New Commitments to Russia from ABB Marine
Russia’s key role in capturing hard to reach Arctic energy resources has prompted two new initiatives from leading electric propulsion systems supplier ABB Marine, targeting both the nation’s newbuild and ship support sectors. The company has established a new marine service centre at Murmansk, committed to supporting vessels operating in North-West Russia through their 25-30 year lifespan. It is also refocusing activities at its established St Petersburg office, by appointing a new manager responsible for newbuilding projects from the design stage through to systems delivery, in order to develop closer relations within Russia with owners, class, designers, shipyards and research institutes.
Russian Shipbuilders Get Benefits
Russian Minister of Industry and Energy Viktor Khristenko intends to support the Russian shipbuilding industry through new legislation to prevent it from falling behind Western competitors. His ministry estimates that up to 40 platforms will be needed for oil and gas production on then continental shelf by 2030, along with 85 specialized ships and more than 140 support ships. Among the proposed measures Khristenko told the State Duma about yesterday were the elimination of VAT on imported equipment that has no Russian-made analogs, interest-free credits for building ships, financing for modernization of production capacity. There would also be special measures “to reinforce the priority right of Russian industry to create means to develop the sea shelf…
Rodriquez and RINA Develop Green High-Speed Ferry
Italian shipyard group Rodriquez Cantieri Navali and Genoa-based classification society RINA have jointly developed an innovative and environmentally friendly high-speed ferry. A full scale prototype of the Aliswath, presently under construction, will undertake sea trials in 2007. The Aliswath hybrid design combines the small wetted area of the SWATH concept with a hydrofoil system. The prototype is designed to carry 450 passengers and 60 cars at speeds up to 28 knots, while reducing fuel consumption by 40 per cent compared with existing designs and also reducing wash, emissions and risk of oil pollution. The key to the trimaran-like design is an immersed torpedo-shaped hull with secondary dynamic lift from a sophisticated wing foil system.
Steerprop CRP Model Tests Confirm Efficiency
Steerprop is now taking one step further, improving the efficiency still by introducing the dual-end CRP propulsor. As a part of the ongoing research and development process of the Steerprop propulsor technology, Steerprop Ltd. recently conducted a series of model tests at Krylov Shipbuilding Research Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Steerprop dual-end contra-rotating propulsor configuration was tested in both the towing tank (open water tests) and in the cavitation tank. "The test series clearly showed the benefits of the dual-ended configuration and thus also proved the claims for high efficiency of Steerprop CRP. The efficiency of the forward propeller was measured to be close to 0.9!" said Hannu Jukola, hydrodynamist at Steerprop Ltd.
