Pressure Equipment News

Ocean Safety said it has been busy since gaining Lloyds Register approval to carry out hydrostatic pressure testing in accordance with TPED (Transportable Pressure Equipment Directive) and things are only set to get busier. During the past year Ocean Safety has noticed a steady increase in business, ranging from fire protection and service companies including Basingstoke Fire, Griffin Fire, Resmar and Wessex Fire, as well as from their core maritime customer base. Don Hawkins of Resmar…

Independent safety supplier in the U.K., Ocean Safety, received the EC Certificate of Authorization from Lloyds Register, allowing the company to carry out all in-house certifications of gas cylinders. In accordance with the Transportable Pressure Equipment Directive 2010/35EU, Ocean Safety is now authorized to pressure test many types of cylinders including composite, welded steel, seamless steel and aluminum gas. These cylinders are used in many applications within the commercial and leisure marine markets, including cruise ships, liferaft inflation and fire suppression systems.

Lloyd’s Register launched an all-new mobile application for the Pressure Equipment Directive (EU directive 97/23/EC). The new Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) Category Selection calculator app will provide manufacturers with instant access to customized information about the EU directive. The app also helps facilitate engineering calculations with graphical illustrations to better understand how to obtain CE marking for their products. With the choice of four languages - English, Dutch, Spanish and Mandarin - the app makes the EC directive information accessible to a global audience. “Navigating the PED process can be confusing for global manufacturers,” said Pascal Coudeville, SVP of Lloyd’s Register’s Inspection business.

Gulfstream Services, Inc. (GSI), an oilfield rental company providing high pressure equipment for the international oil and gas industry, has named Dale Broussard as Manager – Quality Assurance (QA) and Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), announced Gulfstream Services President Mike Mire. Prior to his appointment with GSI, Broussard gained notable management experience through 38 years in various roles within Halliburton Energy Services - most recently, as a Facilities/Location Manager. Broussard is an ISO 9001:2008 Certified Lead Auditor.

Gulfstream Services, Inc. (GSI) names Billy Marcel as Manager of Global Operations – Decommissioning Services Division. US-based Gulfstream Services, Inc. is a global corporation focused on developing high pressure equipment solutions for the international oil and gas industry. GSI has four divisions – rental tools, wireline, cementing assembly and decommissioning – in four strategic oil and gas hubs. Gulfstream Services President Mike Mir said that, based in Houma, La., Marcel will be responsible for the daily supervision of personnel and products as well as the long term growth strategy for the decommissioning operations in the US and Aberdeen, Scotland facilities.

DNV has developed a class notation for seismic vessels in consultation with key industry players, WesternGeco, PGS and Fugro-Geoteam. The need to have enhanced redundancy and proper deck arrangements to ensure continuous operation without loss of speed is the backbone of these new technical requirements. Seismic vessels contain high end computerized technology to find resources below the seabed, and represent a key element in the value chain leading to future offshore field developments. Any interruptions in the ships forward movement can complicate the seismic data processing, and continuous operations with focus to avoid any downtime of key functions are hence of utmost importance.

According to Germanischer Lloyd (GL), Offshore service vessels (OSV) are becoming larger, more specialized and technically sophisticated as a result of the rising demand for more complex deepwater field developments, including the Gulf of Mexico. Currently, there are some 2,500 OSV worldwide, with a steady growth projected from now through 2020. All this has led to an expanded definition of OSV which refers to "not only traditional supply boats, but also anchor handling tug/supply ships, well stimulation ships, and standby ships" and even those "built to carry hazardous and noxious substances, to fight fires, or to occasionally recover oil," said Stephen Gumpel, Area Manager North and Central America at GL.

InterCorr International, the Houston-based corrosion engineering and technology company, was granted a new patent (US Application 09/202193) for "Assessment of Corrosion." The patent covers various aspects of corrosion assessment, the most fascinating of which includes the ability to automatically determine the corrosion mechanism without the need to rip open the pipe or vessel for inspection. Kenneth MacKenzie, Chairman of InterCorr, said, "Certainly the greatest challenge to industry in overcoming corrosion is to detect that there is a problem well in advance of a material failure. In most cases of pressure equipment, it can be too late even if corrosion is observed and patched during a turnaround inspection - equipment replacement is then inevitable, and costly.

Aker Kvaerner Netherlands B.V., trading as AK Process, and part of the Aker Kvaerner Group, has become the first EPC contractor in the Netherlands to be certified by Lloyd's Register as a qualified manufacturer under the European Pressure Equipment Directive. A key benefit of the certification is that it will enable a significant reduction in the involvement of Notified Bodies in assessment and inspection during the engineering and construction phases of projects. As Wim van der Zande, President of AK Process, confirms, "This certification represents an important step in our drive to be a leading centre of project execution excellence for our industry. A core element of our management systems is to ensure proper quality levels on our delivered projects.

In time for the effects of the Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) 97/23/EC, Germanischer Lloyd (GL) has been accredited by the Central Authority of the Laender for Safety (ZLS) and approved by the EU Commission as a notified body with the identification number 0098. This new certification allows GL to provide services required by the Pressure Equipment Directive, such as design and type examination, material appraisal, quality system certification, and product inspection and testing. The Directive 97/23/EC governs the placing on the common European market of pressure vessels, steam boilers, piping, and valves and safety devices.