface combatants, 52 small 18 Marine Log // January 2020
surface combatants, 53 attack submarines, 11 ballistic missile submarines, 36 amphibious warfare ships, 32 combat logistics force (resupply) ships and 44 support ships. On December 6, 2019, Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modley announced, in the first of a series of SECNAV Vector 1 memos, that his priorities include establishing an integrated plan to achieve a fleet of 355 (or more) ships, unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVS,) and unmanned surface vehicles (USVS) within ten years. According to a recent Cong ressional Research Service (CRS) report, a new FSA—referred to as the Integrated Naval FSA (INFSA), with the term naval referring to both the Navy and Marine Corps—is now underway as the successor to the 2016 FSA. It is expected to reflect an emphasis on renewed great power competition with China and Russia, as well as updated information on Chinese and Russian naval and other military capabilities and recent developments in new technologies, including those related to unmanned vehicles. The CRS report says statements from Navy officials suggest that the INFSA could result in a once-in-a-generation change in
the Navy’s fleet architecture, meaning the mix of ships that make up the Navy and how those ships are combined into formations and used to perform various missions. It could lead to a more distributed architecture that includes a reduced proportion of large surface combatants (i.e., cruisers and destroyers), an increased proportion of small surface combatants (i.e., frigates and LCSs), and a newly created third tier of USVs. In presenting its proposed FY2020 budget, the Navy highlighted its plans for developing and procuring USVs in coming years. “Such a change in fleet architecture could alter, perhaps substantially, the mix of ships to be procured for the Navy and the distribution of Navy shipbuilding work among the nation’s shipyards,” notes the CRS report.
Potential New Amphibious Ship The CRS says that statements from the commandant of the Marine Corps suggest strongly that the new FSA might change the Navy’s amphibious ship force to an architecture based on a new amphibious lift target and a new mix of amphibious ships. The CRS report cites a July 2019 guidance from Gen. David Berger, the commandant
Photo Credit Ashley Cowan/HII
O
n the face of things, prospects for America’s largest naval shipbuilders appear to look rosy. Order books are swelling as the Navy continues steadily on track towards a 355-ship battle force fleet and major shipbuilding contracts continue to be issued. With Congress coming up with the required funding and hot production lines running, the only questions that have been raised have been about whether the major shipyards could recruit, retain and train the required labor force and whether the supplier base can sustain the increased demands for all the things like pumps, valves and electronics that go into a warship.
By Nick Blenkey, Web Editor
Navy Shipbuilding of the Marine Corps, stating that the Marine Corps wants to, among other things, move away from the 38-ship amphibious ship forcelevel goal and shift to a new and different mix of amphibious ships that includes not only LHA/LHD-type amphibious assault ships and LPD/LPD-type amphibious ships, but other kinds of ships as well, including smaller amphibious ships, ships like the Navy’s Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) and Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) ships (referred to collectively as E-class ships), ships based on commercialship hull designs and USVs. The commandant’s Planning Guidance says that naval expeditionary forces must possess a variety of deployment options, that in addition to amphibious ships and expeditionary ships “also increasingly look to other available options such as unmanned platforms, stern landing vessels, other ocean-going connectors, and smaller more lethal and more risk-worthy platforms. We must continue to seek the affordable and plentiful at the expense of the exquisite and few when conceiving of the future amphibious portion of the fleet.” In what could be good news for medium and smaller size shipyards, the Guidance says, “We must also explore new options, such as inter-theater connectors and commercially available ships and craft that are smaller and less expensive, thereby increasing the affordability and allowing acquisition at a greater quantity.” Later, the Guidance says that, “rather than heavily investing in expensive and exquisite capabilities that regional aggressors have optimized their forces to target, naval forces will persist forward with many smaller, low signature, affordable platforms that can economically host a dense array of lethal and nonlethal payloads.”
New Aircraft Carrier Options The CRS report says that statements from Navy officials suggest that the Navy is considering moving to a new aircraft carrier/ naval aviation force architecture that might supplement today’s large-deck, nuclear powered aircraft carriers (CVNs) with smaller, perhaps non-nuclear carriers. “One option for a smaller carrier,” says CRS, “is the so-called Lighting Carrier, a term referring to an LHA-type amphibious assault ship equipped with an air wing consisting largely of F-35B Joint Strike Fighters ... The B variant of the F-35, which is currently being procured for the Marine Corps, is a short takeoff, vertical landing (STOVL) variant that can be operated off of ships with flight decks that are shorter than the flight decks of CVNs.” Another option for a smaller carrier, notes
CRS, is one whose air wing would consist mostly or entirely of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Potential New Combat Logistics Force Architecture The CRS report says that the Navy’s FY2020 30-year shipbuilding plan suggests that shifting to a more distributed fleet architecture could increase required numbers of Combat Logistics Force (CLF) ships—meaning the oilers, ammunition ships, and dry cargo ships that transport fuel, ammunition, and supplies Navy combat ships that are operating at sea— and augment today’s CLF ships with additional “smaller, faster, multi-mission transports.” The new FSA might also change the Navy’s undersea force to a more distributed architecture that includes, in addition to attack submarines and bottom-based sensors, a new element of extra-large UUVs, which might be thought of as unmanned submarines, notes the CRS report.
Big Questions on Affordability While the Navy may now be planning a oncein-a-generation change in its thinking on fleet architecture, in shipbuilding terms there can be no rapid pivot. The Navy is already committed to the ships envisaged under the 2016 Force Structure Assessment and last year saw the award of some significant contracts for construction of those ships. In fact, 2019 began with a $15.2 billion award in January to Newport News for the block buy of two aircraft carriers, CVN 80 and CVN 81. At the time, this was hailed as producing a savings to taxpayers of $4 billion and, in the words of Newport News Shipbuilding President Jennifer Boykin, “A triumphant step toward returning to a 12-ship aircraft carrier fleet and building the 355-ship Navy our nation needs.” Last year ended with the award of an even larger contract, the Navy’s largest ever, a $22.2 billion award to General Dynamics Electric Boat covering the construction of nine Virginia-class submarines, eight with Virginia Payload Module, from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2023. The nine latest submarines are the fifth block of Virginia-class submarines to be built by GDEB and major subcontractor Newport News Shipbuilding division.
Columbia Class None of the programs we have looked at thus far come close to the projected cost of the Navy’s planned class of 12 new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) to replace its current class of 14 aging Ohio-class SSBNs. SSBNs carry large, long-range missiles
armed with multiple nuclear warheads. Their basic mission is to remain hidden at sea with their SLBMs, so as to deter a nuclear attack on the U.S. by another country by providing an assured second-strike capability, meaning a survivable system for carrying out a retaliatory nuclear attack. They form one leg of the U.S. strategic nuclear deterrent “triad,” which also includes land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and land-based long-range bombers. Critically, they are the most survivable leg of the triad. The Navy’s FY2020 budget submission estimated the total procurement cost of the 12-ship class at $109 billion.
The Costs A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the 30-year program outlined in the Navy’s FY2020 plan found that it would require shipbuilding appropriations that are more than 50% larger than the Navy’s average funding for shipbuilding over the past five years. Including nuclear refueling and all other costs associated with the Navy’s shipbuilding budget, CBO estimates, the total shipbuilding budget would average $31 billion per year (in 2019 dollars), one-third more than the Navy estimates. Annual operation and support costs for the fleet over the next 30 years would grow from $60 billion today to about $90 billion by 2049. Where things wind up remains to be seen. The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program might have some lessons to teach us on this. When it was originally conceived, much the same sorts of things were being said about it as are now being said by proponents more distributed of a more distributed fleet architecture. Not everyone in Navy leadership circles was happy, though, arguing for something “more like a frigate.” That argument prevailed and the follow on ships to the present two-variant LCS program will be a single FF(X) design guided missile frigate from a single builder. Four yards are now in that competition and the Navy is expected to announce a winner any time soon. The FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) signed into law December 20, 2019, authorizes construction of the first frigate. The NDAA also authorizes construction of one large unmanned surface vessel and two medium unmanned surface vessels. Interestingly, defense media site various sources as saying that the large UMS will be based on an offshore service vessel (OSV) and cite ships such as the Al Basra (OSV 401) built for the Iraqi Navy by Riverhawk Fast Sea Frames, Tampa, Fla., at Gulf Island Fabricators as one potential candidate platform. January 2020 // Marine Log 19
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Q & A With
Chris Allard CEO of Metal Shark By Heather Ervin, Editor in Chief
J
eanerette, La.-based Metal Shark is a diversified shipbuilder that continues to make news, delivering to both government and commercial customers. With three fully self-contained shipyards in Alabama and Louisiana, plus a dedicated engineering facility in Croatia, Metal Shark’s 500-plus employees produce more than 200 vessels per year. Among recent notable developments in the government market, Metal Shark last month announced that it was nearing the end of the operational test and evaluation trial period for the Navy’s incoming standardized “40 PB” patrol boat platform. Developed as the replacement for up to 160 patrol vessels deployed worldwide with Navy Expeditionary Combat Command’s Coastal Riverine Forces, Metal Shark’s 40 Defiant design was selected in late 2017 from a field of seven competing shipbuilders. And in late November, Metal Shark’s Franklin, La., shipyard, delivered its 30th passenger vessel since June 2017. Currently, five 150-passenger catamaran ferries are in various stages of construction at the yard. In the past three years, passenger vessels built by Metal Shark have been delivered to Washington, D.C., Florida, New Orleans, and to multiple operators in New York.
22 Marine Log // January 2020
With such a busy few years under its belt, Marine Log decided to chat with Metal Shark CEO Chris Allard to find out how he got his start in the maritime industry and how Metal Shark came to emerge as a leading force in its market sector in such a short time. Marine Log (ML): How did you get your start in the marine vessel design industry? Chris Allard (CA): I was born into a boating
family and grew up on the waters of Long Island Sound. I was completely immersed in the boating lifestyle from the earliest age, and in high school, my hobby was restoring and showing vintage Boston Whalers and Donzi speedboats. My planned direction towards a traditional college education was sagely diverted by my family, who set me on the course that eventually landed me where I am today. I attended the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture, where I studied Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. Webb is a true hidden gem, providing me with an outstanding education and an amazing introduction into the marine industry. After college, I landed what I thought was a dream job at American Marine Holdings (parent company of Donzi and Pro-Line boats) in Sarasota, Fla., and found myself in an environment that was quite a bit different than I had imagined it would be. During my short stint there, I was part of the AMH Government Services division, which offered custom versions of Donzi and Pro-Line boats for government and military customers. We also originally founded Metal Shark to add aluminum offerings into our range of fiberglass boats. I eventually acquired Metal Shark from AMH along with Jimmy Gravois, founder of Gravois Aluminum Boats. Since that time we have grown Metal Shark into what it is today. ML: In your experience, what are the latest trends in design for inland, coastal and offshore vessels? CA: We see the continued adaptation and integration of technology; specifically around autonomy, system controls and electrification.
One of the bays at Metal Shark’s Franklin, La., shipyard.
Photo Credits: Metal Shark
Chris Allard
This is exciting to me professionally as well as personally as it inspires my inner tech geek. I am continually surprised with the pace of autonomy and IoT development and adoption. While autonomy seems to be getting most of the attention, I feel the evolution and maturation of the “connected” boat is just as interesting. The convergence of monitoring, control systems, software and internet connectivity is inevitably leading to the networking of boats. Five years ago, I thought of “cybersecurity” as something that mattered for my phone and our servers. Now, I realize how important it will be for boats in the coming decade. The potential hacking of boats and ships is going to become something we spend a lot of time thinking about. We also see the continued market adoption of catamarans in multiple sectors. While the passenger vessel market has been the first to fully embrace catamaran hull designs, they are now gradually permeating the recreational market and the offshore service industry. I think the U.S. has been behind in the development of multihull vessels, but our acumen and proficiency will improve as their adoption continues to accelerate. Catamarans aren’t for every application, but I believe that the desire for more efficient hull forms, accelerated by the limited power availability in alternative fuel solutions, will continue to make their advantages more apparent. ML: You work on a wide range of marine vessels, including towboats, tugs, pilot boats, ferries, etc. Which of these keeps your shipyard the busiest? CA: Today, our work is spread across three yards, each with its own specific focus. One is focused on small aluminum construction, the other on large aluminum construction, and the third on steel construction. One yard has the highest head count, one generates the most revenue, and the third is growing the fastest. While government and military customers still represent the largest part of our business, the importance of commercial sectors continues to grow. We continue to drive toward a product-focused vision where we offer a portfolio of pre-designed, proven products that we can bring to market faster at less cost and with higher quality. ML: Are there plans in the works to expand your shipyard or design capabilities? CA: Metal Shark has been and will remain a growth company. At the moment, all three of our yards are very busy, with solid backlogs. All three existing yards can accommodate future expansion, and we will
The new Sharktech 29 Defiant welded-aluminum monohull pilothouse vessel features Sea Machines Technology.
continue to grow the yards as our customers and demand signals call. As much as we will grow these existing facilities, we will also continue to look at geographic shipyard diversification, with the U.S. Northeast and international yards at the top of our list. Product development remains key. A year ago, we opened a design office in Croatia to supplement our U.S. operations. That office is now 30 strong. We will continue to push the edges of 3D modeling as we refine and enhance our skills, work packages and automation. ML: The inland market has traditionally been more conservative when adopting new technologies into its designs. Do you see this changing now or any time soon? CA: At the moment inland markets remain mostly traditional in terms of design choices, but Metal Shark is blessed with forward-leaning, quality-driven clients. The advent of Subchapter M and Tier 4 requirements will drive some innovation, but this generally continues to be a technologically conservative area. However, while I initially thought autonomy would come last to this sector, we are already seeing it being adopted. We are already seeing trucks in Europe “link” together in highway trains. It would seem logical that this could occur in the inland sectors as well, and even offshore, for that matter. It is a lot easier to deal with autonomy if the boats can talk to each other, and in the most rudimentary form they already do, in the form of AIS and target avoidance alarms. ML: In addition to designing, building and repairing boats, you also provide customer solutions throughout the boat-building
process. What are some of those solutions? C A : In my v iew, shipbuilding has remained stagnated in the perpetual cycles of endless custom construction. As opposed to more developed industries where companies develop products and market them, shipbuilding has remained in a situation where most vessels are first, or near-first of kind. The endless prototyping, development, mistakes and difficulties of incorporating lessons learned into inexact future products drive cost, time and aggravation. This isn’t the client’s fault; this is the result of our industry’s inability to develop products that are adaptable, work across multiple mission sets, and provide the customer with the needed solution before they ask for them. You wouldn’t think about designing your own car or passenger aircraft, yet we have left our customers trying to design and envision their own boats, because we as an industry haven’t done a good enough job of offering them solutions. Developing repeatable solutions reduces cost, increases productivity, brings healthy margins back to shipbuilding and is critical to allow adoption of further automation. Many seem to think that the future of American shipbuilding prosperity hinges solely on the protections afforded by the Jones Act. And, while it is true that the Jones Act remains key, true parity and success worldwide will require U.S. shipbuilders to do more than simply preserve the status quo. We will succeed by doing what we have done in so many other industries: We will excel through our ideas and vision, with our innovative thinking and through the development and application of technology. January 2020 // Marine Log 23
OP ED
Fires on Passenger Vessels
By Gisli Olafsson PE, Naval Architect
R
ecent fires onboard passenger vessels have caused a lot of soul searching by many people. How come these accidents can be so catastrophic and how can we improve? Are we possibly underestimating how toxic smoke can be? Is it possible that smoke from overheating or burning modern electronics can kill sleeping people within minutes? There did not seem to have been any one single passenger on the recent dive vessel fire that was aware of the fire or tried to break out of the sleeping quarters. Egress and escape routes are a very important issue. Is the importance of that perhaps not emphasized enough on inspections of older or existing passenger vessels? I remember working on casino boat designs back in the day. Although those vessels almost never left the dock they had to meet very stringent federal fire safety requirements to ensure some level of safety for the visiting gamblers or passengers. And that was all about egress and fire load. We had to make sure there were enough doors and open spaces to allow people to crowd around exits and in stairways. Having between 30 and 40 passengers on a little dive boat on overnight voyages seems perhaps to be pushing the envelope of those regulations. Fire load was another very important design factor. We had to calculate the weight 24 Marine Log // January 2020
of all materials inside a room including the furniture, carpet, wall material, window drapes, etc. Every material type had a preassigned fire load rating and a total fire load of the space was then calculated from those ratings and from the total weights of the
So why is it that almost the only people attending to inspections on existing small passenger vessels are Coast Guard personnel and marine surveyors? materials. If the total fire load for the room was over the allowable number then some of the materials had to be replaced and there were no excuses, it had to meet the regulations. If a carpet had to be ripped up then it had to be ripped up. What is going on with this on existing passenger boats today? Is it
maybe being ignored and over time resulting in an increased fire load that ends up being excessively high? Frequent fires on tugboats in recent years have led to more stringent requirements for fire sensors in the enginerooms beyond having just regular smoke detectors. And those fire or heat sensors need to be connected to a dedicated fire alarm panel in the pilothouse to make sure that the captain or a night watch knows about the fire right away. They will then immediately sound the very loud general alarm bell and initiate firefighting actions. The fire alarm panel has to be inspected by a professional engineer (PE), which often is a naval architect. By law, no other person is deemed suitable to inspect that system, no marine surveyor, no Coast Guard inspector, no fire system vendor or any person from a class authority are allowed to sign off on that system unless they happen to also be licensed professional engineers. So why is it that almost the only people attending to inspections on existing small passenger vessels are Coast Guard personnel and marine surveyors? That is an old issue driven by the business environment of small vessels and their often-low profit margins. Sometime in the past, who knows, maybe 30 to 40 years ago, the Coast Guard felt it was more important to at least attend to and
Photo Credit: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
The 75-foot dive boat Conception caught fire in the early morning hours of September 2, 2019, just off the coast of Santa Cruz Island near California. The fire claimed the lives of 34 passengers.
Op Ed
inspect, for free, the vessels rather than doing nothing. And the vessel owners got accustomed to relying on these free services from the Coast Guard, rather than paying naval architects or other professional engineers for the same. One very evident problem with this arrangement is, for example, when deficiencies are found on a vessel that is being inspected in dry dock by the Coast Guard and the inspector feels pressured to dictate the details of the repair. That is where the person oversteps his or her duties. Any repair drawing dictating any hull repairs is by state laws only to be done by naval architects. The failure to send for the naval architect is only done to save the owners some money at a potential great risk to the safety of the vessel and its future passengers and crew. It seems evident, in light of recent accidents, that some change in approach is now needed. We should not expose young Coast Guard personnel to the soul crushing experience involved with any missed issues during an inspection. That is not how we build them up for the future. We need to support them and nurture them by allowing them to tag along
Egress and escape routes are a very important issue for passenger vessel operations.
on inspections with older more seasoned and mature officers and older professional naval architects until they have reached an age and experience where they can become efficient at their inspection duties. Why do naval architects bring something important to the table? That is because they are constantly working on designing for existing or new vessels, making sure everything meets regulatory requirements and
creating drawings to be built from. Their thinking is influenced by their daily work. Bringing a trained mind to an inspection can be incredibly helpful for the inspection team. The team has then more variety of experiences and subsequently is stronger, which leads to improved outcome for the safety of the passengers. As so often experienced in life, it is teamwork that gets the job done, individuals can only do so much.
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January 2020 // Marine Log 25 NewsletterAd_1/6Vertical.indd 1
3/12/19 3:54 PM
Supplier Roundtable
Suppliers Focus on Compliance
& Growth in 2020 New approaches to ship efficiency are now possible
Fuel Monitoring In a post-IMO 2020 world, every drop of fuel counts. Vessel owners need to save money where they can in their day-to-day operations, and FUELTRAX provides a competitive advantage in this landscape by bringing real-time insight to the surface. Its precise electronic fuel monitoring system 26 Marine Log // January 2020
empowers its customers to make smarter decisions and minimize fleet disruptions. Vessel owners and operators are responsible for managing fleet expenditure and staying within a budget. These are the individuals that will see a direct benefit from using FUELTRAX to help make betterinformed decisions when it comes to their fleet. In 2018, FUELTRAX managed to save more than 15% of operating costs when putting FUELTRAX cost-saving programs in place—a significant reduction, especially when the price of fuel skyrockets. FUELTRAX is involved with installation and commissioning from start to finish. Through its installation partners, vetted by internal management, FUELTRAX has put all of the pieces in place for its clients to ensure the most seamless installation as possible. In as little as six days, FUELTRAX
can complete the installation, including system tests, to minimize vessel downtime and maximize uptime. Victoria Cantu, director of business development, says, “Lifetime support and reliability are vital to our goal of ensuring HOW FUELTRAX MOBILE WORKS IN A LAND ENVIRONMENT NCS Data & Support Center 24 Hours / 15 Mins / Alarms
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Photo Credit: Shutterstock/ bizvector
W
ith IMO 2020 likely to push fuel prices up across the board, even for those not directly impacted by the regulation, marine industry suppliers continue to focus on delivering solutions that can help operators save on operating expenditures, and capital costs, in a competitive environment, even as regulators continue to move the goalposts.
By Heather Ervin, Editor in Chief
Supplier Roundtable the highest quality of service to our clients. FUELTRAX is proud to provide our customer’s industry-leading remote support to maintain an uptime of more than 99%.”
Photo Credit: TIMCO Industries
TIMCO Responds to Subchapter M Headquartered in New Albany, Ind., TIMCO Industries Inc. provides components, parts and systems for commercial shipping vessels—primarily towboats. According to TIMCO founder Tim Swinney, the company has been busy with new technologies focused on maintaining safe and efficient navigation, as well as satisfying Subchapter M requirements. Swinney says Sub M has been coming for a very long time through the American Waterway Operators’ Responsible Carrier Program. And as Sub M arrived, TIMCO says it was prepared for the surge in the number of new boats and work with phased-in target dates to get a certain number of fleets inspected. “We developed several products over the last three years in anticipation of our customers’ needs,” says Swinney. In 2018, TIMCO announced its Towing Vessel Alarm Panel (TVAP), a successful product for the inland market. “We’ve installed TVAP on a couple hundred boats so far, and we plan to do a hundred more all over the country,” adds Swinney. The system monitors all engines at the same time, with the suffix indicating how many engines are being monitored (TVAP2, TVAP-3, etc.). When the system is “ON,” all parameters and points are monitored and alarmed accordingly, such as “Low Oil Pressure,” as sensed by the magnetic pickup on each engine’s flywheel. Protocol is logical, automatic and configurable. The TVAP system generally accommodates approximately 40 alarm points on main engines and generators. These alarm points include coolant low levels and temperatures, fuel tanks, bilge levels, hydraulic tanks, air pressure, gear oil pressure and temperature, system voltage, ambient temperature, and more as specified by the client. The TVAP panel in the engineroom gathers all the data and sends it to an easyto-read multifunction Smart Gauge display built-into the panel face as well as to the pilothouse via a single data cable. This eliminates any deficiencies for gauging at operating stations to satisfaction of the Sub M requirement, including the tricky generator tachometer monitoring. “There’s a lot of equipment on boats and lots of distractions when you’re supposed to be piloting the boat,” says Swinney. “Instead of having another big single non-intuitive
computer screen, we did something different by creating a 1- by 3.5-inch display, with one button and one message: ‘System OK.’ What could be simpler?” The small display will let the pilot know whether the system is in working order or there’s issue. When there is an issue, the screen will say exactly where the issue is in the engineroom and pilothouse. For example, the screen may say, “Starboard Main Engine.” It could also say, “High Water Temperature,” and so on. “Every occurrence is data logged into our system,” says Swinney. “That comes in handy on a lot of boats when people have issues and deconstruct why they have a maintenance issue. We always caution people that when we put a system in, there’s no getting around it. Anytime the engines are turned off, it’s recorded. We can tell you everything you can imagine—battery voltage, location of the boat, temperature, etc.” Optionally, Swinney says, TIMCO can provide a real-time dashboard website and a way to enable text alerts for any events and live telematics data for maintenance purposes. In addition to the TVAP system and using the same tested technology, TIMCO has developed a fuel tank gauging system that is compatible with TVAP or can be used on its own. “It’s incredibly accurate and easy to deploy,” adds Swinney. “We can fit it on the deck or hatch cover or standpipe.” Other new TIMCO products include a radar gauging unit, an autonomous radar gauging system for tank barges, FFU steering and flanking control unit, pilothouse alarm device, and custom monitoring systems for deck machinery, vessel supplies and electrical connections to be introduced in 2020. Swinney says TIMCO has created some tank barge products that will also create new jobs. It now has full-depth gauging and telemetry on tank barges. “We are able to tell customers as little or as much regarding their barge as they require,” says Swinney. “Like their cargo levels, product temperatures, pressure or vacuum, pump drive and pump performance. The system will tell them whether the barge sustains a damaging collision and the barge’s location. All these parameters are data logged to the cloud and reported in real time. I think we’re going to revolutionize the industry with some of these things making it both safer and more efficient.”
W&O Sees Busy Year Ahead Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., W&O Supply says it anticipates 2020 being a busy year as market prospects are increasing. David Lamphier, manager-sealing
Typical TVAP 5 engineroom installation. technologies, says W&O has partnerships with top barge owner and operators who rely on its SPACE valve with Chesterton’s Live Load valve packing. “Live load compensates for a variety of system conditions and optimizes reliable valve sealing by maintaining a consistent load on the packing gland,” he says. “This helps to minimize valve induced process fluctuations and reduce associated leakage due to system disturbances, improving equipment uptime.” The combination of SPACE and live load comes with a five-year, leak-free warranty. “Barge operators are impressed with the performance, increased reliability, reduced maintenance and less downtime,” adds Lamphier. W&O has a full crew of installation experts who are installing the live load kit on a weekly basis. Lamphier says the company also has certified installers in specific regional areas to help keep vessels moving. As far as ongoing lifetime service and spares availability, Lamphier says W&O keeps inventory on hand and offers its customers 24-hour service.
EMI and Senner Set for 2020 Engine Monitor Inc. (EMI), a division of W&O Supply, is also off to a good start in 2020. Craig Cabiro, chief operating officer for EMI, says the company recently entered into a partnership with Emerson’s AVENTICS, one of the leading brands for pneumatic and electronic marine propulsion control components, systems and customer-specific marine applications. “ T h e AV E N T I C S l i n e i s s l e e k a n d ergonomically designed to complement January 2020 // Marine Log 27
Supplier Roundtable vessel,” he adds.
Tier 4 Solution with Tier 3 Engines
EMI’s manufactured lines of steering, monitoring and control systems,” says Cabiro. “The partnership broadens EMI product offering for complete control solutions for jet drive, controllable pitch propellers and azimuth drives, as well as conventional propellers.” Cabiro says EMI’s product lines of steering, monitoring and control systems are all located in the vessel’s pilothouse, and so they are highly “personal” to vessel owners. “While we work with all categories, it is the vessel owners that have the highest influence,” he adds. EMI has a dedicated service team for commissioning of all EMI and AVENTICS control systems. Typically, the yard provides tradesmen to perform installation equipment, but EMI can offer turnkey installation solutions when needed. “EMI’s marine control systems, such as steering, alarm and monitoring, and propulsion controls are critical to vessel operation and safety of the crew onboard,” says Cabiro. “Therefore, the ability to support our systems during the full lifecycle of the vessel is critical to our clients. As a manufacturer, EMI has committed to maintaining available spares for all our legacy equipment operating on the waterways, wherever raw materials are still available, and can still service systems nearly 40 years old.” With service locations and inventory in Houston, New Orleans and Paducah, EMI is able to respond quickly in the most heavily trafficked areas of the coastal and inland waterways. Propulsion specialist Karl Senner, Kenner, La., says it too is excited about the 2020 marketplace due in part to its extensive partnerships with a wide range of markets and applications. Some of these partnerships include Reintjes and Steerprop. Re i n t j e s m a nu f a c t u re s ge a b ox solutions from 500 to 30,000-plus hp. for both heavy duty workboat applications and high-speed vessels, while Steerprop develops azimuth propulsion solutions 28 Marine Log // January 2020
from 800 to 20,000-plus hp. “Between the both, and strategic partnerships on the electric power management side, Karl Senner can offer diesel-mechanical, electromechanical hybrid, diesel electric or fully electric solutions in conjunction with nearly any type of propulsion system,” says Chris Senner, vice president of sales and marketing for Karl Senner. When it comes to hands-on installation and commissioning of the products, company President Karl Senner says it is highly involved. “This processs starts early on and often before the time of order with integration planning long before the equipment is ever delivered to ensure all equipment is designed and delivered properly from the beginning,” say Senner. “We nearly always have our people onsite at the shipyard to verify factory tolerances for installation to ensure longevity of the equipment for our customer.” Senner says the company has invested more than $22 million in its spare parts inventory and hired a staff of 25 technicians, with additional techs and parts located throughout the country. “This allows us to provide the best support in the industry from conception through the life of the
Engineroom forward view.: Laborde’s Tier 4 solution with a Tier 3 engine.
Photo Credit: W&O Supply (top) / Laborde Products (bottom)
Valve cartridge live loading technology.
In the 1940s the idea of mat ing two engines to one gearbox was born out of the U.S. military using a pair of Detroit 671 engines mated to a single Allison gearbox. Over 42,000 “twin” engines were used during World War II for applications such as landing crafts and tanks. Today, history repeats itself with a Mitsubishi’s Tier 4 solution from Covington, La.-based Laborde Products that it calls the “Quad” or four Tier 3 Mitsubishi engines churning 3,200 hp. through two dual input single output gearboxes. Laborde Products idea is a solution that is gaining interest as an economic way to deliver twin-screw propulsion above 1,600 hp. without the use of EPA Tier 4 after-treatment like SCR technology. The EPA rule allows for the use of EPA Tier 3 engines up to 600 kW or 803 hp. without the more expensive and complex Tier 4 solutions. The Mitsubishi S6R2-Y3MPTAW-2 was designed for heavy-duty marine applications with nearly double the displacement of its competition. The advantages of this renewed innovation for the commercial marine market includes no urea, no SCR, simple mechanical engines and a lower initial investment than the Tier 4 alternatives. The elimination of the additional cost of urea, SCR maintenance and complexity will help to make the “Quad” a valuable alternative for vessel operators in the future. Laborde says that it offers innovative and disruptive engine solutions for a territory covering approximately one-third of the United States, including the U.S. Gulf Coast for the marine and industrial markets. The engine distributor specializes in custom packaged diesel-powered equipment, generators, pumps, service and support to meet the needs of those markets.
Marine Engines
MTU’s Tier 4 propulsion system integrates its diesel engines with SCR systems for exhaust gas after-treatment.
EPA Tier 4:
Photo Credit: RR Power Systems/MTU
O
ne of the presentations at our upcoming TTB—Tugs, Towboats & Barges event in March that’s already attracting a lot of interest will be one by Bisso Towboat and Caterpillar Marine on the installation of the first U.S. EPA Tier 4 compliant propulsion system in a Mississippi ASD tractor tug, the recently delivered Andrew S. Though the Andrew S. installation marked a Mississippi first, the Tier 4 requirement has been around for quite a while and, in fact, GE Transportation delivered its first marine engines to meet the new standard at the end of 2014. Those engines went into Oceaneering’s DP2 subsea vessel Ocean Evolution, which was delivered in April last year. Meantime, one of the first vessels to be equipped with a Caterpillar Tier 4 compliant engine, Harley Marine Services’ 120-foot, 5,300 hp tug Earl W. Redd, was delivered in early 2017. While recent deliveries from U.S. shipyards have largely still been vessels powered with engines meeting the earlier Tier 3 regulations, Tier 4 compliance is now becoming a bullet that cannot remain unbitten. What makes Tier 4 compliance tough is that it requires the reduction of emissions of NOx (as do the equivalent IMO Tier 3 requirements that apply in Emission Control Areas). The technology is pretty well
understood. It’s getting it installed in a reallife boat that can be tricky.
Two Choices Two technologies are available for reducing NOx emissions, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) or exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). Most engine manufacturers, including Caterpillar Marine, have opted for SCR. An FAQ from Cat answers some basic questions: Q. What is SCR? The answer lies in the name itself. Selective: It targets NOx in the exhaust gas; Catalytic: It requires a catalyst; and Reduction: It reduces NOx to nitrogen gas and water vapor. Q. How does SCR reduce marine vessel emissions? An aqueous urea solution, known as diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), is injected into the exhaust air stream containing NOx, a byproduct of engine combustion. It evaporates into ammonia (NH3) due to a physical reaction triggered by the energy contained in hot exhaust gas. Once the exhaust gas and ammonia mixture contacts the SCR catalyst surface, a reduction reaction occurs, breaking down the NOx (NO and NO2) and NH3 into nitrogen gas (N2) and water vapor (H2O).
The Bullet That Cannot Remain Unbitten
Q. How long has SCR been around? SCR was patented in the United States in 1957 by the Engelhard Corporation. Since then, thousands of SCR systems have been installed in land-based applications, including power plants, railway locomotives and cars. Q. Has SCR been used in marine engine applications in the past? Yes. Used in the marine engine sector for more than two decades, SCR is a proven technology. It’s been deployed on a variety of marine vessel types, including ferries, tankers, container ships, icebreakers, cargo ships, workboats, cruise ships and naval vessels. Q. Why did Caterpillar choose SCR for its Tier 4 Final marine engine products? [Cat] selected an SCR-based solution to meet Tier 4 Final / IMO 3 marine diesel engine emissions standards after careful evaluation of all of the technology options available, which we compared against crucial customer requirements. Q. How does SCR affect the fuel efficiency of the engine? SCR serves as the primary NOx reducer for our Tier 4 Final marine engines and optimizes the engine’s fuel efficiency. The relationship between engine-out NOx and fuel consumption is inversely proportional. January 2020 // Marine Log 29
Marine Engines
EMD Caterpillar brands also include a long-time U.S. marine workhorse, the medium speed, two-stroke Electro Motive Diesel (EMD) engine. Based on the long running EMD 710, the current EMD 23 also uses SCR to achieve EPA Tier 4 and IMO 3 compliance with a system co-designed by EMD and Caterpillar specifically for the EMD two strokes. In addition to Caterpillar, other manufacturers opting for SCR to meet Tier 4 NOx reduction limits include MTU and Cummins. GE Transportation, however, has opted for EGR.
West Coast and MTU Solution Four new 90-ton bollard pull tractor tugs under construction for Foss Maritime at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders will be powered by two Tier 4 MTU 16v4000M65L engines supplied by Pacific Power Group (PPG) and equipped with an SCR exhaust aftertreatment system. PPG is also supplying the Tier 4 MTU engines for three new 445-passenger San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority ferries being built by Dakota Creek Industries of Anacortes, Wash. The first of which, the Pyxis, was delivered in March 2019. PPG, which has a long history of working with WETA, is designing, installing and maintaining the propulsion systems for the newest ferries. Each ferry will be fitted with two MTU Series 4000 engines, two gear boxes, two propulsion shafts and a set of controls. According to MTU, the propulsion system with its integrated SCR systems, incorporates advances in turbocharging, internal combustion and fuel injection that have facilitated a 75% reduction in NOx emissions compared to IMO 2 and a 65% reduction in particulates compared to EPA Tier 3. There is no need for an additional diesel particulate filter, and fuel consumption is less. 30 Marine Log // January 2020
PPG is also supplying the Tier 4 MTU solutions for two 140-foot catamaran ferries on order at Nichols Brothers for Kitsap Transit. The ferries are powered by two MTU 16V4000 M65L engines, each delivering 3,435 hp at 1,800 rpm, and equipped with SCR systems. PPG’s marine team worked closely with Kitsap to compare a two-engine solution with a four-engine solution.
Cummins In announcing its Tier 4 marine QSK38 engine back in November 2017, Cummins said it would be being paired with an SCR system designed and manufactured by Cummins Emission Solutions and noted that Cummins engines had used SCR technology since 2006 with more than one million units in the field. Interestingly, in announcing its IMO Tier 3 solution at last year’s Nor Shipping event, the company said it would “utilize proven IMO Tier 2 engine technology and add a Selective Catalytic Reduction aftertreatment system. A unique feature will allow the ship’s crew to manually ‘pause’ the SCR system whenever operating outside of a controlled emission area, thus reducing DEF usage and expenses for a lower cost of operation.”
The Case Against SCR GE Transportation, now a Wabco company, says that its V250 marine diesel engines meet U.S. Tier 4 and IMO Tier 3 emissions standards without aftertreatment. Advanced technology reduces key emissions by more than 70%, says the company, while maintaining fuel efficiency and providing about 15% more power in virtually the same footprint. GE’s V250 diesel engines are available in 12-cylinder and 16-cylinder V configurations for mediumspeed duty with continuous power from 3,150 bkW to 4,700 bkW (EPA Tier 4 and IMO Tier 3 emissions ratings).
Balanced Decisions Interestingly, in the international deep-sea market, where large two stroke-engines remain the propulsion system of choice for most ships, MAN Energy Solutions offers both SCR and EGR solutions for meeting IMO Tier 3. So, too, does Japan Engine Corporation, whose UE engines are available, either with a low pressure EGR or low-pressure SCR solution. WinGD offers either low pressure or high-pressure SCR systems. The finer points of IMO Tier 3 compliance solutions on large two-strokes could be the subject of a two day symposium, but, in most cases, few buyers are likely to make an engine choice based solely on the technology used to achieve NOx reduction regulations. Regardless of whether they’re buying tugboats or supertankers, shipowners and shipbuilders generally prefer to leave engine design to engine builders.
Photo Credit: GE Transportation
What’s missing from this picture of a Tier 4 compliant engine? Nothing. GE Transportation’s V250 does not require an SCR system.
GE says that its L250 in line marine diesel engines also meet Tier 4 and IMO Tier 3 emissions standards without aftertreatment while maintaining fuel efficiency. The L250 delivers continuous power from 1,700 bkW to 2500 bkW (EPA Tier 4 & IMO Tier 3 emissions ratings). Specifically engineered for marine applications—with accessories mounted on the engine for maintenance ease—the L250 also includes a full-power PTO option. Available in 6- and 8-cylinder models, the L250 provides ease of repower with a narrow inline footprint optimized for marine engineroom constraints. GE promotes its engine line as “urea-free” and that, of course, is a big attraction in that it gives operators one less consumable to worry about. Another obvious advantage of the nonSCR approach is that SCR systems take up engineroom space, as do DEF tanks. Those attractions have won GE Transportation a useful international reference. New York, N.Y.-headquartered Lindblad Expeditions chose to power its first polar class National Geographic expedition ship, on order at Ulstein in Norway, with a shipset comprised of two 8L250MDC and two 12V250MDC marine engines, tools and spare parts. GE says that, meeting IMO Tier 3 and EPA Tier 4 requirements, the engines’ “non-SCR/non-urea based inengine emission design saves customers up to 75% space, avoids the hassle and cost associated with handling urea, while reducing the time and cost spent maintaining hardware.” Lindblad has since ordered a sister ship, bringing GE Transportation a follow on order for a second four-engine shipset.
Fleet Software
A DATA-DRIVEN
Passage
Photo Credit: Shutterstock/ nd3000
I
nside the control room aboard a wellconnected Royal Caribbean Cruise ship, five flat-screen monitors hang on a bulkhead above a long workstation with about 10 terminals anchored in. Each has a camera’s view of some designated area being monitored. Below these monitors, two crewmembers watch terminals displaying data while their chief engineer, Yannis Chadandroulis, sits in the foreground. They call up graphs and metrics, open on-screen menus, select from the choices and press return, then watch Wartsila’s fleet management software do the rest. The technology captures about 7 billion data points per day. They use it to measure and monitor everything from the ship’s energy consumption to weather and optimal routing, enabling them to steam along efficiently, full-speed ahead. Shipboard fleet management software is joining the digital revolution to use data and technology to build efficiency, safety and optimize operations.
Managing People Managing a fleet means managing people. Technology helps manage them and all they do. The Houston-based ABS Group offers the NS Voyage Manager that utilizes a Web interface to manage crew and onshore operations,
A growing choice of fleet management software is helping manage people, ships and their operations safely and efficiently By Jim Romeo
personnel and may subsequently plan and monitor all events associated with a voyage. The software is multifunctional and intended to expedite shipboard operations during a voyage. “Customer feedback and customer experience are really key in our software development and software design,” says Kashif Mohammed, software development manager, ABS Nautical Systems. It is a useful reporting tool, streaming efforts to report on spills or other issues affecting environmental compliance. It may also be used for charter party compliance and vessel performance analysis. Because it can automatically capture data, it becomes a good source of information about crew performance. Automated data capture reduces the crew workload and improves operational efficiency overall. “Over the past several years we’ve seen the majority of companies in the industry transition off paper and into digital systems,” says Nolan Barclay, CEO of Helm Operations, a firm located in Victoria, B.C., Canada, that provides a software platform to assist in vessel maintenance, regulatory compliance (including Subchapter M), operations, personnel management and more. “While that transition isn’t over yet, the crest of the wave has passed. What we’re seeing now, however, is the wave of companies looking to optimize their business based on the
new data they’re getting, and even expanding their collection efforts to more and more systems. In our case, we’re seeing companies focus heavily on the reporting aspects of our system and better extracting and making decisions based on the data.”
Managing Vessel Operations Within the wider maritime industry, ship owners and operators can generate key performance indicators and drive decisions based on a ship’s route, weather, fuel consumption and other parameters; they can utilize mobile apps to interact with the data and its indications on the go. Such regular information exchanges between ship and home office with a robust voyage management system. Such a system possibly could have prevented problems associated with the El Faro sinking with a host of reporting features that voyage management technology offers. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), in its El Faro findings, recommended that “increased reporting and improved transmission of meteorological and oceanographic data from vessels at sea would significantly improve the availability of vital information to enhance weather awareness, forecasting and advisory services aimed at improving mariner safety.” The NTSB also recommended that TOTE January 2020 // Marine Log 31
Fleet Software module that covers daily monitoring of the accumulation and disposal of machinery space bilges and sludge on board across all managed vessels and alerts the vessel managers when there is excessive build-up beyond set benchmarks.
ABS Group offers the NS Voyage Manager that utilizes a Web interface to manage crew and onshore operations, personnel and more. Services Inc., the operator of El Faro, “institute a formal company process to provide independent weather routing, passage-planning assistance and vessel position monitoring.” These and other findings could arguably be abetted with a comprehensive set of technology tools and a voyage management system with appropriate features. Orion Marine Concepts offers numerous software solutions for different facets of ship management, including ship voyage operation as well as other events such as inspection performance indicators, documentation management and crew personnel management. Its performance management software is multifunctional and, like many others in this market segment, helps monitor and manage key performance metrics regarding vessel operations. It also syncs with a mobile app so dispersed workers have visibility into the software outputs via the cloud. It may provide arrival times, fuel consumption, charter compliance, weather, schedules and other information.
Cargo Stowage, Hazard Compliance Because cargo stowage and compliance (regulated by worldwide authorities) can be a menace to manage, shipboard software is being tailored to provide vessel operators and ship managers with technology tools to enable them to better manage such responsibilities. For example, the German-based Navis, a leading maritime software solutions provider, will provide both hardware and software for some 20 new containerships in construction in Asian shipyards. Their technology will aid in maintaining cargo compliance and vessel performance, with an emphasis on stowage of dangerous goods in compliance with the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG), and will also help to keep operators informed, in real time, of the latest 32 Marine Log // January 2020
cargo securing regulations and trim optimization requirements. Singapore-based ship manager Eastern Pacific Shipping plans to utilize Navis software aboard its upcoming 15,100 TEU container vessels, now being constructed in South Korea. They’ll be using the technology to manage and control vessel stability, strength, and compliance with the IMDG stowage and segregation rules.
Environmental Compliance All ship fleet operations managers are challenged with a growing thicket of environmental regulations at the local, national and international level. IMO requirements can be overwhelming. Software solutions aid such accountability and responsibility. Bilge water, waste oil and other effluent contents can be difficult to manage. Such a problem is the crux of the development of software applications by the Singapore-based Thome Group that offers a mobile-based application called NAU that helps monitor the performance of an entire managed fleet. By using a mobile app, leadership and operational managers, shoreside and shipboard, may utilize the app and enter its environment module where one can check daily on accumulation of environmental waste of all types: bilge and ballast water, sludge, oily waste, contaminated effluent and many other liquid levels that are risky to even keep on board and even more risky and problematic when not discharged promptly. The app allows management to see liquid levels and an alert may be set up to prompt them to take action and offload before the ship runs into problems with time and availability of offload resources. Benchmarks can be set and maintained. The app includes an “Environment”
S h i p b o a rd com p e ten c y m a n a gem en t includes required U.S. Coast Guard, regulatory underwriting body requirements, IMO and other requirements regarding training and certifications. There are also software solutions that are not necessarily shipboard centric but may be well used for other purposes of managing the resources required to operate a vessel fleet. One such area is shipboard training and certification. Because the maritime industry is highly regulated and requires very disciplined certifications to perform many functions, including often-mandatory appropriate training hours, it can be a daunting task to manage. This is an opportunity to put robust software technology solutions to work. For example, Holland American Cruise Lines has some 14,000 employees dispersed across its enterprise. This includes crew members on its cruise vessels, as well as other brands under the company’s umbrella: Windstar Cruises, Gray Line and others. They utilize SumTotal Systems, a provider of learning and business performance technologies, services and processes. The software includes a unique shipboard training program for personnel at sea anywhere in the world and allows them to complete training and manages it via satellite data synchronization. “By making training and certification easier, quicker and more efficient to access, complete and report, we are able to have employees focus on what is most important to us: providing our guests with the world-class service, amenities and programs that have been part of the Holland America Line premium travel experience for 130 years,” said Stein Kruse, president and CEO of Holland America Line, in a statement about the partnership. Just as technology drives management best practices for Holland America, the quest to drive data never rests for Royal Caribbean and others who continue to plot the next course of their digital journey. With different software technologies, a dearth of data points can be used to predict weather, the best route and the best alternate route, while their ships blaze through the ocean with newfound efficiency. Jim Romeo is a writer focused on business and technology topics. He is a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and a retired shoreside marine engineer.
Photo Credit: American Bureau of Shipping
Managing Training and Certifications
Newsmakers
Jennifer Carpenter Takes Over as President of AWO JENNIFER CARPENTER, has been promoted to president of the American Waterways Operators effective January 1. She was previously executive vice president and chief operating officer and succeeds TOM ALLEGRETTI, who is stepping down after 26 years in the role. Volvo Penta of the Americas has promoted MARCELO PUSCAR to vice president of marketing and appointed YICHEN GU as to vice president of parts and accessories. Puscar was promoted to vice president of marketing after serving five years as marketing director for the region. Gu will assume the position of vice president of parts and accessories on March 1, 2020.
ARNOUT DAMEN, oldest son of Damen Shipyards Group Chairman KOMMER DAMEN, will become CEO of the shipbuilding group on January 1, 2020. He was previously Damen’s chief commercial officer and takes over from RENÉ BERKVENS, who has been the CEO of Damen Shipyards Group for more than 13 years.
Pittsburgh, Pa.based Campbell Transportation Company Inc., is promoting KYLE BUESE to the role of president effective January 1, 2020. Buese, who has been the executive vice president of the inland marine transportation and service company for the past year, will succeed MIKE MONAHAN who is retiring as president after eight years in that role. He will continue to serve as a member of the board of directors.
Well-known maritime technology strategist RIKU-PEKKA HÄGG has stepped down as vice president of ship design at Wärtsilä to take up a new role as CEO of azimuthing propulsor specialist Steerprop, which says that Hägg’s appointment will help strengthen its strategic ambitions to take advantage of upcoming changes in the marine industry.
CARL W. BENTZEL has been sworn in to serve as a commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission for a term expiring June 30, 2024. He was nominated to the position on June 12, 2019, and confirmed by the Senate on November 21, 2019.
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TECH NEWS
Saga LNG Takes Delivery of ABS-Classed LNT A-BOX Carrier Singapore-headquartered Saga LNG Shipping has taken delivery of the ABS-classed 45,000-cubic-meter Saga Dawn, the world’s first LNG carrier to be fitted with the LNT A-BOX system, an innovative cargo containment system based on IMO requirements for independent type A tanks. Saga Daw n, which completed three weeks of gas trials in June, was constructed by China Merchants Heavy Industry at its Jiangsu shipyard in Haimen, China. Developed by Singapore-headquartered LNT Marine, the LNT A-BOX system features IMO independent prismatic type A tanks as the primary containment. The tanks are supported by laminated wooded supports and a liquid-tight thermal insulation attached to the hull compartment as an
independent secondary barrier. “After nearly 10 years of research and development, we are delighted to see the completion and delivery of the first LNG carrier based on our LNT A-BOX technology. We would like to thank CMHI, Saga and ABS for excellent cooperation throughout the project,” said Kjetil Sjølie Strand, CEO of LNT Marine. “ABS has a track record of working with innovators in gas worldwide and we are proud that this project joins the list of successful projects,” said Eric Kleess, ABS senior vice president-Eastern hemisphere operations. “Innovation is essential to move our industry forward and it is our mission to work with the designers and builders to harness the benefits of these designs while keeping safety at the forefront.”
45,000-cubic-meter capacity Saga Dawn is first LNG carrier to use the LNT A-BOX containment system
34 Marine Log // January 2020
S h e ll M a r i n e h a s r e c e n t l y launched a new IT platform for its Shell LubeAnalyst used oil analysis program. The launch is the first step in demonstrating how Shell Marine will digitalize its service offerings to customers in the future. The next generation Shell LubeAnalyst platform offers a simpler sample management process, which includes online sample registration and label printing, removing the need to complete sample labels manually. This helps to minimize the likelihood of errors and makes life easier for the crew onboard. “D r a w i n g o n S h e l l M a r i n e ’s 30 -year knowledge base of sampling, analysis and diagnos tic s, Shell LubeAnalyst feeds direc tly into maintenance programs,” says Joris van Brussel, general manager, Shell Marine. Upgrades include an intuitive customer portal with personalized dashboards, interactive charts and an easy-to-use oil analysis reporting format that allows vessel managers to oversee lubricant performance across their fleet s via the Shell LubeAnalyst homepage. Users also benefit from a simp l e i n - b ox hig hlig ht i n g a c t io n and attention comments and recommendations from Shell Marine engineers as part of the enhanced reporting functionality. S hell L ub eA nalys t als o gives registered owners access to Shell Marine’s complete librar y of recommendations covering all the key equipment and lubricant grades. The Shell LubeAnalyst mobile app is already available. Customers will be able to read all test reports on a mobile device and use the new scan-and- go labels, tur ning the sample registration process into a truly digital experience. “Digitalized technical ser vices will b e t r ans for mative b e c aus e they help to take uncer tainty out of some of the variables determining engine per formance,” says van Brussel.
Photo Credit: Saga LNT Marine
Shell Launches Next-Gen Used Oil Analysis Program
TECH NEWS
KVH and Kongsberg Digital Install IoT System on Working Vessel KVH Industries Inc. and Kongsberg Digital have successfully installed their first joint maritime IoT system on an active working vessel. Simrad Echo, a Norwegian research vessel owned and operated by Kongsberg, has been fitted with a KVH Watch VSAT antenna for IoT connectivity along with the Kongsberg Kognifai Vessel Insight platform. KVH and Kongsberg Digital say their bundled connectivity solution just installed on Simrad Echo is one of the first cases of an active working vessel using an integrated maritime IoT solution. Simrad Echo will rely on Kognifai Vessel Insight to monitor main and auxiliary systems on the vessel and help ensure 100% availability. For example, the Kongsberg Mapping Cloud application will move highresolution echo sounding data from vessel to shore in real time so that shore-based experts can provide analysis to optimize vessel operations. “While Vessel Insight works as an infrastructure for accessing contextualized quality data from a vessel or fleet, KVH is providing an alternative for IoT connectivity that enables the transfer of data from ship to cloud,” says Vigleik Takle, Kongsberg
Digital’s senior vice president of maritime digital solutions. “We are very happy to be able to offer this as a connectivity option to our users.” The data flow from Simrad Echo will be facilitated by KVH Watch IoT Connectivity as a Service, a VSAT solution that leverages KVH’s end-to-end maritime connectivity services and high throughput satellite (HTS) network. KVH Watch features two modes: Watch Flow, for 24/7, machine-to-machine data delivery compatible with major IoT ecosystems such as Kognifai; and Watch Intervention, for on-demand high-speed sessions for face-to-face support, remote equipment access, and very large data transfers. The two companies plan to utilize Simrad Echo as a platform to develop tighter integrations for remote support and smart bandwidth utilization that will benefit both new and existing customers. “Vessels are complex systems of systems that must work together for the vessel to perform reliably and efficiently,” says Robert Hopkins Jr., KVH’s senior director of maritime services. “During the Simrad Echo pilot, Watch Flow will deliver a complete view of those systems to shore on a Kognifai Vessel
KVH Watch antenna
Insight dashboard. One system, Kongsberg Mapping Cloud for very high-resolution bathymetry, is particularly data intensive, making it a great use case for our highthroughput Watch antenna.”
Viega MegaPress CuNi Press Fitting System Now Available in Larger Sizes
Photo Credit: Viega (bottom); KVH (top)
MegaPress CuNi fittings are constructed from 90/10 copper nickel alloy and are available in a variety of configurations in sizes ½- to 2-inch. Viega LLC’s MegaPress CuNi, a copper nickel press fitting system designed specifically for applications on commercial ships, private yachts and offshore rigs, is now available in sizes up to 4 inches. MegaPress CuNi was introduced in 2017 in sizes from ½ inch to 2 inches. The new sizes of 2 ½ to 4 inches open up new applications and efficiencies. The entire line is fully approved by ABS and the Coast Guard. MegaPress CuNi offers all the benefits of a copper nickel system without the need for
welding. The press fitting system eliminates the need for fire watches and downtime at sea, and also makes it possible for other trades to continue working in the area during on-ship repairs. The fittings have low biofouling properties and resist seawater corrosion for reliable performance. Using a single sealing element and single tool to install, MegaPress CuNi simplifies the installation and repair process and can make connections both wet and dry. The system makes secure press connections in seconds and can reduce installation time by up to 90% compared to welding. “MegaPress for copper nickel provides another solution for marine applications that doesn’t require welding and saves our customers a ton of time, which translates into other savings,” said Paul Switzer, manager-shipbuilding and offshore, at Viega. “Viega customers in the marine and offshore industries recognize and appreciate the other benefits of pressing as well, including flexibility, safety, the ability to work in small spaces and make repairs or replacements while on the water.” MegaPress CuNi fittings are constructed
from 90/10 copper nickel alloy and are available in a variety of configurations in sizes ½- to 2-inch. The patented Smart Connect feature, available only from Viega, provides installers with added confidence in their ability to ensure the integrity of connections. The system is suitable for a variety of applications including seawater cooling, fire mains, sprinkler systems, bilge lines, foam systems, ballast systems, compressed air, vacuum lines, hydraulic oils and many others. MegaPress CuNi can be installed in previously welded systems and is compatible with off-the-shelf pipe. The company provides press pipe fitting technology and manufacturing—selling and distributing thousands of products for industrial, commercial and residential applications, as well as water quality solutions. The Viega Group has more than 4,000 employees worldwide, including more than 650 people in the United States. Viega also specializes in the design, production and installation of radiant heating and cooling systems, and offers Viega Flushing System Technology, including carriers and flush plates. January 2020 // Marine Log 35
SAFETY FIRST
I
ceberg, right ahead!” is a famous movie quote from “Titanic.” Ice is a hazard to vessels great and small. Capable of foundering a small vessel, laying waste to deck gear, or creating a hazard to personnel on deck, ice is no friend to the vessel at sea or in port. For a mariner, the first frost of the season is a warning that should be heeded. When introduced to icy conditions, the deck of a vessel loses all safe operational control. The non-slip coating applied to paint that typically prevents slips and falls is a perfect medium for ice to adhere to. “The night I was called out in response to a bosun who had lost his footing on a cargo hatch crane and fallen 50 feet into the empty cargo hold below taught me an indelible lesson,” says experienced port engineer Seth Lucas. “Walking on ice is hard enough when the ground below isn’t moving; On a vessel at sea it can be nearly impossible. Every precaution available, no matter how cumbersome, should be taken when working in an ice-laden environment. Miraculously, the man survived thanks to his PPE and the heavy clothing worn on that freezing night. What he had failed to don was the lanyard required of all hands working on and around the open holds.” Ice accretion is a part of doing business in higher latitudes, but a proactive crew can control how it affects a vessel’s operation. Steel line winches tend to repel ice as the grease used in their operation mitigates water build-up while nylon and other synthetic lines are quite susceptible to freezing if not properly protected. Equipment that uses electrical power
36 Marine Log // January 2020
can become vulnerable as the temperature drops. Insulated cables lose much of their elasticity and can easily crack when frozen allowing the elements in. A good yearly practice is to ensure that weather-tight covers and gaskets are free of tears and can be tightly secured. Maintaining ice-free designated paths fore, aft and abreast are key in being able to access deck equipment when it is needed. Many vessels that work in extreme cli-
Ice accretion is part of doing business in higher latitudes, but a proactive crew can control how it affects a vessel’s operation. mates are typically fitted with heating tanks, which distribute hot water on deck to quickly melt ice. These vessels, however, are also well stocked with the irreplaceable sand and salt supplies that offer steady footing in even the most stubborn of places. Vessel stability is one of the more significant considerations in vessel safety during voyage planning. For most, this factor does not stray far beyond minimum required GM, or GM margin, as well as weather routing during hurricane season. When a
smaller vessel is working in colder weather however, or a larger vessel is transiting colder regions the concern of ice accretion becomes a reality. Ice accretion—the build-up of ice on the deck and superstructure of the vessel—is caused by a drop in temperature, but also increased wind speed. While ice can develop on vessels of any size, smaller vessels such as tugs and fishing vessels are more susceptible to the negative impact on stability. Any significant build-up should be addressed regularly before weight (and) access to the ice becomes a problem. A diligent crew routinely battles the build-up as part of their day-to-day maintenance routine. Ice-breaking on deck is most effectively dealt with by brute force so the weapons of choice are usually nothing more than the tools coveted by a 19th century gold miner. To reduce accumulation of ice on deck, the master has several choices to make. First and foremost, head toward warmer weather or shelter from the wind. Attempt to reduce spraying by altering course and changing speed to reduce the amount of relative wind. The fastest accumulation of ice occurs when the wind and seas come from ahead. Whenever moisture is in the air and can condense on to the surface, there is a risk of icing. Therefore, fog banks can pose a threat due to the higher moisture content of the air. When changing location and changing course/speed are not sufficient, the master must ensure that crews on deck involved in de-icing are properly prepared. De-icing procedures should be included in a vessels’ Safety Management System. The master and crew that expect to encounter these conditions are recommended to inventory and inspect all of the equipment that will be involved in de-icing, crew safety equipment, as well as the procedures for going out on deck. This article was co-authored by Seth Lucas, experienced port engineer.
Matthew Bonvento A licensed deck officer and Assistant Professor of Nautical Science
Photo Credit: Shutterstock/ Searuss
Experience is Key When Navigating Ice
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Q&A
Castrol ON IMO 2020
J
anuary 1, 2020, the date the global maritime shipping industry has been waiting for, has come and gone. The global sulfur cap, however, is still at the forefront of the minds of many shipowners as they continue to find ways to comply. IMO 2020 is the biggest change in bunkering since shipping switched from coal to fuel oil more than 60 years ago. Managing the transition will be complex and costly for shipowners and operators, who face lots of decisions about fuel, lubricants and engine equipment. To get one company’s viewpoint of how it’s tackling IMO 2020, we sat down with Castrol’s Cassandra Higham, the company’s global marine and energy marketing director with more than 15 years of maritime experience, to find out how it is dealing with the new regulation. Castrol, part of the BP group, says it has 100 years of marine experience and coverage across more than 820 ports in 82 countries. Marine Log (ML): What is Castrol doing ahead of IMO 2020? Cassandra Higham (CH): How we’re approaching it at Castrol is by looking at the
40 Marine Log // January 2020
slightly bigger picture. The January 1 deadline is not the end of the road. Change will be the new normal for the marine industry. We’ve been getting our heads around that mindset to get our customers to a happy place. How can we continue to be that lubricant provider in a world where change is going to be ever more common as we go into 2020? ML: What impact has this regulation had on lubricants? CH: From an engine perspective there is no change. The engines aren’t shifting at all, but the fuels are changing. The critical factor from our point of view is making sure we match the right fuels to the right lubricant choices, because making the right choices for lubricants is becoming more complex for our customers. What we are ensuring and constantly guiding our customers to do is to make sure they step up and monitor the engine for unintended consequences of burning new fuels, such as contamination or base number depletion. We need to make sure our customers are checking performance levels to ensure that engine hardware is optimally maintained. ML: What challenges have you faced in preparation for the new regulation?
Cassandra Higham, Global Marine & Energy Marketing Director, Castrol
Photo Credit: Castrol
Q&A
with
CH: On lubricants, the key is to match the right lubricants to the fuel choice. There are new fuel types out there, less acidic fuel types out there, and so on. So, generally, we need more lubricants available across a broader portfolio. We have to make sure we support all of our customers, whether they have a scrubber fitted or are using distillates. There are so many choices out there, in terms of compliance—it’s a very new marketplace. Another challenge and impact have been the buildup of contamination in the engines. Less certain fuel supply chains could ramp up contaminants that are left in engine cylinders, so we need lubricants that can respond to this challenge. At the same time, more or less acidic fuels will change how quickly lubricants need to be topped up or refreshed. It would be fair to say we’re seeing new operational challenges that put lubricants under more stress than in the past. It’s critical that we’re tackling these issues head on. In 2019, we launched our TLX Xtra lubricant to take on the challenges associated with new engines and different fuels. If we’re keeping those engines cleaner, we’re protecting the engine and freeing up time for less cleanup time and other benefits. ML: What do you want people to know? CH: Making sure that customers understanding the larger challenges and that IMO 2020 is not just about fuels—there’s a bigger picture that incorporates engine hardware and lubricants in tandem. Secondly, this type of change is going to be the new normal. The path that we’re on to decarbonization, if we’re going to get there, means everyone coming together to collaborate as an industry. We are searching to collaborate with OEMs and the wider industry in how we play a part in navigating the changes and challenges that the industry will face in the coming decade.
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