Keeping shipping safe - bulker safety remains a priority

Recent EU legislation — are you ready?

In October last year, a new European Directive came into effect that required fleet owners to supply proof of certification for all new marine equipment installed — to include whole system approval. Stephen Ratcliffe, marketing manager of marine systems specialist PSM, considers the implications for ship owners and equipment suppliers in respect of vessel water ingress detection and alarm systems.

Left undetected, water formation can quickly develop into a major hazard for bulk carriers. Created in the aftermath of the Titanic disaster almost 100 years ago, the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Treaty laid down the foundations of safety procedures for marine vessels which remain in force today. The subsequent growth of the cargo industry has seen additional amendments to the treaty in response to the ship losses and fatalities arising from undetected water ingress in cargo holds.

Today all bulk carriers are required to be fitted with water ingress detection and alarm (WIAS) systems. Harnessing the latest technology, systems like PSM’s BulkSafe use self-checking active sensors to remotely monitor cargo holds, triggering an alarm if water is detected, thus enabling early avoiding action to be taken. The installation of such systems has helped to significantly reduce vessel losses and improve marine safety.

The earliest WIAS detection systems were by and large poorly conceived, based on an unrealistic assessment of in- service demands, leading to performance issues and even system failure. Whilst modern systems such as those developed by PSM are based on robust and proven technology which delivers greatly improved reliability, such incidents have been a key driver in the introduction of new EC regulations, aimed at ensuring minimum performance standards for marine equipment.

First introduced as a European Council Directive in December 1996,The Marine Equipment Directive (MED) 96/98/EC covers equipment carried and used on ships registered under the flags of European Union member states. The purposes of the MED are twofold. First, to harmonize approval requirements to keep costs down for end users and to ensure the free movement of equipment within EU and EFTA states. Second, to enhance safety at sea and prevent marine pollution by ensuring equipment not only meets the requirements of international conventions such as SOLAS and MARPOL set out with the IMO but additionally conforms to a common agreed European standard of safety and performance.

Affecting those who manufacture, purchase or supply listed equipment, the directive covers any article that could be used on board a vessel, in particular: life saving appliances, marine pollution prevention, fire protection, navigation and telecommunications equipment. Included in the list are water level detectors, with water ingress detection systems falling into this category.

A number of amendments to the international conventions and applicable testing standards have entered into force since the adoption of the original directive. Towards the end of last year, a new European Directive 2011/75/EU came into effect that contains provisions governing certain categories of marine equipment, among them water level detectors.

According to the terms of the new Directive category 8 SOLAS Chapter 11–1 Construction — structure, subdivision and stability, machinery and electrical installations, water level detectors have been re-classified from AnnexA2toAnnexA1/8.1. More specifically, from October 2012 when the Directive came into force, water level detectors — which includes water ingress detection systems — required MED approval for the overall system.

While existing systems are unaffected, fleet owners installing new water detection systems are now required to ensure they are fully tested and certified or risk being in contravention of maritime law. The consequences of failure range from port exclusion to fines and imprisonment if non-compliance is found to be a contributory factor in the event of an accident.

While it is the responsibility of shipping companies to ensure their fleets are equipped with the best safety systems available, manufacturers are also being called upon to play their part by acting now to ensure the necessary testing and approval of their systems is in place.

As major supplier and industry innovator, PSM has already gained approval for its advanced BulkSafe system with Lloyds Register (one of the world leaders in assessing marine business processes and products to internationally recognized standards).

It is expected that the new burden of legislation will result in a further shake-up of the market, with smaller suppliers struggling to support the financial and technical pressures imposedby thesenew,morestringentstandards,withsome forced to exit the industry altogether — resulting in a new generation of legacy problems.

For PSM, the new legislation underlines the importance of offering a global customer base the longevity and security required to guarantee the support of installed products over many years of use. Equally, as major suppliers, PSM regards it as vital to demonstrate support and safeguard industry standards in the future through ongoing commitment to design, innovation and safety improvement.

Major ship classification society ClassNK offers a broad range of services that encompass every aspect of ship classification — from the approval of vessel and machinery plans to the survey and registration of the ship and ship installations, approval of materials, equipment and outfitting gear, as well as the assessment and registration of ship safety management systems and security systems.

ClassNK is dedicated to ensuring the safety of life and property at sea, and the prevention of pollution of the marine environment. It therefore focuses on delivering the highest quality classification services, by the highest quality personnel, while maintaining its totally independent third party, non-profit status.

It also focuses on the development of relevant rules, procedures and guidance, and maintains and develops its commitment to scientific and technological research and development.

It maintains and develops its global operations in line with the needs of clients using its services. ClassNK has earned an outstanding reputation for its long-standing dedication to safeguarding life and property at sea and preventing marine pollution through the establishment of universally recognized standards for the design, construction and maintenance of ships and other marine structures.

The principal work of the society’s expert technical staff is to undertake surveys to ensure that the rules which it has developed are applied to new buildings and existing ships to ensure their safety. The rules cover not only hull structures, but also propulsion systems, electrics, electronic systems, safety equipment, cargo handling gear, and various other areas. ClassNK’s surveyors work in shipbuilding and repair yards and at ports across the world, wherever they may be called upon to examine the condition of a ship.

The head office is located in Tokyo and in Chiba, Japan, and there are branch offices at the major Japanese and overseas cities throughout the world. As of the end of July 2013, the society had over 8,380 vessels and over 216 million gross tonnes under class. This figure represents approximately 20% of the world merchant fleet currently under class.

ClassNK knows that, as there are different types of cargoes that can be loaded on board bulk carriers, there are cases when vessel operations must be changed according to the properties of the cargoes. For example, major marine casualties have been reported in recent years, with many of these caused by the liquefaction of cargo during transport, especially where nickel ore has been carried.

The society believes that, in order to prevent such cases, the special requirements (stability, hull strength etc.) for specially constructed cargo ships depending on the properties of each cargo are necessary to safely carry them in any condition regardless of its operations such as moisture control (‘specially constructed cargo ship’ is defined in IMSBC Code 7.3.2.2).

Also, as part of its many safety measures, ClassNK has been publishing the Guidelines for the Safe Carriage of Nickel Ore (Second Edition) since February 2012. The Guidelines can be downloaded free of charge via the ClassNK website. Implementation of the best practices included in the Guidelines cost nothing, and ClassNK can provide certification of such implementation.

By developing new standards to ensure safe nickel ore transport, the Guidelines and their implementation will greatly benefit the dry bulk industry and greatly improve the safety of all vessels and crews transporting such cargoes.

CLIENT BASE

In recent years, the needs of ClassNK’s clients in the maritime industry have become greatly diversified. As such, ClassNK has made responding to these needs an important part of its mission.

As a society, ClassNK strives to satisfy the needs of its clients across the world through activities such as the provision of high- quality survey services, the expansion of its survey network, and the support it gives its clients for new international conventions. Through these efforts, it has earned a high reputation among its clients, which saw it become the first classification society in history to have over 200 million gross tonnes on register.

In regards to recent applications to its classification society, ClassNK continues to be chosen by many shipowners from Japan as well as throughout the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.

CLASSNK HELPS DEVELOP SHIP MAINTENANCE SYSTEMS

ClassNK carried out a joint research project to help develop two ship maintenance management systems as part of an integrated service to include certification for shipowners and ship management companies. The system is applicable to bulk carriers as well as tankers and container vessels.

1. Condition Monitoring System (CMAX-LCA)

This system collects and analyses sensor data from the on-board sensors in machinery such as diesel engines and other engine room machinery. The system is equipped with an automatic condition diagnostic function, and providing users with highly accurate preventative maintenance.

2. Maintenance Management System (CMAX-PMS)

This system can carry out maintenance management plans and maintenance log management for machinery. When linked with the data gathered from the Condition Monitoring System, this system can also allow users to extend periods in between scheduled machinery overhaul inspections.

Established in 1960, the Korean Register of Shipping has been promoting safe ships and clean oceans by continually developing technology and human resources pertaining to shipping, shipbuilding and other industrial services.

KR became a member of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) in 1988, and in 1990 was listed in

the Institute Classification Clause (ICC) of London Underwriters. With more than 2,918 ships totalling 63.5 million GRT in its registry, KR is currently authorized by 66 national administrations to carry out statutory services on their behalves.

SEATRUST: SAFETY AT SEA

KR has developed a unique solution to assure maritime safety and maintain vessels called SeaTrust Technology. Since the early 1990s, it has continuously updated this

software series to reflect state-of- art technologies, advances in IT and customer requirements.

SeaTrust consists of the following:

• SeaTrust-CSR (software for applying IACS Common Structural Rules);
• SeaTrust-Holdan (software package for structural strength analysis of vessels);
• SeaTrust-SHALI (software for calculating shaft alignment); 
• SeaTrust-SLM (software for creating 3D product ship storing information relevant to all phases of a vessel’s lifecycle);
• SeaTrust-RuleScant (software for ship structural design and strength assessment); and
• SeaTrust-ISTAS (software for integrated structural analysis). The series covers rule scantling checks according to KR Rules and IACS CSR, structural safety assessment by direct methods, full spectral fatigue analysis, shaft alignment analysis and ship’s life cycle management. It is applicable to all vessel types including tankers, bulk carriers, container ships, passenger ships naval vessels and offshore structures.

CLIENT BASE

KR’s clients are major international and domestic shipping companies as well as major shipyards. Bulk carriers account for almost half of its registered tonnage. Over 30% of its clients are non-Korean, and this percentage continues to grow. As KR is now expanding into non-traditional sectors, it fully expects new clients to come from renewable energies and wind generation.

STAYING COMPETITIVE BY STAYING AHEAD OF THE GAME

KR has a specific strength in developing software and there are many KR programmes which enhance a vessel’s reliability, such as propulsion shafting. These include: SeaTrust-SHALI; shaft alignment calculation programme; SeaTrust-Lateral, lateral vibration calculation programme for propulsion; and SeaTrust- AXIAL, Shaft Axial vibration calculation programme for propulsion. These high-quality programs adopt GUI (Graphical User Interface) and deliver a user friendly environment to help our customers reduce cost and resources.

Coupled with this, KR evaluates the reliability of DPS (Dynamic Positioning System) through its experiences of FMEA (Failer Mode Effect Analysis) sea trials and technology to provide the industry with high level technology services. It also offers technical support regarding the IEC standards necessary for 

international approval of SSPA (Solid State Power Amplifier) radar which is self-developed in Korea. KR anticipates that the SSPA radar market will expand due to its strength in size (miniaturized system), degree of precision and reduced maintenance cost compared with existing magnetron radars.

Developing green ship technology and engaging in environment related R&D activities is a core part of KR’s ongoing strategy as well. The focus of our work is to reduce greenhouse gases and limit the impact that vessels, plant and machinery have on the natural environment.

KR has a team of experts working on a range of projects including analysis, economic feasibility and

technical validity of a variety of green ship technologies. These include energy efficiency, GHG reduction, fuel alternatives, new hull form and renewables.

A comprehensive set of blue- prints have been developed to allow the application of these green ship technologies. These include leading the search for new vessel power sources including high energy efficient and eco-friendly fuel-cell technology.

In addition, KR operates a Green Ship Certification program to issue certificates to those shipping companies who need to meet the principal environmental requirements and conditions set by IMO. Further, it is in the process of establishing a Green Ship TCS (Testing, Certification and Standard) Center to assess, test, and certify green ship technologies applied to new buildings and existing ships. It expects these developments to lead to an accepted international standard.

KR also expects to see a sharp rise in the demand for development of offshore energy and, as a consequence, the demand for offshore plant will grow as well. It has continued to make investments in R&D and cultivate manpower to secure its competitiveness in the offshore plant market.

KR has conducted engineering services on offshore plants (Structure Integrity Analysis & Risk assessment) and is active registering and certifying services of offshore plants as well.

KR has also developed KR-CON, which is a database programme of IMO instruments, which has received excellent reviews from the shipping and shipbuilding industry as well as PSCOs of port authorities around the world. It successfully delivered to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), a RuleCheck programme which produces checklists for the port state control officers of Paris MOU region. A similar programme has been developed by KR and delivered to Mediterranean MOU authority for use by its port state control officers. Both systems are based on KR-CON technology and allow it to contribute to maritime safety and environmental protection by offering more advanced and standardized survey information to all PSCOs in both MOU regions.

Martek Marine is a major supplier of marine systems, including: BNWAS; potable water testing kits; fixed gas detection; portable gas detectors; calibration/span gas; marine defibrillators; emissions monitoring; water ingress detection; hatch cover testing; and cargo tank monitoring. The company’s water ingress systems are of particular interest to the dry bulk market, especially in the light of the recent spate of casualties due to water damage of cargoes such as nickel ore.

Martek Marine supplies a product called Bulksafe^TM, which is a water ingress detection system (WIDS) — a version for bulk carriers of all sizes and also a version for general cargo vessels with a single hold.

When the SOLAS regulations were being created, Martek Marine was a key stakeholder in the drafting of the performance standards with Lloyds Register particularly concerning the performance standard of testing before loading cargo of the WIDS system to ensure it works properly.

The company’s detection systems works on float switch technology and as such are guaranteed to not cause false alarms. Some of Martek Marine’s competitors use electrodes which are cheaper but are prone to giving false alarms due to the sweating of cargo and the subsequent moisture hitting the sensors.

 

The unique design of MMS900 water level detectors allows them to be installed so that they are totally isolated from the cargo and protected from mechanical damage during cargo operations. They can be installed without the need for any structural alterations or piping work within the cargo holds.

Each MMS900 level switch is totally corrosion proof, protected against dust ingress and carries a lifetime warranty.

The Bulksafe^TM control and alarm panel indicates the alarm status for each named compartment with discrete signals for 0.5m and 2m alarm levels. The system incorporates an optional function to provide a fully automatic ‘in-situ’ functional test of all detectors, even whilst cargo is present in the holds. With integral safety barriers, the Bulksafe^TM is the most compact system available on the market.

Bulksafe^TM is type-approved, is very simple to install and is made in such a way that maintenance and testing are possible while carrying cargo. Martek Marine offers a lifetime sensor warranty.

BULKSAFE^TM — WATER LEVEL DETECTION FOR GENERAL CARGO VESSELS Bulksafe^TM is a fully type-approved water level detection system (WLDS) for single hold cargo vessels in accordance with the new SOLAS Chapter II-1 Part B Regulation 23-3.

The system comprises a central Bulksafe^TM control and alarm panel interfacing with intrinsically safe MMS900 water level detectors.

The unique design of the MMS900 water level detectors allows them to be installed so that they are totally isolated from the cargo and protected from mechanical damage during cargo operations. They can be installed without the need for any structural alterations or piping work within the cargo holds.

Each MMS900 level switch is totally corrosion proof, protected against dust ingress and carries a lifetime warranty.

The system requires no recalibration.

While regulations stipulate that bulk carriers must have WIDS fitted, there is no doubt that some ships still have poor quality, old systems that are not up to scratch — and some have been turned off. When the regulations first came in for WIDS on bulk carriers the market was huge. However, now the regulations have passed, all existing vessels in theory should have WIDS fitted. Now the majority of Martek Marine’s Bulksafe^TM customers tend to be new builds with the majority coming from yards in China. Martek Marine does sometimes get enquiries for retrofits, so in general it replaces old systems with its own systems.

Recent orders won by Martek Marine include three units to an engineering group in Singapore, two units for a Chinese shipyard and a retrofit for a general cargo vessel for a Norwegian company.