College first for maritime blended learning

Monday, 27th March 2017

City of Glasgow College is to offer a new Blended Learning training programme for anyone wanting to achieve their MCA Large Yacht Certificates of Competency from Officer of the Watch level to Master.

The new training partnership between the college and Ocean Training Online will ensure high quality standards for MCA (Marine and Coastguard Agency) and STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) courses worldwide.

Nicola Crawford, Faculty Director for Nautical Studies at City of Glasgow College, said:

"City of Glasgow College is one of only four in the UK recognised to deliver Merchant Navy officer training to Chief Engineer and Master Mariner level. Together with Ocean Training Online we are now offering a 21st century flexible training solution for the Superyacht industry.

"The Blended Learning model will allow students to gain maritime theory qualifications at sea, at home, anywhere in the world, and then complete their practical training using the world-class facilities at our Riverside campus." Ted Miley, Principal of Ocean Training Online, said:

"Ocean Training Online has been producing maritime distance learning courses for 22 years. We are delighted to be working with City of Glasgow College and its state of the art Riverside campus which offers the most technologically advanced facilities of any maritime campus in the world. Our high quality modules and animations have been specially developed for the full MCA Blended Learning method."

Riverside campus represents a multi-million pound investment in maritime education and training, marine engineering and science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It has a Marine Skills Centre with its own classrooms, jetty, rescue lifeboats and a free fall lifeboat. The campus also features the first 360 degree full mission bridge shipping simulation suite in Scotland, state-of-the-art nautical chart rooms and a 20 tonne ships engine – the centre piece of one of the most modern working engine rooms in a college in the UK.

Damen InvaSave external ballast water treatment system receives IMO type approval

Friday, 24th March 2017

Damen’s award-winning, mobile, ballast water treatment system has received IMO type approval. An external ballast water treatment unit designed primarily for use in ports and harbours, the Damen InvaSave treats ballast water to the IMO D-2 standard, for ballast water received from inbound ships. It can also deliver water treated to the same standard to outbound vessels. Its mobile, containerised format means that it can be operated from the dockside or from onboard a vessel alongside, receiving or delivering water to a ship.

The InvaSave has been developed with the knowledge that, after the 8th of September this year, unmanaged ballast water cannot be discharged. Any vessel that cannot take in or discharge its ballast water after that date will be restricted in its operations and there may be financial implications due to demurrage costs. The Damen InvaSave is, therefore, a valuable asset to all ports seeking to minimise vessel delays caused by the need to treat unmanaged ballast water, allowing them to offer a robust, IMO-certified contingency service.

Damen has dedicated years of research on the development of the InvaSave, including collaboration with some of the leading research institutes in the Netherlands – Groningen Seaports, Wagenborg, MariFlex and Waddenfonds.

Marcel Karsijns, Managing Director of Damen Green Solutions, said: "InvaSave solves the ballast water challenge in ports. We are very proud to receive IMO type approval – it proves the capabilities of this product, something that we have believed in for a long time now. We are looking forward to providing this solution to the market."

Philip Rabe, responsible for InvaSave sales at Damen, says: "The InvaSave is a unique product – this is a truly innovative solution developed with the needs of the future in mind. Its application goes well beyond the relevance it has for ports too. In many cases, it offers vessel owners a viable and cost-effective alternative to retrofit. And, in the event of failure in an on board system, it ensures that owners have a means by which to access water treatment quickly, equalling no downtime."

One step, discharge only treatment
InvaSave is fast and effective. It produces no filter backwash and requires no holding time to achieve biological efficacy. Land-based tests were conducted as if the InvaSave was a regular in-line treatment system and, in addition, the water was tested directly after treatment to verify that the system achieves D-2 compliance in its capacity as an external treatment unit. The InvaSave has demonstrated that it can treat ‘raw’ ballast water from ships without any pre-treatment or settling time in the ballast tank. The latter was a requirement of the authorities prior to approval as an IMO-certified contingency measure in a port.

Damen InvaSave is a single-pass system and uses mechanical filtration and ultraviolet radiation to remove and eradicate invasive organisms, and has been tested in fresh, brackish and marine water, including coastal water with a high sediment load. The system is designed to be able to treat water with a low turbidity and a UV Transmission of down to 20%. The system has shown consistently that it can outperform the IMO D-2 standard for organisms.

German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food awards Damen Fisheries Research Vessel contract

Friday, 24th March 2017

22 March 2017: The German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung, BLE) has signed a contract with Damen Shipyards Group for the construction of a Fisheries Research Vessel. The contract followed the successful result of a European tendering process, realized by the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute (Bundesanstalt für Wasserbau, BAW). With the vessel, to be called the Walther Herwig, the German Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture (BMEL) will support Germany’s fisheries and oceanographic research programmes. To this end, Damen will construct the Walther Herwig to the highest levels of scientific and environmental standards.

Measuring 85 x 17,40 metres, the Walther Herwig will be the largest vessel in the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture’s fleet. Such dimensions will allow for accommodation for 26 crew and 26 scientists.

In terms of scientific facilities and equipment, the vessel will be outfitted with two hangars, wet and dry laboratory areas and trawling gear for both demersal and pelagic fisheries research. For physical and biological oceanographic studies, the vessel’s scientific teams will be able to utilise winches capable of relaying equipment to depths of up to 6,000 metres.

Talking at this morning’s contract signing ceremony at the BLE office in Hamburg, Damen Commercial Director North, West & South Europe Frank de Lange commented: “We are proud to have been awarded this prestigious contract for such an advanced research vessel. We are looking forward to continuing our close cooperation with representatives from the German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food during the construction process.”

The Walther Herwig will be built at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania to a design that has been finalised in cooperation with Norwegian ship designers Skipsteknisk. The expected delivery is January 2020.

Generator Solutions

Wednesday, 15th March 2017

Generator Solutions based in the beautiful world of Stamford, Lincolnshire, is an alternator reseller and parts provider for brands such as Stamford/AvK, Meccalte, Leroy Somer, Marelli. We specifically focus on the electrical side of a Generating Set.

We operate in three countries; Norway, Russia and the UK. We only believe in genuine quality parts, supplied from the original manufacturer. We take the most absolute care to make sure all items are quality checked and meet with the manufacturers standards. Stock levels are continually maintained to ensure our service teams can react instantly to your needs.

What makes us different to a lot of companies is that we can offer you the full range of power needs from industrial to marine Generators, twin bearing, type tested and certified. We will always work hard to help you when you need us most from next day delivery to stranded vessels in the north sea to technical support 24hours, 7 days a week. Our partnerships with our customers is why we work so hard. Our teams work in alliance to bring solutions to you.

We maintain the latest training programs with our engineers to provide you with technical support or site services. Whatever your parts needs are, you can try our services and speak with one of the teams. We have a friendly service and if we don’t know we will always try to find the answers.

Please call or email us to find out more.
enquiries@generatorsolutions.co.uk
+44 1780 756836

Hythe Youngsters Will Name New Work Boat at the Port of Southampton

Wednesday, 8th March 2017

SOUTHAMPTON’S Harbour Master Martin Phipps has welded the first plate on a new workboat for the Port of Southampton.

Meercat Workboats based in Hythe are building the £500,000 craft and she will play a vital role in the safe operation of the port.

Youngsters from Hythe will be coming up with a name for the boat – and children from the winning school will be invited to see her officially named at the Seaworks exhibition in June.

Martin Phipps, said: "Laying the keel is a significant milestone and I was delighted to be so involved.

"It’s really important to us that a local company based in Hythe is building our workboat and when she comes into service, this vessel will play an important role keeping the Port of Southampton open and safe for all our maritime users." Jason Coltman, Managing Director of Meercat Workboats said: "It is great to have the Harbour Master welding the first plate to their new vessel. "We are delighted to be building the workboat for the port – and it is great to get the local children involved in naming her."

The workboat will be used for maintenance work around the port including checking the buoys and will become a regular feature of day-to-day life at the port.

Damen secures order with Fortescue Metals for six ART 85-32W Rotor Tugs

Tuesday, 7th March 2017

To support Second Towage Licence for the Port of Port Hedland

Pilbara Marine Pty Ltd (Pilbara Marine), a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd has placed an order with Damen Shipyards for the building of six, 32 metre Rotor Tugs. These will be deployed at the company’s operations at Port Hedland on Australia’s west coast, the world’s largest bulk export port. From there, Fortescue exports 165-170 million tonnes of iron ore per year.

The six tugs are of the ART 85-32W class, designed by Robert Allan Ltd. Their Rotor®Tug propulsion system features three azimuth thrusters; two forward and one aft. Together these deliver the full 85 tonnes of bollard pull over both the bow and the stern, and 65% from amidships. The Rotor®Tug system delivers additional benefits regarding manoeuvrability, braking, and engine and winch redundancy. The W notation refers to the increased beam of these designs, providing additional stability during escorting operations conducted regularly at Port Hedland.

In May 2016 Pilbara Marine was awarded a second towage license by Pilbara Ports Authority for the port of Port Hedland and the new ART 85-32W rotor tugs will enable it to offer long-term, sustainable towage services.

The six Rotor Tugs will be built at Damen’s Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam. The first two are scheduled for delivery ex-yard by the end of October 2018, with the remaining four due in early 2019.

“Damen, as a world leader in the design and construction of tugboats, has been very successful in Australia for many years. This project underlines again that Damen listens carefully to our customers’ needs and that they value our superior quality vessels built for competitive prices, along with our technical expertise and after sales services. These factors have proven the difference in the success of this project,” says Vincent Maes, Area Sales Manager.

Rebecca Hayward, Legal Manager Strategic Contracts / Developments at Fortescue Metals Group, added: “After reviewing the market, Damen was an obvious choice because of its global reputation for outstanding quality leading to lower running costs, as well as its proven track record of delivering vessels on time, within budget. We are confident that our full operational requirements will be met by the new ART 85-32W design and are heartened by the fact that Damen will provide long term support here in Western Australia.”

Modulift One-Over-Two Rig Lifts Substation Module

Tuesday, 7th March 2017

Modulift supplied spreader beams and rigging equipment to international freight forwarder FH Bertling Logistics Aberdeen (Bertling), which lifted a 282t substation module onto a vessel bound for Kazakhstan at AV Dawson’s North Sea supply base in Middlesbrough, UK.

The module, measuring 37m long by 9.3m wide and 6.2m high, was constructed by Mech-Tool Engineering at Dawsons Wharf on the River Tees in the UK’s northeast. AV Dawson provided port services, including rigging and stevedoring support, while its in-house shipping agency, Cockfield Knight, helped to get the ship in and out of the port.

The Modulift one-over-two configuration comprised of a MOD 400 spreader beam at the top and two MOD 110SH spreader beams below. However, to tailor the rig to the module and its centre of gravity the top beam was rated to 350t capacity and the other two rated to 200t. Custom length struts were fabricated so the spreaders were at the exact length required by Bertling. The total arrangement height was approximately 34.5m.

Bertling, also a tenant on AV Dawson’s site, accepted a scope of work to lift the module from stillages in Middlesbrough and install it on foundations at its end destination. Sixty axles of self-propelled Kamag K2400ST trailers and a Terex CC2800-1 crawler crane were employed on the dockside. The Modulift equipment travelled with the module, where it was used beneath the hook of another Terex crawler, model CC6800, in Kazakhstan.

The logistics phase of the project represented a further collaboration between Bertling; Sarens, who supplied the cranes to Bertling in the UK and Kazakhstan; and ALE who undertook the 710km land transport to the site in Kazakhstan. This substation module was the largest of five similar units for the project and the only one for which Bertling had to procure lifting equipment.

Mike Hetherington, technical director at Bertling, said: “We regularly advise clients on best practice lifting gear design as part of turnkey transportation projects. In this case, the client had purchased the substation module without lifting equipment and asked Bertling to come up with a proposal.”

Bertling consulted extensively with below-the-hook equipment manufacturer Modulift, which provided a complete, custom fabricated solution to cater for the dimensions of the load. The module featured a bolted lifting lug arrangement for the lift using shackles and slings, also provided by Modulift.

Chris Schwab, sales manager at Modulift, said: “The module had a slight offset centre of gravity and needed to have a vertical sling connection to avoid any potential forces being applied to the structure. A one-over-two configuration was the only viable solution.”

Damen reacts to growing LNG market

Thursday, 2nd March 2017

Damen Shipyards Group’s range of Liquefied Gas Carriers is a response to the changes seen in the maritime LNG market in recent years. The Dutch company’s designs meet a variety of capacity requirements, from 500m3 to 7,500m3.

The maritime LNG market has long been faced with the conundrum around the subject of supply and demand. Ship owners have been reluctant to make the switch to LNG because of the lack of bunkering infrastructure. At the same time, development of bunker infrastructure has been slow to get off the ground due to the low demand from the market. This has been described on numerous occasions as ‘the chicken and egg’ situation.

Attention on emissions
However, the outlook for the LNG market is changing, something that can be put down to a number of factors. Firstly, states Bastiaan Schurink, Damen Shipyards Bergum’s Design & Proposal Marketeer, there is a continued focus on tightening exhaust emissions.

"Emissions regulations are getting tighter every day. Ships need to reduce their emissions – and one way to do that is LNG." Indeed, following the establishment of the emissions control areas (ECAs), ship owners are looking for solutions to meet new legislation. "Of course there are other ways, but LNG is a preferred method to reduce not only SOx and NOx, but also a substantial amount of CO2 emissions."

"Another important point is that the subject of LNG is becoming more and more interesting: both commercially and politically," highlights Mr Schurink. "There are a growing number of European LNG bunkering projects that have been initiated by well-known oil and gas majors. EU funding is also making its presence felt."

Shipbuilding know-how
In response to these developments, Damen is promoting its range of Liquefied Gas Carriers. Richard Nugteren, Damen Product Director Cargo Vessels, explains: "These vessels will be capable of transporting all types of liquefied gases. LPG and VCM in addition to LNG, for example. They will also exhibit a wide range of cargo capacities; including 500, 1,500, 3,000, 5,000, 6,500 and 7,500 cubic metres."

Damen’s Liquefied Gas Carrier designs draw on a number of tried and tested characteristics. "For example, they are designed with proven hull forms," says Mr Nugteren. "Focused on efficient hydrodynamics, this results in minimal resistance during sailing which, in turn, minimises fuel consumption."

Fitted out to the highest levels of comfort, accommodation areas can be designed to significantly reduce sound and vibration levels.

Increasing demand
In terms of cargo, Damen’s designs use industry-recognised tank layouts provided by suppliers specialising in cryogenic gas handling systems and tanks. Vaporised LNG can also be used for propulsion or auxiliary engines.

"At the moment this is a small niche market – but it’s up and coming," continues Mr Schurink. "The European market is getting the ball rolling, and we expect these developments to continue in other regions too."

"For example, the North American market is paying more attention to emissions. And the feeder markets in Indonesia and the Mediterranean are also interesting. We have designs and the specs available. All in all, we are fully prepared to build these vessels."

Port of Dundee appoints contractor to deliver multimillion pound quayside development

Thursday, 2nd March 2017

New quayside for North Sea oil & gas decommissioning sector awarded to
specialist contractor, Southbay Civil Engineering

Dundee’s prospects of becoming a decommissioning hub for North Sea Oil & Gas take another step closer with the announcement of the appointment of the contractor to construct a new quayside at the port specifically designed to handle this work.

Following a detailed tender process, Forth Ports, owner of the Port of Dundee, has appointed Southbay Civil Engineering to deliver one of the largest investments in the history of the port.

Forth Ports is investing more than £10 million to create a new quayside with an industry-leading "heavy lift" capability, coupled with a significant onshore operational area at the port. This will position the port at the forefront of the North Sea oil & gas decommissioning and offshore wind sectors.

Southbay Civil Engineering has been awarded the contract to design and build the quayside in 2017. Southbay are experts in their field and have previously worked on other projects at the port including Prince Charles Wharf and Princess Alexandra Wharf. The contract began in February and the work is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.

During the length of the contract at the port, Southbay will involve short term student placements for civil engineers students from Abertay University in Dundee.

This privately funded investment will result in the development of the quayside at the East end of the port, connecting to the existing Prince Charles Wharf. The quayside will add both berthing and land capacity at the port and will represent a significant increase in port capacity in the North East region.

The construction started in February 2017 with completion expected at the end of 2017. Upon completion, the quayside will be 200m longer and will be one of the strongest quaysides in Scotland with an ultra-heavy lift pad at one end. The quayside will have a strength capability of 80 tonnes per square metre.

Forth Ports also confirms RPS as Client Technical Advisor, Currie & Brown as Client Project Manager and Fairhurst as Quayside Designer working with Southbay.

Charles Hammond, Chief Executive of Forth Ports, said: "The Forth Ports Board is fully committed to investing in the Port of Dundee to ensure that the infrastructure is in place to capitalise on the significant opportunities presented by the North Sea Oil & Gas and Decommissioning sectors over the coming years.

"The port’s access to the talented skills base in Dundee along with its key location, unrivalled land space and quayside strength makes it the logical choice for large scale decommissioning in Scotland. In addition our partnerships with the DundeeCom consortium and Augean, also strengthens Dundee’s position as decom hub."

Paul Stephenson, Managing Director of Southbay said: "We are delighted at the award of this technically challenging project at Dundee which will allow us to further establish our reputation as one of the UK’s leading civil engineering contractors within the marine sector. Having recently delivered several smaller projects within the Port of Dundee we have established an excellent business relationship with Forth Ports.

Together with our existing experienced people, we are already adding to our team by employing local staff and trades. The region has had some fantastic civil engineering schemes which has produced highly skilled people and we are pleased to add to this experience and skill set. We have also established a close working relationship with Abertay University and will provide work placement opportunities to students throughout the contract duration, ensuring a lasting project legacy. The scheme is a big investment in the port and is creating opportunities now that will benefit the local economy for many years to come".

Forth Ports announced in November 2016 a partnership with Augean that will bring a state of the art decommissioning waste management facility to the Port of Dundee. The new quayside and Augean facility will be operational by the end of 2017 offering an unrivaled decommissioning solution.

IPS Marine Specialise in the Vast African Marine Market

Thursday, 2nd March 2017

We offer UK & European companies a platform to sell and dispose of marine assets to the vast African marine sector. IPS can offer marketing and brokerage services for all types of equipment and vessels. Please get in touch with your surplus assets and offerings.

IPS Marine also specialises in near-shore marine operations and through ourselves and our strategic partners across Europe and Africa we are able to offer equipment and services including but not limited too;

Dredgers & Dredging Equipment – NEW & USED
Vessel & Marine Equipment Brokerage
Marine Construction & Equipment – NEW & USED
Oil Spill Equipment & Training – NEW & USED
Vibracore
Geo Drilling
Worldwide Logistical Services
UHP Water Jetting & Equipment
Marine Power Generation – NEW & USED
Marine survey’s
Marine infrastructure
Salvage
Commercial Diving Equipment & Services
Vessel and marine asset chartering
Hyperbaric decompression chamber supply and rental
Supply of new & used hover craft
Supply of ship loading equipment – NEW & USED
Supply of marina pontoons – NEW & USED

IPS Marine, through its professional staff always aim to assist our clients to complete projects on time and on budget. With our highly experienced team of professionals and our strategic partners around the world, IPS Marine can offer a solution to most project requirements.

Month: March 2017

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