Kaparis Defines Safety on Cruise Ships
Kaparis met recently with MR/EN to discuss what he considers are the most important safety issues in cruise shipping today. By Regina P. Among the sketches of general arrangement drawings, and IMO and technical specifications, Celebrity's Demetrios Kaparis sums up his vision for a safe cruise ship fleet. Kaparis has expressed that mandatory safety training for all officers and crew with firefighting and medical responsibilities must be also be reinforced. He feels that these individuals must be certified in these areas according to IMO recommendations and flag administrations and he will strive to ensure that special training rooms and facilities will be available onboard all Celebrity newbuilds - steadfast in his quest for eternal vigilance.
Editor's Note
Mind boggling” is the only phrase to describe recent events in the marine market. Last month the industry was front-page material for most major consumer press publications, which is rarely a positive sign. At press time, salvage operations were underway aboard Castor to prevent the vessel from splitting open and spilling thousands of tons of gasoline into the western Mediterranean. The ship, which developed a 60-ft. crack in its deck during a voyage through rough weather in late December 2000, has become a lightning rod for the debate on safe haven for damaged ships carrying volatile cargo. Attempts to bring the ship into Spain, Gibraltar and Morocco were repeatedly thwarted.
Innovation in the Engine Space
Turn of the century photographs of dirty, hot, cramped machine spaces filled with boilers, engines, gratings and bulkheads begin to tell the story of the state of steam power just after the birth of the propeller. Oil squirt cans, dancing connecting rods, and sweating coal passers and firemen characterized the engine rooms of the late 1800s when paddle wheels were gradually being replaced with the screw. Pioneers of screw propulsion experimented with an assortment of propeller designs before commercial application of the concept began. The first screw-driven vessel in the U.S. Navy was the Princeton, built in 1843 by John Erickson. Even though the prop had many advantages over the paddle wheel…
