techNews W&O tO distribute USCG-approved marine plastic piping system
A model of sAfety
SimulatOrS are prOving to be the go-to solution for training future mariners and officers—offering students the opportunity to get hands-on experience, increase familiarity with the ship, and learn how to react when a sticky situation arises. Cruise ship operators have shown a keen interest in simulator training benefits. Last year, Transas worked closely with Floridabased Resolve Maritime Academy to develop several in-service vessel simulators for Resolve Maritime’s client, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL). The academy’s simulation division features a full mission bridge simulator, bridge wing and mini bridges. Transas developed a number of vessel models for the training program—they included the Celebrity Solstice, Freedom of the Seas, Vision of the Seas and TUI Mein Shiff 1. Additionally, Transas created models of two RCCL vessels currently under construction, the Quantum of the Seas and the TUI Mein Schiff 3. While the model’s benefits are plentiful, creating models of as-yet unbuilt vessels did pose a challenge. Neil Bennet, Vice President, Transas USA, says the “value of being able to train officers who will one day sail aboard that vessel, and to have the opportunity to run simulated trials of that vessel
entering some of the ports to which she will eventually sail, even before she is floated out, is immense.” Vessel models come with realistic environmental, bank, vessel and channel interaction effects, special hydrodynamic effects for pod-driven vessels, tug interaction, realistic ship-specific virtual control pages and hardware consoles.
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training fOr nOaa OfficerS The Maritime Simulations Institute will provide professional maritime training to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Corps Officers. The courses will include basic safety training, seamanship, electronic navigation, ship stability, Rules of the Road, and shiphandling. The end of the course will include Bridge Resource Management (BRM) training on full mission ship simulators. The simulations will be tailored to meet each student’s training needs and each simulator-training session will include instances of equipment failure, extreme environments, unusual navigation circumstances and other emergency situations.
64 MARINE LOG April 2013
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ClassNK approves ballast water VLCC design The IMO Ballast Water Management Convention may not yet be enforced, but the installation of ballast water treatment systems are presenting owners with challenges, both on the financial and technical front, says ClassNK. Luckily for owners, the classification society has granted Approval in Principle (AIP) to the Minimal Ballast Water Ship (MIBS) VLCC design developed by Namura Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in cooperation with the Shipbuild-
W&O, in partnership with Georg Fischer, is bringing to market SeaCor—the first and only commercially available U.S. Coast Guard-approved (USCG) marine plastic piping system. ABS-approved SeaCor is the only plastic potable water piping system that meets both IMO and USCG requirements for flame spread, low smoke and toxicity. As the distributor, W&O will lead efforts to bring SeaCor to the commercial and military marine markets, as well as the upstream oil and gas industry. SeaCor provides a myriad of benefits to ship owners and operators and can be used in non-essential shipboard piping systems. Weight savings when using plastic versus copper piping is substantial, ranging from 36 percent savings for ½ inch pipe to 57 percent savings for 6 inch pipe. Additionally, weight savings can help vessel fuel efficiency, and also provide for a quicker installation process. The SeaCor piping system can lower costs for ship owners and operators, both up-front and over time. Costs for a SeaCor piping system are competitive to copper piping systems. Thermoplastic systems also have a longer lifespan than copper systems, sometimes as much as 25 years, making it a sound life cycle investment. USCG approvals require all individuals installing SeaCor to be trained and qualified. W&O offers this training to its customers on-site or at a W&O facility.
ing Research Center of Japan. The AIP certifies that MIBS satisfies all international requirements for hull strength and safety. The design uses a revolutionary new hull form that reduces the amount of ballast water necessary for safe operations by nearly 65%. MIBS based the new system in part on the previous Non-Ballast Water Ship (NOBS) design project that created a tanker design that could operate without the need for
www.classnk.or.jp ballast water. But while the NOBS design featured an extremely wide hull shape, which limited its commercial applications, the MIBS design contains a flatter bottom and standard breadth hull, lending itself to a dramatic reduction in needed ballast water. The specs for the MIBS VLCC are 324 m x 60 m x 30 m, dwt is about 300,300 tons and ballast water weight in normal ballast condition is about 30,000 tons.