Diesel Ship News

The built-for-purpose National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) training ship comes to life. Anybody who has spent four years at a State Maritime Academy (SMA) has also spent time at sea on a Marad-owned training vessel. Today, these platforms are long in the tooth, equipped with outdated equipment and not necessarily conducive to the task of training cadets for a future career at sea. For a long time, though, they’ve gotten the job done. It is also true that some of these hulls are one equipment casualty away from the bone yard, despite that best efforts of the schools tasked with their upkeep. That’s got SMA officials worried. The Massachusetts Maritime Academy’s Academic Dean Brad Lima knows what is at stake. “Kennedy is 50 years old and sound mechanically.

A study conducted by Germany’s Helmholtz Zentrum München and University of Rostock found that ship emissions adversely affect the health of inhabitants of coastal regions. Since macrophages also play a key role in lung diseases such as COPD, the study is important for understanding the health risks of ship exhausts, says Science Daily. "Macrophages are known as scavenger cells of the immune system and respond more sensitively to particulate matter in the lungs than lung epithelial cells, since they are the 'first line of response' against foreign invaders in the lungs such as germs or even fine dust particles," said Sean Sapcariu, first author of the study and doctoral student at the University of Luxembourg…

Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding co., Ltd. (MES; President: Takao Tanaka) achieved production volume of 181 MAN B&W low-speed diesel engines manufactured at the Tamano Works Machinery Factory (Tamano, Okayama Prefecture) in fiscal 2015, representing for 3.28 million horsepower (results in the previous fiscal year were 181 engines and 3.54 million horsepower). Since MES formed a technical tie-up with the Denmark-based B&W (now known as MAN Diesel & Turbo) on diesel engines in 1926, it has built a production track record as one of the world’s leading manufacturers, with cumulative horsepower production of over 90 million horsepower.

A century ago this year, the first ocean-going diesel ship in the world, the M/S Selandia, embarked on her maiden voyage. She was a technological wonder, and both her hull and engines were built by Burmeister & Wain (B&W) of Copenhagen, Denmark. B&W is now a part of MAN Diesel & Turbo — a company with 12,000 employees worldwide — and the marine low-speed business unit is located in Copenhagen. The unit has capitalized on B&W’s historic expertise to produce new engines that can weigh up to 2,800 metric tons and tower 16 meters high.

Hefty fines, detention and possible arrest are looming for ship owners/operators who fail to meet new ship emissions requirements. In accordance with MARPOL (Marine Pollution) Annex VI regulations, new Emissions Control Area (ECA) regulations for sea areas within 200 nautical miles from the coasts and ports of the U.S. and Canada go into effect on August 1, 2011. Even with an exemption clause that extends the regulations enforcement date to Aug. 1, 2012, the time window is short for outfitting thousands of vessels.

India’s newest private shipbuilding firm,Pipavav Shipyard Ltd, is the latest in a growing list of firms looking to enter the business of making diesel ship engines in an attempt to meet growing demand for these in India and in other parts of the world, and is talking to two multinational firms for a partnership. Last week, Pipavav Shipyard started work on the first four of 26 Panamax bulk carriers that have been ordered by Norwegian, French and Greek fleetowners for a total of $1.1 billion (Rs4,360 crore). The contract makes Pipavav the world’s second biggest Panamax size shipbuilder by order size after Japan’s dry bulk cargo shipbuilding specialist Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.