Ergonomic Controls Innovation for ECDIS, Bridge Controls
Innovations in computer display technology would seem to have recently hit a plateau. With the advent of LCD panels, improvements in computer displays have recently been limited to larger screens, higher pixel resolution, greater energy efficiency, and lighter, more efficient use of base resources. Yet there remains two areas where computer display manufacturers can continue to offer improvements: the human-machine interface, and local display intelligence. To offer the most effective solutions…
Polychem’s Dispersit for Oil Spills
U.S. Polychemical Corp said that currently the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is being contained by the use of a chemical solvent that is potentially harmful to wild life. According to Polychem, its product, Dispersit, a water-based surfactant product used to clean up oil spills, has shown a significant reduction in the harm caused to both human and aquatic life. Dispersant products formulated with petroleum mineral spirits used as dilutents can be potentially harmful, the company claims. However, Polychem’s Dispersit is a blend of water, water-soluble surfactants and a coupling co-solvent.
The ATB:A History of the State-of-the-Art
(This is Part I of a two-part series on the Articulated Tug Barge from Robert P. Hill. The American coastwise shipping business has grown in a way that differs from many other nations. The high cost of manning and building ships has led over the years to a coastwise transportation network dominated by tugs and barges. • Weather delays caused by the uncertainties of towing of a barge in heavy weather, especially a barge carrying petroleum and chemical products, are a constant problem. Towing a large barge in heavy seas just off the coast is a risky business. The possibility of parted towlines, (not to mention the reality in several hundred cases) and lost, drifting barges, has haunted tug and barge operators - as well as the customers they serve - for years.
