SD1:SHIP DESIGN 2020 JUNIOR SHIP DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS
by Bradley D. M. Golden '99, Assistant Professor of Naval Architecture Each year, one of the highlights of the spring semester for our Junior class is the opportunity to participate in the small vessel design project. This project is a major milestone in their professional careers as naval architects and marine engineers since it’s the first time they get to apply what they’ve been learning at Webb and during their winter work internships towards a complete vessel design. Having spent the first three years learning about the different elements of ship design, including stability, structures, resistance, powering, machinery, piping systems, and electrical systems, this is their first opportunity to put all this information together into a concept design. Working in small groups of three and four, the Class of 2021 produced six different vessel designs which they themselves helped select. With the help of industry experts, a statement of design requirements was prepared for each of the vessels, and the design teams were sent to work. Members of the Webb faculty and industry mentors helped each team along the way to develop their vessels. This year, the designs included: • A cross-harbor RoRo truck ferry designed for the NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) to help facilitate express courier and delivery services into and out of Manhattan. • A humanitarian relief vessel intended to support the Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to respond to natural disasters around the Bahamas and the rest of the Caribbean.
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• A wind farm service vessel with walk-to-work and crew transfer vessel capabilities to support the operation and maintenance of the developing offshore wind industry in the northeast United States. • A medium-sized fireboat to serve the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to bridge the gap between the LAFD’s existing large and small vessels. • A salvage support vessel to respond to NOAA’s efforts to remove oil remaining in a significant number of shipwrecks identified as being high- and mediumpriority under the agency’s Remediation of Underwater Legacy Environmental Threats (RULET) program. • An LNG bunkering vessel to deliver LNG fuel from a new export terminal in Jacksonville, FL, to the passenger cruise ship sector operating in Miami, FL, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Although the members of the design groups were separated from each other as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, each of the groups was successful in producing a design for its vessel, and the designs were presented to a panel of industry evaluators in May. Traditionally, these presentations are given in-person but, again because of the global pandemic, the presentations were given in an online seminar that was watched by over 90 attendees. While all of the groups can be commended for their efforts, two designs in particular stood out and are highlighted to the right.
Cross-Harbor RoRo Truck Ferry
Wind Farm Service Vessel
Humanitarian Relief Vessel
Fireboat
WEBB NEWS - 2020
