Shore Facilities Research Articles

Monitoring of crack length growth on welded specimens by applying square wave inductive thermography

The crack growth monitoring is an important task for the maintenance policies of steel structures subjected to cyclic loading, such as bridges, cranes, off shore facilities and wind energy towers. A reliable crack detection method allows to survey properly the crack initiation and growth in responsive details of these structures, so that, they can be repaired or restored in time in order to avoid services interruption, accidents or structural collapses. In this paper, a crack detection system, which is based on inductive thermography is applied to survey the crack growth on a SM490 steel welded specimen subjected to cyclic loading. The required thermal excitation of this system is based on the generation of eddy currents, which cause a temperature increase on the crack tips. This temperature rise can be observed and recorded by using an infrared camera. Afterwards, the crack tip and growth are established by analysing the infrared (IR) images. The mentioned system allows to detect cracks on steel structures in real time and in situ, characteristics that represent the efficiency and the potential of this method in the field of NDT.

Comparative Economic Assessment of On-Grid Solar Power System Applications Having Limited Areas: A Case Study on a Shore Facility

Comparative Economic Assessment of On-Grid Solar Power System Applications Having Limited Areas: A Case Study on a Shore Facility

SIMPLIFIED HYDRAULIC CALCULATION OF THE CRYOGENIC PIPELINE OF EXTERNAL FACILITIES FOR FILLING LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS

Natural gas is a mineral that is the most environmentally friendly energy fossil raw material. In recent decades, proven natural gas reserves have equaled oil reserves in terms of their indicators and, moreover, continue to grow actively. In this regard, the issue of transportation and storage of natural gas becomes relevant. One actively developing area has become the industry of natural gas liquefaction, transportation and distribution.The paper discusses the issues of shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to gas tankers during its large-tonnage production. The authors propose the use of remote filling systems (VSN) for LNG in a similar way to similar devices for filling oil into tankers. However, the main feature of the VSN LNG is the cryogenic pipeline from the onshore facilities to the VSN. In this regard, it is necessary to make a simplified mathematical model of a cryogenic pipeline taking into account heat exchange with the environment and heat release during energy dissipation due to viscous friction forces.In the course of numerical simulation, the dependence of the maximum pumping distance was obtained for a given difference between the temperature of LNG on shore facilities and the maximum required temperature of LNG loading into a gas carrier. The influence of each component of the heat flow equation — heat exchange with the environment and LNG heating due to viscous friction forces was also evaluated.As an example, a section with a length of 10 km was selected and a simulation of the temperature distribution, as well as the required pressure on shore structures necessary to ensure a given loading speed of the gas carrier and the temperature of the supplied LNG was carried out.

Propulsion and photovoltaic charging system parameter computation for an all-electric boat

ABSTRACT The study aims to evaluate system combinations including batteries and electric motors for the all-electric training ship and to develop a shore facility with photovoltaic solar panels for battery charging. To achieve the objectives, the ship’s power requirements were calculated using Savitsky and Wyman methods. Specifications of the propulsion units were decided by utilizing three different driving cycles and a battery discharge simulation for these cycles was ensured. Then, time series analyses forecasted the discharge durations, and lifespans of the batteries. Finally, economic performance comparison and the ranking of the configurations were provided. Results indicate that nominal battery capacities are detected as 21.39, 39.22, and 7.51 kWh, having 4.86, 9.13, and 11.53-hours’ usage range, and payback periods of the configurations are 8.19, 6.88, and 8.05 years for each driving cycle. The configuration designed regarding the third driving cycle is the most feasible according to the multi-criteria decision-making analysis.

Environmental Compliance and Practices Of Cruise Ships in ísafjörður, Iceland

The drastic growth of cruise tourism in the world, while potentially beneficial for economic growth in local communities, also brings concerns regarding environmental impacts. This research used the port of Ísafjörður, Iceland, a growing hotspot destination for cruise ships, as a case study to aid in understanding the potential environmental impacts from cruise ships. The study's aims were: 1) to determine the quantity and type of waste discharged to the shore facilities by cruise ships in Ísafjörður in 2019, and 2) to explore the compliance behavior of the ships in adhering to Icelandic and international environmental regulations. To do this, quantitative and qualitative questions were presented in a survey to officers from 40 cruise ships, accounting for 87% of the total 46 different ships that docked in Ísafjörður in the 2019 cruise ship season. The survey questions were designed based on the MARPOL Convention and the law of Iceland, and these questions were compared with the ship's statutory record or ship's certificates to strengthen the reliability of the data. The questions covered five categories: emissions, waste oil, wastewater, garbage and food waste, and ballast water. Results showed that very little garbage and food waste had been discharged to shore facilities, and this was likely because Ísafjörður is one of several stops for many cruise ships in Iceland and the waste had simply been discharged elsewhere. In assessing the other four categories, 8 out of the 40 cruise ships carried out illegal activities, including 12 specific violation cases. This article discusses three primary reasons for those violations: accessibility, inconsistency, and monitoring. This research was conducted pre-COVID-19; however, by 2022 cruise ship calls in Ísafjörður approached preCOVID-19 numbers. Interested parties such as local communities, national decision makers, tourism boards, municipal planners, and environmental agencies must use the best available knowledge, such as this study, to manage the positive and negative aspects of the growth of cruise ship tourism, and perhaps even more so in a post-COVID-19 phase.

Hazard identification for self-unloading bulk carriers

ABSTRACT Self-Unloading (SUL) bulk carriers are unconventional , designed and provided with various sets of equipment in different set-ups to allow them to discharge the cargo onboard without assistance or interference from any shore facilities or discharging equipment. This variance and complexity of equipment pose hazards to the crew onboard; though many precautions are in place to reduce these hazards, accidents still happen. In this study, a thorough hazard identification process is performed, guided by International Maritime Organization (IMO) Formal Safety Assessment (FSA). The failure Mode Effect and Consequence Analysis (FMECA) method is used to identify the hazards and rank them based on measuring both frequency and severity of each. A novel contribution of this endeavour was to repeat the process of ranking hazard scenarios using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) of Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM), thus sharpening the results obtained by FMECA, especially when the qualitative nature of the latter is considered. This study represents a pioneer step towards a full FSA for SUL bulk carriers.

Kıyı Tesislerinin Faaliyetlerinden Kaynaklı Kirlenmeden Doğan Zararların ve Hukuki Sorumluluğun 5312 Sayılı Kanun Çerçevesinde İncelenmesi

Denizler sosyal, kültürel, ekonomik ve biyolojik açıdan insanlığın ortak mirasıdır. Kirlilik ise bu mirasın karşısındaki en büyük ve yakın tehlikedir. Gemi kaynaklı kirlenme birçok akademik çalışmaya konu olmuşsa da, kıyı kaynaklı kirlenmenin önemi yıllardır göz ardı edilmiştir. Bu çalışmada öncelikle konunun teknik boyutu ele alınmış ve kıyı tesisi kavramı irdelenmiştir. Kıyı tesisleri kaynaklı kirleticilerin denizlerde yol açtığı kirlenme hususu ortaya konularak ortaya çıkan kirlenmeden doğan zarar tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Sonrasında, kıyı tesisleri kaynaklı kirlenmeden doğan zararlardan hukuki sorumluluğun niteliği ve dayanağı 3.3.2005 tarih ve 5312 sayılı “Deniz Çevresinin Petrol ve Diğer Zararlı Maddelerle Kirlenmesinde Acil Durumlarda Müdahale ve Zararların Tazmini Esaslarına Dair Kanun” kapsamında incelenmiş ve bu kanunun uygulanabilirliği tartışılmıştır. Sonuç olarak, tümü tehlikeli faaliyetler yürüten kıyı tesislerinden kaynaklı kirlenmeden doğan zarara Çevre Kanunu ve Borçlar Kanunu’nun tehlike sorumluluğunu düzenleyen genel hükümleri çerçevesinde çözüm bulunması önerilmiştir.

An Outlook on the Future Marine Traffic Management System for Autonomous Ships

In the shipping digitalisation process, the peak will be reached with the advent of a wholly autonomous and at the same time safe and reliable ship. Full autonomy could be obtained by two linked Artificial-Intelligence systems representing the ship navigator and the ship engineer that possess sensing and analysis skills, situational awareness, planning, and control capabilities. Many efforts have been made in developing onboard systems; however, the shore facilities are not ready yet to deal with these new technologies. The paper aims to present the innovative technologies and methodologies needed to develop a futuristic Vessel Traffic System. The proposed systems will aim at faultless data acquisition and processing, provide input to decision-making systems, and suggest evasive manoeuvre; to deal with hazards and systems failure without human intervention onboard. The system is composed of three different and interacting layers. The first is an artificially intelligent tool to detect and control autonomous ships, thanks to situation recognition and obstacle avoidance strategies. The second is an orchestration and management platform designed to coordinate the sensing-actuation infrastructure and the AI algorithms results made available by multiple ships, mustering edge, and distributed computing techniques to fulfil the specific harsh requirements of the sea environment. The final part is a holistic guidance-navigation-control framework to manage autonomous ships navigation in a crowded area. Eventually, a cyber-physical scenario, using both a ship digital-twin and a real model-scale ship, is suggested to test and validate the innovative system without the availability of a full-scale scenario.

The Study on Cost of Application of International Emission Control Areas for China

In order to control the air pollution caused by ships and improve ambient air quality, China set up three domestic emission control areas (DECAs) in 2015 in the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta and Bohai Rim (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei) waters. In order to meet the emission requirements established at the 70th meeting of the Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC), China intends to apply for the establishment of three international Emission Control Area (ECA) in 2030 for these DECAs. This paper discusses existing technologies to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx), and examines the abatement costs for the shipping industry in the year 2030 to comply with this action. Based on an examination of the literature and data collected for this study, four traditional alternatives, low-sulphur fuel, sulphur scrubbers/exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS), selective catalytic reduction (SCR), and exhaust gas recirculation, are analyzed. The analysis finds that switching to low-sulphur fuel is the best technical solution for SOx emission reduction, and the installation of SCR is the best technology for reducing nitrogen. In addition to traditional emission reduction technologies, the use of shore power facilities and liquefied natural gas (LNG), two alternatives welcomed by China's green shipping industry, are also considered in this paper. The expected average abatement cost of these alternatives in the year 2030 are USD 2.866 billion, 0.324 billion, 1.071 billion, 0.402 billion, 0.232 billion and 0.34 billion, respectively.

Mathematical modeling of a hydraulic flume for carrying out numerical experiments on coastal waves and erosion of cohesive soil

Hydrowave flumes are applied in laboratory experiments in order to study coastal wave impact on shore facilities. The realization of such laboratory experiments is costly and time-consuming concerning its preparation. Thus, it is pressing to apply a mathematical model. The paper presents a material hydrowave flume mathematical model that significantly broadens the capability of the research on coastal wave propagation and its impact on sea floor cohesive soil. The paper considers a solitary wave climb to the shore in the areas of different configuration including sea floor irregularities and a layer of cohesive soil. The wave propagation on the surface and soil shift in the water are modelled by three-component viscous incompressible fluid where air, water and soil are considered as components of non-homogeneous medium. The solution is obtained through finite difference numerical algorithm based on splitting scheme by physical factors and prediction correction method. Results of numerical calculations are presented in the paper.

Safety measures relating to carriage and transfer of liquid cargoes

The continuous growth in the volume of liquid cargoes, transported by sea, leads to increase of tankers’ size and to implementation of appropriate shore facilities, which have to meet the relevant environmental requirements. In order to ensure safety during loading and discharging operations in shore terminals, it is necessary to make an assessment on the level of potential risk in port and onboard the vessel and to take all necessary steps to reduce the possibility for environmental impacts and occurrence of an accident especially when performing transfer operations to/from ships. The article presents some constructive decisions for building of shore tanks and their application for storage and transfer of petroleum products. The measures for the safe performing of the cargo operations are systematized after discussing of specifics by performing of all processes connected with loading or discharge. The precautions are defined in three critical points of action - operation on vessel systems, transportation of cargo using shore facilities and storage in tanks.

A study on the organization and management systems of Turkish shipping companies

<p class="Standard">The Turkish maritime posture is changing rapidly. Turkish shipowners now have over 30.3 millions DWT fleet and modern and big size ships replacing old vessels. The quantity and quality of the ports and terminals are significantly increasing. The shipping companies are reorganizing to adapt themselves for new operational and economic requirements. Better organizations and management systems are required to support this modernized fleet and improving shore facilities.</p><p class="Standard">The shipping companies are the leading element of the shipping sector. They play a crucial role in understanding existing and future requirements for national maritime industry and they develop plans, programmes and policies to survive in today’s challenging world.</p><p class="Standard">The shipping sector introduces a volatile character and it is not transparent. Therefore, it is not so easy to gather information on all the aspects of the shipping companies such as financial status, future plans and strategies. On the other hand, it is relatively easier to collect information on organization and management systems of the companies, which provide significant information on their capabilities and modus operandi.</p><p class="Standard">In this study it is intended to make a SWOT analysis of these companies based on their organization and management systems, using the expertise and different views of the professionals. In light of the results of the analysis, some findings which may lead to future studies are also discussed.</p>

Offshore concrete structures

In the offshore industry there are two possible materials for the construction of the hull of any structure: steel and concrete. Steel is being widely used in the shipbuilding industry for merchant ships, warships, etc. Materials such as aluminium, glass reinforced plastic (GRP) or timber are also used in small units with lengths lower than 100m and with less adverse conditions than in the offshore industry. Nevertheless, some ships/barges have been built of concrete in the past, but these have been rather isolated cases and have not changed the industry practice. During the First and Second World War concrete was used due to the scarcity of other materials, so the series of barges by Alfred A. Yee were a rare exception. Other floating structures were also made in concrete, but they are almost anecdotal. However, the behaviour of these concrete structures, especially in terms of maintenance, has been excellent. Therefore, the fact that concrete has not had an adequate reception so far in shipbuilding does not mean that it will not be the material best suited to the offshore industry in the future. The extra displacement and associated fuel costs in concrete ships have been found to be prohibitive in the past. However the loss of mobility in a concrete hull compared to a steel hull can be perfectly offset by the advantages offered by concrete, as the shipping and offshore industry now have very different priorities. One of the main differences in these priorities is the importance of maintenance and resistance to fatigue, precisely the areas where concrete performs the better. Ships can easily be dry-docked for maintenance and repair, while in the offshore platforms these works have to be done in situ, so maintenance and fatigue are crucial to them. Besides these aspects, concrete has other advantages, according to a number of findings in several studies. This supports the fact that in recent years concrete offshore units have been built proving that in certain cases the benefits of steel are inferior to those of concrete. Concrete gravity base platforms type Condeep have been building since the first unit became operational in 1976, together with a few floating platforms, that have geometry similar to those made of steel (barges, semi-submersibles and TLP type platforms). Offshore LNG terminals and offshore industrial plants utilise emerging concepts in concrete that are lasting for years. The life of these barges can be designed for up to 200 years, such as the floating Nkossa barge, so they can be a good alternative to the construction of these facilities on land, thus avoiding landfills on the coast that degrade the already punished coastline of industrialized countries. The challenge is precisely to optimize their capital costs to compete for an offshore installation against a shore facility. The environment will undoubtedly benefit from this great challenge that lies ahead in the XXI century.

Coastal Circulation and Bottom Change due to Ocean Resort Complex Development

On the basis of the potentials for the growth of local economy and the result of investigation of the ocean space development status, an ocean resort complex was proposed at the small harbor with a parallel beach in the east coast of Korea. As the development plan needs to reclaim the noticeable amount of coastal water area together with the applied shore facilities, it is necessary to analyze their impacts. Here, it was intended to analyze the coastal environment change such as water circulation and bottom change because of the development plan. A horizontal two-dimensional numerical model was applied to represent the combined impact of wind waves and tidal currents to sediment transport in that coastal region. Based on the result of 30 days tidal current simulations considering major four tidal components of <TEX>$M_2$</TEX>,<TEX>$S_2$</TEX>,<TEX>$K_1$</TEX> and <TEX>$O_1$</TEX> for the upper and lower boundaries and wind field data, bottom change was discussed. Flow velocities were not changed much at outer breakwater of Yangpo harbor. Bottom was eroded by maximum 1.7m after construction but some locations such as lee side of outer breakwater and some islets near the entrance shows isolated accretions. Although it needs more field observations for bottom change in the period of construction, the numerical calculation shows that there exist small impacts near the entrance area and coastal boundaries because of the development.

Maritime environmental management priorities and challenges for the Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has substantial commitments to national marine environmental management issues in implementation of national policies and as a user of marine and coastal areas. This overview addresses the strategic context in terms of issues and key challenges being addressed by the RAN. The day to day implementation of these matters is addressed through a substantial operational unit at Fleet Headquarters which manages operational interactions with ships and the Department of Defence that addresses environment management of Defence estate shore side facilities and inter-departmental matters such as referrals for activities as needed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Environmentally Sound Ships of the 21st Century

AbstractNaval ships operating in the 21st century will be expected to meet increasingly stringent environmental regulations. The U.S. Navy has a comprehensive shipboard pollution abatement program underway that will enable ships of the 21st century to be environmentally sound. The goal is to enable ships to operate worldwide with minimal potential for regulatory constraints, without inappropriate dependence on shore facilities, and without unreasonable costs imposed by environmental regulations. The basic strategy is to (1) design and operate ships to minimize waste generation and optimize waste management, and (2) develop shipboard systems that will destroy or appropriately treat the wastes generated on board. If wastes are unavoidable and cannot be destroyed or retained on board for recycling ashore, they must be sufficiently treated so that overboard discharges are not considered environmentally significant. Although the ultimate solution for on board destruction has not been achieved for any shipboard wastestream, considerable progress has been made toward developing onboard capabilities for treating or processing solid wastes, oily wastes, hazardous materials, and medical wastes. Satisfactory interim or long‐term solutions for treating blackwater and greywater are still being sought. International cooperation efforts directed toward achieving environmentally sound ships are underway among NATO navies to share information and technologies, and to save time and money.

Mine Hunting with Drones

This article deals with an important subject - mine hunting with drones. The author begins with a comprehensive overview, emphasizing the need for re- motely controlled operations in mine warfare: mine reconnaissance, minesweeping, and mine neutralization. The advantages of semi-submersible vehicles and multi- beam side-scan sonar technology are presented with a focus on the deployment flexibility with containerized units allowing an instant adaptation to any non-spe- cialized vessel or shore facility. The article then presents in details the drone system architecture. Description and results of full scale operational evaluations conducted in 2001-2003 in Canada and in France demonstrate the excellent performance of a mine hunting drone system at sea.

Monitoring policies to prevent oil spills: lessons from the theoretical literature

This paper analyzes the policies implemented by the US Coast Guard for regulating transfers of oil in US harbors, specifically, we evaluate those monitoring and enforcement programs aimed at ensuring that the necessary levels of care and maintenance are observed during the routine transfer of oil between shore facilities and either tankers or barges. Our aim is to bring to the attention of policy makers and others interested in the regulation of pollution some of the insights to be gained from dynamic game theory. In particular, we discuss the punitive value of selective and repeated monitoring, which can be used as a cheap way of enforcing observance of regulations. We conclude with some suggestions for policy improvements.

Occupational safety and health inspection scores predict rates of workers' lost-time injuries

This study examined statistical relationships between safety inspection scores and occupational injury rates among civilian employees in 11 types of United States Navy shore facilities ranging from shipyards to research and development centers. The study's results indicate that workplace inspection scores are significantly predictive of lost-time injury rates, even in the presence of statistical controls for differences in facility characteristics. Further, these results suggest that even a 1% improvement in these facilities' safety inspection scores would yield an expected 1% decrease in the rate of severe injuries. Although this is a very small decrease in the injury rate, the number of civilian workers at these Navy shore facilities is so large, and the average cost of such injuries is so great, that the reduction in total injury costs would be nearly $2 million per year. These data suggest that periodic, comprehensive safety inspections can be rewarded with lower rates of occupational lost-time injuries.

Technology development for environmentally sound ships of the 21st century: an international perspective

Around the world, ships operating in the 21st century tury will be expected tomeet increasingly stringent environmental regulations. Many governments have comprehensive shipboard pollution abatement programs under way that will enable ships of the 21st century to be environmentally sound. The goal is for ships to operate worldwide with minimal potential for regulatory constraints, without inappropriate dependence on shore facilities, and without unreasonable costs imposed by environmental regulations. The following is the basic strategy: Design and operate ships to minimize emissions and waste generation while optimizing waste management, and develop shipboard systems that will destroy or appropriately treat the wastes generated on board. If wastes are unavoidable and cannot be destroyed or retained on board for recycling ashore, they must be sufficiently treated so that overboard discharges are considered environmentally insignificant. Although the ultimate solution for onboard destruction has not been achieved for any shipboard waste stream, considerable progress has been made toward developing onboard capabilities for treating or rrocessing solid wastes, oily wastes, hazardous materials, and medical wastes. Satisfactory interim or long-term solutions are being sought for blackwater and graywater treatment. International cooperative efforts directed toward achieving environmentally sound ships are under way among governments to share information and technologies, and to save time and money.