Oil Manufacturer News

Ferries operated by Norden-Frisia AG have been serving the East Frisian island of Norderney for many decades. Navigation in these coastal waters poses special challenges: in some areas the waterway only leaves a few centimeters below the keel and the water contains a significant amount of swirled-up sand. A new sister ship of the double-ended ferry MS Frisia IV equipped with Voith Schneider Propellers (VSP) is to enter service in summer 2015. The shipping company again chose Voith Schneider Propellers as these are ideally suited for the specific operating conditions in shallow tidelands.

The United States Naval Ship (USNS) Watson is one of the large, medium-speed, roll-on, roll-off (LMSR) ships that have significantly expanded the nation’s sealift capacity. The Watson has a considerable amount of machinery including main engines, generators and cranes that need oil tested on a regular basis to detect potential problems and eliminate the possibility of a catastrophic failure. The test kits used in the past were time-consuming and their accuracy was questionable. The (USNS) Watson is operated by Ocean Shipholdings, Inc. (OSI) under contract to Military Sealift Command.

Modern tools of research take many, increasingly high-technology forms, but large test machinery is especially apposite to the marine field, with its blend of applied science and solid, practical disciplines. Lubmarine has ploughed $2-million into a new, purpose-built test engine in France. Derived from a five-cylinder medium-speed diesel of the MAN B&W 16/24 type, the Innovator-4C evaluation and research engine is due to be brought into service this month (May) at the TotalFinaElf Research Center (CRES) at Solaize, near Lyons. It will replace the single-cylinder, Elf-Optimizer test bench, based on a Pielstick PC2.6 engine, first installed at Solaize 20 years ago and extensively modified in 1994 in response to changing development requirements.