Equipment Certification News

New Zealand-based Propspeed's underwater foul-release coating system has received type approval from Bureau Veritas following significant third-party testing.Marine materials and equipment certification is the review and testing process that ensures ships’ component parts conform to the technical standards established by regulatory bodies. Bureau Veritas provides certification services for shipyards, suppliers and manufacturers, helping keep ship materials and equipment reliable for shipowners.

Intellian, a leading provider of satellite communication antenna systems, announced that Intellian’s FleetBroadband terminals, FB250R and FB500R, successfully received Japan’s TELEC certification. TELEC is a leading Japanese radio equipment certification and testing organization and recently, it has also been broadening its operations in certification and testing for overseas markets, including the EU. Intellian has been given the TELEC Radio equipment conformity certification…

Shell’s floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility Prelude has officially entered into Lloyd's Register (LR) class. At 488 meters long, 74 meters wide and displacing about 600,000 tonnes of water, Prelude is the largest floating offshore facility in the world. Last month Prelude arrived at its operating location in the Browse Basin, offshore northwest Australia. It will be moored at a depth of 250 meters and will not be dry-docked for the first 25 years of its expected 50-year operational life.

In a anticipation of the growing need for deck officers and masters experienced in operating in ice covered waters and as evidenced by the relatively rapid increase in vessel traffic in areas of the Arctic Ocean due to the receding ice coverage, the Alaska’s Institute of Technology (AVTEC) in Seward, Alaska has developed a comprehensive course of instruction in Ice Navigation. This two week course is directed toward masters and mates without or with minimal experience in ice covered waters. The course of instruction is a combination of classroom lectures, case studies and simulation exercises, operating various vessel models in a myriad of ice conditions. The AVTEC Ice Navigation course of instruction is U.S.

Announced in 2012 as the world’s first green-ship equipment certification center, The Korean Register – an IACS member class society, and founding partner in the project –announced that the center has opened for business earlier this month in Gunsan, Jeonbuk, Korea. Costing a total of $29.4 million (30 billion won), the new center will test, evaluate and certify green-ship equipment. Fully supported by Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the center will also carry out joint research and development projects focusing on green-ship technology…

The Korean Register, an IACS member classification society, is leading a project to build and operate the world’s first green-ship equipment certification center in Gunsan, Jeonbuk, Korea which is due to open in February 2014. Work is already underway and the new $269 million won facility is being constructed with the full support of the Korean Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the local government and various research institutes. The project has been created in response to IMO’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction and maritime pollution regulations and will enable KR to lead the way in certifying essential green-ship components, including engines.

To understand how ABS and DNV participate in Brazil’s complex and challenging Maritime and O&G industries, MR spoke to ABS’s João Carlos Ferreira , DNV’s Tommy Bjørnsen and their colleagues in Rio de Janeiro. The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) is a non-profit classification society founded in 1862. ABS has been present in Brazil for more than 40 years, with more than 200 employees distributed between six offices in Brazil. “We have been providing classification services to the offshore industry longer than any other class society, and we are the current market leader in worldwide MODU classification and also market leaders in floating production units (FPI)…

DNV has launched a significant revision to the rules for wind farm service vessels (WFSV) to improve the safety of these specialized vessels which are undertaking multiple roles further and further offshore. The announcement was made at the Seawork exhibition and forum which is taking place between June 25-27 June in Southampton, U.K. DNV was first to publish rules for WFSV in January 2011 to provide the wind farm industry with an improved construction standard which would be accepted by regulators in the North Sea Basin.

As Robert D. Somerville, ABS Chairman, winds down his career with the American Bureau of Shipping, he shares with Maritime Reporter more than four decades of insight and perspective on the evolution and future of class. Earlier this month you were honored by the US Coast Guard Foundation at a black tie event in NY City. You have received many honors over your career: in your mind what makes the recognition from the Coast Guard Foundation special or unique? ABS works with the maritime administrations of more than 125 countries…

Bureau Veritas is launching a fully updated set of classification rules for yachts and megayachts. The Rules cover design approval, material and equipment certification and construction surveillance at the yard for single yacht building or for production in large series following an alternative survey scheme. Motor and sailing yachts of mono or multi hull type, built in steel, aluminium alloys or composite materials are covered. A major addition to the new Rules is a set of standards applicable to very large charter yachts and yachts with over 12 passengers. These standards bridge the gap between international conventions applying to passenger ships and yacht industry standards.

Hefty fines, detention and possible arrest are looming for ship owners/operators who fail to meet new ship emissions requirements. In accordance with MARPOL (Marine Pollution) Annex VI regulations, new Emissions Control Area (ECA) regulations for sea areas within 200 nautical miles from the coasts and ports of the U.S. and Canada go into effect on August 1, 2011. Even with an exemption clause that extends the regulations enforcement date to Aug. 1, 2012, the time window is short for outfitting thousands of vessels.

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) (SIX: RIGN) today reported net income attributable to controlling interest of $310 million, or $0.96 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2011. The results compare to net income attributable to controlling interest of $677 million, or $2.09 per diluted share for the three months ended March 31, 2010. $38 million of net charges primarily related to discrete tax items. First quarter 2011 results also included expenses associated with the Macondo well incident of $23 million, $19 million after tax, or $0.06 per diluted share.

The Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) announced today that the 2010 Annual Industry SAFE Awards Luncheon scheduled for May 3, 2010 at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas has been postponed. The ongoing situation with the Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling accident has caused the MMS to dedicate considerable resources to the successful resolution of this event, which will conflict with holding this ceremony next week. The MMS will announce how the agency will proceed with the 2010 SAFE Award program during the next several weeks. The MMS apologizes for any inconvenience and thanks the organizers of the OTC for their understanding of our current situation. Deliveries from what ABS Chairman and CEO Robert D.

Ship Tracks South of , a satellite image acquired by NASA on March 4, 2009. On March 4, 2009, the skies over the northeast were streaked with clouds that form around the particles in ship exhaust. This pair of images shows how these ship tracks are different from the natural marine clouds in the same area. The top image is a natural-color (photo-like) view of the ship tracks. The image below reveals more information than a picture: it shows the size of the cloud droplets. Both…

Technical advances in the offshore industry and regulatory developments have spurred an update of the ABS Guide for Certification of Drilling Systems. First published in 1985 and last updated in 1990, the Guide references current standards and the recommendations of American Petroleum Institute (API). Importantly, the new Guide provides industry with an option for a “Safety Case” or risk-based analysis approach to certification, rather than applying the more traditional prescriptive rules reflected in the 1990 version of the Guide, says Merih Unuvar, ABS project leader and principal surveyor. “We’re offering drilling unit owners and builders a more streamlined approach to ABS classification, with the option of certifying the drilling system,” said Unuvar.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a final rule denying the petition for reconsideration of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) equipment certification requirements for ship station equipment. The FCC concluded that there is no compelling justification for adopting domestic AIS equipment certification standards that diverge from international standards. Source: HK Law