TANKER OPERATOR Magazine (April 2015)

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TANKER OperatorAPRIL 2015 www.tankeroperator.com

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April 2015 TANKER Operator 01

ContentsMarkets

Strong fundamentalsLR ordering key

News FocusISM Code and tankersPools and the law

Manning & TrainingShip/shore interfaceGuide for Mooring MastersIndian seafarersCoping with inspectionsCOLREGS trainingOwners and managersSingapore fundUK cluster growth

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04

07

22

11

Anti-PiracyVessel hardeningSE Asia procedures

Technology 26 Ice Class Tankers

More on the Polar Code Oil spills 30 Ship Efficiency

Reducing costs Energy saving 34 Bunkering

Problems highlighted Low sulphur solutions

AWT addresses ECAs 40 Tank Services

Viscosity meter Advanced tank coatings

26



TANKER Operator April 201502

COMMENT

Confucius he says.....!!!!

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Confused seas---A highlydisturbed water surface without asingle, well-defined direction of wave travel.

This analogy was used by ABS European president and COO Dr Kirsi Tikka to describethe state of the shipping industry and in

particular the regulators at a recent Londontanker conference.

Throughout the conference there werevarious presentations given, which highlighted

just how confused these seas are.In a lively debate, IPTA/Navigate Chemical

and Product Tanker Conference chairman CaptIan Finley questioned the role of the regulatorsand the impact the regulations have onshipping. The IMO should go back to its roots

to serve shipping in a well thought out wayand not penalise shipping, he said.

Much debate was also centred around anoperational efficiency standard and would itwork, plus the difference between the UNFCCand the IMO on climate change, which needsto be reconciled. Somewhat incredibly thetalks have been suspended.

Probably of more immediate interest is thequestion of an operating efficiency standardfor all vessels. There were questions posed onhow the data would be collected, the flag

administration’s role and a centraliseddatabase housed at the IMO.IMO spokesman Sveinung Oftedal said

rather worryingly that it is currently uncertainwhether an operational efficiency standardwould delivery sufficient reductions. He saidthat market driven efficiencies, such as slowsteaming, should be taken into account. “Weneed to be flexible but within standards,” hesaid. He thought that such a standard wasfeasible both legally and technically.

There is still argument between the EU andIMO over the lower limit of the proposedemissions monitoring/measuring reporting

verification (MRV) proposals. Basically theEU has came out in favour of a system startingat 5,000 gt, while the IMO has suggested alower limit of just 400 gt.

The EU’s Heiko Kunst explained that theMRV regulation’s context was agreed by theEuropean Parliament and Council on 14th

November with the Council agreeing the finaltext on 5th March this year for formaladoption in April and entry into force on 1stJuly.

Supporting technical legislation preparationis planned to be completed by 20th May 2016,which includes expert stakeholder consultations.The accreditation of the verifierswould then be completed during the first half of 2017 followed by the verification of the

monitoring plans during the second half of thatyear with a monitoring start up during thefollowing year.

However, Kunst acceded that this time scaledid depend on the IMO’s possible global MRVintroduction. He said that the two sides havetime for discussions as there were six to sevenMEPC meetings scheduled before the EUimplements its regulations. He also agreed thatthe shipping industry only needed one system- not two.

Tankers differ IPTA’s Janet Strode then accused theregulators of tending to put tankers together into one segment. She pointed out thatchemical tankers were completely different toother types of tankers in that they regularlychange berths in one port, due to 20-30different cargoes being carried on a singlevessel, which could lead to waiting times.

In addition, as the vessels can carry up to800 cargoes, there is a huge demand on fuelfor heating cargoes, especially vegoils. Tank cleaning becomes more significant with somany cargoes and the use of nitrogen

generators must also be taken intoaccount.“You can’t compare like with like or on a voyage to voyage basis,“ she said.

As mentioned in the bunker feature in thisissue, there is growing concern among theexperts that engine components do not likecertain fuels, especially low sulphur fuels.

Both IBIA’s Peter Hall and Viswalab’sGowri Shankar presented horror storiesregarding damaged engine components and the

perceived lack of enforcement on the wider formula variations and the fuel switching

problems being encountered when entering or leaving an ECA.

AnomaliesThere are several anomalies being unearthed

not least between the contract as stipulated andthe interpretation of Port State Control, plusthe ISO standards and MARPOL.

Again somewhat surprisingly, we were toldthat the results of a sample test could varyfrom laboratory to laboratory as, despite usingthe same techniques on the same fuel, thechemistry could throw up different results.

We were also told that refineries would needfive years to perfect product for the 2020/2025worldwide sulphur cap. Again the EU looks to

be ahead of the IMO in implementing the cap.

A strong plea was made to shipowners tocontact their flag administrations, which inturn should alert the IMO through their representatives to persuade them to act atMEPC and MSC meetings.

As we said at the beginning, shipping is in avery confused state. The question is - have theregulators taken leave of their senses andforgotten just how shipping is run?

*Some of the papers from Tanker Operator’srecent Mumbai conference are contained inthe body of the magazine within the relevant

sections.

T O



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INDUSTRY - MARKETS


Strong fundamentals

to boost tankermarketHigh demand coupled with limited fleet growth is forecast to continue to

propel the tanker market.

According to the latest short-termmarket outlook by BIMCO, for the period March to May this

year, the organisation expectedearnings of $30,000-50,000 per day for VLCCs, around $30,000-55,000 per day for Suezmaxes while for Aframaxes, earnings areforecast to be about $20,000-40,000 per day.

In the product tanker segment, BIMCO saidearnings on the benchmark routes from theArabian Gulf to Japan for LR2s to remain ataround $15,000-25,000 per day. LR1s willhold firm on around the same daily rate astheir LR2 counterparts. MR average rates areforecast to be slightly softer at $12,000-24,000

per day, while Handysize average rates willremain firm at $15,000-25,000 per day.In its latest market outlook, BIMCO said;

“Following the peak in global oil demand in4Q14 at 93.53 mill barrels per day asestimated by the International Energy Agency(IEA), the first half of 2015 provides aslowdown to an average of 92.50 mill barrels

per day.“For 2015 as a whole, IEA forecast demand

growth of 0.9 mill barrels per day (+1%) up

from 0.7 mill barrels per day (+0.8%) in 2014.Growth is expected purely in non-OECDareas, with +0.1mill barrels per day in theAmericas, +0.2 mill barrels per day in Africa,the Middle East and China, +0.5 mill barrels

per day in ‘other Asia’ and then -0.3 mill barrels per day in FSU to strike the balance.

“Global oil supply is likewise expected togo higher, though not as much as demand.This will narrow the oversupply gapsomewhat. IEA notes that the market responseto lower oil prices is asymmetrical in the sense

that the supply side has become more price-elastic, whereas demand less so,” BIMCOsaid.

Global oil supply is a volatile element, onethat affects the tanker markets somewhat – not

by creating uncertainty but by making adifference to tonne/mile demand if oil supplycomes from the US, Libya or Iraq that alone

sold nearly 3 mill barrels per day inDecember. In January 2015, Iraq onlyexported 2.5 mill barrels per day.

Normally OPEC exports benefit the crudeoil tanker markets as they traditionally golong-haul, so the lack of OPEC supply mayexplain some of the sliding freight rates seensince the start of year, the report explained.

Meanwhile in the US, shale oil producersare scaling down the number of rigs drillingfor oil in their response to the lower oil prices.Whether this actually brings down supplysignificantly or only cuts costs for themarginal barrel remains to be seen.

Until now, none of the large oil-producing

nations have announced large cuts in oil production. Adding to this positive story is theMiddle East export refinery expansionscoming on stream this year. The Yanbu facilityon the west coast of Saudi Arabia on the RedSea expects to export globally some 400,000

barrels per day of refined products.Whereas the Yanbu refinery is export-

oriented, the new large-scale expansion of theRuwais facility in Abu Dhabi is expected to bedomestically oriented. A development such asthis illustrates the oil-refinery movement isstill very much alive, lifting hopes higher for oil product tanker demand going forward,BIMCO said.

SupplyMeanwhile, in terms of tanker fleet supply,BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst, Peter Sand,said; “It is no surprise that the order

book for crude oil tankers is growing as theonly one among the major shipping segments.Twelve new VLCC orders, six Suezmax ordersand four Aframaxes have been placed so far in2015.

“This has lifted the crude oil tanker order book by 4.5%. Orders for VLCCs have beenshared among the three top builders, whereasthe orders for Suezmaxes and Aframaxes have

Source - BIMCO, Clarksons.

Tanker Earnings 2014-2015




INDUSTRY - MARKETS

all been placed in China. China remains the builder that offers the lowest prices onnewbuildings. During 2014, 24 newbuildVLCCs entered the trading fleet against 30 in2013. So far three VLCCs has been delivered,with another 25 scheduled for delivery,“ he

said.BIMCO expected some slippage will occur that will support a stronger earningsenvironment. However, the window of opportunity also seems to close somewhat in2016, which currently has 54 VLCCsscheduled for delivery, Sand noted.

The report also said that the VLCC fleetgrew last year by 2.3% and is on course for 3.1% in 2015, taking an unchanged level of demolition into account.

Looking at product tankers, the LR2segment is where action on the supply side istaking place this year. For a total fleet thatconsists of 239 units at the start of the year,the addition of 32 (including slippage) willinevitably be quite a lot.

BIMCO assessed the overall product tanker fleet will grow by 5% in 2015, the fastest pacesince 2010. This will result in a thirdconsecutive year of a rise in product tanker fleet growth since it bottomed out in 2012 at2%.

Demolition in both tanker segments isforecast to be around the same level as in2014, with no significant one-off events likelyto rock that boat. So far the demolition activityin 2015 has naturally been very low with

strong markets, just six old product tankersand two VLCCs built in 1989 and 1992, thereport said.

DemandIn terms of demand, the report noted thatdemand for crude oil and oil product tankers iscurrently strong and both segments areenjoying an extended winter season with highearnings.

Spot market earnings in January for VLCCand Suezmaxes reached $70,000 and $65,000

per day at their peak respectively. For the product tankers, Handysizes peaked at $35,000 per day in 4Q14 before heading south inJanuary, similar to the other product tanker segments, only to rebound in the second half of February.

Product tanker freight rates on the spot

market shot up in October and have managedto stay high since then. They have alsoenjoyed increased demand from the drop in oil

prices as more arbitrage opportunities (takingadvantage of a price difference between two or more markets) developed in combination witha strong season uptick.

It seems that crude oil tankers are nowresponding to the improved tradingenvironment by sailing at higher speeds.

The report added that not since the first half of 2010 have we seen a ‘normal’ priced T/C

market for VLCCs. Just before Christmas2014, the one-year T/C rate for a 310,000 dwtmodern VLCC was $40,000 per day.

This was illustrative both of the movementin the market and an indicator that thesignificant oversupply seen in recent years haseased. The one-year T/C rates were as low as$18,000 per day in 2013 on the back of limited fixture activity as no owners wanted tocommit on such low levels; at the same timethe five-year T/C rate also struck a multi-year low at $26,000 per day. By comparison, at theend of February, the one-, three- and five-year T/C rates stood equal at $43,000 per day.

A lot of talk about the steep contango in oil prices (where the forward price is higher thanspot price) circulated during the winter onwhether or not it could translate into awidespread employment of large crude oiltankers to floating storage. Such adevelopment could boost demand and sendfreight rates higher.

However, thus far, we have not seen muchmovement in this direction, as owners as wellas speculators, who could benefit from this

price spread have been reluctant to trade.Floating storage has appeared only to a limitedextent, BIMCO’s report concluded.

Crude Tanker Supply Growth

Source - BIMCO, estimates on Clarksons raw data.

A is actual, F is forecast. E is estimate which will change if new orders are placed. Thesupply growth for 2015-2017 contains existing orders only and is estimated under the

assumptions that the scheduled deliveries fall short by 10% due to various reasons and20% of the remaining vessels on order are delayed/postponed.

World Oil Demand

Source - BIMCO, OECD/IEA. T O




INDUSTRY - MARKETS

Long Range orders

key to futureFor a few years, there has been a wide spread belief that expanding refining capacity inthe Middle East would offer strong support to the product tanker market.

Indeed, this speculation supportedstronger interest in newbuildings. In2013, we saw 54 LR2 orders, comparedto a total of 38 units ordered during the

previous five years put together, said Gibsonin a recent report. Similarly, 28 LR1 orders

were placed in 2014, versus just eight ordered between 2011 and 2013.

These orders were largely placed at a timeof weakening tanker earnings, as returnsgenerally eased during 2013 averaging just$10,000-11,000 per day at market speed

between November 2013 and June 2014.However, the LR2/LR1 market gradually

firmed during the second half of last year tothe heights not seen since 2008. As expected,higher returns were supported by stronger long haul product exports out of the Middle

East, once the 400,000 barrels per day Jubailrefinery in Saudi Arabia reached full scaleoperations in late summer 2014.

There had also been a notableincrease in spotfixtures for larger

product carriersloading East of Suez in 2014relative to the

previous year (well abovevolumes out theMiddle East). The

picture was similar in the West,

particularly for LR1s, where themost significantincrease has beenobservedUK/Continent toWest Africa trades.

The recent

strength inLR2/LR1earningsis encouragingfurther investment

in newbuildings, as since the beginning of thisyear, some 17 LR2 and 12 LR1 orders have

been placed, up to the end of the first week of March, Gibson said.

Despite this fresh wave of ordering,LR2/Aframaxes and LR1/Panamaxes still

have the smallest orderbook as a percentageof their existing fleets at around 12.5% intotal. This is due to a minimal investment inthe dirty segment in these size groups inrecent years, which in a way helped to offsetstronger ordering activity for LR2s and LR1s.

Marginal changesThe changes in the trading fleet this year arelikely to be marginal, with very fewdeliveries expected to enter service. Therecent migration of several LR2s from the

clean to dirty trade will further limit thetrading LR2 fleet this year, particularly if more units follow to take advantage of the

current strength in the Aframax market.At the same time, demand is expected to

increase further, once the two 400,000 barrels per day Yanbu and Ruwais refineries in theMiddle East reach full scale operations over the course of 2015.

However, the outlook in the medium termis more uncertain. The planned start-up of the400,000 barrels per day Jazan refinery in late2016 is expected to be delayed by around ayear (if not longer) and this will push back export growth potential for product tankers.

The supply side as of the beginning of March appears balanced to counteract thisdelay. However, a lot depends on how manymore orders are seen in the near term. If ordering activity continues at similar levelsseen over the past couple of months, by year

end, the number of orders in each segmentwill reach record annual highs, Gibsonwarned. TO

Source - Gibson Research.




INDUSTRY - NEWS FOCUS - ISM CODE

It was adopted under SOLAS followingseveral high profile accidents, includingthe 1987 foundering of the Herald of

Free Enterprise and the 1994 sinking of the Estonia , both with a heavy loss of life.

Under the Code, most vessels of 500 gt andabove, including tankers, need to have SafetyManagement Systems (SMS) installed,

developed, implemented and maintained byshipowners and managers. The SMS must beimplemented both ashore and afloat.

While the Code required companies todevelop SMS for their vessels, it was left

broadly open as to as to the terms applied andwas deliberately intended to be sufficientlyflexible to allow adoption by varying sizedcompanies and spanning all industry sectors.

However, at times, the Code has beentreated as a form filling and check listexercise. It is seen by many as an

administrative burden on vessels without thedesired positive effect on safety, which is thewrong impression.

The Code not only provides the basis onwhich companies can develop essential safetysystems, along with the procedures to allowthese to be checked and followed up, butcompliance is also often required under charterparties, as well as for insurancecoverage.

Tanker owners/operators/managers is oneindustry sector that has had particular reasonto be keenly aware of the necessity for compliance, as well as the consequences of afailure to comply.

Today, tankers operate in a stringentenvironment where their employment isdirectly, or otherwise, down to ‘oil major approval’. Since a raft of highly publicisedincidents down the years, culminating with the

Prestige and Erika sinkings, the oil majorsknow of the financial and reputational impactof a major incident.

As a result, the Oil Companies InternationalMarine Forum (OCIMF)- the voice of the oil

majors- developed the Ship Inspection ReportProgramme (SIRE), which was introduced in1994 to create a database about the conditionof tankers with the aim of improving quality

and safety standards.It should come as no surprise to learn that

ISM compliance is one of the things that aSIRE inspector will look for when boarding avessel.

One of the key issues that has often arisen isthe shipping company management’s concernover addressing:

Achieving ISM compliance.Concern about creating documents thatresult in SIRE VIQ ‘observations’.Legal advice that suggests limiting thecreation of a paper trail, which maysubsequently become subject to legaldiscovery, or disclosure obligations.

The concerns and misunderstandings of howto address these appropriately, can lead tounder performance in critical ISM areas, onlyincreasing the physical and legal risks. It is noteasy to gain a complete overview of tanker

ISM issues, as well as casualty data, as there isno central repository for collecting andanalysing Section 9 non-conformity (NC)reports, or a central or autonomous agencythat collects, evaluates and disseminates tanker incident information.

Lagging behindIn this regard, shipping lags behind the airlineindustry when it comes to accidentinvestigation and the lessons learned. Part of the reasons are set out by Jack Devanney inhis paper ‘Uses and Abuses of Ship CasualtyData’. Often the underlying reason will be afear of embarrassment coupled with concernsover legal prejudice.

This can lead to the following suppressionof information;A) Ratings not reporting problems to the

officers.B) Crews not reporting problems to their

owners/managers.C) Some owners/managers may prefer not to

learn in writing about perceived minorshipboard issues and are concerned about a

paper trail being created that could bediscovered during a SIRE inspection orincident investigation.

Regrettably this form of approach still exists

today.An example of such an issue being tested in

a New York arbitration case, led to a findingof neglect by the management and an award infavour of the claimant cargo owners. Thevessel apparently had an SMS certificate for several years, but there was no single fullycompleted NC report or any evidence of a

management review of a report in the owner’srecords. That issue, combined with a seeminglack of proper planning and managementoversight of voyages and repairs, led to thearbitrators reaching their conclusion.

In 2014, a formal survey of ISM compliancewas conducted by David Corkish and

presented in a dissertation - The Effectivenessof ISM Implementation’ - to Liverpool’s JohnMoores University.

The findings of this survey were;1) Some vessels and organisations had a

‘culture of (avoiding) embarrassmentamong their managers and crew.2) Official statements about embracing ISM

were not followed through in practice,including a verified check on a particularcompany stating it was compliant buthaving been found to routinely violateSTCW work and rest hours with no NCever being filed.

3) Using the ‘5 whys’ technique of incidentreview often leads to issues of management

practices being the root cause.4) Section 12 of the ISM Code requires audits and annual reviews, but these may be

neglected in practice.5) Less than half of respondents were able to

state that they had a ‘buy in’ to ISM’s philosophy and practice.

6) Over two thirds of respondents felt that the paperwork generated by ISM compliancerequirements was excessive, distractingfrom other duties and contributed to fatigue

on board.7) Some respondents felt that IT support was

insufficient to assists with this

administrative burden.8) Less than one third felt that an adequate

and confidential NC system was in placeand a similar low number did not express

The ISM Code from

a tanker perspectiveThe ISM Code has been in force since 1st July, 1998*.





confidence in their employers to respond to issues in a timely fashion.9) Less than half of the respondents felt

that accident and near miss reportswere being taken seriously by theirorganisations and even more of aconcern was that 30% thought thereports were not taken seriously.

10)Overall, there was a perception that paperwork was being over relied uponto achieve ISM compliance, whichled to frustration on the part of thosewho had to complete these tasks -with potential ship to shore attitudes

being the root cause.From 1998-2008, John Dudley- the co-author of Skuld’s loss prevention bulletin, fromwhich this article is taken - was the primaryvetting reviewer for a large international oil

trader. He examined between 400-500 OCIMFSIRE VIQ reports annually and in around5,000 reports, he saw:

Only an occasional statement that a VIQobservation ‘would be raised as a non-

conformity and reviewed according to theowner’s ISM process.Only one company who repsonded to SIRE

VIQ observations by raising a NC for every observation. The company submitted a

copy of their management NC reviewstatus report as its response to the vessel’s

SIRE VIQ observations.Only one example of a fully completed NC report form, with management- of- change

follow through and sign off, as a VIQobservation response.

In one case, an owner’s refusal to submit anykind of written report regarding an incidentthat occurred while the vessel was in operationresulted in the tanker not completing a vettingsuccessfully for two years until finally thesituation was properly addressed.

One thing that Dudley was particularlylooking out for as a vetting manager was toread a SIRE inspector’s VIQ observation that‘during the previous six months, 12 non-conformities were raised by the crew or duringmanagement visits and all were shown to besuitably closed out by management review andSMS changes.

“Such statements were considered to beevidence of a well working SMS process on

board and ashore with due reporting andfollow up. So the quandary for owners andmanagers is - How can I create NC records of deficiencies in the operation of my vessels

without the NC records becoming uncorrectedobservations recorded by SIRE inspectors intheir VIQ report, leading to possible vettingrejections and loss of income, or creating a

documented history of apparent errors and

omissions that will be used against me in anarbitration or court proceedings?” he said.

Strong defenceThe answer is that a diligent programme of continuous improvement, including a rigorousnon-conformity process, will significantlyreduce the opportunity for an event that will

produce a legal or arbitral consequence andthe ability to demonstrate thoroughimplementation of ISM is a strong defenceagainst claims of negligence

Of the greatest importance, the mostimportant step is for management to realise theimportance of ISM compliance and then

ensure this is translated into proper adoption,

as well as continued review and appraisal.This will mean a lot of work, but theconsequence of failing to comply could lead toa loss of oil major approval, insurancecoverage prejudice, as well as legalconsequences- both civil litigation andauthority led action.

One key area to check is compliance withISM Section 9, as this can be an easy targetwhen passed into the hands of the lawyers.This section covers reports and analysis of non-conformities, accidents and hazardous

occurrences.The question of what constitutes anadequate number of NCs, as outlined in this

Betwixt and between. (Source: Skuld).

Improvement is a never ending journey. (Source: Skuld).



April 2015 TANKER Operator


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section, to demonstrate compliance, is a contentious one. Owners’

responses differ greatly when asked this question. It has beensuggested that there should be a basic expectation of at least someissues being reported periodically.

This would allow an easy follow up on vessels that report nothingto see whether all is well or whether there may be an issue with under reporting which needs addressing

There are some owners/managers that continue to resist fullimplementation of the continuous improvement mandate and ISM NCmechanism out of a possible concern over the creation of documentary evidence that could adversely affect vetting, arbitrationor court outcomes.

However, this concern should be replaced by an even greater

concern of being found to have not initiated ad maintained a vigorousflow of ISM issue reports from a fleet and a return flow of changemanagement actions for continuous improvement.

On the legal and insurance side, if deficiencies are detected, seriousconsequences can follow. For example, the Australian Maritime SafetyAgency (AMSA) has a strong track record of highlighting deficienciesand a demonstrated willingness to take robust action, including the

banning of vessels found to be in non-compliance with codes andregulations.

Should a significant accident occur and subsequent investigationsreveal that there was a systematic ISM compliance failure on board,ashore or both, it may lead to potential legal action by authorities,including criminal prosecutions. In civil liability, this could lead to aloss of limitations and defences that could be otherwise availableunder contract or law.

It must be remembered that vessel insurance coverage is dependentupon the vessel being fully ISM compliant. For example, Skuldchanged its rules in 1998, expressly to make ISM Code compliance acondition for cover from the P&I club.

*This article was taken from a dissertation presented by David Corkish in his final year of an honours degree undertaken at

Liverpool John Moore's University, UK. John Dudley of Tankerisk assisted by providing advice and information during the datacollection phase, as a primary source.

The dissertation has since been published by Norwegian P&I ClubSkuld under the title - ISM Compliance for Tankers - from which thisarticle is taken.

Tankers are by and large well regulated.

TO




INDUSTRY - NEWS FOCUS - POOLS

Shipping pools: a

competition lawperspectiveIn today’s difficult market conditions, it is vital for shipowners to use all

available efficiencies.*

Designing a pool in accordancewith competition law is a way for

shipowners to achieve thoseefficiencies and to enable them to

‘swim’ rather than ‘sink’.Although there are different models, a

standard shipping pool brings together anumber of similar vessels under differentownership and operated under a singleadministration.

A pool manager is normally responsible for the commercial management (for example,

joint marketing, negotiation of freight ratesand centralisation of incomes and voyage

costs) and the commercial operation (planningvessel movements and instructing vessels,nominating agents in ports, keeping customersupdated, issuing freight invoices, ordering

bunkers, collecting the vessels’ earnings anddistributing them under a pre-arrangedweighting system).

The pool manager’s activities can beimportant to achieve a level of integrationnecessary to obtain the benefits of the co-operation. To achieve this, the pool manager must often have functional independence and

be responsible for providing integratedservices.

He or she tends to act under the supervisionof a general executive committee representingthe vessel owners. The technical operation of vessels (safety, crew, repairs, maintenance) isusually the responsibility of each owner.Although they market their services jointly,the pool members often perform the servicesindividually.

Pools are assessed under competition laweither as mergers or as co-operativearrangements falling short of a merger. The

more integrated the pool, the more likely it isto be considered as a merger.

A merger whose participants exceedrelevant financial thresholds will generally

require pre-notification and prior clearancefrom the relevant competition authority(ies).

Clearance confers the benefit of legalcertainty, but there is the risk of changes beingrequired or even a negative decision, althoughthere is possibly a more lenient test for mergers than for co-operative arrangements.

However, many pools will not be consideredto have the requisite degree of permanence to

be considered as mergers, due for example tothe rights of shipowners to withdraw ships onnotice, or will be regarded as too reliant ontheir parent companies to be mergers. In some

jurisdictions, particulars of pools falling short

of mergers need to be filed with maritimetransport regulators in any event.

Co-operative arrangementsFor co-operative arrangements, there willgenerally be no competition law issue if the

participants are not actual or potentialcompetitors. For example, when shipownersset up a pool to tender for, and perform,contracts of affreightment (coas) for which, asindividual operators they could not bidsuccessfully or which they could not carry outon their own, no competition issues willgenerally arise.

In addition, where the market share of the pool participants in a co-operativearrangement is low, for example in afragmented market, competition authorities areunlikely to be concerned to intervene. This is

because the pool participants will not have asignificant economic impact on the market.

But it is usually important that there is adegree of integration between the participants’activities in the pool: otherwise, the pool could

be seen as a bare cartel focused on joint

selling, with the object of co-ordinating the pricing policy of the competitors, but with noefficiencies.

Pools which do not involve joint selling,

but, for example, joint scheduling or joint purchasing will generally only raise

competition issues where the parties havesome degree of market power.Key points to consider include non-compete

clauses, lock-in periods and notice periods andexchanges of commercially sensitiveinformation.

EfficienciesThe greater the extent to which the pool givesrise to restrictions of competition (for examplethe higher the market share of the

participants), the greater the efficiencies and pass-on of benefits to customers there must be.

The efficiencies must result from theintegration and could result from obtaining

better utilisation rates and economies of scale,improved geographic spread and consequentreduction of ballast voyages. In addition, eachrestrictive clause contained in a poolagreement must be reasonably necessary toattain the claimed efficiencies.

In conclusion, shipowners may find poolsattractive for a number of reasons. Pools can

be an effective way for shipowners to co-operate and gain efficiencies without losing

their independence.

*This article was written by Anthony Woolich, Partner with Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW).

Pools should not be seen as mergers.

T O




INDUSTRY - MANNING AND TRAINING

Improving the

ship/shore interfaceWith stringent regulatory requirements today covering ships, trading areas, ports,terminals, there is a need for a greater awareness of the ship to shore interface.

This is an important element of fleetmanagement, said Capt RK Singh,senior vice president (shipping) of Reliance Industries at the recent

Tanker Operator Mumbai tanker conference.Reliance owns and operates the giant

Jamnagar refinery complex, which has five

SBMs and four jetties for handling crude oil,gas and petrochemicals. In addition, the Indianenergy concern has other petrochemical plantsin the country handling products and chemicaltankers.

Capt Singh said that the ship to shoreinterface is an important element of fleetmanagement. It is a driver for operationalexcellence and the role of the vessel’s Master is also important, although the responsibilitycan go to a much higher level within acompany, leading to a ‘blame game’ if not

checked.When the ship to shore interface is workingwell there is an open dialogue between the twooperators, which leads to a better understanding of each other’s problems. Therewill also be a good safety and working culture,leading to efficient and safe operations withgood returns and satisfied stakeholders, hesaid.

There are areas of concern due to thevariable interface that is sometimes found.There might be cases of a different work culture and/or practices. He explained thatactions taken on one side will affect the other side and there is always a risk with tanker cargo handling operations.

He called for a greater understanding of each others operations even to the extent of giving the Masters and senior officers time inthe office to work alongside shoreside

personnel in order to better understand their problems. In addition, port and terminaloperatives should be trained in line with theship’s personnel.

There should be a knowledge of the working practices on both sides with check lists andmanuals on the port/terminal information, suchas equipment, operational procedures, etc.

Critical componentShip and shore personnel should complementeach other as this is a critical component of vessel and terminal operations, especially withtoday’s improved communications technology.

The Master is under regulatory andoperational pressures, which can induce the‘fear factor’. Ship’s personnel should be

involved in shoreside projects. In some cases,the shoreside managers have come from other industries and have not served as seafarers,thus lacking the understanding of shipboardoperations, he said.

If issues are not addressed, these could leadto excessive bureaucracy and communications.

The ship could end up being operateddependent on the shore personnel, thus erodingthe Masters’ authority. There is also a risk dueto policy decisions being taken onshore, againleaving the Master undervalued and frustrated,Capt Singh warned.

In order to improve the ship to shoreinterface, periodic interactions/meetings should

be held and as mentioned, the rotation of ship’ssenior personnel to shore duties should beencouraged, as well as increased shipboardvisits by the shore staff. In addition, the ship’s

officers should be trained in port/terminaloperational aspects.“We need to formulate a statutory

‘port/terminal operation code’ applicable to all ports/terminals, which is mandatory andcertificated periodically audited, IMO can takethe lead for a Port/Terminal Operation Code,”he stressed. “Why not have a port/terminalISPS Code?” he asked.

OCIMF, in co-operation withWitherby Publishing, has issuedthe first edition of ‘CompetenceAssurance Guidelines for Mooring, Loading and LighteringMasters’.There is no established requirement for this

particular discipline and the guideline’sobjective is to provide a competence baselinethat can be applied internationally, theorganisation said. It is aimed at marinefacilities involved in the handling of

petroleum, oil and liquefied gases.Within the context of this 80-page

hardback, complete with a CD-ROM, theterm ‘Mooring Master’ encompasses several

different roles by which a shore representative provides an advisory service to vesselMasters.

These include, loading Masters, lighteringMasters, ship-to-ship (STS) transfer superintendents and docking/berthingMasters. The guidelines also include thoseinvolved with single and multiple buoymoorings and others that undertake STS cargotransfers. They could also be of benefit atfixed berth facilities (jetties or docks) wherethe terminal is responsible for managing

pilotage and berthing Master services.The authors said that the advice contained

in the guidelines should be supplemented byinformation gained from individual facility

operators by which the relevant aspects of their own procedures can be covered.

Four key functions were identified thatcover the main areas of the role and the basicrequirements associated with both vessel andfacility activities;

Facility organisation and procedures.Safe passage for a vessel to/from the

berth.Manoeuvring, mooring and unmooring.Cargo transfer co-ordination.

A fifth function relates to the type of

facility served by the Mooring Master. Thisincludes specific competence requirements for single, or multiple buoy moorings, fixed

berths and STS transfers.

Guide for Mooring Masters published

T O





Manning - A foreign

employers perspectiveWith manning and training in almost every shipowners and managers thoughts atpresent, we look at a few pointers as to way ahead from an employers viewpoint

and at the Indian seafarer in particular.*

Aseafarer’s employers expectationsare competitive costings; acertificated, qualified and welltrained person meeting all the

statutory requirements; of a good quality andable to meet various industry requirements; a

motivated and committed person able to helpmaintain and operate the vessel safely,efficiently and economically. He or she alsoneeds to the loyal to the employer, who willachieve a good retention rate.

Today there are risks, such as violation of the company’s drugs and alcohol policy andMARPOL; accidents/incidents which result infinancial claims and reputation damage; theftof cargo and/or bunkers and on boarddisharmony and dismissals, due to personalissues and lack of team work.

There are also challenges in the availabilityof quality crew, such as lack of practicaltraining; a reduced frequency of machinerymaintenance, due to technology advancements,resulting in reduced hands on and real timeexperience on board, also the level of trainingshould be taken into account, as well as work

practices, cultural and social issues in the caseof a mixed nationality crew.

The perceived imbalance in supply anddemand drives up wages, leads to faster

promotions and the consequential reduction inexperience, leading to a drop in quality.Another problem is that a false sense of jobsecurity leads to an indifferent attitude and adrop in commitment and loyalty.

It is important for an employer to positionhim or herself correctly in the market in termsof wages. Spiralling wages, due to shortagesand poaching needs to be kept under control.An efficient use of the experience matrixshould be engendered through forwardrotation, planning and well though out

promotions.It is recommended that officers holding a

COC, but without experience in rank, may beappointed as junior watch keeping officerswhere an extra navigating or engineeringOOW is required on board, over and above the

safe manning requirement and/or normalworking complement. A talent pipeline and asense of belonging will positively impact onretention.

It is advisable to plan any crew changes ateconomical ports, as it can be expensive in

some locations, especially if long distances areinvolve. Expensive medical treatment andrepatriation can occur if the pre-joiningmedical is inadequate. There may be a need tostrengthen the PEME in line with P&I clubrecommendations.

Loyalty to an organisation involves loyaltyto its values, policies and people. Anorganisational culture that wins the loyalty hasto be built. Leaders build the culture byconsistently exemplifying and communicatingthe culture’s high values and right purposes.

Senior leadership is committed tocompliance. Only when those at the top lead by example will an organisation successfullyimplement a new policy. Policies are to bestrictly enforced at all times and specially in

testing times. Everyone understands the business implications of what a major ethicalviolation can do to an organisation. However,

Retention: three seafarer categoriesFor the sake of simplicity, as far as loyalty towards the companyis concerned, Capt Dalvi broadlydivided the seafarers into threecategories.

Category 1 - Seafarers in this categorytrust the company to the core. They truly

believe that it is trying to do the best for them. They are very patient, in the sensethey truly believe in the top management of the company and think that everything willcome good in the fullness of time, as thecompany is continuously taking stepstowards perfection. Loyalty is part of their

personality. This is a rare breed in today'smarket.

Category 2 - Loyalty is important for theseafarers in this category, as long aseverything is generally going well and to

their expectation. If all goes well, theseseafarers will not go anywhere. The majorityof the today’s seafarers come in thiscategory. This is where the challenge is, asthese seafarers are comparatively less patientwith what they want. To retain themaximum, a strategy is needed. Theseseafarers are vulnerable to competition.

Category 3 - Seafarers in this categorystrongly believe that loyalty is an outdatedquality. Usually, they have very specificshort term goals and their decision to be/notto be with the company is governed by thesegoals. This category is not so commontoday though their numbers are on the rise.This could as a result of the tremendous

opportunities available currently for theseafarers.

Capt Vaibhav Dalvi of V Ships.





most people don't turn it around to understandthe positive impact ethics can have on

employee loyalty.As for personal growth opportunities, one of

the major reasons officers leave a company is because they are not promoted when that promotion is due. Seafarer promotions in atimely manner are crucially important toachieve his or her steady career graph, as wellas to improve the retention rate. Formalmechanisms/procedures need to be in place toarrange seafarers’ promotion at reasonablenotice when the industry criteria of seatime,along with the required recommendation, has

been met.Once the notion that seafarers are acompany’s greatest assets, a commitment totheir career development becomes thatcompany’s utmost responsibility. This alsovalid for offering seafarers positions ashore.

Today, every seafarer going to sea is very particular about ensuring that he is joining asafe ship. Substandard vessels directlyadversely affect a seafarer’s retention. Acompany needs to be vigilant and careful whilechoosing vessels under its management.

While aggressively seeking growth of the business, the quality of the clients & vesselswe choose to work with must also not beignored. This will go long way in gaining trustof the seafarers.

LoyaltyRecognition and appreciation of loyalty is alsonecessary as knowing and staying in touchwith seafarers is extremely important. A letter of recognition and honour, signed by theCEO/president of the company should be sentto all those seafarers who have completed 10

years with the company.Considering today’s seafarer’s working span

at sea, this is an achievement which should berecognised. A felicitation with a token of

recognition and respect will go long way inkeeping the thread of loyalty intact.

As a token of management’s recognition of the importance of the seafarer’s personal andfamily life, a company might bear the cost of insurance required for the families of those on

board. Send greetings on important days, suchas birthdays/anniversaries, etc.

The problem with trying to win loyaltythrough ownership and retention programmesis that these are attempts at buying what must

be earned and built. Loyalty should be anintegral part of a person’s personality,developed through trust and mutual respect.

Understood this way, then loyalty cannot be bought. It is given to those organisations, persons, that have earned it by their commitment to worthwhile values, purposes or

policies.As for seafaring as a career option for

aspiring Indian youngsters, this is losing it’s popularity in the main cities, as there isalternative career options in these cities and alack of awareness in the smaller cities.

Another problem is that here is oversupplyof pre-sea training with little or no availabilityof ‘on board’ training slots (cadets) for thosecandidates who are not sponsored by ashipping company.

There is also the negative publicitysurrounding seafarer criminalisation and thethreat of piracy.

Quality importantThe quality of pool seafarers is also important.

For example, know your staff’s stengths andweaknesses ashore and at sea; assess job

performances against key performancerequirements; identify strengths and areas

requiring improvement; introduce training and personal development to improve performanceand/or prepare for promotion; providereliable/valuable sources to decide on

promotions; involve ship and shoremanagement to improve safety, complianceand personnel seagoing standards and haveaccess to well-equipped training centres for

practical/hands on training imparted by aquality faculty.

V Ships operates its own resourcemanagement training and its objectives are tounderstand the causes of accidents, the factorsthat contribute to quality performance and therelationship between them in the operationalcontext; to gain an increased appreciation of the relevance of human factors in the maritimeworkplace and to gain an understanding of thenecessity for communications, leadership andteamwork, situational awareness, planning anddecision making and appreciate theinterdependent relationships between theseelements.

MentoringThere is a need for on board mentors asaccording to the experts, up to 70% of skill islearnt through experience. It is believed thatthe maritime skill pool is not being passed onin the way it used to be, that is by mentoring.

A typical reaction by senior officers is - “Allthis mentoring business is all very well buthow am I going to find time for it? I am so

busy that I just don't have time to sit and teachthe officers, primarily what they should already

know.”Mentoring can have a significant effect onteam building. It leads to confidence betweenindividuals, as they come to understand otherscapabilities and needs. It is excellent at

breaking down barriers between individualsand this in turn leads to the cohesion of astronger team. Successful mentoring andtransfer of knowledge also leads to a reductionin accidents and incidents.

In conclusion, to increase efficiency and costeffectiveness on today’s technologicallyadvanced vessels, it is necessary to havededicated, experienced and motivated staff on

board and ashore.This can only be achieved when a positive

culture driven by the high quality managementexists in the organisation.

Continuous efforts are required to maintainthis culture by focusing on the attitude and softskills of both ship and shore staff.

All the training, motivation and positivitycan give results only if the shore staff’sapproach towards the seafarers is blame free.

* This article was taken from a presentationmade by By Capt Vaibhav Dalvi of V Ships at Tanker Operator ’s January Mumbai tanker conference.

Future seafarer supply/demandGlobal shipping is set toincrease during the next fiveyears or so to around 2,247vessels, net of demolition, whichrequires almost 38,500 officers.

On the assumption that the annual officer intake in the global fleet will be 1.5%, thesupply gap will increase from the currentshortfall of about 19,000 to 22,000. If,however, the officer intake is reduced from1.5% to 1%, the shortfall will increase toabout 33,500.

During the past five years, taking India asan example, the number of Indian officers

has gone up by 2,000, out of an overallglobal increase of about 40,000 …only 5%out of a global increase of 8%.

India should work on this opportunity andcan increase the numbers, as Indian officersgenerally enjoy a high reputation, many shipoperators now have crewing offices in India,the availability of junior officers is good andofficers’ wages compare favourably with thedomestic economy.

However, in India, the desire for quick promotion is an issue and turnover rates can be high.

TO





How to cope with

inspectionsA

s has been often said in the past,there is a lot of duplication inclass, oil major, port state, flagstate, P&I inspections, etc. These

have led to many different types of inspectionsall having specific requirements.

Capt Kapil Dev Bahl of Murray Fenton

India speaking at Tanker Operator ’s Mumbaiconference called for more uniformity and saidfor example, there were fundamentaldifferences in approach between class and theOCIMF SIRE inspections.

Class will deal with a specific item, whileSIRE VIQ looks at the causes of an‘observation’, and asks should they have beenidentified by the ship’s crew through their operating procedures. He also pointed out thatthe VIQs also take in the positives fromshipboard operations.

However, there was a certain amount of overlap between the IACS and OCIMFinspection criteria, which could be eliminated.

He also said that the oil majors interpretedVIQs and risk assessments differently, as

various specifics comeinto play, includingcharterers, ship andcargo requirements.“We have come a longway incommunications and

must move forward toa uniform system,” hesaid.

Capt Bahl said thathe sympathised with aship’s crew who wereunder tremendous

pressure. He said thathe was aware of theeffort put in to getthrough an inspectionsuccessfully

First impressions, as outlined by the ICS,should be avoided when walking up thegangway, for instance, who is meeting theinspector and how is he greeted. He said thatan inspector can see through first impressionsafter a couple of years.

Quayside observationFor example, before boarding a ship, aninspector should walk down a quayside or terminal and look at the moorings, shipsmarks, crew working on deck, etc, as the crewwill usually be ready for an inspection on

board. On board, pre-inspection meetings andagreeing the order in which an inspection iscarried out were also recommended practices.

He also said that the factors influencing aninspector’s comments are;

What is the defect?

Where is it?What is wrong with it?Capt Bahl stressed that the way forward wasto put less pressure on the crew and have moreuniformity in the various inspections.

He accused the shipping industry of not being very forthright with technology, unlikethe aviation industry.

He also stressed that it was not in the oilmajor’s interests to eliminate a tanker from it’sSIRE pool, due to creating less competition

between the vessels in the pool. T O

Vessel inspections have been often debated in the light of the shear number of visits aship’s Master and the crew has to put up with when arriving at a port or terminal.

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This has created a brighter way totrain and assess students from the150 major shipping company

clients in the classroom, thecompany claimed.

Using the new technology via projectors, theassessors, instructors and students have thedynamic ability to continuously change theCOLREGs situation, in a variety of meteorological conditions, from any aspect of any vessel, ie port or starboard, birds eye, helm

positions and free orbital.Long gone are the days of using ROR flip

cards and magnetic smartie boards, ECDIS Ltdsaid.

This complex database of a variety of vesselsand ports, enables the instructor to changeeverything, including vessels lights, pennantsand hoist shapes.

The technology behind this system is very

complex using a physics engine for water simulation and seabed collisions, arrangedtogether in an easy to use drag and drop style

of play. In the hands of company instructors,this is a powerful tool, giving the ability tocreate fresh teaching aids within minutes,demonstrated in real time, the company said.

This gives the trainees an understanding of critical situations and how the appropriatemanoeuvres should look, not only from their own ship, but also how the same situationwould, could and should look like from other vessels viewpoints. The trainees then take thistheory from the classroom and put it into

practice in the full mission bridge simulator

(FMBS).This is a seamless transition for ECDIS Ltdand the possibilities of learning are endless,especially so when it comes to simulator training, the company claimed.

Robyn Harrigan, ECDIS Ltd’s training and production manager told Tanker Operator thatthe company uses a basic third party software,

which is enhanced in house by 3Denvironmental artists, who are veryexperienced in their field for creating vesselsand ports as 'real life' as possible.

“We have found this vital when usingsimulators for training as these small life likedetails increases the quality of the courses andthe overall experience for the students,” shesaid.

The great thing about this bespoke piece of training software is that, it is on hand in theclassroom in addition to the bridge simulator.

Therefore, a company can decide to send their officers for classroom based theory training, bridge team discussions and or revision, inadditon to having the use of the bridgesimulator for assessments, she explained.

Improved method of

training andassessing COLREGS

The COLREGS situation can be continuously changed.

UK-based navigational trainer ECDIS Ltd has recently utilised new simulation trainingtechnology for COLREGs (collision regulations) teaching aids.

T O





He explained that once a tanker enters a market, it usually

remains in that market. Thevessel’s operational expenses

(opex) will rise or fall depending on thatmarket.

He described opex as being a factor of four items - size of vessel x wages and subsistencex stores, supplies and expenses x fuelconsumption (not fuel costs).

The size of the vessel and the fuelconsumption are a fixed input, while wagesand subsistence plus stores, supplies andexpenses he described as elastic and plastic by

nature.He thought that the fixed input items werevery elastic due to improving technology,

better engines, new initiatives, etc.However, the other two considerations were

elastic but very plastic since 2000 - labour being unresponsive, new regulations, vettingand other local requirements.

He described the tonnage density in asegment as plastic as it does not change. It isimportant to know in which segments there isdensity economics and where there is densitydis-economics, he said.

He then described Factor K, whichmeasures the opex response to a change intonnage. For example, if K is 0.4 then for every 10% increase in the tonnage size, theopex effect increases by 4%.

If K equals 0, then opex is perfectly elasticto increase in size and wages/subsistence andstores/supplies/expenses are responsive asrequired.

In this scenario, opex is not actual, but is afactor against earnings. Density economics istherefore expressed as -

ED = 1- K.ED = (+) is density economics.ED = (-) is density dis-economics.

He outlined the historical K values as -

35 – 40,000 dwt = 0.045.25 - 35,000 dwt = 0.06640 –50,000 dwt = 0.199< 25,000 dwt = 0.351Up to 150,000 dwt = 0.41– 0.65>150 000 dwt = 0.892

He explained that we need to know all of thisas it gives more correlation to marketconditions, encourages focus groups incompanies, helps owners win the earningssituation they find themselves in and identifiesstress group vessels.

Gupta warned that shipboard competencelevels were falling, as the more experienced

people were to be found onshore, thus theshipboard support needs to increase, so certainsegments should be invested in, includingtraining.

How do you persuade owners to invest intraining? he asked. Show the owners thedifference in spending by using the

competence and support from the shore andtry to prove that extra expense is beingincurred.

Putting opex in a bit more perspective,

Gupta gave a breakdown as follows -Crewing costs = 55%Stores = 6%Spares = 7%Lube oil = 8%Provisions = 3%Repairs/maintenance = 5%Insurance = 12%General = 4%

In ideal conditions, Gupta proposed that third party shipmanagers should understand theopex inflexibility in the market and the high

plasticity in the two factors outlined above.An owner’s perspective should be

understood by correct market density statisticsand response. The vessel’s management should

be aligned and focus groups created. The costvariables should also be reduced for owners.Owners’ specific needs should be identifiedand operational expertise should be increased.

Gupta said that the big pool players are

beating the statistics by a large margin, but the pools where the K value will hurt the owner should be targeted to help them ride the market

better.

Shipmanagers should

understand ownersneeds

T O

Third party shipmanagers need to understand the market their owners are involved insaid Capt Deepak Gupta of Univan Maritime, speaking at

Tanker Operator ’s Mumbai conference.

An attentive audience listens to the speakers.





The money will be used by theMaritime Cluster Fund for Manpower Development (MCF-MD), an existing programme being

run by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

“MPA is committed to building a strongcore of local talent in the maritime industry,

which offers diverse career opportunities for Singaporeans in both seafaring and shore-

based jobs,” said Andrew Tan, MPA CEO.“The enhancement to the MCF-MD

programme not only lends strong support tothe national-level SkillsFuture initiative butalso allows us to support more skills-based

learning, upgrading and re-skilling for thosewho want to switch careers.”

MPA formed two task forces: the tripartitemaritime manpower task force for seafarersand the maritime manpower task force for shore based sectors, in May and November 2014, respectively.

The seafarer task force was set up to

develop measures to encourage Singaporeansto take up seafaring careers and improveretention of talent, through training grants andachievement awards.

To complement the efforts of this initiative,MPA will set aside an additional S$6 mill($4.3 mill) over the next five years to award

up to 20 scholarships each year, double thenumber awarded in previous years. To date,more than 130 scholarships have beenawarded.

The shore-based task force will developstrategies to help maritime companies fill

positions for critical shore-based jobs. A keyarea to be pursued is the re-training of locals

to convert from seagoing to shore-based jobs.The task force will also develop a

programme to equip non-maritime personnelwith relevant skill sets so they can pursue amaritime career. This task force will first focuson jobs in areas such as port operations, shipoperations and shipbroking.

Singapore to fund

trainingSingapore’s government has allocated S$65 mill ($47 mill) to maritime training.

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UK cluster co-

operation evident ineducationThe UK county of Hampshire’s Portsmouth/Southampton corridor is fast becoming a

major maritime cluster, which includes specialist maritime education and trainingfacilities available for all levels.

For example, last year saw Lloyd’sRegister open a new globaltechnology centre (GTC) on the

campus of the University of Southampton University. LR said that themove to join the Southampton Marine andMaritime Institute (SMMI) will enable theclass society to offer a first class global marineresearch and technology network.

LR also said that its move was made tostimulate innovation, create new business andestablish Southampton and the SouthHampshire region as a magnet for investment.SMMI director Prof Ajit Shenoi said that therewere three ways in which the partnership with

LR is likely to have an impact;Education and co-location will improve the learning process with students and

graduates benefiting as they become moreemployable.Impact it will have on fundamentalresearch.

Importance of the here and now - whileshaping the future, we have to think aboutthe industry’s short term problems.

“It’s about creating n environment where freethinking around radical new ideas can shapethe future agenda. It’s about giving thought towhat will be on the agenda in five or 10 yearstime and giving people the space to think sofar ahead requires the environment that thisnew initiative will create,” Prof Shenoi said of the GTC’s opening.

Shell is to sponsor a professorship at SMMI.Dr Grahaeme Henderson, vice president, ShellShipping and Maritime, speaking about the co-operation said, “Shell is firmly focused on

contributing to world class academic researchand cutting edge technology developments for the maritime industry. Our recent sponsorshipof a Professorial Chair for marine andmaritime technology at the University of Southampton underlines this commitment.

“The UK is a global leader in shipping and

the Marine and Maritime Institute at theUniversity of Southampton has proven itself to

be an internationally recognised centre of

excellence. The University has a long historyof maritime activities and an immense wealthof interdisciplinary technical research anddevelopment in this field.

“The creation of LR’s GTC at theUniversity of Southampton is good news for the industry,” he concluded.

During a couple of visits to Hampshirerecently, it became apparent to Tanker Operator that the level of co-operation

between industry and learning/researchinstitutions was growing rapidly.

Another example is Fareham College’sCentre of Excellence in Engineering &Manufacturing Advanced Skills Training(CEMAST), which has combined withindustry to offer engineering apprenticeships.

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Introduction to the marine industry.Health and safety requirements.Marine terminology.Small boat and marina engineering.

The apprentices are taught how marine dieselengines work, how to identify faults and howto fix them. Routine maintenance tasks arecarried out on the engines and apprenticeslearn about gearboxes, propellers and other

means of marine propulsion.Once gaining a Grade 2 diploma, the

apprentices can then progress to a Level 3Marine Engineering Qualification - AdvancedDiploma in Engineering (Marine), leading to aCity and Guilds extended Diploma inEngineering.

Level 3 is a two-year full time course andrequires an Intermediate Diploma in MarineEngineering to qualify for this next stage. Thiscourse provides further practical skills andexperience required to progress to an

apprenticeship or further study (eg, Higher National Certificate/Diploma or anengineering degree).

It covers a variety of topics and allows anapprentice to study particular areas in depth,including - fault finding, maintenance,diagnostics and engine repair.

Students can then progress into employmentor on to an apprenticeship within the leisure or deepsea marine sector. The college has manyapprenticeship partners who can conductinterviews on site.

Those looking to continue their marineeducation can progress through a partnershipto Warsash Maritime Academy where they canstudy up to HND or Degree level. Thosecandidates who have secured sponsorship withan employer can carry out training at sea

before returning ashore to complete an HNDin marine engineering. CEMAST will alsohelp with the placement of an apprentice.

The college has also built up a partnershipwith local schools to encourage pupils to takeup engineering by way of for example, fairsheld on the college’s premises and co-operation agreements are in place withWarsash Maritime Academy and Solent,Southampton and Portsmouth Universities. At

present there are around 900 full time, parttime students and instructors at the faculty,involved in various engineering courses for

many different industry sectors.Fareham College’s programme manager for

work-based and marine engineering KevinAttwood told Tanker Operator that today therewere more electrical and mechanical engineer apprentices coming into training, but there wasstill a shortage, resulting in higher remuneration for qualified engineers. He alsonoted that in general there were more femalestaking engineering courses - around 10% atCEMAST. The centre also takes on 14-year old pupils in its skills academy for one day per

week training.One of the partnerships involves Fareham- based NuWave Personnel, part of theBachmann Group, which is soon to relocate tosite next to the college near Lee-on-Solent.

NuWave Personnel was launched in August2002 and since then has registered over 30,000seagoing and shore-based candidates on itsdatabase from all over the world. Thiscompliments the company’s expanding client

base, which now includes tanker owners/operators.

The company offers recruitment and placement, HR crew management, crewtraining and payroll administration.

For training, a subsidiary company, NuWaveTraining, offers short courses for bothseafarers and shore-based personnel. Bespokecourses, such as tanker courses, can be tailoredto a company’s specific needs, both on siteand on a company’s premises at any time,including evenings and weekends.

Training rooms are available at NuWave or instructors can travel to a vessel anywhere inthe world. The costs are described ascompetitive and depend on the numbers to betrained and the number of courses booked.

The tanker courses cover crude oiltransfer/liquid cargo handling, crude oilwashing (COW)/tank cleaning and inert gassystems.

For example, the COW course is conductedwith a simulated model of a Suezmax and a

product tanker. A liquid cargo handlingsimulator is used to support explanations andto demonstrate COW systems on Suezmaxesand deepwell pump fitted tankers.

NuWave Training business developmentmanager Keith Austin explained that in someinstances, a seafarer might not have the correctcertification for a certain type of vessel or

position. To alleviate the problem, thecompany is able to offer a quick specific

training course to enable that seafarer to joinhis or her designated ship.He explained that some of the courses were

accredited by the UK Maritime & CoastguardAgency (MCA) and DNV GL and that theinstructor is a serving Master Mariner.

By offering flexible training solutions, other local marine training academies, such asWarsash or ECDIS Ltd, can make use of thecompanies courses and facilities, Austinsaid.

ANCHORS & C

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INDUSTRY - ANTI-PIRACY

F

or example, the company has fittedanti-piracy packages on 35 vesselsowned and operated by a Premier Danish Tanker Company and is also

to install equipment on the new builds at theshipyards.

Company founder and projects director Wayne Harrison explained that he had idea in

principal shortly after his first vessel transit of the designated Gulf of Aden/Indian OceanHigh Risk Area (HRA) in the capacity of aMaritime Security Liaison Officer (MSLO).

On the 31st October, 2010, Harrison was part of a four man team on board a chemicaltanker transiting through the MozambiqueChannel towards Dar-es-Salaam when the

vessel was attacked and boarded by Somali

pirates.The attack, including the occupation of the

citadel and the eventual self-liberation, lasted just over eight hours. At the time, the vessel

was recorded as the slowest and lowest tosurvive a pirate boarding.

The security team understood the importanceof hardening the vessel, not just externally withrazor wire but also internally. For example, theteam knew that it was of great importance tohave a safety corridor from the bridge to thesafe room/citadel door. Luckily, the team had

plenty of time to prepare the vessel and crewfor a hazardous transit.

Harrison has since lead many teams onvessels through the HRA and down the years,

he realised that the time to prepare the crew

and vessel was reducing, mainly due to thehigh day rates charged by armed teams, andsaw the need for a quick and easy solution firsthand

He also found that many vessels were nothardened by previous security teams with anunderstanding of MoE (Methods of Entry), asimprovised door securing devices fabricated onthe vessel were not tried and tested, thus therewas no knowledge of whether they wouldwork when required.

Over the past five years, he has invested alot of time and effort in refining an idea he hadfor a universal door chock that can be deployedin seconds by any member of the crew,removed just as quickly for a non-pirate related

emergency and would stop, hinder and deter

Internal vessel

hardening vital todeter piratesUK-based anti-piracy passive equipment supplier Easi-Chock has met with a great deal

of interest and success since it was founded a few years ago.

-

-

-

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International Registries, Inc.



INDUSTRY - ANTI-PIRACY


As has been well documented,there has been a surge of piracyrelated incidents, including thefts,robberies, as well as vesselhijackings for cargo siphoningduring 2014*.Further incidents have already been reportedin the first months of this year. As a result,ships, particularly smaller tankers, shouldconsider taking mitigation and loss preventionmeasures, leading insurance and P&Iassociation Skuld warned.

There has been a noted increase in thenumber of incidents in Southeast Asian waterswith respect to piracy, as well as other

physical crimes against crews and vessels.While thefts and robberies, often at

anchorage, have been a problem for sometime, it is the hijacking of small tankers for the

purpose of stealing the cargo on board -typically gas oil and similar products - whichhas become a relative new and significantissue.

During 2014, the IMB noted 16 hijackingincidents and the Singapore anti-piracy

organisation ReCAAP recorded 11 siphoningincidents. It should be noted that some of these incidents overlap. Thus far in 2015 (mid-March), up to three tankers may have been

hijacked, according to reports.While the cargo theft issue appears to affectsmaller tankers of below 5,000 gt in particular,some attacks and thefts have been perpetratedon other types of vessels.

All vessels should therefore take note andseek to implement appropriate safety responsemeasures, Skuld said. The implementation of afunctioning ISPS/SMS Code on board andashore is also important.

A number of points and issues were raised, based on IMT's review of past incidentinvestigation reports (see footnote below).

In particular the following steps may beadvisable:

Participating in the Information FusionCentres (IFC).Sourcing and disseminating IFC alerts, aswell as ReCAAP alerts and information.Using designated safe anchorages inIndonesia - where practical and available.Advance preparation and risk analysis.Hardening plans and implementation on

board vessels.Practice drills and on board procedures for

responding to an incident.A particular incident report from the USOffice of Naval Intelligence in December,2014 indicated that where a vessel was well

prepared, both physically, as well as in crewtraining, it was possible to frustrate the pirates' plans.

The successful prevention process can besummarised as; Detect, deter, delay and deny.

Skuld said that it had previously advised indetail on piracy matters, including generalinformation on the Best Maritime Practice(BMP4) and other initiatives. Region specificinformation on piracy is also available.

Emergency responseShould a vessel be threatened or otherwisehave security concerns then urgent contactshould be made with:

Nearest Coast Guard or Navy.The vessel's flag state.The ICC/IMB as well as ReCAAP.

Following contact with law enforcement andother first responders, companies should alsomake urgent contact with their insurers/P&Iclubs should an attack occur.

*This article was reproduced from a Skuld loss prevention bulletin in turn taken from an

International Marine TransportationSingapore’s Safety Alert Bulletin, published earlier this year.

Southeast Asia - procedures and vesselhardening

any unwanted aggressor.The result of his labours was the forming of

Easi-Chock™, a company which today offers asuite of products designed to enhance existing

structures in order to create a completefortified superstructure, Company SecurityOfficers can then opt to implement additionallevels of security devices for their designatedsafe area.

“The products are designed to keep the pirates/robbers out of the superstructure anddenying access to the crew,” he explained. “Wedo not focus just on the citadel approach withinthe engine room, as many owners andoperators do not employ the citadel method.”

A full vessel package including Easi-Chock™, Easi-Grille™ and Easi-Block™ aredesigned to be installed by the crew, andremovable when not at risk, the typical cost of a vessel pack for a Suezmax tanker is around$10,000, compared with current traditionalmethods costing two to three times as much

per vessel, plus the asset is transferable, heclaimed.

Harrison said that the company was set up to protect life and assets by offering a low cost,effective, time saving suite of security

products. By embracing the layered defenceapproach, as outlined in the shipping industry’sBest Management Practice 4 (BMP4), all

access points, doors and portholes are securedincluding internal access doors in order to

provide a safe corridor of access for crew areincluded in Easi-Chock™ “Vessel SpecificHardening Matrix” plan.

He said he believed in the passive system of defence, as coupled with a good understandingof the threat, deployment of good securitymeasures and the ability to remove the crewaway from the threat is key to preserving lifeand securing property.

Easi-Chock™ not only focuses on securingthe outer perimeter of the superstructure,

portholes and doors but all external storageareas, as these areas usually contain items,which have either a value to the aggressors, or could be used against the crew, he explained.

As well as supplying locking devices, a door bar system is also available, which is similar tothe other equipment on offer, in that they are a

no weld easy to install system and simply dropin to secure a door. These can be quicklyremoved if required and have been designed to

protect the bridge internal access door, engineroom access door and emergency exit doorson the accommodation decks. T O

T O

Easi-chock’s secure door system.




TECHNOLOGY - ICE CLASS TANKERS

Gearing up for the

Polar CodeThe International Code of Safety for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code)should enter into force with the SOLAS amendments on 1st January 2017,

under the tacit acceptance procedure, the IMO has decreed.

It will apply to new ships constructedafter that date. Those constructed before1st January, 2017 will be required tomeet the relevant requirements by the

first intermediate or renewal survey,

whichever occurs first, after 1st January, 2018.The Polar Code and SOLAS amendments

were adopted during the 94th session of IMO’sMaritime Safety Committee (MSC), in

November 2014.As the Code contains both safety and

environment related provisions, it will bemandatory under both SOLAS and MARPOL.In October of last year, IMO’s MarineEnvironment Protection Committee (MEPC)approved the necessary draft amendments tomake the environmental provisions in the

Code mandatory under MARPOL.MEPC is expected to adopt the Code andassociated MARPOL amendments at its nextsession in May, 2015, with an entry-into-forcedate to be aligned with the SOLASamendments.

As has already been well documented butworth repeating, the Code is intended to cover ship design, construction and equipment;operational and training concerns; search andrescue; and, equally important, the protectionof the unique environment and eco-systems of the polar regions.

The draft Polar Code includes mandatorymeasures covering safety part (part I-A) and

pollution prevention (part II-A) andrecommendatory provisions for both (parts I-Band II-B).

Once it has entered into force, it will requireships intending to operating in Antarctic andArctic waters to apply for a Polar ShipCertificate, which would classify the vessel asCategory A ship, ie a ship designed for operation in polar waters at least in mediumfirst-year ice, which may include old ice

inclusions; a Category B ship - one that is notincluded in Category A, but designed for operation in at least thin first-year ice, whichmay include old ice inclusions; or a Category

C ship - one designed to operate in openwater or in ice conditions less severe thanthose included in Categories A and B.

To qualify for a certificate, a vessel willrequire an assessment, taking into account the

anticipated range of operating conditions andhazards the ship may encounter in the polar waters. This assessment would includeinformation on identified operationallimitations, and plans or procedures or

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additional safety equipment necessary, tomitigate incidents with potential safety or environmental consequences.

Ships would also need to carry a Polar Water Operational Manual, to provide theowner, operator, Master and crew withsufficient information regarding the ship'soperational capabilities and limitations inorder to support their decision-making

process.Each chapter in the Code sets out goals and

functional requirements and will include thosecovering ship structure; stability andsubdivision; watertight and weathertightintegrity; machinery installations; operationalsafety; fire safety/protection; life-savingappliances and arrangements; safety of navigation; communications; voyage planning;manning and training; prevention of oil

pollution; prevention of pollution fromnoxious liquid substances from ships;

prevention of pollution by sewage and prevention of pollution by discharge of

garbage.Ships operating in the Polar regions are

exposed to a number of unique risks. Theseinclude poor weather conditions and the Ready for the Arctic shipping build up.

Graphic credit: IMO.





relative lack of good charts, communicationsystems and other navigational aids. Theremoteness of the areas makes rescue or cleanup operations difficult and costly.

Cold temperatures may reduce theeffectiveness of vessels equipment, rangingfrom deck machinery and emergencyequipment to sea suctions. When ice is

present, it can impose additional loads on thehull, propulsion system and appendages.

In November 2012, the MSC adopted a newmandatory ship reporting system in theBarents Area, proposed by Norway and thenRussia, which entered into force on 1st June,2013. This involves tankers, which have toreport either to Vardø or Murmansk VTScentres.

Trends and forecasts indicate that thenumbers of vessels entering the Polar areas,

primarily the Arctic in the case of tankers, will

grow, despite the apparent stand-off betweenthe West and Russia.

For example, gas and condensate cargoesshould start to be loaded at the Sabettaterminal on the Yamal Peninsular the sameyear that the Code enters into force. Inaddition, shuttle tanker activity from the Arcticoffshore terminals to Murmansk for onwardshipment will no doubt increase in the nextfive to 10 years, while it will be interesting to

Oil spills in ice covered watersFilming began in early March onthe International Tanker OwnersPollution Federation's (ITOPF)new production ‘Oil Spills in Ice

Covered Waters’.This film will consider the strategies

employed to deal with spills in some of themost challenging conditions on the planet.

ITOPF and the production team travellednorth of the Arctic Circle to Svalbard and toLulea in Northern Sweden in January and

February to film in the harsh climate andremote locations that can pose specialchallenges for spill response.

In the Arctic, as well as other icy waters,

clean-up techniques that work elsewhere needto be modified to ensure that they areeffective, ITOPF said.

This film will review the response strategiesavailable, and the factors that need to be takeninto account in implementing them. It willfeature the scientists at the forefront of

research into the fate and behaviour of oil inice and the refinement of methods used tominimise impacts. The film will also showITOPF staff as they train in preparation for

operating in harsh Arctic conditions.It is scheduled for release in Spring 2016,

but in the meantime a two minute trailer has been released, which gives a flavour of whatwill be a succinct review of prevention,

preparedness and response in ice-coveredwaters.





see whether the Northern Sea route (NSR) becomes competitive during that period.

In March, the Oslo Arctic Summit,organised by The Economist Events, broughttogether over 150 government and industryleaders, indigenous groups andintergovernmental organisations to discuss thekey issues, challenges and opportunitiesconcerning commercial interests andoperations in the Arctic.

"Conflict with Russia, the slumping oil priceand more dramatic evidence of human-inducedwarming in the Arctic makes this anexceptionally important moment to discuss theArctic," said James Astill, Political Editor, TheEconomist and Arctic Summit chairman.

As accessibility to the Arctic regionincreases due to climate change, the volume of shipping in the region is also gradually

increasing. Currently this is primarily insupport of energy exploration, but alsoinvolves increased destination transport

between Arctic ports and the rest of the world."The Arctic is the last realm where the West

and Russia can co-operate together in ahealthy, diplomatic way," said Astill

We are seeing the beginnings of thecommercially viable use of the Northern SeaRoute (NSR); a route that Russia expects toincrease five-fold in the next decade.

“Transit shipping can save up to 30% by

passing through the Arctic and the securitychallenges of the Suez Canal makes thenorthern route even more attractive,”said Peter Hinchliffe, Secretary-General, InternationalChamber of Shipping (ICS).

If they cannot solve their differences,tension and mistrust between Russia and theWest could rapidly turn into an obstacle for development in the Arctic.

“The foundation of the Putin business modelis that world politics is a chess game, andhence Russia is mistrustful of win-winsolutions,” said Edward Lucas, Energy,Commodities and Natural Resources editor,The Economist.

At the summit, the ICS highlightedimportant issues associated with the growth of Arctic shipping and expressed confidence inthe industry’s environmental performance.

The chamber stressed the critical importanceof a mandatory and uniform regulatoryframework to ensure maritime safety andenvironmental protection, as the volume of Arctic shipping gradually increases inresponse to new interest in developing the

region’s natural resources.Hinchliffe, explained: “The IMO is the

appropriate forum for developing standards for ships operating in the Arctic, as it has the

necessary legal and technical expertise to takefull account of the interests of all maritimenations including those with an Arcticcoastline.”

Polar Code backingHe added that the shipping industry is fullycommitted to the implementation of themandatory IMO Polar Code, following itsrecent adoption by the member states. “ThePolar Code will deliver an even greater levelof confidence in the environmental

performance of shipping using a risk-basedapproach, which addresses the hazardsrelevant to the type of ship operation, theship’s location and the season of operation,”Hinchliffe said.

ICS stressed that the shipping industry’senvironmental performance is very impressive.

But the industry fully recognises the concernabout the potential sensitivity of Arcticecosystems and the need for a high degree of care when ships navigate Arctic waters, whichis fully reflected in the new IMO Polar Code.

With respect to society’s concern about thenegative impact of CO 2 emissions on climateand the delicate environmental balance thatexists within the Arcticregion, ICSemphasised thatshipping is the only

industrial sector already covered by a binding globalagreement, at theIMO, to reduce CO 2through technical andoperational measures.

According to thelatest IMO GreenHouse Gas Study

published in 2014, theglobal shippingindustry had reducedits total emissions bymore than 10%

between 2007 and2012.

With regard to thefuture governance of Arctic waters, ICS

believed that Arcticcoastal states shouldavoid imposingdiscriminatorytreatment that might

prejudice the rights of ships registered withnon-Arctic nations,and highlights the

importance of appropriate fees for services.The chamber suggested that there was a

need for greater clarity regarding the legalstatus of Arctic waters as determined by theUN Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). “As remoteArctic sea routes become accessible these onceacademic issues are becoming increasinglyimportant,” Hinchliffe explained, arguing thatthe UNCLOS regime of ‘transit passage’ for straits used in international navigation takes

precedence over the rights of coastal states toenact unilateral measures against internationalshipping.

The classification society DNV GL alsoused the Arctic Summit to discuss safetyissues within the offshore industry in theBarents Sea.

In its report, ‘Emergency response for offshore operations in the Barents Sea,’ DNV

GL examined the feasibility of emergency preparedness solutions and called for theoffshore industry to collaborate on newresponse concepts.

This also applies to the commercial shippingeither arriving or departing Arctic ports, whichis set to grow considerably, or transitingthrough the NSR. T O




TECHNOLOGY - SHIP EFFICIENCY

This is especially true where theoverall effects of any individualaction can be very difficult to

identify without a proper tool set athand.Identifying and continuously improving best

practices are also best served by the same process, which then allows shipowners andoperators to see what’s happening underneathall the noise — to find what otherwise would

be lost in the variance of the data.In order to make operational improvements

driven by data analysis and reporting, asystematic approach is needed that covers keyareas, which must be studied, analysed,

changed and constantly monitored in order tomeet the desired outcome - efficient, cost-effective operations.

The five steps of this systematic approachare:1) Identify improvement areas: digging deep

into the details to find the issue.2) Understand the current situation - learning

how operations/processes are created andlinked.

3) Plan improvement actions - charting acourse for reaching a desired target state.

4) Implement change - working the plan forcontinuous improvement practices.

5) Follow up and maintain change - ensuringthe change benefits continue to materialise.

When analysing a fleet’s performance ingeneral or a focused area of operations,

bringing the lowest performers to at least thelevel of average performers is often both thefastest and most effective action.

The following examples reveal how deepanalytics and reporting can pro-actively createchanges that have a positive domino effectacross an entire organisation.

Example 1 - Fleet speed profileperformance

Here we have two vessels from a study wecarried out with one of our customers. Each

dot on the graph above represents one legoperated by the vessel and how much extraenergy was used because of the speed profileand engine combinations. Both vesselsoperated on comparable schedules under similar conditions.

Problem identified: By using specific data-gathering processes via the Eniram Platformon both vessels, we were able to determinethat vessel A had a tendency to sprint in the

beginning of the leg, then loiter at the end,which naturally leads to lower overall speed

profile performance.Result: By identifying the vessel

differences, we were able to help the customer reduce the total fuel consumption of Vessel A

by around 1% of the total fuel consumption.The visibility of the effects of the speed

profile enabled the shipping company to takeimprovement actions on vessels where it wasmost needed.

Observation/recommendation: Further

analysis can be used to find the real causes behind those differences. Planningimprovement action, executing on that actionand consistently following up is the only way

to ensure a successful outcome.Example 2: Bunkering management casestudy

Our customer needed to find out if some of the vessels in the fleet were carrying too muchheavy fuel oil (HFO) on board.

Problem identified: Again using the EniramPlatform, we performed several analyses onthe vessels’tank levels and found that despiteconsistent bunkering patterns in the same portand no major bunker price differences, manyvessels were indeed holding too much HFO.

Result: We helped the customer eliminatethe extra 1,000 tonnes of HFO on each vessel;the difference of over 1,000 tons of HFO on

board between the minimum levels meansincreased draft, and that there is an extra$500,000 tied in working capital on the vessel,which costs in total circa $100,000 each year

per vessel depending on the type of vesselsand company’s internal capital cost.

Observation/recommendation: Simply by

using our in-depth reporting analysis, and performing follow-ups on tank levels througha regular report that aggregates data on theamount of fuel on board, the company could

Reducing costs and

improvingperformanceReal-time reporting and data analysis are key tools to understanding and improving

complex operating environments of today’s companies.*

Graph speed profiles.





easily track fuel levels.Our customer was able to bring down the

levels of HFO closer to the company’s policy;showcasing how bringing this high-level of sophisticated data analytics can help toimprove overall operations when these

problems become visible.Example 3: Active route management

Routing is a very traditional problem andalso very complex with many factors affectingit, such as weather, shallows, distance to theshore, currents and ECA zones.

When analysing routing, quite often the

most effective way to improve this within thefleet is to compare where the vessels are

having the most problems and then create best practices for those legs, which seem to be problematic.

In this case, the difference between the bestand worst routes is over 12% of the total fuelconsumption - a rare case. According to our advanced analytics studies, the overall average

potential improvement of actively managingroutes of a fleet is typically around 3% of thetotal fuel consumption.

We understand that every operational issue

is different and every company has differentoperating parameters. That’s why wecustomise our solutions, yet use a provensystematic approach.

Data analytics and reporting is aninexpensive way to find and realise quick winsin operational efficiency. In many cases,customers see a change within a matter of weeks after we detect the problem and helpthem improve best practices.

Constant follow-up enabled by regular reporting and analytics is a key factor inmaintaining the achieved benefits of allimprovement actions.

Detailed analysis and modelling enables theseparation of environmental effects fromoperational effects and to understand where thefocus of improvement action is needed.

Without data gathering, analyses and

constant reporting, it can be very difficult tofind the subject and effect from complex on

board systems. Eniram offers powerful tools toget at the most minute of details and unravelthe mystery, bringing better transparency,efficiency and operational performance to asingle vessel or an entire fleet.

*This article was written by Henrik Lano, whois Eniram’s director of analytics and a former management consultant. He has had broad experience gained from various industries intransforming data and analytics into

operational insight and improvements. He isresponsible for developing Eniram’s analytics

services to drive energy efficiency and savings.

Bunkering management.

Active route management.

Eniram’s Henrik Lano.

T O





He explained that last year, thecompany had set up this

independent department to look at vessel efficiency for both

newbuildings and retrofits on existing ships.Some of Great Eastern’s vessels have been

fitted with a Becker Marine Mewis Duct.There will be a need to conduct model andtank tests and full scale trials, as a means of validation, but the costs can be spread over afleet’s sister vessels, he said. Retrofitting takesaround four days.

The return on investment in fitting a MewisDuct is strongly dependant on the number of

vessels in the series, the prevailing bunker prices and the operational profile of the vessel,ie sailing days and speed.

He also pointed out that manufacturersincluding Becker Marine, were building up adatabase of standard ship types, which could

benefit the most from the fitting of ducts. As aresult of using the database, the costs involvedin the purchase and fitting of the equipmentwould be less, as the design work had already

been conducted.There are other energy saving devices, such

as the Schneekluth WED and spoilers, plus theMitsui OSK propeller boss cap fin (PBCF),which he said was easy to fit and maintain andvalidated through CFD. MOL has fitted morethan 1,700 PBCFs, the company claimed.

Bose warned that occasionally, the PBCF blades can fall off so it is important to ensurethat they are fitted properly.

Others include the Kappel propeller, whichis now part of MAN Diesel & Turbo’s

portfolio, which Great Eastern fitted to some of its vessels last year with good results and theCLT propellers developed by Sistemar of Spain

- the evolution of the tip vortex propeller (TVP).

Propeller efficiency reaches the highestvalue when thrust generated on a propeller

blade continuously increases from the boss tothe tip. In a CLT propeller (contracted and

loaded tip propeller) this theoretical principle isrealised by fitting an end plate at the blade tips.

This results in a higher efficiency of between4-8%, fuel savings = reduced emissions, higher top speed = greater operational flexibility,inhibition of cavitation and of the tip vortex,less noise & vibration, lower pressure pulses,lower area ratio, greater thrust, smaller optimum prop diameter and better manoeuvrability, Bose said.

Finally, the TIP propellers are compatiblewith most of the propulsion improvement

devices currently offered, thereby allowingeven further efficiency gain.Also important are hull and propeller

maintenance, he stressed.Hull frictional resistance is governed by the

wetted surface (main dimensions and trim)area and the surface roughness of the hullconsisting of the steel, coatings, addedroughness due to fouling and coatingdegradation.

Bose explained that the initial roughness istaken as 120 µm, which is the approximateroughness value for a typical newbuildingalthough some ships are delivered with a verylow surface roughness of around 75 µm.

Typically, an average hull roughness (AHR)of ≈5 µ is very good, an AHR of 150 µ isstandard and an AHR > 200µ is sub-standard,he explained.

Historical records have shown that even withgood maintenance practices, average hullroughness can increase by 10 to 25µm per year, depending on the hull coating system,even when fouling is not included.

As a rule, every 25 µ (25/1,000 mm) of hull

roughness increase corresponds to 0.7-1% of increased fuel consumption, due to theadditional propulsion power requirement tomove a larger volume of water.

The AHR is calculated by dividing the hullinto 10 equal sections with10 measurements

for each division - five each side of the vessel.This gives 50 readings on each side - 30 on thevertical sides and 20 on the flats.

From the 100 measuring locations, the AHR is calculated and roughness distribution

plotted.

Efficiency lossesSeveral companies have measured theefficiency losses between drydockings, due to

bio-fouling and mechanical damage on theunderwater hull. For example, Marintek

measured the drop in propulsion efficiency asaround 15%; Propulsion Dynamics (tankers) of 20% and Jotun (taking an average of over 60months) of 18%.

When selecting a coating, a checklist should be used to evaluate longevity, suitability, product features, efficacy, maintenance -repainting and repairing, fuel saving,environmental concerns, costs andmanufacturer’s guarantees.

Bose also advised that the propeller should be polished every six months and a vessel’shull blasted and painted every seconddrydocking- around once every 10 years. For

propeller polishing, he advised the use of aservice provider active in one of the mainshipping centres, rather than an unknownconcern based in a smaller port.

Turning to vessel performance management,he described it as measuring, monitoring andmanaging. He explained that Great Eastern hadselected a Marorka power management system,which gathers data related to ship operations,ie, trim, draft, main engine, auxiliary engines,steam plant, voyages, navigation, etc.

The data is categorised the same for differing operating conditions, such as while

berthed, manoeuvring, during a sea passageand at anchor/waiting, etc.

Energy saving

opportunitiesavailable todayEnergy saving opportunities for existing ships were outlined by Indra Bose, head of

vessel performance management department, Great Eastern Shipping at Tanker Operator ’s recent Mumbai conference.

T O




TECHNOLOGY - BUNKERING

BIMCO, courtesy of the Britannia

P&I Club, has warned of paraffin being formed when using lowsulphur gasoil (MGO) in northern

European waters during the winter.The reports state that MGO blend DMA

0.1%, which was analysed to be within thespecifications for ISO 8217, has been forminglarge amounts of paraffin in the MGO tanks,which has caused problems.

The cloud point for this MGO was 32 degC, which is the temperature where paraffinstarts to form, but the cloud point is not part

of the ISO 8217 specification.Operators are advised to find out the cloud point, as well as the pour point prior to the bunkering operation. They should also think about whether it is necessary to stem DMXgrade MGO, if they are trading in the Balticor other areas where traditionally there arelow sea temperatures.

This would enable any operator to obtainthe cloud point beforehand, since it is part of the DMX specification, the report explained.

Paraffin problemsSkuld, in association with Chris Fisher of Brookes Bell, has also warned of bunkeringultra-low sulphur gas oils for use in ECAs,

particularly noting the presence of aconsiderable quantity of paraffin in the

product offered for supply and forming in the product post supply, following criticisms fromits members.

This may be partly due to the demand for MGO since 1st January, 2015. This has beensuch that it is now being sourced from awider field and that quality standards are

under pressure. The blending of biodieselwith conventional diesel fuel could also in

part explain this problem.Agreeing with BIMCO, Skuld said that it

could also be a seasonal factor, due to low

temperature conditions accelerating theformation of paraffin wax. This particular issue may cause excessive build-up of sludgein the engine system and even a possible lossof power.

Gas oils, as well as alternative 0.1%sulphur content fuels, available in the marketare ‘paraffinic’ and if mixed with regular heavy fuels, an unstable mixture may follow.

Sludge build upAs there will be a certain amount of mixing,

following a switch over between fuel types, inthe lines to the engines (unless completelyseparate lines are available), it is importantfor the engineers to carefully check againstthe build-up of sludge. An excessive amountcould block fuel lines leading to a power loss.

It may be necessary to ensure that gas oil is placed into a tank with heating coils.However, some vessels with designatedMDO/MGO tanks do not have heating coilsinstalled, the report noted.

IBIA’s Peter Hall said at the Navigate/IPTAProduct and Chemical Tanker Conference lastmonth that that marine fuel supply was achanging scene. He explained that the HFO toMGO split has narrowed to about 60:40 andthere were more distillates being presented for testing- around 15%.

He said that the challenges were the newfuels with wider formula variations and thefuel switching problems. Since the newregulations came into force, sampling has

become a “whole new ball game” to get thecorrect fuel.

Suppliers tend to blend to the upper limit of

the specification due to financial reasons.Another problem is what is described in thecontract and what Port State Control saysupon an inspection may be totally different

interpretations of the same fuel.

Testing in a credited laboratory could giveone answer, but the same test in another laboratory could give a different result, due tothe chemistry involved giving a range of results in different circumstances.

He said that often it was a case of the ISOStandard versus MARPOL, which can lead toambiguity due to conflicting parameters.“This breeds uncertainty and it hasn’t beenaddressed properly,” Hall said. He pointed tothe high costs associated with de-bunkeringand the commercial issues that could arise

from such an operation.

PartnershipsIBIA has what it calls a ‘twin track approach’to work in partnership with stakeholders. Oneexample is a ports charter. Thus far Singapore, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Gibraltar have joined, but Hall called for more ports tosign up.

The association has written a questionnairefor the IMO correspondence group on fuelquality. Proposals were put to both MEPC 66and 67 to the effect that the fuel shouldcontain nothing that wasn’t fit for purposeand a paper will be submitted to MEPC 68.

He argued that the Note of Protest should be used to look at why a stem went wrongand to get to the root cause of any problemsthat had occurred. Hall thought that Port StateControl could undertake this task as a roguedelivery will cause a supplier and the port a

bad reputation.Hall also warned that refineries would need

five years to reach the specification for the2020/2025 cap. He said that the fuel

characteristics were “all over the place- awarning for 2020/2025.”

He argued by saying that the industry wason a learning curve, which will take time.

Low sulphur

problems areemergingMore problems are coming to light with low sulphur fuel oil, which if not addressed

could lead to costly vessel breakdowns and even severe damage to the engine.

T O





Distillates, such as marine gas oil(MGO) are arguably the most

convenient low sulphur solutionfor existing ECA bound vessels.

As, unlike abatement technologies or LNG power, they require no major up-frontinvestment nor costly modification or retrofitting of the vessel.

So what’s the problem? On paper there isn’tone, as just like less expensive residual fuels,distillates need to meet the owners’ pre-determined specifications and the latest ISO8217: 2012 standards.

Unfortunately, issues have a habit of

showing themselves in the engine room, rather than a meeting room, and what looked good ona spec sheet may in fact end up blocking fuellines, damaging fuel pumps and injectors andeven contribute to the loss of engine power (LOP).

A quick glance at the US Coast Guard’s2014 statistics for loss of propulsion incidentsin California will illustrate a worrying trend.Of the 93 LOP incidents, 15 were directlyrelated to fuel switch overs. We wait anxiouslyfor the figures from the freshly regulatedEuropean ECAs.

But, before you reach for that exhaust gascleaner spec sheet, the problems, which canoccur when using distillate fuels, can easily beavoided with a little help, according to JonasOstlund, product marketing manager marinechemicals, Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS).“If you are aware of the fuel’s basic propertiesand limitations, and are prepared to treat your distillates systematically in order to manageand maximise their performance, they posefew challenges.”

Typically, issues with distillate fuels are

distinct from those of their residual relations,and they revolve around lubricity anddegradation.

Both the makeup of the source crude oil,

and the refining processes that oil undergoes,can have an impact on the lubricity of any

finished distillate fuel. This is because thelubricity enhancing compounds that arenaturally present in all diesel fuels are alsoaffected by the refinery process.

The hydro treating refining process reducesthe sulphur and aromatic content of crude, butit also removes the polar components that aidlubrication. This is the reason the lubricity of distillate fuels is difficult to predict, as it is notsolely related to the sulphur level.

Nevertheless, the general trend is that there arelower levels of lubricity in unfinished low

sulphur distillate fuels than intermediate or heavy fuel oil.Rapidly increasing the wear of fuel and

injector pumps at best, and causing the potentially catastrophic loss of power at worst,the effects of poor lubricity in low sulphur diesel fuels was well documented during their adoption by the car industry in the early 90s. Itwas a disaster, and it is one we don’t want torecreate at sea.

An accepted limitation of low sulphur distillates, minimum lubricity levels nowfeature in the latest ISO 8217: 2010 marinedistillate fuel specifications. A requirement for marine distillate fuels with a sulphur level of less than 500 ppm (0.05%) the ISO 8217:2012WSD limit is currently fixed at 520µm.

Typically, finished, on-spec, low sulphur distillate fuels will dip within this limit withthe help of lubricity-improving additives. But,from that point on it then comes down to howthe fuel is managed, manipulated or maintained prior to its arrival alongside vesselsfor bunkering.

Familiar questions come into play here

regarding fuel quality, the consistentavailability of on spec fuel, and of course cost.Ostlund believed this uncertainty regardingdistillates is easily eliminated. “For many

customers working within the constraints of the 0.1% ECA sulphur cap this added

complexity is totally unwanted andunnecessary, and instead they are choosing tofall back on additional fuel treatments.”

WSS has focused on developing acondensed range of marine distillate-specific,fuel oil treatment products. Released towardsthe end of 2014 in anticipation of theregulatory changes concerning emissions,WSS’ range has proved to be popular andOstlund said the reason is simple. “Using triedand tested, proven products such asDieselPower Lubricity from WSS as a matter

of course, will significantly improve thelubricity of low sulphur distillate fuel,reducing component wear.”

Typically requiring a dosage of 15 litres per 100 tonnes, its effectiveness is documented inindependent HFRR, SOBOCLE and additional

pump rig tests**.

Limited shelf lifeLow sulphur diesels tend to be more stablethan high sulphur fuels as hydro treatingtypically destroys the precursors to insolubleorganic particulates. However, along withlubricating compounds, hydro treating alsoeliminates naturally occurring antioxidants.This is why refineries treat distillate fuels withstabilisers to prevent deterioration and theformation of peroxides, the forerunners tosoluble gums.

Unfortunately, such additives actually have alimited shelf life and six months down the linethe fuel, now being pumped on board and intostorage tanks, is unprotected fromdeterioration. A mixture of differenthydrocarbons that can deteriorate over time,

temperature, the availability of an oxygensupply, and access to sunlight also play animportant role in accelerating the fuel’sdecline.

Low sulphur

solutions, freshpropulsion problemsDistillate fuels, despite their premium pricing, have rapidly become the default choice for

the majority of owners and operators now facing the 0.1% ECA sulphur cap*.





Experiencing a change in colour along with gum and sedimentformation, a distillate fuel that is undergoing degradation throughreactions with oxygen will, if unchecked, tend to go on to formdeposits, especially on the fuel injectors. The reason the deposits endup on the fuel injectors is that when a degrading fuel leaves theinjector to be atomised it tends to coke on the nozzle. The coakingstarts to build and the spray pattern from the injection nozzle isaffected reducing fuel economy and engine durability and actuallyincreasing emissions.

Working in tandem with lubricity issues to make an alreadyawkward situation, even more difficult, distillate fuel deteriorationcan also be addressed with additives. Treatments such as WSS’DieselPower Enhancer are multifunctional, maintaining both fuelstability and improving lubricity.

With a recommended dosage of 3 litres per 100 tonnes, usage of such fill and forget, do it all products ensure that ongoing concernsregarding the differing lubricity and stability of low sulphur distillatefuels should disappear.

In addition to distillate fuels’ unique lubricity and degradationissues, unfortunately they are also prone to suffering from a problemshared by all diesel fuels, microbiological contamination.

Thriving in hot and humid conditions and if non-dissolved water is present in the fuel, just 100 ppm (0.0001%) of water is all that’srequired for bacteria to grow in a fuel system. Microbes in smallquantities pose few problems, however if their numbers increase

DieselPower Lubricity treat rate, mg/l200150100500

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at reducing wear scar diameters.

WSS’ Jonas Ostlund.





(>106 cfu/ml; CFU –colony forming units) then they start to form biofilms in the systems, leading to sludge formation. Once established,microbial growth will start to block filters, corrode tanks and even wear injectors.

Simple tasks such as regularly draining water from the bottom of thetank, along with frequent, and at the very least annual, fuel testing, canhelp reduce the impact of microbes. However, the routine use of additional fuel treatments may be the only consistent solution to

persistent microbial contamination.

While Biocides have been around for many years, products such asWSS’ DieselPower MAR 71 are specifically designed to work withindistillates’ distinct parameters. Eliminating the potentially corrosivemicrobes often found within diesel fuel systems, when pro-activelyused as preventative measure, the typical dosage is 20 litres per 100tonnes.

Experiencing an obvious surge in interest, linked to the upswing inECA-driven MGO use, fuel treatments have historically been greetedwith a degree of scepticism, frequently viewed as ‘snake oil’.

However, when it comes to lubricity improving products andstabilising agents, such as DieselPower Lubricity and DieselPower Enhancer, the results speak for themselves, and so seemingly do theowners.

A recent development, it seems that the fine detail contained in anincreasing number of charterparty agreements are being amended tostipulate the systematic use of such products, reflecting both their effectiveness and importance.

That is of course an easy decision for owners and operators tomake, when they are not the ones footing the fuel bill. But, the costs

of maintaining a structured fuel treatment regime are insignificantwhen measured against the sizeable financial penalties, which could

be incurred as a result of engine damage, reduced fuel economy or even a LOP incident.

An established technology and the direct result of the car industry’sexperiences with low sulphur diesel fuels, fuel treatment, along withECAs, and the use of distillates, is here to stay.

*This article was taken from a paper written by Jonas Ostlund, product marketing manager marine chemicals, Wilhelmsen ShipsService (WSS).

**Pump rig testing is the main alternative to field testing for theevaluation of lubricity additives. Independent data generated by APL,Germany, using a Bosch VE rotary injection fuel pump, operated for 1,000 hours according to the Bosch recommended cycle and rated by

Robert Bosch GmbH, clearly demonstrates the lubricity improving performance of DieselPower Lubricity.

Using a severe Swiss low sulphur fuel, which had been shown tocause significant wear to pumps of this kind (Bosch rating 6-7),dosing 100 mg/l DieselPower Lubricity resulted in a Bosch rating of 3, ‘acceptable wear’.

T O

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I

n an effort to provide a safe, efficientand cost-effective optimal route for avoyage, Applied Weather Technology(AWT), part of the StormGeo Group, has

launched BVS Dual Speed Optimisation tool,which takes ECA zones into account.

AWT’s vice president products and systems,Richard Brown, explained that the Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA) of the Balticand North Seas, as well as the North AmericanECA Zones were defined in Annex VI of MARPOL 1997. The regulations specified agradual decrease in the amount of sulphur

present in the fuel being consumed.Prior to 1st July, 2010, heavy fuel oil (HFO)

contained up to 4.5% sulphur. The initial

Annex VI of MARPOL 1997 mandatedsulphur content reductions to 1% in the SECAand ECA areas. The second phase of the AnnexVI of MARPOL 1997 came into force on 1stJanuary, 2015 to further reduce the sulphur limit to 0.1% in the SECA and ECA areas.

With the second phase of the new ECAregulations now in place, it is no longer enough to only find the best route and speed tosail to minimise voyage costs. With the costdifferential between IFO and ultra low sulphur fuels (ULSFO) on the order of $300 per tonne,it complicates the picture and raises severalquestions. For example -1) Where should you enter the ECA areas and

is sailing the least distance in the ECAareas always best?

2) What speed should you be using in theECA areas and is the minimum speedalways best?

There is no one right answer to these questionsand to find the least cost route you need to takemany variables into account, such as thoselisted below.

Distances steamed, both inside and outside

the ECA areas.Weather and currents.Fuel prices for each fuel type.Dynamic vessel specific fuel consumption

curves.Daily hire costs.Speed setting, both inside and out of ECAareas.

In addition, any wind, wave, navigational,safety, environmental or other constraintsshould also be taken into account.

AWT’s new BVS 7 Dual SpeedOptimisation software addresses thesevariables. They help the Master find the safestand best combination of sailing track andspeeds to be most efficient.

When the arrival time has been fixed in BVSand the high and low fuel prices per tonne have

been entered into the system, BVSautomatically calculates a least-cost dual speedoptimisation if the vessel encounters an ECAarea during the voyage.

If the fuel prices are missing or if the vesseldoesn’t enter an ECA area, BVS will providethe best route and optimum single speed to

make the arrival time.For those voyages where the vessel does not

have a specified time of arrival and the highand low fuel prices per tonne, plus the daily

hire rate have been entered into the system,BVS will automatically do a least-cost dualspeed optimisation if the vessel encounters anECA area during the voyage. If the fuel pricesor the daily hire rate are missing, or the routedoesn’t encounter an ECA area, BVS willcalculate the best ‘least time’ optimisation.

AWT has a large database containing severalmillion observations of speed, weather conditions, consumption rates, and more fromships of all types and sizes. An experiencedteam of analysts, whose backgrounds are inoceanography and maritime engineering, havedeveloped a model that is able to predict speedloss due to weather and the associatedconsumption rates.

Using the reported information from thevessel along with AWT’s analysis of thecurrent, wind, sea heights, swell height and

period and relative directions, AWT canaccurately calculate the calm sea speed for

each noon report.As this data accumulates, regression analysis

yields a specific consumption (vs calm seaspeed) curve for each vessel from which the

AWT launches dual

speed optimisationfor ECAsA new approach is required to find the most cost effective route, given the new Emission

Control Area (ECA) requirements recently implemented.

In this image, BVS 7 Dual Speed Optimisation saved an additional $3,000 to $4,000.





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data is collected. These curves arecontinuously updated, with the latest reportsweighted more heavily, so the curves can keepup with any variations in the vessels

performance over time.To ensure that the Master has the best

consumption estimates, these curves areautomatically uploaded to the vessel during theBVS data download process.

For those vessels where no data has beencollected, AWT maintains consumption curves

based on sister ships and when this data is notavailable the system will use AWT ship typecurves.

ConclusionThe introduction of ECA zones has presentednew challenges for optimising a voyage, yetAWT has overcome these challenges. The

recently launched BVS 7 software provides anexcellent solution by recommending both aroute and speeds in and out of the ECA zonesto safely minimise fuel costs.

By putting this tool into the Master's hands,quick and informed decisions can be madewith voyage safety and total voyage costs inmind, Brown claimed.

In another move, AWT is to collaborate withVeson Nautical to simplify a Master’sreporting with communications to shore-basedmanagers.

This new offering delivers notable time-

savings to vessel Masters, the companyclaimed enabling them to send a single at-seareport to both the onshore operator and AWT,via Veslink, rather than sending multipleduplicate reports comprised of the same data.

In one click, operators using both AWT andVeslink can deliver critical data to both theAWT weather routing service and voyage

management through Veslink and IMOS.This leads to timely data with increased

accuracy, and streamlines the work flow on board the vessel, the companies said.

“I can truly say that our collaboration with

Veson is based on the demands of many of our important clients who would like to see closer integration of AWT and Veson services,” saidHaydn Jones, AWT CEO. “The immediate goalis for AWT’s use of Veslink formatted shipreports that will help to reduce the load onship’s Masters for preparing multiple similar daily reports.” T O




TECHNOLOGY - TANK SERVICING

Designed for the marine, as wellas the power industry, EmersonProcess Management hasintroduced the patented MicroMotion 7829 Viscomaster directinsertion viscosity and densitymeter (HFVM).Making use of the same rugged and reliabletuning fork design as its predecessors, theHFVM incorporates a new robust low frictiondiamond-like carbon (DLC) coating.

This makes it ideal for tackling the mostdemanding of process applications, such asmarine heavy fuel oil (HFO) combustion

control, marine gas oil (MGO) viscositycontrol and land-based fired heaters, thecompany claimed.

The head-mounted transmitter is hazardousarea approved and has the flexibility toconnect to control systems via a wide range of digital and analogue protocols. Systemintegration and start up commissioning costsare significantly reduced, due to the supportfrom 4-20mA, HART, WirelessHART andRS485 Modbus communications,

Emerson said.The HFVM accepts and processes external

signals from other field instrumentation, suchas temperature and mass/volumetric flowdevices, enabling the meter to calculate andoutput enhanced process measurements whileminimising installation and cabling costs.

“We designed the HFVM Viscomaster tohelp solve problems that our customers faceon a daily basis, such as maximising engine

power output irrespective of fuel qualityvariations, optimising HFO/MGO cut-over times and reducing fiscal exposure throughimproved NOx/SOx management,” said

Andrew Sgro, Micro Motion density andviscosity product line manager.

Diagnostic capabilityThe HFVM also incorporates a new diagnosticcapability called ‘known density verification’(KDV) that checks the meter for measurementalarm conditions, sensor integrity and the

presence of coating, erosion or corrosion.Marine approvals for the meter include class

societies - LR, DNV GL and BV.

Emerson introduces heavy fuel oil viscosityand density meter

Navig8, is applying the patentedInterline 9001 to the tanks of aseries of 18 chemical tankerscurrently under construction atHyundai Mipo.

The cargo tank coating from AkzoNobel’sInternational marine coating product rangeforms part of Navig8’s ambition to be theleading supplier of sophisticated large chemicaltanker tonnage with maximum earning

potential and minimum cost base. Navig8 selected Interline 9001 to deliver

significant operational benefits for the 37,000dwt vessels, providing increased vesselcapacity and maximum operational flexibilityrequired to meet increased market demand for large volume contract of affreightment.

In addition to the coatings at Hyundai MipoDockyard, Navig8 has selected Interline 9001for a further four 49,000 dwt MRs under construction at STX shipyard.

Interline 9001 is a bimodal epoxy coating for the cargo tanks of chemical tankers. Withenhanced cargo resistance, near zero absorptionfor many cargoes and fewer cyclingrestrictions, the coating simplifies the carriageof a wide range of cargoes, optimising vesselearnings potential, International said.

The coating can be used with all of thecargoes that standard epoxy phenolictechnology can, plus a further 25% of the largevolume cargoes that it cannot, and has over 60% fewer cycling restrictions.

Its low cargo absorption profile reduces therisk of contamination between cargoes andcombined with its smooth, glossy surface, cancut cleaning time and materials by up to 70%,compared to standard epoxy phenolics or zinc

silicates. With reduced cleaning requirementscomes a corresponding reduction in fuel andCO2 emissions. In addition, a low volatileorganic content (VOC) and 80% volume solids

helps to enhance operator environmental profile.

Andy Hopkinson, International’s businessdevelopment manager for the marine coatings

business said: “We are delighted to be workingso closely with Navig8 on this significant

project which signals strongly the market needto adopt new technology and react to the ever tightening cleaning requirements and need for maximum earnings with minimum cost.Contract activity around Interline 9001 hasrisen significantly and Navig8’s commitmentand confidence in the product will lead the wayfor many owners to reach the same conclusion.

“The benefits of the bimodal epoxytechnology certainly suits Navig8’s operationalmodel where capacity optimisation through

reduced cleaning time and carriage flexibilitycombined with maximum protection for customer’s sophisticated cargoes is high on theagenda,” he said.

Chemical carrier newbuildings fitted withadvanced tank coatings

T O

T O

Emerson’s HFVM Viscomaster hasseveral class society approvals.



Inert Gas based Ballast Water Treatment for Tankers

Marine & Offshore Fluid Handling Solutions

• No disruption to ballastingor de-ballasting

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The only in-tank, in-voyage BWT system

TANKER OPERATOR Magazine (April 2015)

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Transcript of TANKER OPERATOR Magazine (April 2015)