Marine Fabrication Returns to Southampton
Marine engineering services firm SMS is midway through a contract for Woods’ Silver Fleet to build three huge pontoons for the Thames. The works amount to circa 750 metric tons of fully fabricated steel pontoons and over 5,000 man hours of specialized, local, labor in Southampton, Hampshire, U.K.Chris Norman, the managing director of Southampton Marine Services (SMS), said, “This project is of significance not only to SMS but also the local shipbuilding community. “It’s the first time in 13 years…
Report: Cameron Reaches Full Ocean Depth
According to a report on http://news.nationalgeographic.com, explorer and film maker James Cameron has arrived at the Mariana Trench's Challenger Deep, members of the National Geographic expedition have confirmed. According to the report, his depth on arrival was 35,756 ft. (10,898 m). Cameron is just the third person to reach this Pacific Ocean valley southwest of Guam (map)—and the only one to do so solo. After as long as six hours in the trench, Cameron—best known for creating fictional worlds on film (Avatar, Titanic, The Abyss)—is to jettison steel weights attached to the sub and shoot back to the surface. Upon touchdown at Challenger Deep, Cameron's first target is a phone booth-like unmanned "lander" dropped into the trench hours before his dive.
IACS Nears Completion of Requirements
Shipowners want stronger ships. Regulators want stronger ships. Both want new requirements to apply across the industry - a level playing field. In response, the 10 Members of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) are progressing technical programs that will lead to more uniform scantling requirements and wastage limits for bulk carriers, oil tankers and, eventually, other ship types. At Posidonia, IACS Chairman Igor Ponomarev outlined work in progress that will culminate in new Unified Requirements (URs) for stronger vessels. For bulk carrier newbuildings, a major initiative - concerned with strength and safe operation - consists of new…
$3M Saved Using Water Bags for Weight Testing
The Navy has recently begun using water bags accomplishing periodic weight tests of boat davits. A result of a teaming effort between NAVSEA, NAVSEA Philadelphia-SSES and FTSCLANT, this innovation will save the Navy over $3 million per year compared to traditional methods. In the past, tests using concrete block or steel weights required a pier side or barge crane plus four-six individuals, cost as much as $20 thousand and required up to eight hours. Using water bags is simple. A flexible container is filled with water, acting as the test weight. Water supplied from the ship fire main fills the bag to the required weight. (Remember "A…
