Larger Systems News

UK-based Submarine Manufacturing and Products (SMP) will provide its new submarine rescue system (SRS) to the Indonesian Navy.The SRS will be hosted on a mothership designed by independent design and engineering consultancy Houlder and delivered by its Indonesian strategic partner, BTI Defence.The three-year build contract will include the UK design and manufacture of the SRS, centered around SMP's new SRV-F Mk3 rescue submersible. The custom build of the mothership will take place in region…

Shipbuilder Austal USA and has formed a strategic partnership with Saildrone, Inc to build cutting-edge, autonomous uncrewed surface vehicles.The partnership  ensures that production of the autonomous and uncrewed Saildrone Surveyor will accelerate to meet the growing demand of the U.S. Navy and other government customers for the cutting-edge solution for maritime domain awareness, hydrographic survey, and other missions requiring persistent wide area coverage. Autonomous vessel capability has been identified as an area of strategic importance by the U.S. Navy.

As naval architects and marine engineers we are familiar with the design spiral. While design is not truly a spiral, we use the concept to remind ourselves that all pieces of a ship design interact. The design spiral is not a standard figure and can be simplistic or overcomplicated.A Google search image summary provides dozens of interpretations, all investigating different variables, with the only commonality that all spirals start with the “mission” variable.Figure 1 is an old…

Slovenia-based supplier of blockchain solutions for logistics, CargoX has  launched the CargoX latform to become the first open, neutral, and accessible blockchain platform in the shipping industry.The company said that the platform can be used by businesses of any size, and it was recently selected as the winning innovation at the IRU World Congress among 77 startups after a presentation in front of over 1000 attendees from more than 60 countries."Shipping, freight forwarding, NVOCC, exporting and importing companies, forwarder alliances and networks, and ecosystems providing solutions for logistics and supply chains all over the world can now start using the CargoX platform to speed up their business and slash costs…

Braking systems manufacturer Dellner Brakes has rolled out two new spring applied failsafe brakes to its SKP range for cranes, winches, deck machinery, oil rig draw works and other equipment, both on and offshore. Precision engineered in Sweden, Dellner’s new SKP 180 weighs in at 315 kg and delivers braking force from 141 kN up to 226 kN through two brake housings, each containing a powerful spring applied piston. The SKP 4 x 180, weighing 630 kg, combines two brake assemblies containing a total of four pistons to deliver braking force of up to 453 kN.

Dellner Brakes AB said it will introduce two new heavy-duty disc brakes to its SKD range that, through a new modular design, are set to deliver more choice and stopping power for large industrial, marine and offshore applications. The new brakes will be launched at Nor-shipping in Oslo, taking place from May 30 to June 2. Designed for stopping rotary motion and statically holding load in large marine vessels and industrial machinery, Dellner’s new SKD 140 brake delivers braking force of up to 258 kN through two brake housings, each containing a powerful hydraulic piston.

Scienco/FAST has introduced a new way to deal with sludge with its standard MarineFAST Marine Sanitation Device, which meets MEPC.159(55) or providing secondary treatment, incorporating about one month of internal sludge storage or three months with larger systems. For vessels requiring a longer period, the MarineFAST BMS provides an aerobic sludge digester with long term internal storage to extend the sludge storage. Operation is completely automatic and hands-free, and the sludge is enclosed in tanks and piping – no need for personnel to come into contact with sewage or sewage sludge.

A new method for dealing with accumulated sewage sludge on vessels and offshore platforms. Scienco/FAST has introduced a new way to deal with sludge with its standard MarineFAST Marine Sanitation Device, meeting MEPC.159(55) or providing secondary treatment incorporates about one month of internal sludge storage or three months with larger systems. For vessels requiring a longer period, the MarineFAST BMS provides an aerobic sludge digester with long term internal storage to extend the sludge storage.

Brommeland Elektronikk AS, the Norwegian distributor for KNS, was awarded a contract to supply 13 VSAT systems to a large part of the Norwegian shipowner Kopervik Group fleet. The KNS VSAT systems will be supplied through a leasing program, and Kopervik Group is one of several other shipping companies utilizing this program. Cost-wise it enables the company to optimize communication cost and get the possibilities to be online at sea and have the latest technology in the complete fleet at the same time, which again is beneficial in regards to crew-changes, service etc. Integration will take place during the end of 2014. The program consists of KNS A6 VSAT systems fully integrated with the existing mobile phone systems both on vessels and in company offices.

When Gustaf de Laval read in 1877 an article in the German periodical ”Milchzeitung” (Milk News Paper) about centrifugal separators, he certainly did not expect that it would lead to his founding of a global acting company with around 16,400 employees nearly 140 years later. His first continuous separator, with a capacity of 130 liters per hour, was demonstrated 1879 in Stockholm; and four years later, in 1883, he and his partner, Oscar Lamm, established the company AB Separator.

Fireboy-Xintex Inc. offers a line of USCG Type Approved Fire Detection Systems for commercial vessels and recreational yachts. Marine Elite RSM Analog Addressable Fire Alarm Control Panels are available for hosting up to 256 fire detection devices on all Commercial and Recreational Marine applications. These control panels can also be expanded and networked to become part of larger systems. Elite RSM Control Panels are simple and easy to understand for installers, commissioning personnel and vessel owners and feature Apollo protocol smoke and heat detectors.

Fireboy-Xintex Inc. has recently announced their new line of USCG Type Approved Fire Detection Systems for commercial vessels and recreational yachts. Marine Elite RSM Analog Addressable Fire Alarm Control Panels are available for hosting up to 256 fire detection devices on all Commercial and Recreational Marine applications. These control panels can also be expanded and networked to become part of larger systems. Elite RSM Control Panels are simple and easy to understand for installers, commissioning personnel and vessel owners and feature Apollo protocol smoke and heat detectors.

Ingersoll Rand adds Xe-Series Control to R90-160 Rotary Screw Air Compressors; Xe-Series controllers help reduce plant’s operating costs. Ingersoll Rand, a global leader in compressed air systems and industrial tools and equipment, now features Xe-Series Rotary Compressor Control technology on the R90-160ne Nirvana VSD Premium Efficiency and R90-160n Nirvana VSD Efficiency rotary screw air compressors to optimize plant efficiency. The Xe-Series control is a more convenient and reliable monitoring system that provides a window into all vital compressor data.

User interface is the most visible system component when it comes to equipment operation. From the steering wheel and instrument cluster on your vehicle’s dashboard to the most complex industrial control system, the purpose is the same; it must allow human interface into a system. The interface must provide the user a means to control the equipment, provide feedback from the equipment to show operational conditions and alert us when something is wrong. And it should do these things efficiently, be easy to use, and visually and ergonomically pleasing.

A Marine Evacuation System (MES), consisting of a slide or chute where passengers can evacuate straight into waiting life rafts, can often be found on modern high speed crafts and passenger ships, where weight, space and evacuation times must be kept to a minimum. For the first time, a similar system has now also been developed for Special Purpose Ships (SPS). A close relationship between Norwegian-based Brude Safety AS and Ulstein Design has lead to this new type of space saving MES, designed to fit Special Purpose Ships, such as Offshore Support Vessels (OSVs).

By James R. International Maritime Associates, Inc. Floating production has evolved to a mature technology that opens for development oil and gas reservoirs that would be otherwise impossible or uneconomic to tap. The technology enables production far beyond the depth constraints of fixed platforms, generally considered to be 1,400 ft. (426.7 m), and provides a flexible solution for developing short-lived fields with marginal reserves and fields in remote locations where installation of a fixed facility would be difficult. Floating production systems vary greatly in appearance - from ship-shape FPSO vessels to multi hull production semis to cylindrical shaped production spars.

Schottel ended the year 2003 with record sales. With 550 employees worldwide, the company continued the previous year’s trend, achieving sales in the new systems and service sectors totalling 90 million euro (2002: 81 million). Sales for the group were thus increased by 11%, and once again exports accounted for some 80% of the total. The extremely satisfactory volume of incoming orders in the last 12 months, amounting to some 88 million euro, means that 42 million euro of orders are on hand for the year 2004. Of particular significance are the latest worldwide sales successes in the areas of tug propulsion systems, offshore supply vessels, cruise ships, research vessels, ferries and military vessels.

German engineers have strengthened the Schottel offering through the development of a propulsor which melds technical design and performance features of the company's proprietary, azimuthing Rudderpropeller series with those of electric podded drives. The resulting hybrid system, known as the Schottel Combi Drive (SCD) and distinguished by its compactness and inboard placement of the integral electric motor, has been designed for unit power applications in the 1,900 to 3,800-kW range. The innovative new product employs proven mechanical elements from the Rudderpropeller design and the latter's optimized-efficiency, Twin-Propeller (STP) version.