28 minute read
CBD: Think Twice
CBD: OK for crew?
It’s hip, it’s legal, it’s everywhere — it’s even prescribed by doctors. Beware, says one captain. Here’s what crew should know.
By Dorie Cox
CBD. Everyone’s using it, so it’s OK. Right?
Not so, according to a South Florida yacht captain whose mariner’s license is in jeopardy after his positive test for cannabidiol (CBD).
Th is captain, who asked to remain anonymous because of his legal situation, sought treatment from doctors for arthritic pain related to old injuries after 30 years of working on yachts. Nothing worked. He spoke with another captain who had been using CBD for years, and he spoke with his orthopedic surgeon, who said CBD was a safe choice. He researched marijuana and hemp products, and checked maritime rules.
After much deliberation, he decided to try CBD oil within the legal limit of 0.3% THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). In Florida, where it is illegal to sell THC products, the clerk assured him that potency would not be an issue.
“I did 50 milligrams a day under tongue, which is a low dose,” he said. “I considered it equivalent to Advil. I began to see some relief in my shoulder and back. I was pleased with the results.”
When it was time for his master’s license renewal, he had the usual physical and drug test, as he had many times before. It came back positive for THC.
“I was fl oored, to say the least,” the captain said. “Th e MRO was not available to speak with so I fi gured it could be a mistake.”
Medical review offi cers are required by law to report positive results to the authorities, in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Since 1996, laws have been relaxing on CBD and THC. As of early 2021, there are 40 U.S. states and territories that allow medical cannabis. Recreationally, 21 states and territories allow nonmedical use. However, yacht captains and others in transportation must follow drug-testing requirements set by the federal Department of Transportation. As interest in CBD grows, that department has posted a warning on its website, stating that federal regulations require testing for marijuana and not CBD. However, “the labeling of many CBD products may be misleading because the products could contain higher levels of THC than what the product label states.” The Food and Drug Administration does not currently certify the levels of THC in CBD products, so there is no federal oversight to ensure that the labels are accurate. The FDA itself cautions consumers to beware purchasing and using any [CBD] products, stating that it is currently illegal to market CBD by adding it to a food, or labeling it as a dietary supplement, and that the agency has issued several warning letters to companies because their products contained more CBD than indicated on the product label.
Still in disbelief, the captain had himself retested at a facility he uses for random crew screenings. “It also came back positive,” he said.
His U.S. Coast Guard license was now in jeopardy.
As explained in 49 CFR Part 40 of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s drug and alcohol regulations: “The individual must be denied employment as a crewmember or must be removed from duties which directly affect the safe operation of the vessel as soon as practicable and is subject to suspension and revocation proceedings against his or her credential under 46 CFR Part 5.”
It does not matter that it’s legal in the state of Florida to ingest CBD oil or apply it to your skin, or that a medical doctor may have prescribed it — the issue for yacht captains and crew is on the federal level. The federal regulations require laboratory testing for five classes of drugs, including marijuana. Although hemp was removed from the list in the Controlled Substances Act under the 2018 Farm Bill, some hemp products with CBD are classified as marijuana when they exceed the legal limit of 0.3% THC in test results.
“You will be treated as if you just smoked crack in the medical facility or in the parking lot,” the captain said. “There is no difference in their opinions of why the test is positive.”
He also cautions that CBD has been seen to show in hair sample testing for up to 30 days.
And it’s important to note that each user’s effects will vary according to their weight, fat, metabolism, and amount and duration of CBD use, he said. Just because your friend who uses CBP passed the drug test, it doesn’t guarantee that you will.
“Do not take what the salesperson tells you about the legal ramifications of their product,” he said. “They want to sell it to you, so I doubt they will volunteer that it could be detrimental to your livelihood.”
The captain, who is working with the U.S. Coast Guard on keeping his license, wants his experience to be a warning for upcoming and current yacht crew to get educated before using CBD. ‹
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU FAIL A DRUG TEST?
If you test positive for more than the legal limit of THC and cannot prove the testing was incorrectly administered, you are subject to 49 CFR Part 40, which states that anyone who fails a test “will be presumed to be a user of dangerous drugs,” and even non-credentialed individuals “shall be denied employment as a crewmember or removed from duties which directly affect the safe operation of the vessel as soon as possible.” A crew member who has failed a required chemical test for dangerous drugs may not be reemployed aboard a vessel until the following requirements have been satisfied: The MRO must determine that the individual is drug-free and the risk of subsequent use of dangerous drugs by that person is sufficiently low to justify his or her return to work. In addition, the individual must agree to be subject to increased, unannounced testing for a minimum of six tests in the first year after the individual returns to work, and then for any additional period as determined by the MRO, up to a total of 60 months.
Some Refit Proposals Look Good On Paper.
Ours Look Good On Your Boat.
Ah, the lure of the cheap refit. Cut this corner, slash that cost, sub out that job. That’s the business model for some of our competitors. Yet it often turns out that these too good to be true proposals are just that – too good to be true. At Derecktor we do things differently. Our business model is based on doing it right the first time – and standing behind it all the time. We've found that experienced project managers working closely with expert craftsmen leads to superior refit results. That’s no surprise, but what maybe is, is that this approach actually costs less more often than not. When it’s time for your next yard visit, consider all this. Because the more you know about how yards execute refits, the better Derecktor looks.
1+954.920.5756 • 1+772.595.9326 www.derecktor.com
FUTURE OF YACHTING
When considering what lies ahead for an industry already poised at the cutting-edge of technology, three things are certain: Bigger, Better and Mind-Blowing.
Cybersecurity CATCH-22
Rapidly evolving technologies will better protect onboard systems — while also enhancing hackers’ tools to breach them.
By Corey D. Ranslem
Trying to predict what is going to happen with technology and the future is always risky. Technological advancements are happening rapidly, and change is going to be the new normal for the foreseeable future. Major advances in cybersecurity have been made in the past few years, however hackers are also using these advances in technology to their advantage. A day doesn’t go by that you don’t hear about a major organization or government agency succumbing to an attack and loss of data.
The future of cybersecurity is interesting when you look at some of the advances in technology and computing — and specifi cally, communications technology in the maritime industry. Advances in satellite communications are going to be a big catalyst for improving cybersecurity for large yachts. Currently, many cybersecurity tools are constrained by the bandwidth of satellite communications. Most cybersecurity companies have solutions that work great for land-based companies, but don’t work on board large yachts because of bandwidth constraints. In fact, several operations on board the large yacht will improve with increased bandwidth, not just cybersecurity capabilities (see our companion story on satellite communications, page 46).
Technology advances also will help improve cybersecurity. As machine learning algorithms and artifi cial intelligence improve, so will the capabilities of detection of threats. This technology has a long way to go, but incremental advances will make big differences in cyber defense. As these technologies improve, it will be much easier to deploy them to vessel networks to better seek out active threats on the vessel’s IT (integrated technology) network and OT (operational technology) connected to it. Major technological advances are already happening in the protection of OT systems, which can be diffi cult to protect and sometimes provide easy access for hackers. Cybersecurity experts see the potential of deploying “cyber-bots” into the internet to seek out and eliminate cyber threats.
Finally, the biggest advances will take place with the widespread use and introduction of quantum computing technology. We are still years out from the day-to-day use of quantum computers, but their use will completely change the landscape — not just of cybersecurity, but of how we operate in our day-to-day lives. Quantum computing will potentially help reduce the human input of system protection.
It’s important to remember, however, that with all these advances in cybersecurity, there will be equal advances in the tools hackers use to gain access. Crew training is going to continue to be a crucial part of our cybersecurity defenses. ‹
Th e biggest advances will take place with the introduction and widespread use of quantum computing technology.
COREY RANSLEM IS CEO OF INTERNATIONAL MARITIME SECURITY ASSOCIATES (IMSA.GLOBAL) AND TRITON’S TECHNOLOGY EDITOR. HE HAS MORE THAN 24 YEARS OF COMBINED COAST GUARD AND MARITIME INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE.
Cyber Crew
Let your mind wander for a whimsical look at how life on yachts might someday work.
By Jim Bronstien
It is 2072 and there are yachts all over the world, running on alternative fuels with alternative styling we cannot even fathom, using alternative technologies we don’t even grasp. Artifi cial Intelligence has taken over the way yachts are designed, built and used.
Owners fl y personal drones to their yachts at marinas in the middle of the oceans. Th ey get on board and are greeted by……robots! Th ey have the owner’s requests programmed in their system, and they serve drinks and food and music to perfection.
Th e yacht is washed and detailed with exact precision. Th e interior spaces are spotless, and laundry is pressed, folded and organized with exactness. Th e “Power Source Laboratory” (no more engine room!) is mathematically programmed to take the yacht to the next destination.
Destination options are described in great detail to the owner by any one of the “crew,” with all the specifi c data anyone could want: where to anchor, where to dock, water temperature for swimming, depths for diving, exact weather forecasts, etc.
Dinner is prepared by the executive, Michelin-level robot chef, and it’s served to the guests by a group of perfectly coiff ed mechanical fi gurines programmed to act exactly in the style of that owner and/or guests. Th ey speak with American or European or Australian accents. Blonde one day, brunette the next. Males and females in whatever mix is requested each day.
Trash is dumped into “Fuel Tanks” and used to power the yacht. Docking is done with lines that automatically deploy and attach to “cleats” on the docks
and adjust as needed. Water toys are readied by talking to the 2072 version of Alexa, and launched by pushing a button. Th ey are retrieved the same way. And the list goes on.
Crew quarters? Not needed. But there is ample room in the “Charging Station” and “Software Update Lounge.”
Captain? Maybe the one human crew member, but he/she is a computer programmer.
Fantasy or reality? Maybe a little of each. Either way, yachting will change.
What won’t change is the pleasure derived from using a yacht. Th at’s the point. It’s about people having fun. We need people on yachts. We want people on yachts. Yachting is an experience to be experienced by people, for people.
But just in case, we all better brush up on alternative options. ‹
– By Gemma Harris –
FOR ZERO-EMISSION GOALS TO BE REACHED, VESSELS NEED ZERO-EMISSION FUELS TO RUN ON.
The race is on to rid the superyacht industry of fossil fuels. So, what will power yachts of the future? The best clue to what might be coming down the pipeline lies in current innovations and new concepts that are piquing interest. From hydrogen to methanol and biofuels to batteries, there are a lot of contenders for the best alternative fuel source. And for each of these alternative fuel sources, there are various benefits and drawbacks — the main factors being cost, storage and onboard safety.
A promising future for hydrogen appears evident when considering Energy Observer, a sailing catamaran converted into a floating, self-sufficient laboratory of ecological solutions — and the first yacht to both generate and be powered by hydrogen. “To date, hydrogen is the best ally of the renewable energies,” according to the project’s media sources. Although hydrogen is thought to pose some safety issues, Simon Brealey, lead mechanical engineer at Southampton, U.K.-based Lateral Naval Architects, told Triton: “Today we are fully confident that we can engineer a liquid hydrogenbased system to a safety level equal to or better than the current diesel yachts.”
The company believes that” the ultimate future of yachting is zero — zero carbon and zero emissions,” according to Brealey. “The route to zero is a difficult one with probably a few technological and design steps to get there, but it’s clear that we won’t be getting close to zero without the use of some alternative fuels. The type of
alternative fuel depends strongly on the clients motivation, risk acceptance level and the overall requirements of the yacht. Within this spectrum of requirements, the options of 100% electric, methanol and liquid hydrogen all have a part to play, either by themselves or as part of a hybrid power system."
Lürssen’s recently launched “Alice” concept uses a fuel cell propulsion system run on methanol. “I think the future propulsion is hydrogen of sorts, either as direct hydrogen, or hydrogen captured in a medium such as methanol,” said Peter Lürrsen, CEO of the German shipyard headquartered in Bremen-Vegesack. “We have opted for a methanol-based hydrogen system and a fuel cell to reform the methanol into electrical power.”
According to the company, the choice of methanol rather than elemental hydrogen was made because of its higher energy density, its simplicity of handling and easy, worldwide availability — and, most importantly, because methanol can be stored in structural tanks. At the core of the system are fuel cells that generate electrical energy using hydrogen from the reformed methanol and oxygen from the ambient air. The result is noiseless, emissions-free and climate neutral, according to the company.
“My grandfather built the world’s first motorboat in 1886,” Lürrsen stated. “My dream is to be the first to build a yacht without a combustion engine.”
To enable a cleaner future using current engines, biofuels are a potential solution. One company leading the way on this is Gevo. Patrick Gruber, CEO of the Colorado-based company, explained to Triton that “any engine currently running on petroleum-based gasoline could run on our renewable premium
gasoline right now. No need for special fi lters or new fuel systems, just fi ll the tank and go.”
He went on to say that Gevo has great scope for the yachting industry. “We have developed pathways to produce renewable diesel and we expect that, once we produce it at scale, it will adhere to our goals of being a drop-in fuel with net-zero carbon emissions.” In terms of sustainability, he said the company chooses to use “renewable, bio-based agricultural feedstocks because it’s the sector with the largest potential upside in terms of turning the carbon cycle in our favor.”
Another solution, developed by the Berkeley, California-based chemical company Twelve, is what they refer to as “carbon transformation.” Using breakthrough technology developed by two doctoral graduates at Stanford University, CO2 emissions are scrubbed from the air and turned into “climate positive” products. At a Marine Research Hub summit during the 2021 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, Twelve co-founder and CEO Nicholas Flanders told Triton: "We make many diff erent things out of CO2 that are currently made from oil. For example, we just made diesel fuel out of CO2, water and solar energy. So, you could run a ship with zero carbon emissions, and it would have the same performance as you have now."
Th e only thing certain about future fuels is that no one alternative option ticks all the boxes. Th e shipping industry is gaining momentum for a future free of fossil fuel, with technology fi ltering down to superyachts, but the question is: How ready are these solutions to be implemented? For decarbonization goals to be met, solutions must come quickly. Perhaps one of these companies will produce the silver bullet. ‹
Gevo says its biofuel technology not only produces fuel, but also generates enormous quantities of protein for the food chain. To see how it works, watch this video.
Project Aqua, with an overall length of 112m and 3,530 GT, was developed around a zero-emissions, hydrogenelectric propulsion and energy system. Lateral Naval Architects chose a 28-tonne capacity liquid hydrogen system powering proton-exchangemembrane fuel cells.
EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR DESIGN BY SINOT YACHT ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN. IMAGES PROVIDED BY LATERAL NAVAL ARCHITECTS.
JUST IMAGINE!
The future of yacht design will be as limitless as the human mind.
The futuristic yacht concepts on this page are the creation of Vasily Klyukin, a Russian architectural designer, sculptor, writer and businessman. A recent video highlighting Klyukin’s yacht designs can be viewed at:
Shaddai was designed to convey the sensation of omnipotence, says architect Gabriele Teruzzi. And what better way to create the feeling of higher power than to put the owners’ cabin 38 meters in the air, with a vantage point to reflect their place in the world: at the top.
In fact, everything about this futuristic, 150-meter yacht concept exudes the extreme, from the 105-square-meter private terrace on the towering deck to its watery layers of infinity pools and giant aquarium at center stage in a 300-square-meter beach club. The concept calls for Zero
Speed fins with gyrostabilizers to provide the high levels of stability and safety that such a yacht requires. In order to stabilize the owner’s suspended cabin, Teruzzi has incorporated a system similar to the stabilized platform used for onboard wine cellars, but on a bigger scale. To see more, go to gabrieleteruzzi.com
IMAGES COURTESY OF GABRIELE TERUZZI
WI-FI AT WARP SPEED
Starlink ups the ante on satellite connectivity at sea.
By Susan Jobe
No discussion about the future of yachting is complete without addressing the increasingly critical need for reliable, high-speed broadband service at sea. As technology evolves and the virtual world grows ever more inextricable from the functions of modern life, constant internet access is quickly becoming more than a luxury or even an expectation — eventually, it will be a nonnegotiable necessity for owners, guests, and crew alike. How do we get there from here? How do we unlock that potential? Could Starlink hold the key? As with all things Elon Musk-related, Starlink has been garnering quite a bit of press attention. A division of Musk’s aeronautical company SpaceX, Starlink is also the name of its rapidly expanding constellation of low Earth orbit satellites (LEOs) intended to eventually blanket the planet with high-speed internet access. On Jan. 6, SpaceX sent 49 of the small, mass-produced LEOs into orbit, bringing the total to almost 2,000 satellites launched, with thousands more to come. The land-based beta service, licensed and available in about 20 countries, uses small satellite dishes that receive signals through large SpaceX-operated ground stations. While its current top speeds of 150-200Mbps are nowhere near the gigabit speeds of fiber-optic cable, it’s quite fast compared with other satellite internet providers, which use satellites in geosynchronous orbits of about 35,000 km. Starlink satellites operate at altitudes between 550-1200 km, according to an FCC report, and it’s this low-orbit approach, with less distance for signals to travel, that allows for less latency (lag time in responsive connectivity). Low latency is critical for voice and video calling, gaming, and live content streaming. For those who live in remote areas where internet access has been dial-up slow and unreliable, or completely unavailable, it’s a game changer. But that’s the land-based system. Could Starlink also be a game changer for service at sea? Musk has declared on Twitter that maritime application would be “relatively easy,” and that it should work everywhere for global maritime by roughly the middle of this year, once there are enough satellites with laser links launched. SpaceX began adding laser links to satellites planned for polar orbit early in 2021, but now all satellites launched have been upgraded with the links, according to the company. These “space laser” links are key. They allow a satellite picking up a signal from a boat far from shore to bounce that signal off other satellites until it reaches a satellite within sight of a land-based ground station, where the signal is then connected to the wider internet. According to Starlink, information travels much faster through “the vacuum of space” than even fiber-optic cable. “Laser links in orbit can reduce long-distance latency by as much as 50%, due to higher speed of light in vacuum & shorter path than undersea fiber,” Musk tweeted. Still, there are hurdles that remain to be crossed. One is licensure and regulatory approval. Starlink is currently licensed only for beta testing on 10 ships, two of which are the autonomous spaceport drone ships that SpaceX uses to land its returning Falcon 9 rocket boosters. Some approval has already been granted by the International
Telecommunication Union, the United Nations agency that coordinates global communication technologies and satellite systems. But with Amazon’s Kuiper, OneWeb, Telesat, HughesNet, O3b mPOWER, and current satellite communication giants Inmarsat, Iridium and Viasat all elbowing for a piece of the pie, regulatory issues have arisen, as well as concerns about growing amounts of “space junk” threatening the visibility of the night sky and raising the odds of collisions in an already jammed orbital environment. It is estimated that the U.S. Space Surveillance Network is currently tracking about 15,000 pieces of space junk, down to as little as 4 inches in size. During July and October of 2021, the Chinese Space Agency informed the United Nations that their Tianhe manned space station had to maneuver to avoid collision with a Starlink satellite. SpaceX has attempted to address those concerns with upgrades designed to reduce the satellites’ brightness during operation, and technology that enables them to autonomously avoid collisions based on uplinked tracking data. The satellites also have been equipped with krypton-fueled thrusters that allow them to leave orbit at the end of their life and disintegrate upon entering the Earth’s atmosphere. In documentation to the FCC, SpaceX stated that their lower orbits will help ensure the satellites re-enter the atmosphere in a shorter time in case of failure, and their closeness to Earth allows the fleet to broadcast signals at reduced power levels that are compliant with limits intended to reduce radio interference with other satellite and terrestrial wireless networks. Another variable that will have to be addressed is antenna technology. Starlink operates on a flat-panel with multiple high-throughput antennas and a single solar array. Those flatpanel terminals (versus the traditional parabolic dish) need to be stabilized on a moving ship. According to SpaceX’s latest FCC application to deploy ESIMs (Earth Station in Motion) in U.S. and international waters, these specialized, high-performance units have been “ruggedized” for harsher environments and are able to continue to operate at greater extremes of temperature and weather. Only sea trials will tell if they have been “ruggedized” enough. And then there’s cost. According to a filing with the ITU, Starlink is ultimately planning to launch about 42,000 LEO satellites to provide worldwide internet coverage, while the absolute minimum required to make the system fully operational has been estimated at 4,425. Beyond the astronomical costs of launching all those satellites into orbit, the mass-produced Starlink LEOs have a life expectancy
of just fi ve years, which means replacements will have to be continually launched into orbit by the thousands. Additionally, not all of them are functional. Some fail and others are intentionally de-orbited, either because of technical problems or because they are being replaced with newer, updated versions. Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, of the HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics, recently estimated that, of the more than 1,900 Starlink satellites that have been launched to date, there are 1,468 currently providing service. Martin Kits van Heyningen, CEO of satcom service provider KVH, said LEOs are the most expensive way to deliver satellite connectivity. “It’s not a lower cost solution, it’s a lower latency solution.” Of course, KVH is watching closely and preparing. “We’re already developing LEO-ready maritime satcom antenna equipment.” According to Paul Comyns, senior director of channel sales at Intellian Technologies, it will be three to fi ve years before the satellite constellation fi lls out. “It will, however, change the architecture of the industry as it opens up IoT [the Internet of Th ings that allows inter-connected devices to collect and share data without human intervention] and delivers connectivity at extreme latitudes,” he said. Th at change can’t come soon enough for yacht crew. “Owner and guest expectations are high,” Dave Johnson, a retired superyacht captain, said of reliable broadband aboard luxury cruisers. “Costs of monthly service, as well as download speeds, are the issue. More creative programs, as well as 24hour support, are always appreciated.” While cost and availability of that support (especially to captains) are yet to be determined, it’s the timeline that is the big question. Despite Musk’s ambitious predictions, skeptics say Starlink seems to be years away from fi elding enough satellites for service at sea. Also, the recent announcement of the proposed merger between Viasat and Inmarsat presents an interesting twist, since Viasat is marketing speeds that rival Starlink, while Inmarsat is working toward complete global coverage. Th at merger, if approved, is expected to take place by mid-2022. Stay tuned! ‹ Corey Ranslem and Zuzana Prochazka contributed to this report.
OOKLA SPEEDTEST® RESULTS
Ookla is a technology company based in Seattle, Washington, that collects hundreds of millions of measurements about the performance and quality of networks around the world each day for operators, businesses, and government agencies. Speedtest® is Ookla's fl agship network testing platform. Here are some of its test results of the existing Starlink system in the third quarter of 2021.
“Starlink’s median download speed decreased from 97.23 Mbps during Q2 2021 to 87.25 Mbps in Q3 2021, which could be a function of adding more customers. HughesNet followed distantly at 19.30 Mbps (comparable to the 19.73 Mbps we saw in Q2 2021) and Viasat third at 18.75 Mbps (18.13 Mbps in Q2 2021). For comparison, the median download speed for all fi xed broadband providers in the U.S. during Q3 2021 was 119.84 Mbps (115.22 Mbps in Q2 2021).”
“Starlink’s median upload speed of 13.54 Mbps (down from 13.89 Mbps in Q2 2021) was much closer to that on all fi xed broadband (18.03 Mbps in Q3 2021 and 17.18 Mbps in Q2 2021). Viasat and HughesNet followed at 2.96 Mbps (3.38 Mbps in Q2 2021) and 2.54 Mbps (2.43 Mbps in Q2 2021), respectively.”
“Starlink, which uses low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, was the only satellite internet provider with a median latency anywhere near that seen on fi xed broadband in Q3 2021 (44 ms and 15 ms, respectively). Viasat and HughesNet, which both utilize higher ‘geosynchronous’ orbits, had median latencies of 629 ms and 744 ms, respectively.”
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