09 13 Mer

2 Marine Engineers Review (India) September 2013 www.imare.
in
Marine Engineers Review (India) September 2013 www.imare.in 3
4 Marine Engineers Review (India) September 2013 www.imare.in
contents
Editorial 7
IMEI News 9
Branch News 13
Marine Engineers Review (India)
Journal of The Institute of Marine Un Bel Di 22
Engineers (India)
News 27
Administration Office
IMEI House
Report of Investigation into the Fire Onboard the 31
Plot No. 94, Sector - 19,
CARNIVAL SPLENDOR
Nerul, Navi Mumbai 400 706.
Tel. : +91 22 2770 16 64 Safety Assurance for Naval and Para-Military Vessels 39
Fax : +91 22 2771 16 63
E-mail : editormer@imare.in Contact Details Of
website : www.imare.in
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SEPTEMBER 2013 BANGALORE : Tel. :  080-41213781
E-mail : bangluru@imare.in
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does not take any responsibility whatsoever for NERUL TRAINING CENTRE : Tel. 022-27711663, 27701664,
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and articles for the quality, accuracy and validity
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Printed, Published and Edited by Mr. Indra Nath Bose on behalf of The Institute of Marine Engineers (India).
Published from 1012 Maker Chambers V, 221 Nariman Point, Mumbai – 400 021, and Printed from Compact Photo Offset,
116 “Shriniwas”, Behind Gograswadi, Dombivli (E) – 421 201. District Thane

From the Editors Keyboard... ... ...
He has also confirmed that "the Navy has Industries and ClassNK are conducting
ordered an audit of Standard operating an investigation into the causes of MOL
Procedures (SOPs) on all operational Comfort’s hull fracture and are expected
submarines and extensive checks on the to release preliminary findings by early
weapon-related safety systems. A Board September, with technical advice from
of Inquiry with all relevant specialists has Lloyd’s Register, whom they have also
been constituted to investigate the likely appointed as a “technical consultant” to
causes of the accident at the earliest."
independently determine the cause of the
We hope the cause(s) would be established incident and to reinforce the safety of
and corrective actions taken as soon sister vessels.
as possible to avoid loss of lives and
maritime assets. Meanwhile, the Bahamas Maritime
Authority, with which the vessel was
In another unfortunate incident on June flagged, is expected to conclude its own
17, MOL Comfort a 8,110 teu, 86,692 gt
investigation and submit a report to the
S
container carrier split in two off Yemen
hortly after midnight on 14 August International Maritime Organization.
with AIS data showing it had sailed at
2013, explosion and resultant fire
18 knots into a Force 7 storm. The two Japanese Government has launched a
destroyed Indian Navy submarine INS
halves eventually sank in the following committee to review safety standards
Sindhurakshak and caused tragic death of
weeks in rough sea with 1,700 containers for Container ships in the industry. The
18 of its crew members in Mumbai Naval
and 1,500 tonnes of bunker fuel on board.
Dockyard. Fire tenders from the Dockyard committee comprises shipping lines, yards,
Fortunately, no loss of life was sustained
as well as the Mumbai Fire Brigade class societies and research institutes. It
in this incident. Indian Coast Guard (ICG)
were immediately pressed into action. plans to publish new safety guidelines for
Mumbai, had coordinated operations to
However, due to the extensive damage containerships by end-September.
help rescue all 26 sailors and had also
suffered, the submarine submerged at her
pressed into service its vessel to fight All above is a hallmark of ideal way
berth with only a portion visible above
subsequent fire which raged in the aft part of dealing with an accident, where the
the surface. INS Sindhurakshak was a
of the vessel.
Russian-made Kilo-class 877EKM diesel- focus is on finding root causes in a no-
electric submarine. Commissioned on 24 It was the largest Container ship lost to blame culture and in consultation with
December 1997, it was the ninth of the ten date and was one of the six same-type stakeholders, publication of incident
Kilo-class submarines in the Indian Navy. vessels that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries investigation report in a time bound
built for Mitsui OSK Lines in 2007-2008, manner and implementing corrective
Defence Minister A. K. Antony has stated
all classed with ClassNK. actions promptly.
"preliminary investigations indicate that
the explosion was due to the possible The Owners reacted swift and decisively.
ignition of armament. The cause of They withdrew all her sister ships
ignition is, however, yet to be established. from service for strengthening of hull I. N. Bose
Forensic examinatiaon would throw more structure as a precautionary measure. The Hon Editor - MERI
light into the possible cause of ignition." Owners along with Mitsubishi Heavy editormer@imare.in
The Institute Of Marine Enginers (India)

IMEI HOUSE, Plot No. 94, Sector – 19, Nerul, Navi Mumbai. Tel: 2770 1664, 27706749 Telefax: 27711663 (Direct),
email: training@imare.in • Website: www.imare.in
REGISTRATION OPEN FOR Following DGS APPROVED COURSES

• Refresher & Upgradation Course for Engineer Officers commencing on 16th Sept. 2013
• MEO CL. IV (NCV) 4 months Course Commencing on 16th September 2013
• MEO CL. II (FG) – 4 months Prep. Course commencing on 2nd Jan. 2014
• MEO CL. III(NCV_CEO) & (NCV_SEO) preparatory course commencing on 1st Sept. 2013
• Security Training for Seafarers with Designated Security Duties-course commencing on 23rd Sept. 2013
Note : Payment can be done online through our website: www.imare.in and also through the ICICI Bank on A/C No.: 015101031872
in the name of “Institute of Marine Engineers (India)” only after confirming the availability of seats.
For enquiries contact on 022-27711663 between 1400 – 1700hrs.
Features: Experienced Faculty, Air Conditioned Class Rooms, Well-Stocked Library, Individual
attention; special tutorials for orals.
IMEI News
Collaboration Between IMEI
and IMarEST
T he Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology
(IMarEST), UK. IMarEST is an international professional
body of all marine professionals. It brings together marine
• eBook Collection - A growing collection of eBooks acting as a
catalogue of titles in marine disciplines allowing members to read
titles online or download for a limited time (up to 7 days). Currently
engineers, scientists and technologists into one international multi- 42 books are owned by IMarEST and 244,734 books available for
disciplinary professional body. The original Institute of Marine preview.
Engineers (now IMarEST) was founded in February 1889.
In addition, IMEI members can select a free electronic copy of
IMEI and IMarEST have been discussing the possibilities of a magazine of their choice. This can either be downloaded from
some collaborative arrangements between the two prominent the web or as an iPad application from the Apple Newsstand. The
professional bodies representing marine engineers. Now, as per an choice is as follows:
understanding reached IMarEST would make available to IMEI
• Marine Engineers Review – 10 issues per year
membership the exclusive benefit of access to the “IMarEST
Virtual Library”, which consists of: • Shipping World & Shipbuilder – 10 issues per year
• Digital Archive - A searchable and evolving repository of • Offshore Technology – 6 issues per year
full-text content unlocking over 120 years of IMarEST published
• Maritime IT & Electronics – 6 issues per year
material, including historical transactions and back issues of MER,
Shipping World & Shipbuilder and Marine Scientist, Offshore • Marine Scientist – quarterly ( 4 Issues)
Technology and Maritime IT & Electronics.
The above service would be available, at a nominal charge, to the
• Discovery Service - access to the full-text and metadata of corporate and student members of IMEI and can be availed on
thousands of academic journals, trade magazines, market reports yearly or monthly basis. Modalities, including method of payment
and news providers from publishers across the global scientific and for the operation of this activity are being worked out and will be
engineering community. reported in MER.
Independence Day at IMEI House

T he 67th Anniversary of our Independence Day was celebrated at IMEI
House with hoisting of the National Flag by Dr. B, K Saxena, President
of our Institute. Capt. Ashok Mahapatra, Senior Deputy Director of Maritime
Safety Division, International Maritime Organization also graced the
occasion as a special invitee. While the IMEI Staff and faculty members of
the Institute were present along with the students, senior members like Mr B
B Badwal, Mr Deepak Raut, Mr Ravi Bhatia, Mr V K Vatsa, Mr Pankaj Misra
also joined in the celebrations.

IMEI News
66th GC Meeting at HO
T he 66th GC Meeting was held on 11th AUG, 2013 at Head

office, Nerul, Navi Mumbai.
HO had been fitted and were ready to be commissioned post their
certification by the statutory authorities.
The President, Dr B. K. Saxena, chaired the meeting which was well The role of IMEI arising out of the successful organization of WSF
represented by Governing Council members from all the Branches – 2013 at Chennai was discussed. It was felt that IMEI should be
and had some Past Presidents also attending. Prior commencing associated in the interactive discussions on maritime education with
the proceedings the President requested the members to observe other stakeholders and the ministry. On this issue IMEI has already
one minute silence and pray for the souls of the members who started taking active part in the discussions with other organizations
passed away during the interim period. He especially mentioned about the idea of procurement of a trading cum training vessel. It
the passing away of Dr. C.P. Srivastava, an eminent international was acknowledged that IMEI, being the prominent professional
maritime personality and a Hon Fellow of IMEI. body, should take a proactive position on this issue.
In the meeting the ATR was taken up and progress on all action As planned the 8 scholarships for Financial assistance of Rs 25,000
points was reviewed as under: had been disbursed. Also as decided in the 44th Benevolence
fund meeting the two students Mr. Bento Custodio D’Costa and
The GC was briefed on the progress on the Registration process of
Mr Reagan Jose Fernandes Who lost their lives families had been
On Board Tar books on the website, various activities being carried
given Rs 5 lakhs each.
out on behalf of DG Shipping and the proposed cooperation with
IMAREST for access to members to their publications. Post the ATR being completed the GC moved to discuss the agenda
The ongoing issue with Income Tax authorities regarding them items :
considering the Institute to be having earnings which do not qualify The issue of the FMPO structure was discussed in detail. In the
for exemption under charitable category was updated and the date 58th GC meeting the GC had authorized the formation of a Forum
of the Tribunal hearing set as 08.10.2014 Was advised. of Maritime Association with INA and CMMI and thereafter an
The implementation of TOLAS software at the Institute library is MOU was entered into between INA, CMMI and IME (I) on 12th
nearing completion with 5 computers being ordered for the same. March 2010 at Mumbai for the initiation and incorporation of the
“Federation of Maritime Professional Organizations” . The GC
The five year strategy plan had been prepared and circulated by Mr. noted that this was a desirable move and considering the various
Dilip Mehrotra - the same would be given to the next GC for their aspects of the FMPO and its objectives as defined in the MOU
information and guidance. An update was given on the HR policy authorized the President and the office bearers to further pursue
being prepared by Deeksha Enterprise of Chennai. the FMPO formation with an aim to convert the MOU to an MOA,
On the Goa hostel the members were updated regarding the and on completion of the draft MOA the office bearers to present
progress and the expectation that the same would be ready for the same to the GC for approval / further action, however always
commencement of operations in about 2/3 months time. The ensuring protection of the interests of the Institute and that there is
process for its usage was also an agenda item. proper representation of all mariners in the Federation.
The GC was advised that the process for getting ID cards for life The discussions with respect to taking on additional work from
members issued had commenced and shortly the data collection for DG Shipping was taken up and the GC unanimously agreed that
same would start enable their issuance. any such work should be welcomed which would also add to the
intrinsic value of the Institute.
On the building front the additional FSI had been obtained and
payment for same made. This would pave the way for construction BES examination procedure work discussed in detail and it was
of the 3rd floor which the incoming GC could plan. Both the lifts at decide that the present Trustees will put their experience regarding

IMEI News
activities of BES as a note to next GC for information and guidance. be allowed to appear in Class IV Part A after sailing for sometime.
Thereafter the routine business issues such as grant of extension Financial Assistance from the IMEI for two Girls students of IMU
to Director Training Mr S. K Aneja as per his request letter for request asking for their Paper selected in Canada,
extension of Employment was concluded. The staff annual
increment matter was discussed & finalized with the various Space for Medical practitioner in IMEI House for issuing of
opinion from GC Members, the seed money for INMARCO- Medical Certificates to WK & DC candidate with the value
INAvation 2014 was granted. addition possibility of extending support for IMEI Members and
staff / faculty/ Students etc.
The following items were also covered by the GC:
Suggestions received through Mumbai Branch AGM such as GC
An update on Income Tax Notice for year Assessment year 2011-12
meeting reports to be published on MER, AOA on the website &
including the date of hearing as 23.08.2013.
website updating.
Change of address on Charitable Trust Registration Certificate
On completion of discussion and deciding the further actions on
Goa Branch proposal for 3 years diploma holders student after the agenda items the meeting ended with a Vote of Thanks being
class XII and 4 years Diploma in Ship building Engineering may proposed by Mr. C.V. Subbarao.
Issue Of Watch Keeping

Certificates (WKC) and Tanker
Endorsement (TE)
T he Institute of Marine Engineers (India) has been authorized by Directorate General of shipping to issue
Watch Keeping Certificates (WKC) to Engine room ratings, and Tanker Endorsements (TE) to Engine
Room Ratings, Engine Room Petty Officers and Engineer Officer Trainees, vide addendum to NT/ENGG.
Circular No. 12 of 2012 dated 16.04.2013.
The Facilitation Centre started its operation from 3rd of June 2013 at IMEI House, Sector-19,Plot No. 94, Nerul,
Navi Mumbai. 400706.
The collection of relevant application form and documents has commenced from 3rd June on working days
(Monday / Wednesday & Thursday 1000 hrs to 1300 hrs)
Applicants are advised to report along with the forms and documents as mentioned below. 1) Application Form
( as per DGS-NT/ENGG. Cir. No. 12 of 2012)
2) Documents ( as per DGS-NT/ENGG. Cir. No. 12 of 2012)
3) Demand Drafts as Follows.
a) In case of application of WKC
1) One DD for Rs. 1250/-favouring “Principal Officer MMD Mumbai”
AND
2) One DD for Rs. 1685/- Service tax inclusive, favouring “The Institute of Marine Engineers (India)”
b) In case of application of Tanker Endorsements- TE (for each Endorsement) 1) One DD for Rs. 1000/-favouring
“Principal Officer MMD Mumbai”
AND
2) One DD for Rs. 1124/- service tax inclusive, favouring “The Institute of Marine Engineers (India)”

IMEI News
The Institute of Marine

Engineers (India)
30th Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday, 21st September 2013 at 1800 hour at ,
Head office , Nerul, Navi Mumbai 400 706.
AGENDA
1. Welcome address by the Chairman
2. To adopt the Minutes of the 29th A.G.M. held on Saturday, 29th Sept, 2012 at IMEI House, Nerul, Navi Mumbai
3. To adopt the audited accounts for the period 01 April 2012 to 31 March 2013.
4. To confirm appointment of Auditor with remuneration payable for the financial year 2013-2014.
5. Governing Council Report for the period to 16 July 2012 to 15th Aug, 2013
6. Declaration of the “H. S. RAO MEMORIAL AWARD” for 2012-2013.
7. Address of the President IME (I).
8. Announcement of results of elections for IMEI Governing Council, Branch and Chapter Executive Committees for 2013-2015.
9. Address of the President (elect)
10. Any other matter with the prior permission of the Chair.
11. Vote of thanks.
To facilitate arrangements, Pl. reply by 15th Sept 2013, or inform us by any other means, indicating your intention to attend the meeting.
Our contact details are given below:-
Mr Rajeev Nayyer ,
Hon. Gen. Secretary :
E-mail : hgs@imare.in, administration@imare.in, Tel :022-2770 1664 / 2770 6749

Branch News
Gujarat News
Marine Oil Pollution Response in India
G ujarat Chapter of the IMARE had held on Sun 2 meeting on
9th Jul 2013 at Bharuch. This meeting was combined with
the quarterly meeting of the Gujarat Marine Officers’ Association,
Bharuch. There were presentations on the following topics:
1. Marine Oil Pollution Response by Comdt P Vasistha, GM, OSL
2. Petronet LNG Limited’s LNG handling operations at Dahej by
Capt Manjit Singh, PLL Dahej
Capt H P Pandya, the doyen of Marine Operations at Dahej was
the Chief Guest. The meeting was followed by lunch with families.
The synopsis of the first presentation is reproduced hereunder.
The presentation started with reasons for the need of exploring
advanced Oil Pollution response techniques. Primarily to protect
India’s sensitive areas (5500 km Coastline of mainland and
2000km of islands) of high historical, commercial, recreational or
Biodiversity value eg:
Weir Skimmers
• Gulf of Kutch – corals and mangroves Oleophilic Skimmers
• Beaches of Dwarka – historical Vacuum Skimmers
• Beaches of Mumbai –recreational Mechanical Skimmers
• Goa – entire coast for recreation
Disposal of collected oil is another herculean task which requires
• Malvan – coral and historical
approval from Local Municipality, Indian Coast Guard, CPCB,
• Karwar, Malpe,Gokhran & Mangalore – recreational
SPCB & other agency.
• Kerala – entire coast for habitation & recreation
• Harbours biologically rich areas like coral reefs, mangroves, Storage and Transportation of Recovered Oil is done by the help of
estuaries, lagoons and wild life sanctuaries Flexible floating storage tanks which are towable.
Commercially important beaches, salt pans & cooling water intake Final Disposal is done mainly by:
for industries on coastal regions. Reprocessing
This was followed by some scientific explanation on impact of oil Reclamation/Recycling
on water. It mainly prevents oxygen replenishment & affects our Burning
plankton, fish. It kills polyps affecting our tourism due unaesthetic Stabilisation
appearance & blocks industrial cooling water intakes. Direct disposal
Biodegradation
In order to prevent all above & combat an oil spill in water the
In case of Direct disposal following to be taken care
criterion for selection of right technique is based on the different
Local/National legislation
properties of the oil spilled: mainly specific density, viscosity ,
Water depth less than 10/20 m
pour point, volatility & Asphaltine contents . The most concerned
Stagnant water
persistent oil ie: crude was taken for this discussion.
Water intakes for desalination/industrial plants Aqua culture
The presentation depicted the major weathering phenomenon
Mariculture Molluscs or other slow moving species Fish/Fish
after it reaches a state of equilibrium. Weathering includes
hatcheries Coral reefs Spawning grounds Nursery grounds Salt
spreading which is based upon the Oil properties, Volume spilt,
marshes Estuaries.
Temperature, Wind velocity, Waves and current. Thereafter the
spread Oil is subjected to Evaporation, Dispersion, Emulsification At last the Organisation structure was discussed in case of Tier II or
& sedimentation. Tier III Level oil spill reported, which, as per NOSDCP (National
Based on above factors three basic processes were discussed ie: Oil Spill Disaster Control Plan) is:
Containment, Collection & Disposal. Nodal Point Ministry Of Defence
Containment: included Type of boom to be deployed based on the Chairman, Crises Management Defence Secretary
different factors of Sea area (Harbour/Open sea), volume of oil Group (CMG)
spilt, current, wind etc. Standard Boom Configurations include:
Central Co-ordinating Authority Director General,
Single Vessel, Single sweep, Dual sweep, Two Vessels and Three
(CCA) Indian Coast Guard
Vessels.
Collection: done with the help of different types of skimmers, the The presentation was followed by discussions on key issues like
selection of which is based on various factors such as open sea, the availability and suitability of deploying containment booms in
shallow water or onshore. Different Skimmer Types used are: a high tidal zone like the Gulf of Khambat.
Branch News
Technical Lecture at Mumbai

I n line with the aims and objectives of the Institute of Marine
Engineers, the Mumbai Branch has been regularly organising
Technical Meetings, either jointly or by itself. One such Technical
of the audience. Engine efficiencies, Fuel & LO consumption, of
course, formed the base for most of the developments. The Q&A
session was replete with reminiscences of the senior members of the
Meeting was organised on 27 July 2013 at the SCI Auditorium. audience who gave the audience an insight into the diesel engines
There were three extremely interesting lectures, on a range of and steam engines of yesteryear. All questions were answered to
topics, right from an update on MAN B&W engines, to a talk the satisfaction of the discerning audience. Mr Haridas’s tips for
on bunkering and fuel additives, and last, but not the least, on operating MAN B&W engines at regimes as low as 10% of MCR
the challenges faced due to slow speed steaming. It goes without were lapped up eagerly by the audience.
saying that the speakers were masters in their respective fields,
The second talk titled ‘Understanding Bunkers of Today and Role
and more than willing to share their knowledge with others in
Fuel Additives can Play’, was delivered by Mr Deepak Kamran, a
the industry.
veteran of 40 years experience in the industry. Mr Kamran is the
The first talk was titled ‘An Update on MAN B&W Engines’, Regional Sales and Marketing Head for Innospec (a global oil and
and was delivered by Mr Bimal Haridas. Mr Haridas is a Marine chemical company) looking after their Marine and Diesel Engine
Engineer, who came ashore after spending nine years at sea in Business in Asia. An entrepreneur at heart, Mr Kaman has been
various capacities. He is currently the Business Development involved in a number of start-ups. His talk was most fascinating,
Manager for the MAN Diesel & Turbo Group in India. Mr given the all pervasive importance of bunkering. The right fuel
Haridas took the audience through the history of MAN B&W additives, as per him, could be the panacea for all bunkering
engines, the various phases of development, the introduction of evils, and proceeded to prove it to the audience. The increased
super long strokes, the increased efficiency of turbo-charging usage of fuel additives, even in these times of financial crisis,
and a number of other improvements, which warmed the cockles was an indicator of their importance. It was indeed fortunate that

Branch News
Mr Kamran, who is on a visit to India from Singapore, could be
roped in to deliver this fascinating lecture.
The third and last talk was on ‘Operational Challenges during
Slow Steaming of Ships’, was delivered by Mr Raymond Mendes,
a trainer of repute, who is currently Head of Engineering Training
at MSC Crewing Services, India. Being topical, and of practical
use to ship owners and managers, the subject, and the speaker, had
the complete audience listening with full concentration. The fog
covering this controversial topic, so hotly debated in various fora,
was lifted for a lot of mariners that day. In simple language, Mr
Mendes took the audience through the various issues associated
with slow speed steaming, explained the down sides and then
proceeded to explain what all could be done to minimise / nullify
the adverse effects.
The speakers had made the proceedings so interesting with their
range of knowledge and expertise, that it was with great difficulty While Mr SK Bhalla, Vice Chairman of the Mumbai Branch of the
that the audience could be persuaded to continue further discussions IME (I) welcomed the audience at the start of the day’s proceedings,
during lunch. CDs of the presentations were given to members of Mr AK Gupta, Director (Technical & Offshore Services) SCI, and
the audience who desired them. Incoming Chairman of the Mumbai Branch presented the speakers
with mementoes.
Given the overall environment – the well done up SCI Auditorium,
eminent speakers, interesting topics, powerful presentations, Thus ended yet another successful edition of Technical Lectures
interactive sessions, discerning audience et al. it was no surprise organised by the Mumbai Branch of the Institute of Marine
that the event had a very good turn-out. Engineers, India.
30th AGM : Mumbai Branch

T he Thirtieth AGM of the Mumbai Branch of the Institute
was held at the Presidential Hall of the Khar Gymkhana on
Saturday 10 August 2013.
In his opening address, the Chairman, Mr R Ashok, dwelt upon the
difficult and restrictive environment facing not only the shipping
industry today, but also the entire general industrial scenario
globally. The shipping industry, in particular, was besieged by
it’s own unique problems like piracy, criminalisation of seafarers,
over-regulation etc. However, it was up to the industry to innovate
and find out-of-the-box solutions to these issues. Towards this, the
Institute had encouraged the exchange of ideas by organizing, in
conjunction with the IE (I), in September 2012, a National Seminar
dedicated to the challenges arising out of the recession. Touching
upon the important activities of the past one year, he specifically course at Kolkata. The stellar role played by the Secretary of the
mentioned the success of the non-mandatory training courses Mumbai Branch in the overwhelming success of these courses
conducted by the Mumbai Branch, including one path breaking came in for special mention.
The Activity Reports of the Mumbai Branch, the Gujarat Chapter
and Navi Mumbai Chapter listed the multi-farious activities
undertaken by the Branch and it’s Chapters in the past one year.
The Activity Report of the Gujarat Chapter, presented by Mr Rajesh
Doshi, was received with enthusiastic applause as the Gujarat
Chapter had been extremely active in conducting a number of
technical lectures despite the constraints of numbers and distances.
Cdr. Gaurav Agarwal, Treasurer presented the consolidated Branch
accounts, which were appreciated and adopted with minimal
discussions.
The General Body was briefed on the flagship event of the
Institute – the INMARCO INAvation. This much awaited event
is scheduled from 11 – 13 December 2014. The Committees have
been constituted and the FIB has been published. To cater for
Branch News
the increased number of topics, including commercial shipping, The interaction, of course became more intense before and during
marine insurance and chartering, it has been decided to have dinner, where members and ladies interacted extensively. After
parallel sessions. all, it was an occasion to meet fellow marine engineers, exchange
notes, reminisce about the past and plan for the future. The broad
During the ‘Any Other Points’, the ever active members of the
base of the Institute being what it is, there were stakeholders from
Mumbai Branch raised various issues including recommending
all sections of the shipping industry. Thanks to generous support
more active involvement of the Institute in conduct of examinations,
by M/s Rhine Exports Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Kenmark Tech Solutions,
opening another office in the suburbs, non-circulation of GC
the dinner was as usual elaborate and befitting the standards of the
meeting minutes, revamp of the Institute website, need for more
Institute.
courses on the non-technical aspects of shipping, status of proposed
changes in the ORP etc. There was extensive discussion on all these With a record number of members in attendance, it was an AGM
points and decisions for the way ahead taken. well worth attending.
MOU between INA & IME(I) Mumbai

Branch
A n MOU was signed between the Institution of Naval
Architects and Mumbai Branch of the Institute of Marine
Engineers (India) for co-hosting the INMARCO-INAvation 2014,
scheduled to be held from 11 to 13 December 2014. Seen are Mr
VK Jain (Convenor), Mr HV Ramesh (Co-Convenor), Mr R Ashok
(Chairman Mumbai Branch, IME (I)) and Mr AK Gupta, Co-
Chairman Organising Committee.
The quadrennial INMARCO is the flagship event of the Mumbai
Branch of the Institute of Marine Engineers (India) and is a much
awaited event of the maritime world. It was jointly hosted (for the
first time) alongwith the Institution of Naval Architects, in 2010
and was aptly called INMARCO INAvation 2010. The success
of this partnership has spurred both organisations to continue the
jointmanship and co-operation.
Technical Paper Meet at Kolkata

O n 19th July, 2013, Kolkata Branch of The Institute Of Marine
Engineers (I) arranged a Lecture Meet at their Lecture
Hall in the evening on the topic ‘Crankshaft Failure and Design
Considerations’, delivered by Shri S.K.Sarkar, Head of Marine
Engineering, IMU Kolkata Campus.
Shri Sarkar explained how crankshaft failure can occur owing
to either faulty design or wrong operational practices. Dealing
mainly with the former aspect, i.e. faulty design, he spoke about
how problems arise because of wrong dimensions, shape, material
composition, metal treatment, surface finishing, etc. The lecture
was very well presented and well received by the members present.
It was, perhaps, the largest attendance ever at a paper reading at
this lecture hall. There was a lively question and answer session
afterwards, with many members joining the discussions.

Branch News
AGM Visakhapatnam Branch

T he Visakhapatnam Branch Annual General Body Meeting was
held on 26th July 2013 at 1730hrs at Visakhapatnam Public
Library A/C hall.19 members attended.
2012 AGM report was read out by Hon. Secretary & approved.
Secretary’s report: Since the last AGM we have conducted 5
technical meetings & five executive committee meetings. Our
branch has 769 members inclusive of Hyderabad Chapter, grade
wise 112 fellows, 93 members, 49 associate members, 80 associates,
102 graduates & 333 students. We are in the continuous process
of increasing the membership. The branch solicits cooperation of
members to encourage non-members of our profession to become
members.
Eemani & Co/ V Sudhakar are appointed as auditors for a
renumeration of Rs 2000/- for 2013-2014.
Audited accounts were presented by Hon. Treasurer & approved.
Proposed by Mr. P K Dutta. Seconded by Mr. N A R Naidu
Budget for 2013-2014 were presented by Hon. Treasurer &
approved. Details of Visakhapatnam Branch activities could be viewed on
Chairman’s address: The present office bearers have worked very vizagcityonline.com/IMEV
hard to bring our branch on the track of progress during the past 11
months. There is still quite a lot to be done, and we will continue Mr. P K Dutta gave a Vote of Thanks. The Chairman declared the
to raise this branch to a higher level of operation. We can achieve meeting closed.
this with the cooperation of our members. In this regard I request Followed by contributory annual dinner on 28-07-2013.
members to share their experiences in the form of papers for
technical meetings. We are in the process of acquiring an office and
subsequently our own premises.
Obituary
Mr. B. Divakar
The new committee will be taking over from 01-10-2013.
The committee Chairman G V Nori
Vice Chairman V Lakshmipathi Rao
Hon. Secretary P M R Prasada rao
Hon. Treasurer A V Kumar
G C Member K C S Reddy
G C Member S V Durga Prasad
Committee Member A Bhatnagar
Committee Member Cdr D K Padhy
Committee Member Uday Kumar
This committee was unanimously approved without any
reservations by the General Body.
24-07-1957—23-08-2013
We are deeply saddened by the demise of our member Shri
Bollapragada Divakar M-13885.
After successful completion of his marine engineering
apprentice with the Visakhapatnam Port Trust (1973-1978), he
joined Damodar Bulk Carriers as a Junior Engineer Officer and
rose to the rank of Chief Engineer Officer. Then he joined Fleet
Management Limited, and was with the Company for over 15
years.
He is survived by his wife, son & daughter.

Branch News
Technical Presentation at Goa

The monthly Technical presentation of the Goa branch was held
on 20th of August 2013 at 1730 hrs.in the Institute of Maritime
Studies Auditorium. Shri Pradip A Sawant, Chief Engineer, Fellow
member of the Institute and Proprietor of M/S Arshea Marine spoke
on “DREDGING AND ITS IMPACT ON LOCAL, STATE,
COUNTRY AND GLOBAL ECONOMY”.
He said that the reason behind investing heavily in to dredging
projects being carried out is “Economy!” The entire economy of
our nation is directly or indirectly related to dredging that we do
in our ports and rivers. For that matter entire global economy has
a very strong relation with the dredging that we do at ports and in
rivers.
Waterborne transport being the most economical transport it
became the backbone of our trade system and once the ships
started plying between ports and the numbers and size started Shri Pradip Sawant, Fellow member of IME(I) presnting his paper
increasing it created a huge demand to develop the infrastructure
to create aquatic highways, ports, river transport, supporting land 4. Infrastructure to preserve Environment
based infrastructure without which keeping pace with the growing
We have seen by now how dredging plays an extremely important
demand was not possible. Without dredging creation of such
role in creating and maintaining the basic infrastructure required to
infrastructure was next to impossible. And as the trade grew to
move the economy.
maintain the existing economic status, existing infrastructure and
the projected growth again dredging became the integral part of Having said that 90% of our total trade is accomplished via our
our trade system. aquatic highways it is very important to see which are those marine
sectors that contribute their share in supporting this trade very
Without dredging it would have been impossible to grow our trade
much dependant on dredging. These are 1) Shipping, 2) Ports and
through water which incidentally contributes to our 95% of the total
harbours and 3) Maritime Transport
trade by volume. Even today as the economy keeps growing, to
keep up with the pace Governments are forced to invest heavily in The Effects of reduced draft in ports and navigable waters on
infrastructure projects involving capital dredging and maintenance economy:
dredging. 1. Reduced draft can make us less competitive in terms of
MARITIME TRANSPORT became the backbone of our economy shipping costs.
system. 2. Reduced draft can make us less competitive in terms of home
grown commodities costs,
The four main pillars of global economy on which entire
economy is based on are……. 3. Adverse effect on overall state economy due to reduced cargo
1. Infrastructure for Navigation 4. The loss to the domestic produces due to the increased cost of
goods produced for export.
2. Land based infrastructure to reach the goods to the end users
5. Adverse effect on supporting activities related to shipping like
3. Infrastructure to preserve water which is very important part of
cargo handlers, ship building and repair yards etc.
our life
The ministry of shipping keeping in mind the economic
status and the future projections lays the road map for future
developments in marine sector through their ‘5 year plan” and
‘ Maritime agenda’
Highlights of Maritime agenda 2010-20

The Ministry of Shipping has launched Maritime Agenda 2010-
20 in January, 2011. The overall vision of the Ministry as per the
Maritime agenda aims towards navigating and steering the Indian
Maritime sector realistically into the premier maritime nations of
the world. This document basically focuses on overall objective
to increase efficiency of the delivery system and overall pace of
growth in the sector.
Indeed, this is a path breaking document which will serve as road
Audience at the presentation map for all ports (major as well as non-major ports) and the shipping

Branch News
major ports and the State owned / privately owned non-major ports
for enhancing the depth at the ports.
TYPES OF DREDGING CONTRACTS
ITEM RATE CONTRACT is generally awarded when the
quantity to be dredged, the nature of the material and the
environmental issues are not known with certainty. The contractor
is paid on the basis of pre and post survey by independent external
agencies. The siltation is generally on contractors account. Good
for capital dredging
LUMP SUM CONTRACT; Contract is awarded on lump
Master Mariners, Marine Engineers and Diploma engrs at the sum basis when the design criteria, boundaries of the site and
presentation environmental issue are known based on the past records. It works
sector during the decade 2010-2020 provided implementation is on Assured depth concepts.
done correctly.
Implementation is the biggest challenge that we face today in
our country.
Sector Overview
India has a long coastline of about 7,517 km along the western
and eastern shelves of the mainland. With 12 major ports and 187
minor ports, India ranks 16th among maritime countries and has
one of the largest merchant shipping fleets in the world.
Out sourcing Hub : “The increasing trend of Western countries
moving their manufacturing functions to low-cost countries, and the
likely prospect of India emerging as a manufacturing outsourcing
hub, is expected to contribute to the growth of the country’s
marine industry,”. Provisions are made in this document to prepare
ourselves to take care of such traffic load in future. During the
12th Five-Year Plan (2012–2017) about Rs 1, 80,626.23 crore Dredging Process
is expected to be invested in the ports sector, so that our marine
Dredging process involves excavation of the underwater laying
sector is fully equipped. According to estimates by the Ministry of
material with some kind of mechanism then transports it to the
Shipping, cargo in India was expected to breach the 1-billion ton
surface of the water and then dumps it to some specified location.
mark in the 2011–12; the 2-billion ton mark by 2016–17; and 2.4
billion ton mark by 2019–20. For excavation there are different mechanical means such as bucket,
grab, cutter etc. are employed while for transporting it above the
Overview of Dredging in relation to the Maritime agenda:
seabed either hydraulic means or mechanical means are employed.
Unfortunately India’s dredging capacity is woefully short of
Based on this the dredgers are broadly classed in to mechanical
the massive demand that has generated following the port
dredgers and hydraulic dredgers.
modernization and infrastructure development now underway.
Though the India’s international trade continues its furious growth, In mechanical category dredgers like grab dredgers, bucket
unless the port capacities and infrastructure improved to match the dredgers and backhoe dredgers fall where as in hydraulic
pace it is impossible to sustain this growth. Our dredging industry dredging…… cutter suction dredger, trailing suction dredgers and
has to grow at much faster pace to overcome the severe draft suction dredgers fall.
restrictions in most of our ports.
Mechanical dredging uses methods of physically lifting the spoil
Dredging Fleet: Our country is badly short of dredgers. Roughly “in situ condition” and total energy is utilized for the purpose.
“Around 14 leading registered companies owning dredgers have
In Hydraulic dredging it uses hydraulic centrifugal pumps to
a total fleet of around 31 TSHD, and 45 CSD and 2 Back Hoe
provide dislodging and lifting force and remove the material in
with a few other support vessels. The only major operators is the
liquid slurry form. Total energy is utilized for pumping about 25%
government owned Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) initially
of the spoil and 75% of water which is ultimately directed back to
set up primarily to undertake maintenance dredging in major ports.
the dredging site.
With growing opportunities, many other players are set to enter
into this key sector. Global giants have already formed subsidiaries Mechanical Dredgers
and set up shops in India.
Bucket dredgers are fitted with an endless chain of metal buckets
As it is, large vessels cannot berth at Indian ports thus resulting in which are progressively filled as the dredger scrapes over the
mother vessels transshipping Indian cargo at the ports of Colombo, waterbed. At the top of the endless loading line there is a tumbler
Dubai, Jebel Ali, Salalah and Singapore. Fever pitch dredging which turns the buckets over so they emptying their loads, usually
activity is set to take place soon both in Central Government run onto transport barges via conveyors.
Branch News
Bucket dredgers can dredge most types of material, including weak - Ability to be transported inland due to its Modular construction.
rock if fitted with suitable ripper teeth.
- Ability to dredge acurately due to their movements around the
They keep the spoil “in situ condition” and generally slower than spud.
hydraulic dredgers
They are equiped with cutter to dislodge the compact soil or silt,
Grab dredgers are fairly simple dredgers that pick up water bed pumps to hydraulically transport the dredge material to the barges
material with a clam-like grab suspended from a floating crane or or directly to the dumping ground. The spoil is made to mix with
hydraulic arm. Grab dredgers either off-load the dredged material large quantity of water to facilitate the hydraulic transfer.
into on-board hoppers or into waiting transport barges.
Further advantage of these type of dredgers is that they can be
These rather simple dredgers are used mainly for dredging large powered by a diesel engine or by electrically depending on the
loose rocks. requirement at the site. Envirot sensitive zone or at hydal power
dam site.
As they produce irregular waterbed profiles they cannot be used for
projects requiring any degree of accuracy. Propulsion: Sometimes they are self propelled but propulsion is
used only for mobilising the dredger or in case of emergency run
Backhoe and Front Shovel: Hydraulic cranes are available in two
away condition.
models the backhoe and the front shovel. The first is used most. The
difference between those two is the working method. The backhoe Areas of operation: These dredgers are suitable to dredge in
pulls the bucket to the dredger, while the front shovel pushes. The harbours and faiways and land reclaimation projects. (palm islands)
last method is only used when the water depth is insufficient for Cutter suction dregders are generally suitable where the dumping
the pontoon. site is not mare than 10KM and transportation is by pipes.
Hydraulic Dredgers Cutter suction dredgers are suitable for almost all types of soil
depending on the power of the cutter. The installed cutter power
Trailing suction hopper dredgers, or TSHDs, as they are can vary from 20KW on smaller dredgers to 5000KW on larger
commonly known, trail a pipe along the seabed which sucks up ones. They are not suitable for very hard rock cutting.
material that is then off-loaded into an on board hopper. In order
to dispose of the material the dredger usually sails away from the DIFF FORMS OF DREDGING
dredging site to a designated discharge area and then either pumps Capital dredging : Creating an infrastructure like
the material out from its hopper, pipes it ashore or dumps it into the
ports, channels, harbors etc.
water through doors in the bottom of the hopper.
Maintenance dredging : Maintenance of infrastructure
This type of dredger can only be used in the sea and in fact some
especially against siltation
of the largest dredgers in the world are trailing suction hopper
dredgers Preparatory dredging : during construction of bridges,
dams, canals etc.
The basic operations of a THSD are:
Land reclamation : To cater for increasing population
Vessel is made to sail over the dredging site at speed of about 2
and need for more and more space
– 3 knots……One or more suction tubes provided with suction
to live, create infrastructure and
mouths (drag heads) which are dragged over the seabed during
irrigation this type of dredging is
dredging. …..One or more dredge pumps to suck the material from
becoming increasingly popular.
the seabed…..A hopper in which the dredged material can settle.
…..Easy operational bottom doors or valves in the hopper to dump Beach nourishment : These schemes are designed to
the dredge material…..Gantries and winches to operate the suction prevent or reduce the likelihood of
tubes. erosion or flooding on beaches by
replacing the sand and gravels back
Swell compensator : to control the contact between the suction
on eroding beach.
mouth and the seabed when dredging is being done in swell.
Harvesting materials : This type of dredging is used to
The size of a TSHD is expressed in the hopper volume. These recover the precious metals and
are generally suitable for dredging soft clay, silt and gravels. Not minerals or to remove the over
suitable for compact sand, hard soil and rocks. Burdon to reach these minerals.
Cutter suction dredgers, also referred to with the abbreviation Seabed mining- future plans
CSD, are the most well known and most versatile type of dredger.
They are very popular because of their Construction materials :Sand and gravels required for
constructio n of infrastructure are
- Ability to cut a wide range of materials; supplied by dredging.
- Ability to pump cut material directly to the disposal site;
- Ability to work at widely varying depths, including in shallow The presentation was attended by the Master Mariners, Marine
waters; Engineers and the 2nd year diploma cadets of The Institute of
- Ability to cut precise profiles, producing uniform and level maritime Studies. Senior Member Shri Saumil Desai presented a
water beds; memento to Shri Pradip Sawant for his fine presentation.

Technical
Un Bel Di
Sachchidanand Dhar (FEx-0350) & Parth Panwalkar (A-6018)
Introduction:
“Un Bel Di” – literally means “One Fine Day”. It is a famous musical composition written by Giacomo Puccini for his opera “Madame
Butterfly” or “Cho Cho San”.
This article could well have been named “Les Miserables” or “Toilers Of The Sea” after those famous novels by Victor Hugo; but to infuse
“Power of Positive Thinking” [A La SarvShri Orison Swett Marden or Norman Vincent Peale]; and to avoid giving the impression that
every day at sea is another miserable one, it has been named “Un Bel Di”. Followings are some samples of shipboard experiences of such
calamitous days.
The Life Boat in Free Fall

Extract: Centrifugal Brake in Lifeboat Davit is designed to limit Purpose of centrifugal clutch is to transmit torque by increasing
the speed of descent during lowering of Life Boat. If it doesn’t friction, wear as a side effect is accepted.
work, it may lead to accidents. One possible cause of failure of
Wherever there is wear, there would be loss of material from the
Centrifugal Brake is discussed here.
surfaces under friction. It may be molecule by molecule, or in form
Introduction: There has been an incident where ship staff was of bigger particles.
trying out the Life Boat in port. They tried to lower the Life Boat As a diversion: we all know that in a road transport vehicle, the
on the jetty side, with a few people in the boat. Boat fell freely tyres need periodic replacement because of surface wear of tyres.
at full speed, which led to damage and casualty. Later enquiry (The tyre surface wears because of friction, which is necessary to
suspected (nothing was found wrong though) malfunction of the move the vehicle on the road. Higher friction is better.) Where does
ratchet spring within the centrifugal brake mechanism. Periodic the worn out material go?
replacement of same was recommended.
Well, in case of tyres, all worn out material – in form of fine rubber
The Author View: Study of lubrication is known as Tribology particles- floats a few feet above the vicinity of road surface. It is
(Tribo, in Greek, means “I Rub”). There are three types of breathed in-along with unburnt hydrocarbons- by those sitting in the
lubricants, viz. Solid, Liquid, and Gas. Examples of industrial Solid road transport vehicles; and ultimately may lead to complications
lubricants are Graphite and Molybdenum Di Sulphide. Examples of respiratory tract.
of non-industrial solid lubricants are Boric Acid (for carom board) Coming back to discussion about Marine Engineering issues:- All
and Talcum Powder (for the arm pits of heavy weight lifters). worn out material from friction clutches of centrifugal purifier
In authors view, there can be another unwanted solid lubricant, would be found in the vicinity of clutch chamber. It can fall down
on floor plates, in case of open chamber, or collect on walls thereof.
namely finely powdered rust.
The worn out material, in case of centrifugal clutches, is a
Centrifugal Brake in the lifeboat works in the same fashion as the
combination of friction pad material + worn out fine iron particles
Centrifugal Clutch in Centrifugal Purifiers.
from the drum.
The friction pad is thrown outwards to make contact with inner The worn out fine iron particles from the drum would easily turn in
surface of a drum. The resulting friction, while in rotation, provides to rust. This fine powder of rust can act as solid lubricant.
the torque for drive (in case of purifier); or for limiting the rate of
descent (in case of falling lifeboat). Where does it go, in case of the completely closed chamber of
lowering/hoisting mechanism of life boat?
It is necessary for the contact surface, between drum and friction
Well, it has nowhere to go. It collects there.
pad, to be free of any lubricants; otherwise necessary torque would
not be generated because the surfaces will slip freely over each There has been an opportunity to inspect one such chamber, as
other. part of periodic routine inspection in a 2 decade old ship. Chamber
was probably being opened after a very long time, and amount of
In case of purifier, bowl rpm will not come up, leading to breakdown
red powder contained therein was alarming. This powder had the
of seal. consistency of fine talcum powder and was pleasant to touch, but
In case of life boat, boat will fall freely without any speed limit, consequences of its presence in that chamber could be horrifying,
leading to loss of life and property. if the boat was lowered by releasing the brakes.
Now let us look at how the TRIBOLOGY works at CROSS Moral of The Story: The Centrifugal Brake Mechanism and
PURPOSE with centrifugal clutch. associated chamber should be inspected whenever it falls due. It
is not correct to ignore physical inspection just because it is found
Purpose of Tribology is to reduce power consumption and wear by working fine, on the assumption that there is nothing inside which
reducing friction. can go wrong.
Technical
Anchor Tales
Extract: It is possible to use port windlass to pick-up starboard situations, so he took full 5 turns of the rope on the Starboard
anchor and vice-versa. winch drum, took the rope over Starboard Fairlead, then over Port
Fairlead, then onto the Port winch drum. It was in a manner that
Introduction: Al Jazeera is a well Known news channel. Jazeera pulling the rope (after taking up slack manually on both ends) over
in Arabic means Island in English. One of my Algerian friends the Starboard winch drum would help heave up the Port anchor via
told me that his country is called Al JaZair in Arabic, meaning The the turning of the Port winch drum which was engaged to the Port
Islands. “But Algeria is not an Island” I wondered aloud. “Well, it Windlass. As the anchor chain came up by some amount, by effort
was, at one time-when Sahara to the south was sea”, he told. That of both windlasses together, Port windlass was able to heave the
made Algeria an island, with Mediterranean Sea to the north and rest of it alone.
Sahara to the south. Sahara is still a sea, rather an ocean, of sand.
With places like Beni Abbes in Algeria reportedly being witness to While still on the topic of anchors, it may be worthwhile to
shifting walls of sands 480 km wide travelling at 30 Kilometres per recount another hearsay about anchors, which could be hilarious
hour, swallowing fleets of ships of the desert (the camel caravans) for some but embarrassment for others. A ship left the dry dock at
within their rolling crests. port A to make it to next port B, nearly 5 days away, which also
happened to be corporate headquarters.
This tale, though, relates to the Northern Sea Coast of Algeria, in
the MediTerranean Sea (Medi=Middle, Terra=Land), i.e. the Sea in A rock on the way (a tourist attraction) was too much of temptation,
the Middle of the Land. Mostly calm, but sometimes unbelievably so the top management decided to take a well deserved - off the
violent. record- break, after such a gruelling dry dock. Vessel anchored,
everyone went to the rock in life boats and spent the day there, only
The Tale: the junior most officers and some skeleton crew were left behind.
It was a Heated Product Carrier of 30000 MT, anchored offshore As the picnic ended in the evening and heaving of anchor was tried,
Algeria for the night. At around 2000 hrs., there was a weather it got stuck in the ground and wouldn’t come off. With some rough
warning. Master decided to weigh anchor and move. His Mate went weather around and so much delay on the cards, wise thing was
forward to heave the anchor- the port one in this case- and reported done and anchor was let go along with the chain.
that windlass was unable to lift the anchor. Either the chain was
paid out way too much or the anchor was in the rocks. On his first But this absence of one anchor needed to be explained when the
command, Master did not wish to let the anchor go. Bosun had Super came on board on arrival the head quarters. Suddenly the
given too many jerky movements on the joystick, to dislodge the ship staff remembered that anchor was left in the dry dock at the
anchor; consequently several O-rings of hydraulic motor had given time of departure. So Superintendent contacted the dry dock to
way. It began to leak copious quantities of oil. demand explanation for the retention of the Anchor & Chain. Dry
Dock authorities refuted it altogether. Further deep investigation
All the Allen Bolts of the Hydraulic Motor for the Windlass were led to spilling of beans by the skeletons which were left behind on-
seized & frozen in rust. board while picnic was on the rock, with embarrassing moments
Could the Starboard Windlass be used to pick up the Port Anchor! and consequences.
There was no answer with anyone. At one time it was proposed Another anchor tail: In a 6000 tonner, anchor was let go on arrival
to shift the Hydraulic Motor from Starboard windlass to Port anchorage. The chain kept going and then it was completely gone.
windlass, but it was soon clear that pipe fittings of STBD hydraulic Reason: as revealed by Investigation, was that the bitter end was
motor were mirror image of that of Port hydraulic motor, so it not secured by the pin to the bulkhead, but was tied to the eye in
wouldn’t have fitted. the bulkhead by means of a wire rope and shackle. The rope would
Finally, the engine was put to Dead Slow Ahd all night, to take the have been new and strong when fitted, but it was reduced to some
load off the anchor chain. In roaring winds, the engine staff worked rusted and thinned apology of a rope, at the time of this happening.
there from 2200 hrs. to 0430 hrs., to dismantle the Hydraulic Report was sent to the company, and blame lay on the bygones that
Motor with frozen bolts and change the O-Rings. All this while had used rope instead of using the pin.
Master manned the Bridge and his mate stood forward and watched
the load on the anchor chain. When the windlass was ready at 0430, Well, there was no cause of major worry, because ship was due for
anchor was heaved, with a sigh of relief from everyone, as the ship lay-up in the coming month, and she still had another anchor left.
was able to move to a safe place away from the bad weather. Next week, the Starboard anchor was let go at another anchorage.
It kept going, and finally was gone, just like the previous one in the
But, was it possible to use STBD windlass to heave Port anchor? previous week.
Yes, it was witnessed on another ship where the Port anchor chain Reason: exactly same as that in the case of Port anchor.
was paid out too much in the deep and Port windlass was not able
to heave it back. This Master had some experience of similar With both anchors gone, lay up was pre-poned.
Ballast Tales
Extract: Cargo and Ballast operations are very critical operations, completely, while Forward and Aft tanks were still full. Tanker
where mistakes can lead to loss of ship and seafarers’ lives, along sank on the terminal, blocking it for almost one year. It took a
with tremendous damage to shipping operations and environment. submersible heavy lift ship to lift the two parts clear off the ground
One of the more prominent mishaps during Cargo and Ballast by use of ropes passed under the wreck, and re-sink it in the deeps
operations happened in yester years in a major European port in of Atlantic Ocean. Mate on duty owned up to his mistake, offered
the Eastern Atlantic when a tanker broke up into two on the cargo just one reason: he was awake for more than 72 hours, so it led to
terminal itself. It happened so that a mid-ship tank was discharged a faulty judgement.

Technical
This incident started a process that ended in maintenance of The story about two cadets being in the Top Side Tank while the
Rest Hours Records by all ship staff, Master and Chief Engineer manhole door was closed and tank was ballasted, leading to the
included. death of cadets, is very likely to be in everyone’s knowledge.
That reminds me of a Road Accident on Mumbai-Pune Expressway In fact, one of the reasons as to why man hole doors are oval in
on 28 May 2012 near Khalapur, where a truck driver drove his shape, was understood to be that whoever enters the tank, should
truck into two stationery Marriage Party Buses which were parked take the manhole door along with her/him inside the tank; lest
on a Lay By (Service Road), killed 27 persons at one go and injured somebody tightens the door from outside.
29. He told the police that he was driving since previous 3 days.
The police arrested the owner too, who was driving the driver to An incident about a DB tank not getting de-ballasted for 10 hours
drive continuously without ensuring adequate rest. It may just be a is also etched in the author’s memory, where almost everyone was
matter of time before Maintenance of Rest Hours Record becomes looking for the reasons for baffling phenomenon for long time.
mandatory for Road Transport drivers. Are they not governed by Ultimately, the sounding pipe was blown through with air. The next
the ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) too? sounding showed an empty tank.
Another story that I remember was about a 60000 GRT OBO, There is an incident report too, about Classification Society
which was loading ore, in a fast loading port. Loader arm was Surveyors and ship staff sinking to death in a Cargo Hold which
loading in the forward most hold. Planning by the loader was to
was carrying ballast water. It happened so that Surveyors needed to
load in aft most hold on port side to the extent that trim aft and
check the sides of the cargo hold for complete height of the hold.
port list became unbearable; then shift to forward most hold, and
So they took to a rubber dinghy in a partially ballasted tank. Every
kill two birds with one stone, i.e. load on starboard side so that aft
now and then, the ballast would be filled up by another meter or so,
trim and port list – both – would be corrected simultaneously. Then
load some more so that trim fwd and starboard list would become to allow the inspecting party to check at that level. During one such
unbearable. Then shift back again to load on port side. ballasting, a huge air bubble appeared just below the dinghy, and
resulted in sinking of personnel inside. Since then, there is advisory
The plan was perfect virtually, except that only the trim got to carry out such operation with Life Jacket on, and come out of
corrected. Aft part of the ship remained listed to port while forward hold during every ballasting.
part got listed to starboard.
But most interesting one, which was recounted to me by a
The ship was twisted. Superintendent, is the one about a ship after she left Dry Dock.
Consequently, all ballast tanks developed internal leaks. It happened so that while ballasting a particular Top Side Tank
(TST), corresponding Double Bottom Tank (DBT) used to start
Shore management converted the ship permanently to an ore
getting filled too. After the TST overflowed, ballasting would be
carrier, i.e. no more to be used as a tanker.
stopped. Then after some time, DBT would overflow and the TST
There is another one about the ballasting operation, when the would be found empty. Ship Board Management (SBM) reported
mate began to de-ballast the middle hold of an ore carrier which the problem to the Management Ashore (say, MA). From there,
was carrying ballast to the brim for reasons of stability (rest of the Superintendent advised to check the piping of TST, which was
holds were empty). passing through DBT. SBM reported that it has been checked
and everything was fine. So Superintendent flew to the ship to do
It would have been a rather routine operation, except that the duty something about this mystery. As he entered the DBT and flashed
personnel forgot to uncap the vent of that hold. his light, he saw a Dresser coupling missing from the TST Ballast
pipe. SBM refused to believe it, “It was there when we saw it”.
After sometime, both hatch covers caved in and fell inside the hold,
because of vacuum inside the hold. Nevertheless, fitting a Dresser Coupling solved the problem.
Will We Be Able to sail?

Extract: Vibration is one of the main enemies of the ships’ fittings, and also
the one that is mainly ignored. Even seasoned and experienced
Emergency repairs to HP Fuel Pipe (Inlet to Main Engine) prior
sailors tend to ignore it, hoping that the resultant damage (The
departure.
proverbial last straw on the camel’s back) will not show up during
The Ship was a 3000 + TEU, 26000 BHP, 20 year old and demanding their contract.
one; doing voyages across the ocean, with more than one port on
either side. There used to be many onboard-maintenance-projects Also, tendency of cost reduction in New Buildings seems to
going on simultaneously to keep the ship moving, but it is not the have made the BALANCERS a thing of the past. These (mostly
object of this article to enumerate those projects. The purpose of hydraulic) balancers used to be fitted on both end of the ship,
this discussion is to bring an emergency repair to the High Pressure (e.g. the bosun’s store and steering compartment) to counter
Fuel Pipe, Inlet to the Main Engine, to the notice of discerning & minimise beam vibrations. But, recently even the severely
readers. vibrating small ships seem to have done away with those machines

Technical
at the building stage itself, leaving it to ship staff to deal with the rather clear that pilot may have to be cancelled.
consequences.
Then the help came from unexpected quarters.
Well, ours was a case of this high pressure (15~20 Kg/CmSq) pipe
Our Fitter, who was highly experienced - yet first time in our
which was carrying fuel from hot filter to the main engine.
company, was doing his own thinking all this time. He interfered
Pipe was passing under the ECR. Sometimes the vibration used to in our mental processes and assured us that we can sail. How! We
be quite disturbing, forcing the engine room staff to crawl all over asked.
pipes below the ECR and tighten clamps along the ceiling, which
He suggested putting steam packing on the hole and tightening the
would go slack again over a short period of time during the voyage.
clamp back again.
(The compartment; below the ECR; accommodated Air Bottles,
The FWG and coolers.) After coming out of this compartment, Readers’ would notice that Fuel oil at 135 Degree Centigrade and
the HP Fuel pipe would travel along, and below, the edge of the nearly 16 Kg/CmSq pressure is like Live Steam.
ECR level floor, and lead to the main engine. Vibration would
act here too, but the clamps were in such a place where accessing Next port was more than 10 hours passage down the waterway,
would have needed preparation and loft work permit. Moreover, through Oil Rigs strewn along the coast, and then up the river,
if the clamps below ECR were tightened, vibration outside the Stand By all the time.
compartment would reduce too, so it went tolerated. Engine failure during passage could lead to pretty ugly situations,
Several voyages across the ocean were completed thus, with not just for the ship, but also for the shipping in general in the
everything as usual. vicinity.
But, once, it became otherwise. The hole in the pipe was nearly 4 mm diameter approximately.
Will the steam packing hold for 10 hrs?
At the time of 2 hours’ Notice before departure, it was noticed that
fuel was dripping from the insulation along this pipe, outside the “Put the biggest size steam gland packing and tighten, it will hold”,
abovementioned compartment. the fitter assured.
Slight investigation revealed that pipe was holed inside a clamp With little choice apart from cancelling the pilot and delaying the
which was hidden in the insulation. After due preparatory procedure ship, it was agreed to try the method and try out the engine.
and permits, the insulation was removed and clamp opened. Now it After due precaution of stopping the pump, depressurising the pipe,
would never be the same again, because the leak increased. isolating and draining it sufficiently; the packing was used to cover
With just 1 hour to go before the boarding of the pilot, everyone the hole and clamp tightened. Sure enough, the dripping, under
was standing and looking at the leakage. Various ideas, from Fast pressure, was reduced to wetness.
Drying Devcon to Cord O’ Bond, to lead sheet, to removal and The ship sailed out, with a few buckets and contraptions in
refitting of the pipe, were racing through everyone’s head- with attendance if leak sprang again, but nothing untoward happened
doubts over efficacy of each one, in the given time frame of 1 hour. till FWE.
The most prominent thought in everyone’s mind was, “Will We Be After FWE, the pipe was taken out and permanent repairs carried
Able to Sail?” out before embarking on a journey to cross the ocean.
While the top management was energetically discussing the ways, That left, etched in mind, an advice from a major engine builder,
and shooting down each method among them, it was becoming “Do not take lightly the advice from a shop-floor fitter”.
Maritime Events For Your Diary

Sep. 21, 2013 Nerul, Navi Mumbai. 30th Annual General Meeting of the Institute of Marine Engineers (India)
Contact: adiminstration@imare.in Tel: 022 :022-2770 1664 / 2770 6749
Sep. 23-27, 2013 Cochin, India. Naval and Maritime EXPO 2013. http://www.namexpo.in
Oct. 08-10, 2013 Mumbai, India. INMEX India 2013. www.Inmex_India_2013
Oct. 22-25, 2013 Busan, South Korea. International Shipbuilding and Marine Exhibition.
www.reedexpo.com/en Events/2671/KORMARINE
Nov. 06-08, 2013 Bellevue, WA. SNAME 2013 Annual Meeting and Expo snameexpo.com/2013
Dec. 04-05, 2013 Warnemünde, Germany. 2nd Arctic Shipping and Offshore Technology Forum.http://imarest.org/arctic
Dec. 11-13, 2014 Mumbai, India. INMARCO-INAvation International Maritime Technology Conference & Exhibition.
www.inmarco-inavation.com, Tel: +91 22-2285 1195

News
EAL Range Meets VGP
Requirements
V ickers Oils have confirmed that their HYDROX BIO,
ECOSURE HSE and BIOGREASE EP2 ranges of
Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs) meet the detailed
ecological definitions and requirements laid down in the 2013
Vessel General Permit (VGP).
The 2013 Vessel General Permit (VGP) published by the US Lubricants (EALs) meet the detailed ecological definitions and
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will apply to all vessels requirements laid down in the 2013 Vessel General Permit (VGP).
entering US waters from 19th December 2013. The VGP requires The 2013 Vessel General Permit (VGP) published by the US
that “All vessels must use an Environmentally Acceptable Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will apply to all vessels
Lubricants (EALs) in all oil-to-sea interfaces, unless technically entering US waters from 19th December 2013. The VGP requires
infeasible”. that “All vessels must use an Environmentally Acceptable
Vickers Oils have confirmed that their HYDROX BIO, ECOSURE Lubricants (EALs) in all oil-to-sea interfaces, unless technically
HSE and BIOGREASE EP2 ranges of Environmentally Acceptable infeasible”.
P&I Club: Ballast Water - Are

You Prepared?
A company specialising in ship owners' liability
insurance and risk management, P&I Club, has
published a new report on the issue of ballast water.
can cost from half a million to four million
dollars. In addition to the cost of the actual
system, there will also be ancillary costs
such as the cost of developing a ballast
In the wake of the forthcoming legislation, P&I's new
water management plan, drydocking cost
report highlights a number of key issues that need
and installation cost,” she continued.
to be addressed before the Convention countdown
starts. The update breaks the steps down towards
compliance in the following ways:
The author, Jacqueline Tan, is Senior Claims
Executive at the global insurance company, which 1. Understanding the standards of
offers Protection and Indemnity insurance for the compliance – standards of compliance vary
shipping sector. depending on the category of ship, date
of construction and ballast capacity. It's
The P&I club is one of the largest mutual marine
important to be aware of the fact that the
protection and indemnity organisations with over
BWE standard does not require BWMS
200 million tonnes of owned and chartered ships
whereas BWP does; BME will be phased
insured. For this reason, it has a keen interest in
out by 2019. However, the paper points
assessing how the changes and challenges of the
out that BWMS “complying with the D-2
industry will shape the market in years to come.
standard may still fall foul of more stringent
The Ballast Water Convention, with Germany as its latest standards set in other jurisdictions such as the US.”
member, is now very close to fulfilling the minimum ratification
2. Develop a ballast water management plan – this should include
requirements: It must be ratified by countries representing a total
a description of the ballast system, including safety and
minimum global tonnage of 35%, after which point the Convention
operational procedures, as well as the name of the designated
comes into force 12 months later.
Ballast Water Management Officer who ensures details of all
“There are many stages to compliance and shipowners are urged ballast water operations are recorded in a Ballast Water Record
to start familiarising themselves with the requirements of the Book.
Convention if they have yet to do so,” Tan writes.
3. Select and install a ballast water treatment system – BMWS
“The cost of compliance is very high and the necessary finance will must be approved by the Administration; there are over 30 ‘type
therefore need to be organised. A ballast water treatment system approved’ treatment systems available, which either use active

News
substances that kill the organisms - chemical disinfection 5. Survey, certification and inspection – An initial survey grants
(eg. Chlorination, ozonation) or physical disinfection (eg. UV an International Ballast Water Management Certificate or
irradiation, heat, deoxygenation). Some allowances are made Certificate of Compliance to the ship, with an intermediate
for vessels testing prototype BMWS.
survey, an annual survey, and a renewal survey every five
4. Develop training for ship’s staff – The Convention requires years. In addition, Port State Control officers can inspect a ship
officers and crew to be familiar with their duties in the to verify that the ship has a valid certificate, inspect the ship’s
implementation of ballast water management for the ship on
Ballast Water Record Book and/or sample the ballast water. If
which they serve, which is all the more reason to develop
any concerns are raised, a detailed inspection may be carried
operational experience in advance. A detailed staff training
scheme will need to be rolled out. out.
NOx Monitoring Unit Brings the

Lab to the Ship
G reenLink Systems LLC has developed an on-board nitrogen
oxide (NOx) emissions monitoring unit (NEMU) designed to
comply with the International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s NOx
a red light indicates “out of
compliance" making it quick
and easy to identify areas in
Technical Code. need of improvement.
The compact NEMU, installed directly on the engine and exhaust, “With an automatic alert
aims to bring the laboratory to the ship. system you don’t need a
It is sensitive enough to measure to within 0.5 parts per million person to monitor a computer
of NOx. The optimum positioning of the device is on the engine or gauges throughout the
in order to measure, record and transmit data continuously with day,” said Mark Adair,
updates seconds apart. technical director at
The data is transferred wirelessly using 4G wireless modems to GreenLink. “They would get
a secure, online database accessible over the Internet from any a text message or e-mail and then log in to the web site to find out
location, whether on the ship itself or from the company's HQ, or what is out of compliance. By clicking on the item, they can dial
even from the technical manager's living room if he/she so wishes.
in to the test data folder and find out the date, time and section of
Crucially, automatic alerts by text message/e-mail immediately the event and what channel – temperature, pressure, and emissions
inform of non-compliant emissions ratings so that corrective action
level – is not compliant so they can quickly address it.
can be taken immediately and in real time rather than at one step
behind the actual status of the ship operations. “Ship owners have so many other issues to worry about that
GreenLink has also developed a web interface with each regulation when it comes to environmental regulations. What they want is a
indicated along with a visual representation of a gauge panel. It uses solution that will keep them in compliance with minimal difficulty,
a traffic light system: A green light signifies “in compliance” and manpower and headaches,” added Adair.
The Institute of Marine Engineers (India), Kochi Branch

(An ISO 9001:2008 Certified Institute & Approved by DGS)
IME(I) House,No.29/427, South Janatha Road, Vyttila, Kochi-682019
Tel: 0484-2302491, Mob.09388609429, Mob:09446865845, e.mail:imcochin@sify.com
Registration opened for following courses

MEO Class II (F.G.) - 4 months Preparatory Course commencing 15th of every month.
MEO Class III (NCV - C/E) - 4 Months Course commencing 15th of every month.
MEO Class IV (F.G.) Non-mandatory -one month condensed course commencing 1st working day of every month.
Engine Room Simulator - Operational / Management Level will be arranged at KM School of Marine Engineering,
Cochin, Kerala
Courses are conducted by highly experienced faculty.

For enquiries please contact:
SUNIL XAVIER, Principal. Tel : 0484 - 2302491 Personal Mob: 09895096067

News
Biolubricants and the VGP:

3 Months to Go
F rom 19th December this year, the 2013 Vessel General Permit
(VGP) will come into force along with its clauses concerning
Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs).
now reached a certain level of transparency with regards to what it
should be aiming for.
“Claims for ‘environmentally responsible’ products are made
EALs have superior biodegradability to conventional lubrication widely but can sometimes be misleading,” says Susannah Linington,
products and in recognition of the fact that large volumes of Castrol Marine Environmental Specialist. “It is a great step
lubricant products leak into the oceans each year, the new VGP forward having defined criteria for determining the environmental
states that EALs be used on all oil-to-sea interfaces, unless deemed performance of marine lubricants. This means that environmental
technically unfeasible. claims can be backed up by relevant scientific testing.”
Failure by a vessel to produce a valid permit means the United Castrol's BioStat and BioBar ranges are registered under OSPAR
States Coast Guard can issue written warnings and, ultimately, and therefore meet the criteria for being EALs under the VGP,
mount civil and criminal action including potential penalties Castrol has announced in a recent press release.
ranging up to US$25,000. “OSPAR requires testing the individual chemicals in a product
However, to date not all of the industry has understood lubricant in seawater as this is the environment they will ultimately end
compliance, especially that related to EALs. up in,” Livington commented. “Although seawater testing can be
There has also been some confusion generated through the harder to pass than freshwater or soil testing, this is the regime we
marketing of minimally toxic, eco-friendly products, which despite have adopted at Castrol for developing our BioRange of products.
the offering of lower environmental impact, are not actually This ensures that we can supply documentary evidence why our
compliant with the requirements. products meet the environmental standards laid out in the VGP.”
One area that was holding back the development of a market Since then, in the lead up to the VGP regulations coming in to
standard was the lack of a world-wide consensus as to the force, the market is certainly seeing a flurry of development in the
definition of an EAL; however, with the VGP's clear definition direction of certified EAL products being available to the maritime
based on previous schemes such as the Blue Angel, the market has market.
MAN Diesel & Turbo De-Rating

Study Triumphs
M AN Diesel & Turbo this week reported the outstanding
success and swelling interest from owners for their ‘De-
Rating’ study, a service whereby MAN reviews the operational
and tank tests of the ship in order to produce a recommendation for
re-optimising the ship. Engine data and tank tests are also required
to produce suggestions for re-optimising the ship.
aspects of a ship and presents the owner with a 50 page report The recommendations vary from ship to ship, however Ludwig
containing recommendations for improving the ship's fuel commented “for a major container ship the repayment time would
efficiency. be around a year and a half. And that's not a long time, when the
Many shipowners are taking up the consultancy service that costs investment will typically be around €2.5-3 million.”
around €10,000. In return MAN Diesel & Turbo carry out fuel He continued "By reoptimizing the engine for lower speed
studies that analyse, re-optimise or de-rate their engines, an action shipowners can save ten to fifteen percent if they also change the
that could give owners resultant savings of 10% to 15% on bunker propeller on the ship."
costs. “The ships, the propellers and the engines are nowhere close to
optimized for this. If you're willing to reduce your top speed by
“As it turns out that there's heavy demand for reports showing how around ten percent, then by reoptimizing your engine and installing
ships' fuel consumption can be decreased using new technology,” new propellers, you can save between ten and fifteen percent, and
commented Christian Ludwig, Head of Retrofit and Upgrade at that could easily turn into a workable amount of money," Ludwig
MAN Diesel & Turbo. commented.
The ‘De-Rating-Study’, which takes place over a six to eight week The surprise interest is welcomed by the company, Ludwig
period, reviews the operational aspects of a ship with a final 50-page continued “We've received orders for 27 of these studies since
report as a result. The study requires owners to provide information mid-January without really doing any promotion for them. We're
on how the ship operates, including data on the ship’s normal surprised to see interest in the studies from all the different types
sailing speed and any minimum requirements the owner might have of ships out there. Anything from small bulk carriers to massive
in regard to speed. MAN Diesel & Turbo then looks at engine data container ships and both large and small tankers.”

News
New Eco Bulkers To Feature

Revolutionary Hull Design
F our new 58,000 DWT eco-bulk carriers, on order from Cyprus-
based FrontMarine, will employ a “revolutionary” new hull
design – without bulbous bow – which will provide considerable
The ships will each have four cranes with a 35-tonne lifting
capacity and will classed by Germanischer Lloyd (GL).
Tasos Mitsopoulos, the Cyprus Minister of Communications, in
savings on fuel consumption and reduced emissions of CO2 and charge of the Department of Merchant Shipping was quoted as
other greenhouse and toxic gases. saying “when these vessels are put in service, hopefully under the
Cyprus flag, they will contribute to the efforts of our government,
Maritime investment company FrontMarine, and the associated
and many others around the world, for the development and
Lemissoler Navigation have commissioned New Times
expansion of a sustainable maritime transport system.”
Shipbuilding to engineer the supramax eco bulkers. The vessels
are to be built in one of the leading privately owned Chinese He noted that “latest figures prove that shipping is worth more to
shipyards and delivered by mid-2015 with options for a further four the global economy than aviation and rail, meaning that the world
to be contracted before the end of the year. economy cannot do without it, the European Union economy cannot
do without it and thus the Cyprus economy cannot do without it.”
New Air Lubrication Technology

in the Pipeline?
A ustralian-owned international Shipbuilding Company,
Harwood Marine are working alongside R&D Engineering to
develop the Wing Air Induction Pipe (WAIP), which they claim
invest in the product. Ross states “We have done our own trials at
Harwood, but we are a little company and do not have the resources
to fund this technology.”
will be able to save up to 20% on fuel cost.
The WAIP technology will be applicable for any sized
vessel. Trials have already been run on 80 metre ships with
promising results, and plans to carry out further tests on
larger vessels are in the pipeline.
This method of air lubrication uses a phenomenon called
Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability where air and water moving
at different velocities causes a cloud of super fine bubbles,
or micro-bubbles lubricating the hull of the vessel. The
WAIP technology is fitted at the bow of the ship causing
the bubbles to adhere to the side of the hull. This reduces
frictional resistance utilising negative pressure on the wing
resulting in less drag. Trials have shown that the reduced
frictional resistance can result in a reduction of power
requirements by up to 15%.
Installation of this new technology would cut engine
maintenance costs and decrease the production of fewer
greenhouse gases and fewer carbon taxes.
Robert Ross, Managing Director of Harwood Marine
commented "We’re thinking it could be accepted as a viable
technology in a year or so and go into production soon after
that."
However the biggest obstacle for Harwood Marine is to
trying to convince governments or major companies to

Technical
Report of Investigation into the
Fire Onboard the CARNIVAL
SPLENDOR
(This is an abridged extract of incident investigation report published by United States Coast Guard in July 2013. Prior to its finalization,
this report was reviewed by the Panama Maritime Authority, flag state of the vessel who agreed with the conclusions and recommendations
in the report.)
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY cables and eventually caused the loss of power. While the fire
was eventually self-extinguished, the failure of the installed CO2
On November 8, 2010 at 0600 (Local Time), the Carnival Splendor
system and the poor execution of the firefighting plan contributed
was underway off the coast of Mexico when the vessel suffered a
to the ineffectiveness of the crew’s firefighting effort.
major mechanical failure in the number five diesel generator. As a
result, engine components, lube oil and fuel were ejected through As a result of this casualty and the initial findings by investigators,
the engine casing and caused a fire at the deck plate level between the Coast Guard issued two safety alerts which covered the
generators five and six in the aft engine room which eventually operation, testing and maintenance of CO2 systems.
ignited the cable runs overhead. The fire in the cable runs was Furthermore, Carnival took steps to evaluate fire safety systems,
relatively small, but produced a significant volume of smoke firefighting doctrine & training, procedures for inspection & testing
which hampered efforts to locate and extinguish it. In addition, the of installed safety systems. Specifically, Carnival has removed
fire caused extensive damage to the cables in the aft engine room, the 40-second time delay from the automatic activation sequence
which contributed to the loss of power. for the Hi-Fog system and has implemented short and long-term
solutions to rectify the problems associated with the activation of
It took fire teams approximately two hours to locate the fire in the
the CO2 system.
cable runs. Once located, the fire teams attempted to extinguish
it with CO2 and dry powder portable extinguishers. However, There are five safety recommendations in this report which are
the fire was not fully controlled by these agents due to a lack of addressed to Carnival, Lloyd’s Register, Panama and the Coast
cooling of the cable conductors which held heat and caused the Guard. The recommendations address the conditions onboard the
cable insulation and jacket materials to continue to burn. Carnival Splendor which contributed to this casualty, as well as,
the problems with the CO2 system installation on all Dream class
Approximately five hours into the firefighting effort, the Captain vessels. In addition, the recommendations to the Coast Guard
evacuated the engine room and attempted to activate the installed address the need for improved guidance to enhance the conduct
CO2 system. The first attempt to activate the CO2 system from and evaluation of fire drills.
the remote location failed. Subsequently, ship’s crew attempted
to activate the system manually from the CO2 room. The second 2. GENERAL
attempt also failed because the section valve for the aft engine
room was inoperable. Additionally, after pressurizing the CO2
system numerous fittings and hose connections within the CO2
system leaked. In the end, no CO2 was released into the aft engine
room.
At 1315, the fire in the cable runs was extinguished, which was
most likely due to a lack of oxygen resulting from closure of the
watertight doors during the attempt to use the fixed CO2 system.
Afterwards, vessel engineers were unable to restart the unaffected
main generators due to extensive damage to cables in the aft engine
room. Throughout the response, the emergency generator and Photograph 1 - CARNIVAL SPLENDOR
back-up battery system provided power for emergency services. The Carnival Splendor is a steel, passenger cruise ship constructed
for Carnival Corporation by Fincantieri - Cantieri Navali Italiani
There were no injuries or fatalities as a result of this marine S.P.A. at its yard in Genoa Italy. The vessel was constructed
casualty, and the vessel safely reached the port of San Diego on under Registro Italiano Navale Rules and at delivery transferred
November 11, 2010. to Lloyd’s Register (LR). The Carnival Splendor is a Dream class
Post casualty analysis of the event revealed that the installed vessel and was delivered on July 30, 2008. It has a maximum speed
Hi-Fog system for local protection was activated 15 minutes of 22 knots and is driven by a diesel electric propulsion plant. The
after the initial fire started. This delay was the result of a bridge plant consists of six identical Wartsila 46, twelve cylinder, four
watchstander resetting the fire alarm panel on the bridge. This was stroke cycle diesel engines arranged in two engine rooms that
a critical error which allowed the fire to spread to the overhead power two propulsion motors.
Technical
Figure 1 - Excerpt from the Carnival Splendor Fire Control Plan showing Deck C, Fire Zones 2 and 3
Plan annotated by USCG
3. CAUSUAL ANALYSIS was activated in machinery spaces outside of the affected area.
3.1 Hi-Fog System Performance The Hi-Fog system can be manually activated from the ECR. Based
on the EMS logs, it does not appear that the engineering watch
The machinery spaces on the Carnival Splendor are equipped with
manually activated the Hi-Fog system for the engine room before
a Hi-Fog local protection system. The Hi-Fog system is the first
evacuating.
line of defense in suppressing an engine room fire. However, in this
instance, it was ineffective at extinguishing the initial fire between As a result of the intervention by the bridge watch officer, the
DG5 and DG6. activation of the Hi-Fog local protection system for DG 5 and 6
was delayed by approximately 15 minutes. By the time the Hi-Fog
Figure 1 shows the location of the fire as well as the sequential
system was activated, the fire had spread to the cable runs over DG
activation of the fire/smoke sensors. Within 2 minutes, the smoke
5 and 6. Since the Hi-Fog system was designed for local protection,
traveled beyond fire zones 2 and 3. As a
the nozzles were positioned below the cables runs and the Hi-Fog
result, the Hi-Fog local protection system
system was not effective in suppressing or extinguishing the fire
in the cable runs.
3.2 Failure of the Installed CO2 System
3.2.1 Post-casualty inspection of the CO2 system
When investigators arrived onboard several days after the
casualty, the CO2 system remained pressurized and the ball
valves associated with the aft machinery space and the vent to
atmosphere were unable to be turned and opened with the cheater
bar that fits into the arm of the valve stem. The purpose of the
bar is for manual operations so that the valves can be opened in a
complete no power emergency.
Photograph 23 - Photo
Photograph 22 - CO2 system, 3-inch ball showing hemp packing in The system was eventually bled down using the relief valve
valve to aft machinery spaces CO2 system fittings circuitry. Once the pressure was taken off the system, the main

Technical
three inch ball valve to the aft machinery space was able to be by Wilhelmsen Ships Service, a CO2 system servicing vendor,
turned freely with the cheater bar provided, as was the identical discharge problems with the system were uncovered. The cause
sized ball valve that vents the system to atmosphere. was found to be debris, which included hemp fibers in the pilot
line nonreturn valves. It was reported that a similar situation had
When the piping segment associated with the discharge leading to
existed as early as 2007 but was assumed to be a shipyard defect.
the aft machinery space was taken apart a small amount of moisture
drained out and some corrosion was noted (see Photograph 22). In Princess Cruise Lines took corrective action and notified Carnival
addition, hemp type packing was noted at various pipe fittings and Corporation, specifically Maritime Policy and Compliance (MP&C)
seal screwed connections (see Photograph 23). regarding this issue. It was recalled that similar occurrences had
been noted in the past related to new builds and compromised
Many connections using hemp leaked. In one control cabinet, the
non-return valves. MP&C issued an advisory notice on April 14,
control valve handles had been incorrectly fitted. A number of the
2009 to the 12 brands and eight management entities that make up
fasteners securing the actuating arms to different control valves Carnival Corporation to raise awareness of the issues. The advisory
were discovered loose. notice indicated that there was a potential risk for accidental release
3.2.2 Analysis of the CO2 System by Lucius Pitkin, Inc. of CO2 into the wrong space if the pilot valve non-return valves
leaked into un-intended spaces and suggested that the operating
Upon agreement of the interested parties, component parts of the lines take necessary steps to ensure that similar problems do not
CO2 systems were shipped to Lucius Pitkin, Inc. for metallurgical exist on other ships.
and other testing. Their analysis revealed the following:
3.2.5 Documented Problems with the CO2 system
• The intended method of operation produces a differential
pressure across the section valves that likely prevented the Prior to the vessel’s delivery, the system was inspected and
main valves from opening. approved by the shipyard representatives at F/C, a Carnival
• The actuating levers were inadequately attached to the valve shipbuilding safety inspector, RINA (the classification society
stems, causing the actuating lever to detach when an attempt during construction), and an independent certified inspector from
was made to manually operate the system. an agency recognized by RINA.
• Water present in the system corroded the pipes and body of On May 7, 2009, the following issues were discovered by
section valve A. Wilhelmsen Ships Service technicians during the first annual
• Numerous CO2 leaks were found in the system when an service and inspection of the vessel’s CO2 system:
attempt was made to operate the system. • All the remote release stations on Deck 0 were non-functional
• Due to incorrect installations, pieces of hemp used to seal because the non-return valves located on Deck 11 in the pilot
screwed connections had been carried through the system and lines were installed backward.
became lodged in the non-return valves preventing them from • The pneumatic actuating system for the directional valves for
seating. the aft engine room and the forward engine room were installed
• The levers on the ball valves in one control cabinet had been backwards (which would release CO2 in the wrong space).
incorrectly fitted, such that the valves were open when the lever • Mismatch of the actuating components between the main
positions showed the valves to be closed. switchboard and fuel separator room.
3.2.3 International Rules Change/Order of Operation for Ball • Despite the various cross connections, indicating lights
Valves indicated the proper locations were being activated.
• The main discharge line leading to the battery room was
Regarding the operation of the three-inch ball valves leading to
obstructed with a 30-cm zinc plug.
the protected spaces: The International Maritime Organization
has been aware of certain difficulties with the operation of high- As a result of these issues, Carnival took aggressive action to
pressure CO2 systems and the use of ball valves in circuits leading correct the deficiencies and ensure all sister vessels based on the
to protected spaces. On May 18, 2006, in resolution MSC.206(81), original Carnival Destiny design were checked by their operators.
the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) made amendments to the
Additionally, Carnival reviewed inspection reports and conducted
Code for Fire Safety Systems that now requires high pressure CO2
additional inspections for the remaining Carnival vessels built in
system releasing controls to be interlocked so that the control which
the other yards of the F/C group.
conveys gas to the protected space is operated first, and the control
that causes the discharge of the gas from its storage containers is 3.2.6 CO2 System Activation Procedures
operated second, and that the controls can only be operated in that
The firefighting manual available to officers onboard the Carnival
order. This specific change came about as a result of ball valves
Splendor referred to a CO2 system but not the one that was
failing to open when subjected to a high pressure differential across
installed onboard the vessel. Related system photographs, images,
them.
schematics and diagrams were also found to be inaccurate.
3.2.4 Hemp Sealant / Advisory Notice
A review of CO2 system documents revealed a RINA approved
Hemp is an old fashioned fibrous and low-grade, twine-type, pipe test memoranda dated October 20, 2006, which established the
thread sealant. During an inspection of the CO2 system onboard following procedure for testing the CO2 system: 1) select the zone
the Crown Princess (now Pacific Jewel) on March 15, 2009, as or line, 2) observe the shutdowns of ventilation systems, machinery
part of the Passenger Safety Certificate Renewal survey performed and other warning alarms and then 3) move to the gas-release

Technical
procedure, which included cylinder selection for the particular 3.4 Firefighting
zone and verification of pressurization of the manifold, etc. Another 3.4.1 Firefighting Strategy and Actions
document that appears to be part of a RINA approval letter dated Evaluation of the firefighting effort against the procedures in the
December 28, 2008, describes the operational procedure in exact Safety Management System (SMS) and Firefighting Standard
reverse order. Operating Procedure (SOP) revealed the following areas of
concern:
In this instance, ship’s crew opened the cylinder valves first. As
a result, the pressure differential across the zone valve prevented • The fire teams lacked familiarity with the engine room spaces
opening of the ball valve. and equipment.
• Poor isolation of the affected space and maintenance of smoke
3.3 Failure of the Emergency Diesel Generator boundaries.
• Poor choice of fire extinguishing equipment (portable dry
At 0610, the Emergency Diesel Generator (EDG) automatically chemical fire extinguishers vs. fire hoses)
started with the loss of the main power supply. A minute later, • The Captain’s decision to ventilate the aft engine room before
the EDG automatically shut down. It took ship’s crew 25 minutes the fire was fully extinguished.
to diagnose and fix the problem. The shut down was caused by All of these areas of concern hampered the firefighting effort.
a damaged solenoid valve in the fuel line. Engineers opened the Furthermore, the decision to use portable chemical extinguishers
inline bypass valve and power from the EDG was restored. and the decision to ventilate the space before the fire was
extinguished were contrary to the Firefighting SOP and indicate
At 1126, the EDG automatically shut down. It took ship’s crew 45 a fundamental misunderstanding of firefighting strategy and
minutes to diagnose and fix the problem. The shut down was due procedures.
to the result of a coolant problem. Engineer refilled the unit with
3.4.2 Firefighting Training
coolant and power from the EDG was restored.
Carnival records indicate that the vessel complied with SOLAS
The EDG failure had minimal impact on the response and requirements for monthly fire drills. In order to provide training
firefighting efforts due to battery back-up systems, and the ability to multiple fire teams, it also appears that more than one fire
of ship’s crew to fix the EDG problems in relatively short order. drill was conducted each month. Fire drills were recorded on a
Review of electronic log books, indicates the EDG was inspected number of documents or forms such as, the on-scene command
form, emergency checklists and narrative documents. Based on a
and tested on a weekly basis for approximately 30 minutes. During
review of the records or documentation from drills, the following
these tests, the EDG was not carrying an electrical load. observations were made:

Technical
Photograph 19 – Vertical cable runs; note bare cables Photograph 20 – Cables above DG4 showing melted orange
due to fire damage cable covering
• The level of documentation for fire drills differed with each • Beyond the announcement and logging of drills, it does not
drill, and many drills had very little documentation beyond appear that the Captain and bridge crew participated in the fire
the logbook entry. As such, it is difficult to ascertain what was drills.
done during the drill and obtain any meaningful information • From May to November 2010, there were no fire drills
regarding the quality of the drill. conducted in the engine room.
• Several fire drills lasted less than 30 minutes.
3.5 Loss of Power and Propulsion
• It appears fire teams conducted drills on the aft mooring deck
3.5.1 Post-casualty Inspection of Aft Engine Room
or in the marshalling area, and not in the actual spaces.
• The roles and responsibilities of the Quick Response Team Photograph 19 and Photograph 20 show melted synthetic and
(QRT) and Fire Teams Charlie and Delta are not defined in the plastic components where flames were not present. In addition,
SMS. numerous wire ways and cabling, and switchboard components

R. C. GOYAL
(DMET 1960 – 64)
Mobile: +91 98968 13000
CHAIRMAN
M/S Goya Agro Industrues Ltd.

Village Khanpur Kolian,
G.T. Road,
Kurukshetra
1. Solvent Extraction unit – producers of RICE BRAN OIL.

2. Biotechnology unit using broken Rice as Raw Material-producers
of Malto Dextrine powder, Liquid Glucose & H.M.S.
CHAIRMAN
M/S Sadasat Corn Products Pvt. Ltd.

Village Garhi Singha,
Pehowa Road,
Kurukshetra
100 TDP Unit processing CORN.
Manufacturing of STARCH & GLUTON
(Protein above 60%)
(Biotech Unit)

Technical
were damaged, including those from other generators in the forward DG5 was equipped with a slow turn system which should have
machinery space which prevented the engineers from regaining assisted in the prevention of fluid accumulation in the cylinders as
primary power to the vessel after the fire was extinguished. well as the detection of fluid in the cylinders during starting.
The port main switchboard is supplied power from diesel generators However, the decision by Carnival to lengthen the slow turn
1 and 2 of the forward engine room and diesel generator 4 of the aft interval from 30 minutes to 2 hours may have made the engine
engine room. The starboard main switchboard room is powered by more susceptible to the accumulation of fluid in the cylinders and
diesel generators 5 and 6 of the aft engine room and diesel generator lessened the likelihood of fluid detection when no slow turn takes
3 of the forward engine room. Both main switchboards can be tied place before engine start-up.
together through bus ties. The arrangement allows the continuation
of power should one switchboard room and its sub distributions 4.2 Fire
be disabled. Alternatively, it should allow for limited electrical As a result of the fatigue fracture of the B1 connecting rod for DG
service if there are casualties in either the forward engine room or 5, engine components, and fuel and lube oil were ejected from the
aft engine room provided the various wire ways and cabling are not engine casing and created a pool fire on the deck plates between
destroyed in the aft engine room. DG5 and DG6. This initial fire on the deck plates between DG5
Due to the extensive damage to cables and wire from the fire, it and DG6 did not last very long and was likely extinguished by the
was not possible to determine the exact cause of the power loss. Hi-Fog system or burned out on its own.
However, the extent of the fire damage was significant enough to Prior to extinguishment the initial fire ignited cables in the wire
prevent vessel engineers from starting the forward engine room ways and bundles causing a deep seeded secondary fire located
diesel generators and/or closing the appropriate breakers to supply directly above DG5 and DG6 which would smolder, produce
power at the switchboard. smoke and ignite for hours after the casualty. This secondary fire
most likely extinguished itself because of a lack of oxygen when
4. CONCLUSIONS the watertight doors were secured for a few hours during the
4.1 Engine Failure attempt to use the fixed CO2 system.
This casualty was initiated by a hydrolock event which resulted 4.3 The Hi-Fog Fire Suppression System
in a bend in the B1 connecting rod of DG5. This condition went
undetected and eventually led to a fatigue fracture of the B1 It is likely that the activation of the Hi-Fog system for local
connecting rod on November 8, 2010. The fatigue fracture resulted protection would have extinguished and/or prevented the spread
in a loss of lube oil to the A1 cylinder and the destruction of various of the initial pool fire between DG5 and DG6 if the system was
components of the shared crankshaft bay. activated immediately following the engine failure. As such, the
lack of manual activation of the Hi-Fog system by the engineering
The poor condition of the air cooler on the B side of DG5 watchstanders, as well as the resetting of the fire alarm panel by
contributed to the hydrolock event. the bridge watchstanders were critical mistakes which allowed
Excessive rust particles from the plating that constructed the heat the initial fire to burn without impediment for several minutes and
exchanger base and other components at times may have performed propagate to the overhead cable runs.
like a check valve. When the engine was secured, drainage flow The Hi-Fog system was designed as a local application system for
from other operating engine air coolers that did not have excessive the protection of the diesel engine and consequently had limited
corrosion and corresponding blockage, could push past the particles effectiveness in extinguishing the fire in the cable runs because the
and enter the receiver space of DG 5. Hi-Fog nozzles in the vicinity of DG5 and DG6 were positioned
When DG 5 was started the nearly 3 bar (43 psi) of air pressure below the cable runs.
developed by the turbocharger may have partially forced the
4.4 Firefighting
particles back to the drains until they restricted flow. Fluid could
have also accumulated due to a leaking tube or tubes within the The manual firefighting efforts by the crew were ineffective in
heat exchange tube bank. At some point, enough fluid accumulated extinguishing the fire in the cable runs above DG5 and DG6 for the
in the receiver and eventually entered the B1 air intake port. following reasons:
The poor design of the air cooler system contributed to both the 1. The crew’s lack of familiarity with the engine room hampered
deterioration of the system and the excessive accumulation of fluid fire teams efforts to locate and extinguish the fire, and also allowed
in the B side air cooler for DG5. While Carnival had recognized for the further spread of both fire and smoke.
the problem with the air coolers on similar vessels, replaced the
2. While the use of portable dry chemical and CO2 extinguishers on
air cooler on the Carnival Splendor in July 2010 and took steps to
the small fire in the cable runs may have temporarily extinguished
prevent and manage the accumulation of fluid in the air coolers, the
the fire, the fire was not fully controlled by these agents due to a
lack of formal procedures to document these measures and the poor
lack of cooling of the cable conductors which held heat and caused
condition of the air coolers (as observed post-casualty) suggests
the cable insulation and jacket materials to continue to burn.
that these procedures were not routinely followed. Furthermore, the
solutions devised after the July 2010 air cooler replacement were 3. The poor maintenance of smoke boundaries allowed smoke
short-term fixes which relied on human intervention to manage the to spread to adjacent spaces. This hampered efforts to locate the
accumulation of water in the air cooler vice long-term engineering source of the fire while also activating fire/smoke detectors in
fixes to prevent the accumulation of fluid in the air coolers. unaffected spaces.

Technical
4. The Captain’s decision to ventilate the space before the fire was 5.2 Recommend that Carnival Corporation address the conditions
fully extinguished allowed the fire to reflash. The poor maintenance listed below in their Safety Management System and/or through
of smoke boundaries allowed smoke to travel outside of the aft improvements to ship systems to eliminate or mitigate risk factors
engine room. As a result, smoke and fire detectors in adjacent which contributed to this casualty:
spaces were activated, and subsequently the Hi-Fog system was a. The corrosion and drainage issues with the air cooler system for
activated in unaffected machinery spaces. all DGs.
The Captain’s decision to ventilate the aft engine room before the b. The problems with the slow turn feature of the DGs. In particular,
fire was fully extinguished and to not use water to cool the cables the effect of increasing the slow-turn interval from 30 minutes to 2
was in violation of the Fire fighting SOP. hours on the detection of fluid in engine cylinders.
While it appears that Carnival had met the SOLAS and STCW c. The lack of crew familiarity with immediate casualty control
requirements for the training of crewmembers, the performance of procedures for engine room fires.
the crew in this instance indicates that the training and fire drills d. The lack of crew familiarity with the engine room layout and
did not sufficiently prepare the crew for this type of contingency. firefighting strategy and procedures for engine room fires.
Furthermore, the short duration of the fire drills conducted and the
lack of fire drills conducted in the engine room call into question e. The problems identified with the CO2 system installation and
the quality of the fire drill program and the fire drills conducted. activation procedures, as well as inspection protocols.
f. The susceptibility of the Carnival Splendor and all Dream
4.5 The Full Flood CO2 System class vessels to a complete loss of power due to the design and
The full flood CO2 system failed to operate and thus was ineffective arrangement of electrical system and components.
at extinguishing the aft engine room fire. 5.3 Recommend that at their next annual inspection Lloyd’s
The problems uncovered by the post-casualty inspection of the Register, as the Recognized Organization acting on behalf of
CO2 system were significant and should have been revealed by Panama, inspect the CO2 systems onboard all Dream class vessels
the initial and subsequent inspections by Fincantieri, Carnival, built in the Fincantieri yard for the installation and operational
Panama (the flag state) and/or Lloyd’s Register (the Recognized problems uncovered by this investigation.
Organization acting on behalf of Panama). The CO2 system is a crucial line of defense in extinguishing an
engine room fire, and must be installed and operate properly when
4.6 Loss of Power needed. As the Dream class vessels are based on the Destiny class
The loss of power was the result of the significant fire damage to vessel and were built in the Fincantieri yard, Destiny class vessels
the wires and cables in the aft engine room. should also be considered for review.
As the vessel lost power within 9 minutes of the engine failure, the 5.4 Recommend that the Commandant, United States Coast Guard,
only way to have prevented the loss of power in this instance was enhance the current guidelines and procedures for the evaluation
to prevent the spread of fire to the cable runs above DG5 and DG6. of fire drills which are conducted as part of Control Verification
Exams for foreign vessels. Fire drills provide an opportunity
Due to the availability of battery back-up power, back-up cylinders
for Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) to gain a meaningful
to pressurize the Hi-Fog system and the quick response by the crew
assessment of the crew’s proficiency in firefighting equipment
to restore the EDG, the loss of power from the EDG had minimal
and procedures, as well as ship familiarity. Currently, Navigation
effect on the response to the engine room fire.
and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 3-08, NVIC 6-03 Change
4.7 Administrative 2 and NVIC 6-91 provide guidance to Coast Guard PSCOs for
There is no evidence of actionable misconduct by any involved parties. the conduct and evaluation of fire drills. While this guidance is
still valid, it is very high level and based on guidance from the
5. RECOMMENDATIONS: International Maritime Organization to ship owners and operators
5.1 Recommend that Carnival Corporation remove the 40-second that carry out fire drills. As such, this guidance should be enhanced
time delay in the automatic activation sequence for the Hi-Fog to assist PSCOs in better evaluating fire drills, as well as reviewing
system. This should be done in conjunction with recommendation of records of past fire drills and training.
#2 below, which addresses immediate casualty control procedures 5.5 As the United States representative to the International Maritime
for engine room fires. Organization (IMO), recommend that the Commandant, United
The seconds and minutes following the ignition of a fire are crucial States Coast Guard, advocate for and make a recommendation to
to the firefighting response. the IMO for improved guidance for fire drills onboard all ships
subject to the requirements of the International Convention for the
As such, failure to take quick and prompt action to extinguish a fire Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).
can lead to major, negative downstream effects. In this instance, the
delay in the activation of the Hi-Fog system in conjunction with the Although this casualty illustrates that improved guidance on the
manual reset of the fire detection system adversely affected system conduct and evaluation of fire drills is something that may be
performance and allowed the fire to spread to the overhead cable necessary, it would be difficult to put this into effective practice
runs. Had Hi-Fog system been activated promptly vice delayed, through Coast Guard action alone without a parallel effort at the
the initial fire between DG5 and DG6 may have been contained it International Maritime Organization (IMO) to improve guidance
is likely that the vessel would not have lost power. internationally.

Technical
Safety Assurance for Naval and
Para-Military Vessels
R.M. Simpson, CEng, MBA, FIMarEST, Lloyd’s Register
Lloyd’s Register has carried out Classification services for naval and para-military vessels for over 150 years and currently has over 300
vessels either building to Class or actually being maintained in Class. Since the mid 1990’s. however, these services have evolved into a
range of activities from Classing the UK’s new aircraft carriers, assessment of particular aspects of Australia’s Air Warfare Destroyers; down
to small innovative high speed landing craft and even sail training ships.
This wide spectrum of activities has necessitated a significant evolution in understanding what the purpose of such activities for a Navy or
Coast Guard is, (they clearly are not looking to get marine insurance) and has resulted in the need for international cooperation between
navies to allow them to define how ‘safety’ integrates into their objectives.
This paper will look at some of the history of LR’s involvement, but will consider what insights have been gained both for vessels that have
a clear combat purpose in their design, or those with a support function that does not require high levels of survivability. This will also
consider the development of ANEP 77 – The Naval Ship Code, the navalised SOLAS that has been written in a Goal Based format.
Many of the lessons being learnt from this activity, have important implications for commercial operators, especially with Goal Based
regulation being the mantra at present, and what happens when risk and prescription conflict. Some consideration of these will also be
presented.
1 INTRODUCTION end, an alternative explanation was required and so for Lloyd’s

Register we consider that it is:
Lloyd’s Register first released its Rules and Regulations for the
Classification of Naval Ships in draft form in July 1999. This was A PROCESS used to assure stakeholders that a ship or other marine
followed by the formal release in January 2000, but it was not the platform complies with a set of RULES or other TECHNICAL
start of our involvement with navies or naval vessels. This started STANDARDS that have been shown to be appropriate for the
in the mid 1800’s; Charles Graham, Secretary of Lloyd’s Register function of the ship/ platform.
had been an Admiralty administrator and Bernard Waymouth It is achieved by an independent audit of the design; equipment and
who joined as a surveyor in 1853, had worked in an Admiralty material supply; construction; and through-life maintenance.
dockyard. Another key figure in the early history of the Society,
Augustin Creuze, was a respected naval architect at the Royal Knowledge gained from the survey activities of the Classification
Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, also had a close association with Society, is used to maintain and develop the society's RULES
the Admiralty. and inform other bodies publishing Technical Standards of their
effectiveness in use.
The first naval vessel to be Classed by Lloyd’s Register was the
Donna Maria Anna, built for the Portuguese Navy at John Scott One of the key differentiators is the fact that International
Russell’s yard in 1854, so our involvement is now in excess of 150 Conventions are generally defined as ‘not applicable to naval
years. vessels’ and naval safety regulation generally has not defined that
the assurance process of Class as being mandatory. This means
This long involvement and more specifically our involvement with that when dealing with naval vessels, it is the ‘process’ of class that
current projects has started to provide a deeper understanding of the is of greatest importance and the specifics may need to applied in a
very different roles that naval and commercial shipping undertake, flexible manner if they are to be of value.
but it is also now clear that there are many similarities that are
common, including the role that a Classification Society provides. Hence, naval classification needs to be inherently more flexible in
its approach and so we have been required to delve into the question
Our more recent involvement has been focussed on modern vessels of ‘why’, more deeply than we normally do for commercial vessels.
and a short extract of the list of current projects is shown below.
This has been very fortunate, as in undertaking this background
Other projects include ones for Algeria, Colombia, Thailand and investigation, we have had to bring to the foreground the original
the Netherlands. The total number of vessels either building to or reasons why specific rule requirements exist and we have been able
in Class with LR, now exceeds 300. to frame these as ‘goals’ in line with the current philosophy of goal
2 NAVAL CLASSIFICATION based standards.
Whilst Classification of ships for commercial trade is generally 3 PROCESS OF NAVAL CLASSIFICATION
considered be defined as demonstration of compliance with a For a commercial vessel, there are two predominant routes for
relevant set of Classification Rules in order to satisfy statutory deciding the Class Society and the scope of Class. The first
requirements, for naval vessels where the statutory element does is a simple offer process from a shipyard to Class a particular
not normally exist, the service provided is more complex. To this design that is considered by the prospective owner to meet their
The paper was presented at World Shipping Forum 2013 at Chennai

Technical
approach is needed both by shipyard and navy in determining what
Project Phase
assurance package is to be offered or is required.
UK
The approach that most navies are now adopting is to undertake
Type 45 Destroyer In Service a mapping exercise at an early stage of the project, to identify
MARS project Design a portfolio of technical standards that are directly related to the
capabilities and functions that the vessel is required to perform.
Future Aircraft Carrier (CVF) Construction Hence if it is a logistics vessel with either Roll-On, Roll-Off type
NATO Submarine Rescue System (NSRS) In Service arrangements, then Class Rules for a RoRo vessel provide a sensible
baseline. This stage is frequently described as the development
PASCAT (Partially Air Supported Catamaran) In Service of the Certification Matrix based on the Functional Performance
Specification.
Type 26 Frigate Concept However naval RoRo vessels are frequently required to carry
Australia out unloading operations into landing craft at sea (although in
sheltered waters). As this is contradictory to SOLAS and the
Landing Helicopter Dock Design inherent assumptions in the Class Rules regarding maintenance of
Canada the watertight envelope at sea, the RoRo requirements will need to
be ‘Tailored’ to suit. This tailoring may also need to take account
Joint Support Ship Design
of the types of goods being carried as it will not always be neatly
New Zealand packaged when it is recovered after say a Humanitarian Relief
activity.
Protector OPV In Service
It is therefore essential that before these two stages are undertaken,
Protector IPV In Service
the navy needs to define ‘how’ it will use the vessel, ie define the
UAE Concept of Operations. This is perhaps the greatest change for
navies, in that they would normally procure a vessel that has the
Baynunah In Service
inherent capabilities, then ‘explore’ its potential performance.
Indonesia This process frequently pushes a design past its limits resulting in
Sigma Class Corvettes In Service corrective work to be carried out.
Spain Once these three stages of:

οο Defining the Concept of Operations;
BPE In Service
οο Developing the Certification Matrix;
BAC In Service
and
Chile οο Identifying any Tailoring requirements,
OPV In Service Are completed, then procurement can proceed with a defined set of
Oman criteria that will form the basis of acceptance throughout the more
detailed design, build and testing phases of the project.
OPV In Service
4 INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Iceland
In the previous section, it was noted that navies generally do not
OPV In Service need to comply with international conventions such as SOLAS and
MARPOL. The majority of navies do however recognise them as
requirements, with a specified set of notations. Alternatively, an minimum standards for safety and protection of the environment,
owner may take the more ‘hands-on’ approach of requesting a so do either by choice of from government policy use them in
particular Class Society with a defined set of notations. defining acceptance criteria.
The former suits projects where cost is a key determinant and an In applying them though, it is quickly apparent that the prescriptive
owner has various options to chose from, whilst the latter is more nature of SOLAS in particular causes problems where there is
suited where the project is a long term investment and the owner is limited explanation of why particular requirements exist.
seeking a greater deal of ‘assurance’ from the Class process than is
provided with a minimal scope approach. This situation was the driving motive of a small number of navies
and Class Societies to join together to develop SOLAS into a ‘goal
Both have their key benefits and neither is therefore ‘better’ than based regulatory framework’ of safety for naval ships. This work
the other, they are simply available alternatives that exist within eventually resulted in the publication of the Naval Ship Code
the procurement process and which are both acceptable within the (referenced Allied Naval Engineering Publication (ANEP) 77), by
regulatory environment. NATO in 2008.
For naval vessels though, there is no internationally mandated The development of the NSC was based on the content and
regulatory framework, nor is there the same similarity in the requirements of SOLAS, but the underlying requirements were
offerings of the major Class Societies. Hence a more considered reverse engineered from the knowledge embedded in the Class

Technical
Societies, such that we have a pyramid as
shown below in Figure 1, with the high
level goal for a ‘safe vessel’ being at the
apex, and as we move down through the
various topics and issues that need to be
addressed.
These requirements are described as
‘goals’; functional objectives; and
performance requirements; but the
solution that will satisfy them will
depend on the ways in which a particular
navy undertakes its operations (the Naval
Practices); the environment in which it
operates (littoral or blue water) and the
specific manner in which a particular
vessel is to be used (the Concept of
Operations). This is shown in the
diagram.
This concept matches very closely the

process described previously and hence
underlines the fundamental process
necessary when using a zero based
approach to safety assurance. Fig 1 – Goal Based Structure of the Naval Ship Code
A key feature of the NSC though is that it provides guidance To this end, the International Naval Safety Association (INSA),
as to suitable ‘Solutions’, in terms of what standards might be who provide administrative support for the maintenance and
appropriate, through the inclusion of a comprehensive Guide. development of the Naval Ship Code are now considering how
Where no particular existing standard would provide a suitably MARPOL applies to naval ships.
‘navalised’ outcome, one is provided within the Code. It was
recognised that because of the wide range of naval vessels that the 5 ROLE OF CLASS
Code can be applied to, there could not be a single ‘Solution’ and The role of a Class Society in providing assurance services to
neither did the number of permutations lend themselves to neat navies has several facets.. The most important difference however
packaging along the lines of ship type as used in SOLAS. lies in the absence of any ‘mandatory’ element as we have with
commercial ships where Classification is an inherent requirement
Hence the Solution has been provided as a median measure, of the regulatory environment.
suitable for a corvette or simple frigate, being operated by a navy
for primarily constabulary purposes (littoral home waters defence For naval ships where this is not the position, Classification
and protection). It should be noted that not all sections have a becomes much more ‘advisory’ in its nature, both for the direct
defined Solution, as for a number it was felt that entirely suitable client (the ship operators) and for the naval flag authority. This
options existed, either as Classification Rules for Naval Ships, or requires Class to adopt a more flexible position and a philosophy
well established Naval Engineering Standards, such as those for that seeks to provide advice on best practice and risk, rather than
stability. compliance with prescriptive criteria.
Navies are moving quite rapidly to adopt this framework as it meets This is best expressed as becoming more of a ‘risk’ service, which
several of their needs, not least because of the pressures that they of course is becoming the overarching philosophy being applied by
have to adopt an independent assurance process as recommended regulators everywhere. However, in a naval context, it has a deeper
in several external reports into their procurement performance[1] meaning in that it is not just the safety risk that is of interest, but
[2], and to compliment their internal regulatory processes. It also because a navy has a military imperative as well, it needs to include
implements for them an opportunity to share ‘best practice’ where aspects of the ability to carry out specified functions that the vessel
this is common between navies, whilst leaving them free to retain has as these may take priority over the safety of the crew.
their unique approaches to meeting national military obligations.
6 LESSONS LEARNT FROM CLASSIFICATION OF
As these regulators evolve and understand their role in providing NAVAL SHIPS
a light touch governance process, other aspects of the holistic
regulatory process applied to commercial ships is being adopted The main lessons that arise from the involvement with navies to
and we are now seeing greater understanding of other IMO date can be summarised as being:
Conventions such as MARPOL, MLC and STCW. This does not οο Role of a Class Society in a Risk Management environment
mean necessarily that the same approach as used for developing a
navalised SOLAS is applied, but the same philosophy of understand οο Application of technical standards in Goal Based Regulation
why the convention exists and how it functions are essential. οο Value of technical standards for knowledge management
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can avail each subject by paying Rs. 5000/- ( Five Thosand) as per their choice.
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Technical
6.1 ROLE OF A CLASS SOCIETY IN A RISK
MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT Hazard Severity
Hazard
Risk management is characterised in philosophical Catastro-
terms by being a measure of the probability of an event
Probability Critical Major Minor
occurring, usually described in a safety metric such
phic
as fatalities per annum. In the marine industry where Frequent 1 3 7 13
background data is sparse, this is difficult to accurately
measure, so a qualitative (rather than quantitative) Probable 2 5 9 16
measure is applied in the form of a typical hazard risk
matrix as indicated below Occa-
4 6 11 18
Suitable definitions of each of the terms would be
sional
provided such that they are recognisable and can be Remote 8 10 14 19
differentiated between.
This provides bands where outcomes are considered
Improbable 12 15 17 20
either ‘Intolerable’, indicated by the red shading; as low
as reasonably practicable (ALARP), indicated by amber; Hazard
or broadly acceptable, green shading. This is a very Required Action
Index
simplistic description, and some iterative consideration
is required to be carried out in order to test the robustness 1 to 9 Unacceptable – redesign required
of the analysis and to consider whether there are cost
effective changes that could result in improvements, 10 to 17 Improvement required and periodic review
particularly for results in the ALARP region.
For a Class Society to contribute to this, then we need to 18 to 20 Acceptable with periodic review
provide advice that is not simply limited to a traditional
‘does not comply’, but expanded to include the ‘so what’ Fig 2 – Typical Hazard Risk Index Matrix
question as well.
As Risk Management methodologies frequently only look at single the need for a range of clearly documented solutions in the form of
events, the experience that a Class Society has in considering technical standards has been clearly demonstrated.
trains of events and what other safety features exist that would To use them it is essential though that the underlying scenario in
prevent a runaway sequence occurring, this can be of great value in which they can be applied is properly understood and documented.
supporting decision makers in a navy. For the NSC, this has required the development of ‘default concept
This has been of particular benefit where it has been safety features of operations matrices’ to be documented. For naval ships whilst
that are defective and navies have previously taken a slightly a change, it has not been insurmountable as navies traditionally
cavalier attitude to them. With carefully considered advice, Class have undertaken detailed analysis of how they operate in order to
can guide decisions that not only improve safety, but as Charles develop their capabilities and then train to these concepts.
Haddon Cave observes that, “a safe and airworthy fleet is also a For commercial ships, individual shipping companies may find this
more capable and effective fleet” [3] a challenge where they rely extensively on crews supplied by third
There is a challenge in providing this service in that with the parties and that training services are contracted out. The lack of
litigious culture we live in, the provision of advice based on risk control over these ‘soft’ (people) issues could create challenges for
assessments is potentially problematic. It needs to be clearly much of the industry.
understood by all parties that when a risk methodology is adopted Hence ensuring that the default concept of operations that is
by an operator, then they need to take ultimate responsibility for currently inferred through such regulatory requirements as the
decisions. The advice provided as long as it is in good faith and not Seafarers Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Code would
negligent, needs to be seen as advice only and not recommendations need to be better described and embedded in cmplementary
to proceed. This will need a more careful use of language in assurance processes.
providing this advice and a clear understanding of what is actually
being said between the parties involved. Similarly, Classification would need to become more directly
involved with these aspects and not assume that statutory processes
For navies where they have their own culture and technical have addressed the assumptions inherent in Classification Rules.
language, this will represent a challenge, but for operators in the
commercial shipping business, it should not be an insurmountable 6.3 VALUE OF TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR
issue. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
From being directly involved on a number of occasions where
6.2 APPLICATION OF TECHNICAL STANDARDS IN requirements in existing standards have had to be investigated with
GOAL BASED REGULATION regard to their derivation and applicability, it is clear that there is a
From the development of a Goal Based Regulatory environment, as huge volume of content that because it exists, problems in industry
has been achieved with the development of the Naval Ship Code, are not evident.

Technical
However, it has frequently been very tempting to decide to drop In addition, Class will need to consider more carefully if the scope
a requirement, simply because not underlying reason can be of assurance services being provided is appropriate in particular
easily identified. It is only when one starts to engage with more situations or hey may need to bring it to the owners attention that
experienced practitioners that origins of requirements can be certain aspects of an enterprise do not have assurance process being
identified. applied to them.
Once these origins are identified, then whilst it is usually possible These will make Classification Societies more advisory in their
to design a system that deals with the problem through a complex nature, as we have had to become for our naval clients, but with
safety system, it becomes clear that the cost of the system usually this skills now available, this is not a challenge beyond them.
outweighs the cost of design chance to remove the problem
completely. 8 REFERENCES
If the requirement had been viewed as a go/ no-go issue, rather than 1. Recommendation #15 - “Plan to Reform Support Ship Repair
a negotiable one, then design time and cost would have been saved. and Management Practices”, Paul J Rizzo, July 2011
Hence much of the existing portfolio of technical standards 2. Recommendation #7, paragraph 5.57 - “Acceptance into
is actually the result of hard won experience (usually through Service of Naval Capability”, ANAO Report No. 57, 2010-
an accident or incident) and to discard it would waste the costs 11
incurred to date. 3. Haddon Cave Report into loss of Nimrod VX230
7 CLASSIFICATION LEADERSHIP
9 AUTHORS BIOGRAPHY
Looking ahead, it is clear that the expertise and knowledge
Robert M. Simpson, CEng, MBA, FIMarEST. - A former seagoing
embedded in technical standards needs to be made more readily
engineer, presently Global Lead – Naval Ships for Lloyd’s Register
accessible to designers, engineers and operators if hard won lessons
(LR), responsible for the development of LR’s services to naval
are not to be lost.
clients. He is currently involved with all of the UK MoD’s
Whilst extensive effort is being made through information based on major naval projects along with various MoD Naval Authorities
web technology, there is still a place for experienced surveyors to as they develop a robust internal regulatory process modelled on
be able to interpret and link facets of design together to ensure that international and national statutory legislation. He is currently a
a holistic solution is achieved. In fact it has been one of the major member of the Steering Committee of INSA and has been Chair
benefits for those navies that LR provides services, is this holistic of two of the Working Groups developing specific chapters of the
view of a ship and its operation. Naval Ship Code.


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2 Marine Engineers Review (India) September 2013 www.imare.

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