Onboard Vessels Research Articles

Dynamic Analysis of the De-Ballasting Operations of a Floating Dock with a Malfunctioning Pump

AbstractDuring normal de-ballasting operations for floating docks, each ballast pump independently manages a specific group of ballast tanks. However, when a pump malfunctions, a connection valve between the two groups of ballast water systems is opened. This allows the adjacent pump to serve as a helper pump, simultaneously controlling two groups of ballast water systems. This study explores a full-scale floating dock’s dynamic behaviours during the de-ballasting operations under this situation through a numerical model. In the developed numerical model, the dock is described as a six-degree-of-freedom rigid body which is subjected to hydrostatic, hydrodynamic, and mooring loads. A hydraulic model of the piping network of the malfunctioning pump and the helper pump is proposed. A modified P-controller regulates opening angles of all tank valves for minimal pitch and roll. Two configurations of the floating dock, i. e., a single floating dock and a floating dock with an onboard vessel, are considered. The numerical results show that the optimal helper pumps can be identified regarding the pumps’ total de-ballasting capacity and the dock’s stability. The most severe scenarios can be determined in term of the dock’s maximum draught differences caused by its roll and pitch. The observed maximum draught differences remain small relative to the dock’s width, indicating the effectiveness of employing helper pumps and the proposed automatic ballast control strategy for one-pump malfunction scenarios.

Iberian Ports as a Funnel for Regulations on the Decarbonization of Maritime Transport

We are currently seeing how new marine fuels are being introduced, such as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, batteries, etc., for the propulsion of the world fleet with the aim of complying with the increasing IMO emissions regulations. The frenetic effort made by shipping companies to decarbonize maritime transport must be followed by an unstoppable adaptation of ports from the historical supply of only fuel and diesel to covering the demands of new fuels, ensuring their renewable origin; onshore power supply (OPS); or even the storage of captured CO2. This article compiles the current environmental regulations applied to maritime transport to provide an analysis of the current situation and a link between vessels’ requirements to comply with such regulations and port environmental infrastructure. This work demonstrates that technological development is growing faster onboard vessels than at ports. It is demonstrated that except for the case of LNG, the theoretical shipping fuel world demand of each type of alternative fuel cannot be absorbed by current world production, where we found big gaps between supply and demand of up to 96.9%. This work concludes that to speed up this process, ports will need European aid as well as private investment. It is proposed that for the next steps, the port system needs to provide the required infrastructure to vessels on time, which inevitably means improvements in competitiveness and governance to promote the blue economy and the concept of smart ports, attracting main international shipping lines with a complete decarbonization hub on their routes by taking advantage of the geostrategic role of the Iberian ports. At the same time, the port governance model must be more flexible in the decision-making process, anticipating changes in maritime regulations with the challenge of coordinating public and private interests, serving as a link, once again, between ship and society.

A novel application of the CORAS framework for ensuring cyber hygiene on shipboard RADAR

Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) equipment is a significant information and navigational system onboard vessels and a critical part of a ship’s cyber space. It is an electronic system used not only for detecting surrounding objects, to indicate their positions, and tracking targets using radio waves, but also providing safe navigation by receiving and displaying data from other navigational devices. Therefore, it is concerning to see that marine RADAR systems have various cyber vulnerabilities, including data deletion and data relocation. These systems can be manipulated and penetrated via malicious software, unauthorised remote access, human error, or sabotage by internal and external attackers. This is critical to the cyber hygiene of the ship, which affects its reliability and safety. This study performs a cyber risk assessment using the CORAS framework for RADAR cyber security by developing case-based RADAR cyber scenarios in terms of both its specific information technology subsystems and the cyber security control measures. The output of this study includes a holistic and visual assessment of RADAR's cyber security for both its cyber vulnerabilities and cyber hygiene to better protect shipboard RADAR in the future.

Right to Repatriation of Abandoned Seafarers: A Study in Light of Maritime Labour Convention 2006, and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966

The abandonment of seafarers is one of the major challenges that seafarers onboard vessels may face. In 2022, 1555 seafarers were abandoned on 113 ships. The port state's role in seafarer abandonment is crucial because it can assist abandoned seafarers by facilitating their repatriation. In practice, however, it has been seen in many cases that the port state of the vessel had restricted the disembarkation of the abandoned crew from the vessel by citing the reason that the vessel cannot be left unmanned. The present study will assess such measures adopted by the port states in light of International Law instruments, including the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966.

Exploring the potential of iron powder as fuel on the design and performance of container ships

This article examines the potential implications of using iron powder as an alternative fuel on the design and performance of container ships. Iron powder is a relatively new alternative energy carrier and one in which little research has been done into the application on-board vessels as part of the maritime energy transition. The key benefits of iron powder are that it is a circular energy carrier and the combustion process emits no greenhouse gases. Transitioning to iron powder is expected to have far reaching implications for the design and performance of ships. Thus, this paper aims to perform the first study assessing the potential of this concept applied to container ships. To do so, a preliminary design space was explored with a custom parametric design model developed to generate preliminary designs of iron fuelled container ships as a function of the operational profile. Using this parametric design model, it was identified that iron fuelled container ships are weight limited, unlike conventionally fuelled container vessels. Furthermore, iron fuelled container ships are best suited for short voyages at low cruising speed. For these voyages, it was concluded that iron fuelled ships are economically feasible; however, other alternative marine fuels are likely more profitable than iron due to the low efficiency of iron fuelled ships and the high cost of iron per unit energy.

Assessment of Role of Admiralty Courts in India in Protecting Abandoned Seafarers Onboard Vessels in Indian Ports

The present study will discuss the role of admiralty courts in India in protecting abandoned seafarers. Judgments and orders of Admiralty courts are analyzed to decipher the approach adopted by Indian admiralty courts for protecting abandoned seafarers in Indian Ports. Furthermore, it is seen how much time Admiralty Courts in India usually take to judicially auction the vessel in cases where the vessel under arrest has an abandoned crew onboard. Several suggestions are made on how Admiralty courts in India can better protect abandoned seafarers by using the existing legal regime. The study is doctrinal. A significant data source for the study comprises Judgments and orders from Indian Admiralty courts involving abandoned seafarers. In particular, five specific instances where seafarer abandonment was reported on the vessel are assessed, and all of these cases were litigated in the Indian Admiralty court. From work, it can be seen that Admiralty courts in India have played a crucial role in protecting the abandoned seafarers in Indian Ports. Courts have come out as a guardian of seafarers, and it was only due to the intervention of the courts that the seafarers, in numerous cases, were able to recover pending wages, repatriation expenses, and necessities onboard the vessel. Furthermore, it is found from the analysis of case laws that the time the court takes for judicially auctioning the vessel is much longer than the maximum period specified in the Admiralty Act, 2017. From the study, it can be concluded that although Admiralty courts in India have played an important role in protecting abandoned seafarers in Indian ports, still, there is a need for some changes, which include speedy disposal of admiralty litigations in India.

A novel method for removing NOx from simulated marine exhaust gas in wet absorption system using Na2SO3/THS composite solution

AbstractSince it is difficult to deal with high‐concentration nitrates in scrubbed wastewater onboard vessels, the application of traditional wet denitration technology is limited to some extent. Here a novel method for removing pre‐oxidized NOx by using Na2SO3/THS composite solution is proposed with the aim to obtain high NOx absorption efficiency and low nitrate concentration in scrubbed wastewater simultaneously. The effects of Na2SO3 concentration, THS concentration, NOx oxidation degree, coexistence of SO2 and O2 in flue gas, initial pH value and temperature of absorption solution on denitration performance were discussed in detail. The results showed Na2SO3 could reduce NOx to nitrate, nitrite, and N2. The addition of THS could promote NOx absorption greatly by forming complexes with SO32−. When initial NOx concentration was 1000 ppm with a NOx oxidation degree of 50%, O2 concentration was 8%, Na2SO3 and THS concentrations were 25 and 20 mmol/L, a NOx absorption efficiency of 87% could be achieved, while nitrate and nitrite concentrations were 32.97 and 14.19 mg/L, respectively.

Synergistic path planning for ship-deployed multiple UAVs to monitor vessel pollution in ports

Traditionally, vessel air emissions are monitored onboard vessels or at fixed points at sea. These methods are not cost-effective for implementing emission control laws that address air pollution monitoring of vessels travelling over a large body of water . Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with pollution monitoring sensors are becoming a research focus. However, due to battery capacity constraints, the monitoring scope of UAVs is still not optimal. Thus, using a ship (such as a patrol ship) as a UAV mobile supply base can overcome battery limitations and increase monitoring coverage. This paper investigates the joint routing and scheduling problem of ship-deployed multiple UAVs (SDMUs) for the monitoring of pollution from vessels. The artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm based on simulated annealing is employed to minimize the total monitoring time. The model and solution algorithm are verified by real-time dynamic vessel data from Tianjin Port.

Accelerating Efficient Installation and Optimization of Battery Energy Storage System Operations Onboard Vessels

Emerging large battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are key enablers in the electrification of the shipping sector. With huge government investments in BESSs, there are large gaps between the government supported BESS initiatives and actual BESS integration results on vessels. This study aims to close these gaps, allowing BESSs to become the preferred solution for ship owners without needing government support. Firstly, this industry-driven study reviews both the industrial approaches to achieve CO2 emission reductions and the fuel savings and emission reductions from 500 BESS installations on various vessels. Secondly, a 630 kWh BESS retrofitted onto a hybrid-electric vessel is used to quantitively identify the improvement requirements for installations and operations. The installations required many custom designs that were expensive and have high failure risks. The standardization of interfaces’ between BESSs and vessels is thus urgently required. The BESS was intended for spinning reserve capacity and peak shaving but in practice was under-used in terms of energy throughput (shallow cycles and low equivalent full cycles of 80 versus the design specification of 480 yearly). Thirdly, this study develops new, integrated BESS operational models by learning from large operational data, balancing BESS degradation against fuel saving and utilizing onshore/offshore green power supply/charging. The R&D of BESS is required to deal with the increasing safety requirements and further CO2 emission reductions. Finally, four BESS acceleration scenarios were established to facilitate the technical and operational transferability through utilizing digitalization.

Safety evaluation of using ammonia as marine fuel by analysing gas dispersion in a ship engine room using CFD

ABSTRACT This paper seeks to address the question that each stakeholder in the maritime industry has about ammonia’s potential as a marine fuel, How safe is it to use ammonia as a fuel onboard vessel ? The principle aim of this paper is to quantify the exposure limits to which crew working onboard can get subjected to in a confined space onboard a vessel. It was achieved by simulating gas leaks at different locations inside an engine room of a hypothetical ammonia fuelled carrier similar to a 114,000 GWT LNG tanker using CFD. The transient nature of dispersion is analysed and compared for various scenarios. The results are promising and prove that ammonia does have a high risk due to its toxicity but a low risk in terms of flammability. Research findings also demonstrate that the gas dispersion depends on numerous factors such as position, area of leak, direction of leak, pressure and temperature of ammonia gas, obstruction due to placement of machinery and decks, ventilation, and the temperature gradient of surrounding material. The novelty of the paper lies in the problem it addresses and will contribute to the industry in a better understanding of the risk involved in operating an ammonia-fuelled vessel.

Is port state control influenced by the COVID-19? Evidence from inspection data

Maritime transport plays a key role in global trade. The safeguard of maritime transport is the Port State Control (PSC) inspection implemented all over the world. The outbreak of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2020 presents new and unprecedented impacts on global supply chains and the ports as well as the entire shipping industry. Various measures were adopted by the countries and regions to halt the spread of the pandemic, mainly by reducing face-to-face interactions. As PSC inspections involve getting onboard vessels and in-person communications between the inspectors and the crew, its procedure and results are highly likely to be influenced by the COVID-19. This study aims to explore whether, how, and why the global and regional PSC inspection statuses are influenced by the pandemic through analyzing real inspection data. Specifically, three general indicators, namely inspection number, average deficiency number per inspection, and detention rate, are considered. Moreover, a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the inspection data at the Hong Kong port is conducted, including the number of inspections conducted, the average deficiency number and detention rate, the types of inspections conducted and ships inspected, the detailed deficiency and detention conditions, the relationship between the local pandemic situation and the PSC inspection status, and regression analysis on the influencing factors on inspection outcome. It is found that the COVID-19 pandemic indeed has an impact on PSC. Meanwhile, pragmatic and flexible measures are adopted by the port states, and the PSC has always been acting as a ‘safety net’ to guarantee maritime safety, promote the marine environment, and protect the seafarers' rights even under the difficult times during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ports Opening for Seafarer Change during the COVID-19: Models and Applications

Countries around the world have tightened their border controls in response to the spread of COVID-19. Consequently, seafarers are prohibited from boarding or leaving ships at most ports, with few exceptions. This situation means that seafarers are highly likely to serve onboard vessels beyond their contracted shifts. Most seafarers are prone to depression because they have to spend long periods at sea away from family and friends, and, thus, banning crew changes will put their mental health further at risk. This will increase the likelihood of maritime accidents, thus jeopardizing global supply chains and ultimately exacerbating current hardships. To tackle this emergency, the International Maritime Organization and the European Commission have called on governments to coordinate efforts to designate ports for crew changes during the pandemic. This study aims to solve the crew change problem by using an integer linear programming model. In the sensitivity analysis section, we find that the number of opening ports for crew changes and the cost of crew changes decrease when the cost of opening ports increases. The results show governments will not invest in opening more ports when the cost of opening ports increases. However, the penalty increases when the number of open ports decreases, and the cost of opening ports increases. As the number of crew changes is decreasing, this leads to the penalty increasing, when the number of open ports decreases.

Artificial Attraction: Linking Vessel Monitoring System and Habitat Data to Assess Commercial Exploitation on Artificial Structures in the Gulf of Mexico

Marine artificial structures provide important ecosystem benefits, but the extent to which commercially valuable reef fish species and their associated fisheries utilize artificial structures is still undetermined. However, the increasing implementation of onboard Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) now enables precise identification of catch and effort locations that can be linked via satellite coordinates to seafloor habitat maps. To better understand the distribution of fishing effort across artificial and natural reef types in the Gulf of Mexico, we present the first attempt to link VMS data from commercial reef fish vessels with high resolution habitat maps for an iconic species, red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus). By allocating landings from VMS-linked individual fishing trips to habitat type (i.e., natural reef, artificial structure, or uncharacterized bottom) and overlaying these with previously developed red snapper biomass distributions, we are able to develop one of the first fine-scale spatial maps of exploitation across the entire Gulf of Mexico. Results indicated that nearly half (46%) of commercial red snapper landings were extracted from artificial structures. The degree of exploitation was highly heterogeneous with several localized hotspots on natural reefs along the continental shelf break and offshore areas of the Northeast Gulf of Mexico. Similarly, there were distinct regional differences in fishing patterns: a majority of the landings from the state of Florida (∼91%) came from natural reefs, whereas ∼75% of landings were from artificial structures from all other Gulf of Mexico states combined. These results indicate that the potential for localized depletion exists for red snapper. The exploitation maps developed here can directly aid fisheries managers by highlighting specific habitats and locations that should be carefully monitored as catch limits continue to increase.

Towards utilizing autonomous ships: A viable advance in industry 4.0

ABSTRACT The maritime world is rapidly evolving, and the impact of new technologies on the reduction of manning onboard vessels, leading eventually to unmanned large ships, has taken huge steps forward. Autonomous cargo ships, also known as autonomous container ships or maritime autonomous surface ships, are ocean-going vessels that carry containers or bulk cargo with little or no human interaction. This paper seeks to explore the impact of autonomous ships on the shipping industry by comparing and finding feasibility with the industry 4.0. The primary and most useful features of autonomous ships have been identified. Moreover, the advantages of autonomous ships have been shown and explained with their impacts. Some upcoming challenges are also pointed out. Extreme situation scenario (like the COVID-19 scenario) has been briefly discussed. Finally, an overall SWOT analysis is conducted.

A standard processing framework for the location data of satellite-linked buoys on drifting fish aggregating devices

Satellite-linked buoys used by tropical tuna purse-seine vessels on drifting fish aggregating devices (DFADs) provide a continuous stream of information on both the ocean characteristics and the presence and size of fish aggregations associated with DFADs, enabling the study of pelagic communities. This unprecedented amount of data is characterized by ocean-scale coverage with high spatial and temporal resolutions, but also by different data formats and specifications depending on buoy model and brand, as well as on the type of data exchange agreements into play. Their use for scientific and management purposes is therefore critically dependent on the abilities of algorithms to process heterogeneous data formats and resolutions. This paper proposes a unified set of algorithms for processing the buoys location data used by the two major purse seine fleets operating in the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Three main issues that need to be addressed prior to the exploitation of the data are identified (structural errors, data records on land and on-board vessels) and five specific filtering criteria are proposed to improve the data cleaning process and, hence, quality. Different filtering procedures are also compared, and their advantages and limitations are discussed.

Deviations and errors review on measuring and calculating heavy fuel oil consumption and fuel stock onboard vessels equipped with volumetric fuel consumption flowmeters

A common way of measuring heavy fuel oil consumption on board a vessel is to use volumetric fuel flow meters installed at fuel systems inlets for each of the major fuel consumers. At each stage of the fuel processing cycle, certain mass fuel losses or deviations and calculation errors occur that are not counted accurately into fuel consumption figures. The goal of this paper is to identify those fuel mass losses and measuring/calculating errors and perform their quantitative numerical analysis based on actual data. Fuel mass losses defined as deviations identified during the fuel preparation process are evaporation of volatile organic compounds, water drainage, fuel separation, and leakages while errors identified are flow meter accuracy and volumetric/mass flow conversion accuracy. By utilizing statistical analysis of obtained data from engine logbook extracts from three different ships numerical models were generated for each fuel mass loss point. Measuring errors and volumetric/mass conversion errors are numerically analyzed based on actual equipment and models used onboard example vessels. By computational analysis of the obtained models, approximate percentage losses and errors are presented as a fraction of fuel quantity on board or as a fraction of fuel consumed. Those losses and errors present between 0,001% and 5% of fuel stock or fuel consumption figures for each identified loss/error point. This paper presents a contribution for more accurate heavy fuel oil consumption calculation and consequently accurate declaration of remaining fuel stock onboard. It also presents a base for possible further research on the possible influence of fuel grade, fuel water content on the accuracy of consumption calculation.

Full-scale SPH simulations of ship-wave impact generated sea spray

Sea spray generated by ship-wave impact contributes to marine ice accretion onboard vessels. Limitations in field measurements and model experiments encourage the use of numerical simulation to understand the formation of such spray. In this paper, full-scale computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models of wave-generated sea spray are developed using a smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. A three-dimensional (3D) numerical wave tank equipped with a flap-type wave maker and a wave absorber is created to produce regular waves of various heights and steepness. A full-scale medium-size fishing vessel (MFV) is modeled to encounter incoming waves at head sea conditions at various forward speeds. Moving ship dynamics with three degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) in waves are resolved instead of mimicking a relative ship speed. The resultant spray water amount is measured using a numerical collection box and compared against field measurements and a theoretical model, where a reasonable agreement is found. The model is able to distinguish between green water and spray water. A multi-phase two-dimensional (2D) simulation is also performed that demonstrates the role of winds in the fragmentation of water sheets into droplets. The simulation results indicate energy released from a surging ship significantly contributes to the generation of spray.

A methodology for collecting donning times of thermal protective immersion suits intended to be worn by passengers on vessels operating in cold environments

Adequate thermal protection for passengers travelling on-board vessels in cold climate regions, such as that provided by thermal protective immersion suits (TPIS), enhances passenger survivability in emergency situations, in particular those requiring the abandonment of the vessel. As emergency abandonment is a time critical process, it is essential to consider the time required to correctly don the TPIS. Testing standards, such as the International Maritime Organization guidelines, require that TPIS must be able to be donned within 2 minutes. Unfortunately, current practices quantifying donning times are questionable and so there is a limited evidence base that reliably quantifies donning times required by typical passengers. This paper presents a test procedure designed to reliably quantify the time required by test subjects to don the TPIS. Furthermore, the procedure assesses the donning correctness – a TPIS that is incorrectly donned is unlikely to offer appropriate thermal protection. The paper will also discuss the deficiencies in current practices to assess required donning time.

State of play in technology and legal framework of alternative marine fuels and renewable energy systems: a bibliometric analysis

ABSTRACT Various endeavors are undertaken by the maritime industry, academia, and policy-makers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These include the search for feasible technologies that could be used onboard merchant vessels and are propelled by international legal and social initiatives. To this end, this study aimed to critically analyze the research trends pertaining to the active methods of reducing the negative environmental impact of shipping. The research is focused on alternative fuels and renewable energy systems with respect to the related policy-making and existing legal framework. Therefore, a bibliometric approach was applied to a sample of 234 scientific papers indexed in the SCI-EXPANDED in Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Core Collection. The results indicate that the scientific efforts were made more on alternative fuels, while renewable energy sources only recently became a popular research subject. Moreover, the environmental benefits of prospective technologies are more investigated than their financial aspects. The research effort on alternative maritime fuels was made in parallel with the legal one, both aiming to combat global climate change and magnifying each other.

Maritime Security In Coastwise Domestic Shipping As Perceived By Cadets

This study focused on the cadets’ perception of the level of implementation of maritime security in coastwise trade in selected ports of Western Visayas, Philippines, based on the ISPS Code requirements applicable onboard vessels and in port. This study aims to: (1) Determine the level of implementation of domestic companies in terms of the ship security plan or certificate, security drills, control of visitors on board, identification of restricted areas onboard, and security equipment used; (2) Identify the challenges that domestic vessels experience in the implementation of these procedures; and (3) Find out how the cadets are engaged in the process of implementing the requirements in terms of security drills and control of visitors on board and the roles they are tasked to perform. A research-made instrument designed for cadets was used to gather the data. The results revealed that domestic companies’ implementation is heightened during MARSEC Level 2, which happens when there is a heightened level and when security risk has become visible to security personnel. The greatest challenge as perceived by the cadets was specifically on technology advancement, which affects the security and equipment of the domestic vessels. The cadets are engaged in implementing the ISPS code on security drills and control of visitors on board by performing the roles assigned to them by their senior officers. Based on this study’s results, it is recommended that emphasis must be given on topics in maritime security for the students to be equipped with this knowledge during their cadetship program. Training centers may enhance the maritime security training’s effectiveness to include Seafarers with Designated Security Duties, Security Awareness Training, and Ship Security Assessment.