Sharjah Oil tanker catches fire at Hamriya port

Coast guard team rescued nearly 16 members in this incident  

According to the news it states that The fire broke out on board at around 12am. the tanker called AL KABEER which had a Togo flag, left Hamriya port on may 9 after emptying its oil shipment and was in the waiting area located at the distance of 10 NM to avoid charges.Port authorities said that the operations control room dispatched a coast guard team to rescue the crew.

Its noted that all crew members are ASIAN . A thick blanket of smoke araised all over the area as a team battled to save the ship

This incident took a long time to extinguish because the flames were very strong causing the rest of the cargo on board to be completely destroyed 

UAE authorities have launched an investigation about this matter

SHIP DETAILS :

Name : AL KABEER

Type : Oil Products Tanker

IMO : 8989197

MMSI : 671194000

Call Sign : 5VBD2

Built : 1995

Flag : Togolese Rep

Port of registration : PANAMA

MINNESOTA Submarine had finished his trail

The USS MINNESOTA Commissioning Committee announce a $300,000 Capitol Campaign to fund the Commissioning Ceremony of MINNESOTA in the late summer, early fall of 2013.  We are excited to provide the funding for this historic event.  The USS MINNESOTA Commissioning Ceremony is the most significant event bringing MINNESOTA to life.  Your contributions will go to the expenses the US Navy cannot legally provide. 

launching of MINNESOTA(1)

launching (2)

In July 2008 the United States Navy announced Minnesota would be honored by having a warship named after our state.  Not since 1907 have we welcomed a ship named 'USS Minnesota' to the fleet.

When commissioned, the fast attack submarine USS Minnesota SSN 783 will be the most advanced ship in the fleet.

General characteristics

Class & type:	virginia class submarine
Displacement:	7800 tons light, 7800 tons full
Length:	114.9 meters (377 feet)
Beam:	10.3 meters (34 feet)
Propulsion:	S9G reactor
Speed:	25 knots (46 km/h)
Range:	Essentially unlimited distance; 33 years
Test depth:	greater than 800 feet (250 meters)
Complement:	134 officers and men

Marine Diesel Test Engine Up & Running

One of the world’s largest four-cylinder two-stroke marine diesel test engines (the electronically-controlled 4UE-X3 with a bore diameter of 60 cm) has been installed and brought up to speed at MHI, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Nagasaki Research & Development Centre, where it thumps away producing data the Japanese marine engine manufacture needs to keep up with the leaders in a highly competitive business.  
 MHI claims it is the only licensor among the top three in the world to carry out all of its own engine development, design and manufacturing.The company is focusing its R&D attention on the slow-speed diesel, the workhorse engine of choice for the majority of the 50,000 or so large merchant ships that continually ply the oceans in global trade. Engine of choice by shipowners, it normally burns heavy C bunker oil, the cheapest dregs of oil in the refining process, but nevertheless it is also energy efficient. 
As a sole propulsion engine, it achieves thermal efficiency as high as about 50% with a directly coupled slow propeller shaft rotational speed of about 100 rpm.
The test engine is being used not only to verify the performance and reliability of the latest engine technologies, but also to develop engines capable of operating on different kinds of fuel (gaseous fuels, like LNG in particular) so as to comply with increasingly stringent engine exhaust gas emission regulations. For example, with this in mind, an EGR (Exhaust Gas Recycling) system, has been tested already and the NOx reduction effect ascertained.
MHI plans eventually to bring the  4UE-X3  engine to the market after its performance has been fully optimised.

Test Engine Features

Main body structure: The main body (bed plate and column) uses a high rigidity, light-weight and simple single wall structure for simplicity of manufacture. The structure and thickness of the wall is optimized through FEM analysis using 3D modeling, etc.

Combustion chambers: Bore cooled, high top land pistons are used to deal with the high heat load. The cylinder liners employ a new construction with reinforced rings.
Bearings: The main and crankpin bearings are aluminium bearings instead of conventional white metal bearings.

Electronic control: Full electronic control is employed, in line with the compact and reliable Eco system used on the latest commercial engines.

Lubricating system: The latest A-ECL system, which can reduce lubricating rate, is used as the cylinder lubricating system.

Test plant control: Remote control and alarm systems are installed in order to simulate actual operation on a ship. In addition, MHI's DIASYS Netmation® control system was used for the integrated control of auxiliary machines and ancillary facilities

CSCL to construct five 18,000TEU ultra large container ships

Hyundai Heavy Industries of Korea has been awarded a contract from China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) to construct five 18,000TEU ultra large containerships, which are due for delivery in early 2015.

Newbuilding price is reportedly equal to around $140m each. Large Korean shipbuilders including Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Samsung Heavy Industries and etc. along with Chinese shipyards are said to have participated in the bid for the newbuilding project, however Hyundai was chosen being the best bidder both in terms of ship value and delivery conditions.

Hyundai faces a busy period ahead with its new orders, having already inked a contract with Seaspan for construction of five 14,000TEU very large containerships, costing $120m each.

Meanwhile, proceeding with service cooperation for 18,000TEU with CSCL, the Middle East-based shipping company United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) is said to be in talks with shipyards in Korea, China and Japan for a deal to construct five 18,000TEU with other five 14,000TEU newbuildings.

UASC is expected to choose preferred bidders within May and enter negotiations for ship prices, classifications and so on.

Rules for Force Launched

The long awaited 100 Series rules for the use of force (RUF) have finally been released after a 20-month consultation period across the shipping industry.

With the support of SAMI, BIMCO, ICS, and UNICRI who have played a key role in making RUF possible, the author David Hammond, a UK barrister-at-law and maritime lawyer, said the 100 Series RUF is intended to be the first international model set of RUF for the benefit of and use by the entire maritime industry.

However the rules will not provide any form of indemnity or immunity against civil or criminal liability when force has been used unlawfully, they exist to provide a model against which privately contracted armed security personnel may be professionally trained; companies may be audited and operator actions measured and judged by competent authorities.

The guidance of the past simply wasn’t enough – there is a “perversity” that rules for the use of force have not existed, and according to David Hammond there is no definition of the term “guidance” in any legal dictionary – so it was clear that something was lacking in the provision of support to the maritime industry.

The rules set out a threshold to start using force, soft measures come first, then escalating to aimed warning shots, finally rule 103 allows use of lethal force. The laying out of the steps is key, before there was simply guesswork, but now there is a process and a means of working within the boundaries of acceptability – it also addresses human rights in terms of the use of force at sea, providing as it does not just protection for the guard, but seafarers, and also the pirates.

Caterpillar Global Petroleum was chosen by COSCO

Caterpillar Global Petroleum stated that the Cat® 3516C (HD) and 3512B generator sets have been chosen to power a jack-up and a tender barge new-build for the biggest Chinese shipping company, COSCO Shipyard. The 6 Cat 3516C (HD) generator sets, each with rated power of 1603 bkw @ 1200 rpm, are going to be used as the prime power for the COSCO tender barge while 5x 3516C (HD) generator sets are going to be installed on the jack-up oil rig.

Each new-constructed is also going to utilize 1x Cat 3512B generator set with a power rating of 1102 bkw @ 1200 rpm for emergency power. The projects are currently under construction at the shipyards of COSCO in China and the units are scheduled to be delivered in 2013.

Both new-builds are between the many offshore projects, which have been provided by the company of Caterpillar Global Petroleum in China. Since 2011, Cat 3516C (HD) has been the power solution of choice for both jack-up rigs and tender rigs at leading China shipyards including COSCO Shipyard Group, Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, CIMC Raffles and Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipyard

Life of Junior Engineer on Ship

Life of Junior Engineer on Ship 

In the previous article we saw the various tasks a junior engineer has to perform and also how the work on board is different from what he did in his training. Here are some more responsibilities and duties that he is supposed to do in addition to his routine work. There is no turning away from it.

Marine Engineering Essential Attributes

Marine engineers must possess the following personal attributes to succeed in the field

• Organizing ability
• Practicality
• Ability to get on well with people of all types at all levels in the hierarchy
• Ability to keep calm under pressure and in crisis
• Enjoy working with tools
• Good at conceptualizing forms and structures
• Excellent communication skills
• Physical fitness
• Liking for the sea travel 

359 elephant tusks found smuggled in ship containers

Three shipping containers found in Sri Lanka stuffed with 359 elephant tusks came from Kenya, the Kenya Wildlife Service reported Thursday.

High Velocity Vent Valves, Vacuum Valves, P/V Valves

High Velocity Vent Valves, Vacuum Valves, P/V Valves

Simple to check, easy to maintain, don’t let them be a problem again.

A recent marine casualty resulted in significant damage to tank structures, piping and components of

a combination chemical / oil product carrier. Vessel-to-vessel loading operations were taking place at

anchorage and one tank became over-pressurized. Subsequently, three cargo tanks and three

ballast tanks on the ship suffered catastrophic structural failures that allowed hazardous cargo to

migrate throughout those areas. This incident caused the vessel to list and created a very dangerous

explosion hazard requiring costly and time-consuming lightering and repair operations. Additionally, it

presented a hazard to the port and persons involved.