MARINE STRUCTURES

Fatigue in Marine Structures Discussed in Germany

Fatigue assessment in shipping is vital in order to predict the structural durability of welded joints. Progress made during the past decade regarding different approaches was presented at the seminar "Local Approaches for Fatigue Assessment of Marine Structures" at Germanischer Lloyd headquarter. The seminar revived interest from engineers and research scientists from all around the world: 50 international experts took part in the seminar, coming from all over Europe and Asia. Fatigue experts from classification society Germanischer Lloyd, the Institute of Ship Structural Design & Analysis from Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) and Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF gave an extended overview about the assessment of fatigue behaviour of welded structures. The seminar focussed on nominal stress, hot-spot, notch stress and strain approaches as well as crack propagation calculations. In recent years, progress has been made in the application of fatigue and fracture assessment procedures facilitating safe and cost effective decisions in design, material specification and maintenance of structures. This technology has been applied to ships and other marine structures. Sophisticated procedures on how to deal with the avoidance of cracks in cyclic loaded structural components, the prediction of fatigue lifetime of marine structures and the verification of damages in view of

ABS Names Wiernicki Chief Technology Officer

Chris J. Wiernicki has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at ABS, where he will report directly to ABS President and CEO Robert Somerville. Wiernicki replaces Dr. Donald Liu who has retired after 38 years of service during which he attracted worldwide renown for his industry leading achievements, particularly in the development and application of the finite element method to ship design.

ABS Elects Wiernicki to Board

Christopher J. Wiernicki was elected to the ABS Board of Directors by the ABS Council following the Annual Meeting of the members of the international classification society. Wiernicki was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of ABS on January 1. He is also an elected Corporate Officer of the society. Prior to his current appointment, Wiernicki served as President and COO of ABS Europe Ltd, the Division of the society responsible for activities throughout Europe

Master of Marine Engineering Program Announces New Course Offerings

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy’s Master of Marine Engineering (MMarE) degree program, a distance-learning master’s program, begins its third year this September with a wide range of course offerings. The MMarE program offers a unique opportunity for practicing marine engineering professionals to advance their technical education and careers while continuing in their current capacities.  The MMarE courses focus on the application of advanced technical concepts and skills

New SNAME Ship Geometry Book

The Geometry of Ships, now available from the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME), presents the theoretical basis for these hull modeling systems and the procedures for computing hull geometric, buoyancy and other properties by mathematical methods utilizing such models. Written by SNAME Life Member John S. Letcher, Jr., author of over 30 publications on computer-aided design and analysis of boats, ships and marine structures

Delta "T" Offers Marine Hook Load Testing

A review of resources on the world wide web will quickly produce an abundance of material and statistics on the hazards of marine hook use on life boats, fast response craft, tenders and other vessels.    Accidents, injuries and fatalities are far too common when it comes to the operation of marine davit launching systems.  Surprisingly, accidents which occur during drills often dominate the statistics

Eric Greene Associates Awarded MARAD Contract

Eric Greene Associates, Inc. has just been awarded a 9-month, $65,000 contract from the Maritime Administration to investigate spray-applied insulation systems for marine transportation. The work is being performed for the Ship Structure Committee (SSC) representing in the U.S. the Maritime Administration, the Coast Guard, the American Bureau of Shipping, the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers and the Navy; and in Canada the Coast Guard, DREA, and Transport Canada.

SSC Release Research Reports

The Ship Structure Committee, sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard, among others, released four new research reports. SSC-429 is entitled "Rapid Stress Intensity Factor Solution Estimation for Ship Structures Applications". SSC-430 is entitled "Fracture Toughness of a Ship Structure". SSC-431 is entitled "Retention of Weld Metal Properties and Prevention of Hydrogen Cracking". SSC-432 is entitled "Adaptation of Commercial Structural Criteria to Military Needs".

Keppel Signs $4.1B Deal

The offshore industry, and specifically Brazil, continue to be a driver for maritime markets, as Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), through its subsidiary Fernvale Pte. Ltd., signed contracts with Sete Brasil Participações S.A. (Sete Brasil), for the design and construction of five additional semisubmersible (semi) drilling rigs for approximately $4.1b, following the Letter of Intent announced in April 2012

Keppel FELS Signs Contract Worth US$1.2 Billion

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), has signed a contract with Ukraine's National Joint-Stock Company "Naftogaz of Ukraine" (Naftogaz), to construct two semisubmersible drilling rigs worth about US$1.2 billion. The contract will be effective upon final corporate approvals. This follows an earlier announcement made on 21 November 2012 in relation to Keppel FELS being selected as winner of the tender to