Better by design

PATENTED TECHNOLOGIES FOR MORE EFFICIENT HULLFORMS

A ship design and research company is bringing a number of revolutionary technologies to market for both oceangoing and inland waterways vessels

The new technologies from Canadian company NaviForm are protected by patents in USA, European Union and several other countries, with four already granted and another three pending.

THE WINGED BOW

This oceangoing vessel bow is claimed to reduce resistance of the hull resulting in either higher speed, or less power, fuel consumption and GHG emissions. It also reduces motions in waves, shown in testing and in operation to be 50 percent lower than conventional bow fitted hulls, and eliminating slamming, therefore making it possible to design a lighter structure. It also increases capacity of the hull or reduces it length and cost for given capacity.

FLOW SPINNING STERN BULB

The stern bulb spins the flow of water into propellers counter to their rotation, increasing their efficiency. This has recently been delivered to Navimag Ferries in Chile. MV Esperanza design combines these technologies to such effect that this 150m, 10500 mt displacement vessel needs only 2500kW into her propellers (1250 kW each) to sail at 14 knots, with capacity of 1800 l-m on only two decks. This makes MV Esperanza so efficient that her EEDI (Energy Efficiency Design Index) not only meets present but also future IMO targets without a need to reduce speed, as many operators are presently forced to do in order to meet IMO emission standards.

EXOSKELETON STRUCTURE

longitudinal strength, rather than to rely, as all ships do, on the hull structure. This allows ocean going and river hulls to be lighter and in case of river hulls, also extremely low draught.

ZERO WAVE BOW

A bow developed for river vessels, or self-propelled barges, which is claimed to generate no bow wave, thus eliminating the problem of shore erosion, which limits speed of river or coastal vessels. Featuring two side skegs with a foil between them. It captures the flow and directs it under the hull, rather than to the sides in form of waves which represent wasted energy and cause shore erosion

The Exoskeleton structure and Zero Wave bow have been combined in the design of the first large river container carrier for service on the Mississippi. Construction of the first 181m x 30.5m hull is due to begin in Q1 2021, with three sister ships to follow at 6 months intervals. At 2.7m draught, hull depth is only 3.9m and steel weight only 2300 mt. It will carry an unprecedented 1700 TEU at speeds up to 16kn, although the owners anticipate that when slowed by the traffic these LNG powered vessels will only use half of their installed power, reducing not only operating cost but environmental This structure is fitted outside the hull to provide the required

impact as well.

DETACHABLE STERN VESSEL (DSV)

The DSV concept is said to offer the same benefits as an Articulated Tug Barge (ATB) but without the speed and power penalties ATBs suffer from. When connected, it is essentially a single hull. And when combined with all other new design features listed above, it is expected to outperform conventional monohulls.

Hydrographic survey Cheetah is survey ready

8 NaviForm

Exoskeleton structure is fi tted outside the hull to provide the required longitudinal strength

Cheetah Marine International Limited has completed its second hydrographic survey Cheetah for a Chinese Hydropower engineering company.

Built for SinoHydro, the 8.5m vessel is the fifth of the new 8.5m x 3.4m series, which is Cheetah’s latest hull design. It will be stationed in Bangladesh and deployed for hydrographic survey applications such as depth sounding and current profiling in the Padma Multi-purpose Bridge Project.

Cheetah Marine said the vessel features “twin Yamaha 150hp outboards producing top speeds of over 30 knots and a steady cruising speed of 18-20 knots at 3500rpm. Below deck, two 180 litre custom built fuel tanks provide a range of 200m at 15 knots depending on the currents in the river”.

The vessel features two mounting points for deployment of survey equipment, a sidemount for ADCP and the single beam echosounder, as well as the central moonpool for deployment of the widebeam MBES.

With a moonpool frame built in 50mm stainless steel tube, Cheetah’s patented Hydropod system accommodates the R2 Sonic 2024 transducer head. The system ensures high accuracy of the fixing position, meaning that recalibration after transit is not required, and is easily transported between survey sites. Cheetah Marine fitted a Fisher Panda 8000i 8kva (6.4kw) generator system with dual Durasea rooftop air conditioning systems to keep productive and comfortable conditions in the hot climate of Bangladesh.

The 7-year Padma Bridge is the largest construction to date in Bangladesh and will form the major link to connect the south west, north and eastern regions.

SMALL JOBS IMPORTANT SAYS NPORTS

Germany’s Niedersachsen Ports (NPorts) has completed two small quay renovations while stressing the importance of such maintenance projects for port futures, reports Tom Todd

Completed in the port of Wilhelmshaven was the threemonth renovation of the Millionensteg - an old 75m backanchored pile wall jetty. The project, to secure site stability and road traffi c safety, was carried out by local fi rm Thieling Bau in Stadland on the Weser.

It mainly concerned the upper part of the existing badlycorroded sheet pile structure which was cut away to normal harbor water level. On the land side, an armour stone embankment was created and secured with a partially moulded deck cover. NPorts said the submerged part of the sheet wall was in good condition and did not need renovation.

The cost of the work, just one small part of a Port Development 2025 concept, was just €200,000. NPorts Managing Director Holger Banik said however: “Even smaller maintenance measures such as these are important for our port operations”.

NPorts owns, operates and manages port infrastructures in five major German seaports, including Wilhelmshaven, seven island supply ports and three regional ports on the German North Sea. The deep water port of Wilhelmshaven is one of the three biggest cargo handling ports in Germany and the home of the country’s only deepwater container terminal - Jade Weser Port. The second completed NPorts project is in the vehicle and RoRo port Emden where the nine-month renovation of some 300m of quayside in the Industriehafen has cost a reported €2 million.

Now above water is a stone embankment which, together with materials below the waterline, total some 8,800 tons of stone bulking, NPorts reported. Also now part of the structure is a 3,000 m2 geo-textile separation layer securing and protecting the embankment and its base, as well as a 300m row of pilings and a 35m wing-piling wall.

Photo: Thieling-Bau

Prior to renovation, an old heavy-duty wall from 1910 was dismantled and old piling structures and 500 wooden pilings were removed.

The work had to be undertaken because of the collapse of 50-60m of quay and instability caused by the ravages of time and infestation of wooden pile structures. Now “shipping traffic in this port area can flow safely and unhindered again”, said Holger Banik.

Improvement work on the Crinan Canal

8 Millionensteg in

Wilhelmshaven: small jobs are important, says NPorts

As part of a major investment, the fi rst phase of major improvement works along the Crinan Canal in Scotland will start this winter writes Dag Pike.

This £3.7 million investment in the Crinan Canal is part of Scottish Canals’ Asset Management Strategy which prioritises improvements on all canal infrastructure in Scotland, based on condition and risk. In addition to this work on the Crinan Canal, improvement work will also take place in the Caledonian Canal which links the east and west coasts of Scotland.

The Crinan Canal provides a short cut from the Clyde to the West Coast allowing vessels to avoid the trip around the Mull of Kintyre and the exposed North Channel. Peter Robinson, the Head of Engineering at

8 The Crinan Canal: ”Britain’s most

beautiful shortcut”

Scottish Canals commented, “This year sees the first phase in an anticipated three-year programme of works on the Crinan Canal. The focus of the £3.7 million capital investment will allow us to improve the lock gates on the eastern section of the canal at Ardrishaig, safeguarding their operation for another 40 to 50 years. We’re not only commencing lock gate replacement works this winter, we’re also investing in dredging. We will be undertaking the survey and design works on the western section to secure the long-term operation of the canal. This will ensure Britain’s most beautiful shortcut can be enjoyed by all for years to come.”

AmcoGiffen will undertake the works between November 2020 and March 2021, and this will require the full closure of the canal. The whole of the eastern section of the Canal, from Lock 8 down to the Sea Lock 1 at Ardrishaig will be drained down to allow work on the replacing and repair of lock gates to be carried out at one time. The replacement of lock gates will take place at Locks 1 through to 4 and there will also be improvement work to some of the bridges across the canal