2 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.

in
Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in 3
4 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in
 contents
Editorial 7
IMEI News 8
Branch News 10
Obituary 13
News 15
Marine Engineers Review (India) Titanic and the ISM code 23
Journal of The Institute of Marine
Preliminary Report of MSC92 28
Engineers (India)
MLC beyond DMLC 31
Administration Office
Spectacles in the bilges! 33
IMEI House
Plot No. 94, Sector - 19, Groundings 35
Nerul, Navi Mumbai 400 706. Installation Of Energy Saving Devices For 47
The Improvement Of Propulsion Efficiency
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Printed, Published and Edited by Mr. Indra Nath Bose on behalf of The Institute of Marine Engineers (India).
Published from 1012 Maker Chambers V, 221 Nariman Point, Mumbai – 400 021, and Printed from Compact Photo Offset,
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Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in 5

6 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in
 From the Editors Keyboard... ... ...
D r C P Srivastava, Secretary General
Emeritus of the International
Maritime Organization, passed away on
22nd July in Italy, at the age of 93. His
contribution to Indian and international
maritime affairs is immeasurable. Much
of the sound international maritime
policies that we see today are due to his
inspirational leadership and vision at IMO.
He served as Secretary General of IMO
between 1974 and 1989 and reshaped
it significantly for the betterment of the
maritime industry which impacts our daily
lives today. He created World Maritime
University in Malmo and Technical Co-
operation Programme at IMO for capacity
building in maritime affairs in developing
countries not endowed with expertise in
that field. During his tenure many major
Conventions and Codes were adopted at
IMO significant among those were STCW
Convention, SAR Convention, SUA
Convention etc. At home prior to joining
IMO as head of The Shipping Corporation
of India Ltd. he had turned it into one of
the largest shipping companies in the
world with a much diversified fleet. After
his retirement from IMO he served as
Chairman of Indian Register of Shipping
for 4 years during which time IRS was
inducted as Associate Member of IACS.
Last month another illustrious shipping
professional Mr B L Mahta passed away
at the age of 78. A Fellow Member and
founder Office Bearer of our Institute
he was a true techno-commercial man
and had developed and expanded fleet of
several ship owning companies in India
with his vision and capability.
MER pays homage to the departed souls.
Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
Since past one year or so we have been
witnessing vessels of financially troubled
shipping companies stranded around
Mumbai, Chennai and some overseas
ports. The crew of these vessels had
not been paid their wages and had no
provisions on board. The vessel owners
had no money to repatriate the crew from
vessels in overseas ports.
Instances of abandonment of crew are
not restricted to India alone but are a
worldwide problem given the dire straight
the shipping industry is in now. It is not
a new problem but happens sporadically
with insolvent owners. Also, in percentage
terms these may be considered minor in
relation to world shipping with around
1.5 million seafarers. However, the very
fact that it happens at all is something that
needs to be addressed.
It is very possible that shipowners
struggling with insolvency hardly believe
they are capable of abandoning crews and
depriving honest workers of their wages,
but feel that fate - rather than their own
decisions - has somehow left them with no
choice.
Abandonment of seafarers generate
front-page stories in the press, not just at
regional level but nationally too which
creates an image of an uncaring industry,
one that does not look after its workers.
It shows the shipping industry in a pretty
bad light and acts as a deterrent to drawing
talent to the seafaring profession.
When a crew on a merchant ship has
been abandoned, there is very often a
depressingly familiar pattern of things
that start happening. They run out of fuel
for generators, sometimes even food and
water too. The shipowner stops answering
his phone and cannot be traced. The
onboard wage payment stops. The mood
sinks.
Seafarers who want nothing more than
to work and earn an honest wage are left
begging for handouts in order to survive.
Many simply don’t want to go home
without the wages they are owed as they
don’t want to disappoint their families.
Abandonment is often a calculated
economic decision by a shipowner facing
bankruptcy, insolvency or arrest of its
vessel by creditors. In many cases, vessels
are abandoned after they are detained by
port state control as unseaworthy.
To date there is little recourse, short of
arresting the ship to recover seafarers’
unpaid wages.
Against this background, regulators have
been looking at issues of seafarer welfare
within an international framework. The
ILO Maritime Labour Convention, which
comes into force on 20th of this month
contains many provisions that should help
prevent situations of abandonment but not
quite.
MLC does name in its Standard A2.5 some
responsibilities to the seafarer on the part
of owners, stating plainly that in cases of
abandonment, seafarers are repatriated
at no cost to themselves, but also that
shipowners shall provide financial security
for “liabilities contained in the Standard”.
Protection and Indemnity Clubs have
accepted the responsibility for repatriation
- and club boards, according to a recent
UK P&I Club circular, agreed they would
provide repatriation cover for insolvency
risks on a non-poolable basis.
According to the UK P&I Club circular -
there is no requirement in the MLC 2006
to provide financial security by way of
insurance cover for unpaid wages.
However, the provision of financial
security for potentially unpaid wages, a
liability which is harder to quantify and
thus harder to insure, is an even more
complicated matter. That is why the
issue was not fully resolved by the ILO
Diplomatic Conference which adopted the
MLC in 2006.
In the meantime, however, both the ILO and
the International Maritime Organization
- with the full support of employers and
unions - have agreed additional principles
concerning the provision of financial
security which, in the case of bankruptcy,
should be sufficient to cover outstanding
seafarers’ entitlements, including accrued
wages. These principles will be discussed
at an ILO meeting in Geneva next April
and necessary amendment to MLC will
be adopted in due course heralding a
new era in protecting seafarers against
abandonment.
I. N. Bose
Hon Editor - MERI
editormer@imare.in
www.imare.in 7
 IMEI News
Maritime Piracy Humanitarian
Response Programme (MPHRP)
& IMEI
A n international pan-industry alliance of ship
owners, maritime unions, managers, manning
agents, insurers and welfare associations has
come together to establish the “Maritime Piracy
Humanitarian Response Programme” (MPHRP).
The objectives of this programme address the three
phases of "pre, during and post incident", with the
aim of implementing a model of assisting seafarers
and their families with the humanitarian aspects of a
traumatic incident caused by a piracy attack, armed
robbery or being taken hostage.
MPHRP South Asia has been actively supporting
Seafarers and their families who are affected due to
piracy incidents. Mr Chirag Bahri is the Regional
Director for the programme and is supported by
partners namely INSA, MASSA, FOSMA, IMEI,
GL, MUI, FSUI. The Programme Steering Group
(India) is chaired by Shri M.P.Pinto, Ex Secretary,
Ministry of Shipping. MPHRP South Asia is MPHRP training at Pune

funded by the generous grants from ITF Seafarers trust,

MPHRP at Nerul
MPHRP film at Nerul
Seafarers UK Charity and Teekay Foundation. Chirag
Bahri incidentally is a marine engineer.
MPHRP has been actively involved with CGPCS
(Contact Group of Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
a working group which is a UN initiative. MPHRP
is also closely working with Ocean Beyond Piracy
and International Maritime Bureau (IMB) and have
recently published the Human Cost of Piracy report.
There are more than 30 international partners who
are supporting MPHRP. It includes INTERTANKO,
BIMCO, INTERCARGO, IMEC, ITF, ISF, IMB, IMO,
ILO, UKMTO, NATO NSC, ICMA, ISWAN among
others. MPHRP has recently launched Maritime Piracy
Humanitarian Response Fund. This fund will help in
small but effective grants to Seafarers and families for
expenses such as: medical care, counselling, school fees,
daily amenities etc.
Considering the importance of this work, especially the
humane side of piracy, The Institute of Marine Engineers
(India) has signed a MOU with MPHRP for supporting
its activities. With active support of IMEI three Train
the Trainer courses were held at Pune, Mumbai and
Chennai where many Faculty members from training
institutes and training managers of shipping companies
participated. IMEI also sponsored the film shows on
piracy at Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

8 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in

 IMEI News

IME(I) Elections-2013 NOTICE

Update Dear Members,
Opening of the sealed ballot box and counting of votes by the Scrutinizing
Committee, both for all India and branches will be carried out on 24th AUGUST,
The Flag Hoisting Ceremony will
2013, commencing at 1000 hrs in conference room of IMEI Head office in Nerul be conducted at 9.30 AM on 15th
in the presence of those who have indicated their desire to do so. It is expected
that counting will last up to 4 to 6 hours.
August 2013 (Independence Day)
at imei House, Nerul.
Members, who wish to witness the counting, must send their name with Membership
Number to the Election Officer by letter addressed at the Administration of the
Head office at IME(I) House, Plot no. 94, Sector 19, Nerul East, Navi Mumbai The flag will be hoisted by the
400 706 or by email ID electionofficer@imare.in or administration@imare.in so president – Dr. B. K. Saxena.
as to receive by 16th AUG, 2013, 1700 hrs. Arrangement for seating and for
lunch will be made only for those who have confirmed their desire to witness the You are cordially invited with your
counting.
family to grace the occasion.
For the members, who wish to witness this counting, prior intimation as above is a
MUST. However, the electoral candidates or their authorized representatives and
the Head office/Branch/ Chapter office- bearers are free to witness the counting,
Please Inform in advance for
but they are requested to give prior information to administration so that seating/ making necessary arrangements.
lunch can be arranged.
The results of the elections will be announced at the 30th Annual General Meeting
With Warm Regards,
of our Institute.
DR.B.K.SAXENA V.P. DATAR Rajeev Nayyer
President Election officer Hon. Gen. Secretary

Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in 9

 Branch News
Kolkata Branch AGM 2013
T he Annual General Meeting of the Institute’s Kolkata
Branch for the financial year ending 31st March,
2013 was held on 21st June, 2013 at Maharaja Banquets,
Kolkata.
In his opening speech, the Chairman of Kolkata Branch,
Mr Subimal Chakrabarti, lamented the fact that the drive
to induce unpaid members to take up life membership of
the institute had not borne much fruit, though there was
success in the recruitment of new members.
Minutes of the previous AGM held on 23rd June, 2012
were confirmed. The confirmation was proposed by Mr
A.C.Guha and seconded by Mr Kalyan Bhattacharya.
The Branch Activity Report for the year 2012-13 was Chairman Mr Subimal Chakrabarti addressing the members
presented in PowerPoint form by Hon.Secretary Mr
Abhijit Banerjee.
As no one from Patna Chapter could be present for the
meeting, the Branch Activity Report of that chapter
was read out by Mr Abhijit Banerjee, Hon.Secretary of
Kolkata Branch.
Balance Sheet and Audited Accounts of the branch for
the year 2012-13 were presented by Hon.Treasurer Mr
P.K.Bhattacharya. The accounts were accepted without
any amendment. The acceptance was proposed by Mr
Supriyo Bhattacharya and seconded by Mr Gautam Sen.
The auditors were reappointed for the financial year 2013-
14. The reappointment was proposed by Mr P.B.Ray and
seconded by Mr Supriyo Bhattacharya.
Under ‘Any Other Matter’, Mr A.C.Guha appealed for
increased participation by members in the Institute’s Members at the Kolkata AGM
activities and affairs. He also appealed to members to

Talk on
donate good books to the Institute’s library, and asked
younger members particularly to make more use of the library.
Mr S.K.Mukherjee suggested that the Annual Dinner be spaced

MLC 2006 at
far apart from the Cricket Match, and slotted well before it in
the calendar, so that it is held in cool weather.
Mr P.K.Majumder advocated screening of a particular anti-

Karnataka
piracy film by the Institute in Kolkata.
Mr Arunodoy Mittra suggested that the film be screened at
MERI auditorium, to benefit young seafarers.
Mr B.K.Biswas wondered if we could hold the Annual Dinner
at a venue with larger space. He also expressed his inability
to locate the Institute premises in Kolkata, even after so many
years.
T he Institute of Marine Engineers (India) Karnataka
chapter organized a talk on "MLC 2006: the fourth pillar
of shipping. Capt. John Prasad Menezes was the resource
Mr Alok Kumar Datta had an issue with not getting to know person. In his 45 min talk he took the audience 100yrs back
about the Institute’s programmes by e-mail. to the sinking of Titanic and the onset of SOLAS and other
regulations to follow, the latest being MLC 2006. He also
The Hon.Secretary indicated that all these matters will be
delved on the salient features of the legislation and their impact
looked into by the committee in all seriousness.
on the crew on board. It was a joint meeting with the CMMI
Vice Chairman Mr S.K.Daw proposed a formal vote of thanks. Mangalore Chapter. The meeting was followed by fellowship,
The meeting concluded with a sponsored dinner. which bought the members closer.
10 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in
 Branch News

Lukoil Presentation In Kolkata

L UKOIL Marine Lubricants Ltd, a division of
LUKOIL, an international leader in the oil
industry, made a technical presentation, under the
aegis of The Institute of Marine Engineers (India)
Kolkata Branch, on the evening of 17th July 2013, at
Hotel Hindusthan International, Kolkata, on the topic
‘Recent Developments in Cylinder Oils’.
The speakers were Mrs June Manoharan, LUKOIL
Marine Lubricants Ltd’s Regional Director for Middle
East, Asia and Africa, who is based in Dubai, and Mr
Sanjiv Wazir, Technical Advisor to LUKOIL Marine
Lubricants. Mr Wazir is a Member of the Institute of
Marine Engineers (India), and an expert in the field of
tribology and lubrication. Mr Abhijit Banerjee, Hon.
Secretary of Kolkata Branch, introduced the speakers
and the subject. Mrs Manoharan making
Mr Wazir making presentation presentation
Mrs Manoharan spoke about LUKOIL, the company,
since the brand name is relatively unknown in these
parts.
Mr Wazir spoke about the special requirements of
cylinder lubrication in new two-stroke engines and
older engines running nowadays under prolonged slow
steaming conditions. He further explained that several
lube oil manufacturers are developing new grades
of cylinder oil to meet the challenges posed, with
LUKOIL, having already introduced a unique 100 BN
grade oil for the purpose.
The presentations were captivating and well received
by the members, representatives of industry, end users
and invitees, who turned up in good numbers. There
was much interaction in the question and answer
session, and even afterwards, informally, during the
cocktails and dinner, which were arranged courtesy
of LUKOIL. All in all, it was a very pleasant and
enlightening evening. Delegates and members at the meet

IME(I) Delhi Branch

AGM & Technical Seminar
AGM of the Delhi Branch will be held on 21st August 2013 from 5 PM to 6 PM at Forte Grand,
Chanakya Lane, Akbar Bhawan Annexe, Chanakya Puri, New Delhi-110021.
The AGM will be followed by a Technical Seminar presented by “Roto Pumps Limited." This
will be followed by Dinner at the same Venue.
All members are invited (Entry Free), those desirous of attending may please contact Ms. Asha
on (O)011-41660109, 011-41660110, (M)9650426134 at the earliest as the seats are limited.

Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in 11

 Branch News
Goa Branch AGM
T he Annual General Body Meeting of the Goa Branch of the
Institute of Marine Engineers (India) was held on 20th of July
2013 at 1900 hrs. at the Hotel La-Paz Gardens, Vasco-da-gama.
The Goa Branch Chairman Shri V.M.Gaitonde welcomed the
members and requested everyone to rise for 1 minute silence for
the souls of our 2 young members who we lost on 19th of March
2013. The 3rd engineers Mr. Bento D’Costa and Mr. Reagan
Fernandes were travelling back to Mumbai from Goa for the Class
2 preparatory course which was being conducted in IME Nerul.
He informed the members that the IMEI had given each of their
families an amount of Rs 5 lakhs from the Benevolence fund.
He said that during the last AGM the revision of the Articles of
Association, Increase the life membership fees to Rs 4600/, setting
up of a separate examination cell at IMEI for NCV examination,
grant of additional FSI has been given for IMEI, grant for a total
amount of 2 lakhs for 8 students from approved training institutes
had been taken up. He also informed the members of the proposal
from IMarEST to give IMEI members access to the virtual
library consisting of digital archive, discovery service, e-book
collection etc. He mentioned that the formation of FMPO is under
consideration. A lot of discussion was on the quality of marine
engineers of today had taken place. He thanked the members for
the keen interest shown in attending the technical meetings and the
committee members for their support during his tenure as Chairman
Shri Dipak B Shah, Hon. Secretary, presented the activity report.
He reported that there were 9 technical meetings in the last year.
The examination for the cadets of Institute of Maritime Studies was
carried out by the Goa Branch members. Approval of the audited
accounts for the year 2012-2013 was proposed by Shri Asthana and
seconded by Shri Samant .The accounts for the year 2013-2014
were passed and auditor Shri S. D. Mishra was proposed to be
continued and his remuneration to be increased to Rs 2000/-. This
was proposed by Shri Samant and seconded by Shri Joshi. The
Membership status shows that all the unpaid members have been
deleted from the Goa branch and our membership status has only
621 paid life members compared to 544 of last year. All members
in the future will be life members. Mentoring has been progressing
very well for the Cadets of Institute of Maritime Studies. Our Goa
branch mentors have been regularly interacting with the cadets
and guiding them very efficiently. The proposed activities were to
have technical meetings every month with speakers from Goa and
outside in the marine engineering filed.
Members at the AGM
12 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
Goa Branch Chairman Shri Gaitonde welcoming the members
A suggestion was made by members that the Goa branch should
recommend to the Head office to take up with DGS that all students
of Marine engineering training institutes approved and audited by
DGS should be exempted from the Class IV part A examination
irrespective of their entry qualifications. There was a lot of
discussion on this matter and it was felt that the matter should be
taken up with the head office.
Shri Dipak B Shah introduced the incoming Chairman Shri Dilip
Mehrotra, Vice- Chairman Shri Ajay A. Tambwekar, Hon.Secretary
Shri Dipak B Shah, Treasurer Shri Mahesh Mehndiratta, G.C.
Members Shri B.S.Mathur and Shri V.M.Gaitonde, Committee
members Shri Sangmeshwaran.C.S, Shri M.C. Asthana and Shri
Alwyn D’Souza. Shri Mehrotra detailed his plans for the next
Goa Branch. He said we should have Members Directory, more
involvement of members in the activities of the Institute, new
membership drive, a National Seminar, to encourage members
for submission of technical papers from sailing members for the
monthly MER, and to have a meeting of members before and after
GC. He felt the need to have Seminars and group discussion on
IMO matters and new regulations for members appearing for MEO
exams, to start with atleast once in two months, To entertain all
requests from parents, students & schools on career guidance in
Marine Engineering. He mentioned that a plan can be drawn of
the List of Technical topics to be covered during the year and to
continue with the Mentorship programme. He said that a Strategy
framework document – in draft stage which deals with various
ongoing activities is being finalized.
Shri B.S.Mathur who has been vigorously following the
construction of the IMEI House at Goa said that the fittings and
furniture is being finalized. The IMEI house should be completed
in September 2013.
Shri Dipak B Shah thanked all the speakers of the technical
presentations during the year and also the members who had
assisted in arranging the speakers. He thanked the Chairman Shri
Gaitonde for his whole hearted support in the last 2 years and
all the committee members. He thanked the members for being
present in the AGM. He thanked the Hotel La-paz Gardens for their
hospitality.
The AGM was followed by a contributory family dinner which was
well attended.
www.imare.in
 Obituary
Dr. C.P. Srivastava
~ 1920 – 2013~
D r. Chandrika Prasad Srivastava, KCMG, Secretary-General
Emeritus of the International Maritme Organization (IMO),
and Fellow Member of IME(I) passed away on 22nd July 2013
in Italy at the age of 93.
Dr C.P. Srivastava was born on 08 July, 1920 and was educated in
Lucknow, India. He started his career as a civil servant in India,
serving as the district administrator in Meerut and Lucknow.
From 1964-1966 he worked as Joint Secretary in the office of
Prime Minister of India Sri. Lal Bahadur Shastri.
Early in his career, he found his forte in the field of seafarers
training and welfare. During 1947 to 1948, he was the prime
mover in the establishment of a network of new maritime
training institutions, which have since produced world class
maritime personnel, greatly facilitating the growth of Indian
shipping in the years following Independence.
After a stint at the Directorate General of Shipping, he was
appointed as the Founder Chief Executive of the Shipping
Corporation of India, a Government of India enterprise. He
built it up to become the largest shipping company of India and
one of the biggest and most successful shipping companies of
the world, with a diversified fleet of cargo liners, tankers, bulk
carriers and passenger ships.
In 1974 he was elected to serve as the Secretary-General of the
International Maritime Organization (IMO), and was re-elected
unanimously for three further successive four-year terms, serving
until his retirement in 1989. As Secretary-General of IMO,
Dr. C.P. Srivastava recognized the crucial importance of the
human element in ensuring safety and efficiency in international
shipping. During this time he played a pioneering role in the
establishment of the International Maritime Academy in Italy,
and the International Maritime Law Institute in Malta. He also
established the Sweden-based World Maritime University in
1983 to address a pressing need for maritime professionals in
the developing world. He was also the first Chancellor of WMU
which has become IMO’s centre of excellence for postgraduate
maritime education.
During Dr. Srivastava’s tenure as Secretary-General, IMO
increased its membership considerably. Dr. Srivastava was well
known for his relentless efforts to make IMO known to the
developing world and for encouraging developing countries to
join the “rich men’s club”, as IMO was often referred to at the
time. This shaped the structure of the Organization’s membership
to its present status, whereby two-thirds of the 170-strong
Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
membership (and three Associate Members) is represented by
developing countries.
During his tenure, a comprehensive, pragmatic and co-
ordinated programme of technical co-operation was conceived
and developed and effective steps were taken to promote its
continuing implementation.
He served as Chairman of Indian Register of Shipping (1990
– 1994) during which period IRS was admitted as Associate
Member of International Association of Classification Societies.
Dr. CP Srivastava has lead an incredible life. His record of
achievement stands alone, and provides a clear message about
his accomplishments. List of Honours and Awards, National and
International is very long. Few of them are listed below:
• He received the Padma Bhusan in 1972 in recognition of
his contributions to establishing one of the most successful
public sector undertakings in India.
• In 1990, in recognition of his service and contribution
to world shipping, Dr. C. P. Srivastava was conferred, by
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, the title of
Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished
Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (KCMG).
• In 1991, he received the International Maritime prize from IMO
for his contribution to the Organization's work and objectives.
• In 2005 he was awarded the 2004 Lal bahadur Shastri
National Award for Excellence in Public Administration and
Management Sciences by the then President of India, A. P.
J. Abdul Kalam.
• In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s
second highest civilian award, by the President of India.
Dr. Srivastava will be remembered for his visionary and
pioneering role in development of the world shipping and
exceptionally meritorious services to the International Maritime
Organization with total commitment to its ideals and objectives.
Dr. C.P. Srivastava was married to Nirmala Srivastava, the
founder of Sahaja Yoga, a unique method of meditation, based
on an experience called self-realization. Dr.C. P. Srivastava has
stated that his life has been greatly influenced by his wife and he
has been motivated by her vision of one Almighty God and one
human family. This vision motivated him in all aspects of his life.
He is survived by two daughters, Kalpana Srivastava and
Sadhana Varma.
www.imare.in 13
 Obituary
Mr. B.L. Mehta
~ 1935 – 2013~
Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.
M r. Brij Lal Mehta a fellow member and founder Office
Bearer of IME(I) and a well known figure in the Indian
Shipping Industry passed away on 17th July, 2013 in Mumbai.
Mr. B.L. Mehta was born on 4th June 1935 in Rauwall, District
Gurdaspur, in the state of Punjab. He was a visionary and had
a thought out plan for not only his life, but also for uplifting the
entire family. He was a man with grit and determination and
vision and believed that if you have courage and determination
you can make all your dreams come true.
He started off his professional journey in 1952, when he
joined Naval Dockyard as an apprentice. On completion of
apprenticeship in 1957 he joined Mugul Line as 5th Engineer.
In 1962 he switched over to Jayanti Shipping as 2nd Engineer
and rose to the rank of Chief Engineer in 1964. For excellence
in Engineering knowledge, he was awarded with Gold Medal,
for his 1st Class Examination, by the Mercantile Marine
department Government of India, Mumbai.
In 1965 he stepped ashore and joined Jayanti Shipping
Company as an Engineer Superintendent. In 1969 he joined
Shipping Corporation of India, and rose to the position of
Executive Director of the Public Sector Company. At that
time he was the youngest Director of Public sector shipping
company.
In 1981 he joined Century Shipping, under Aditya Birla
Group, as Chief Executive and was responsible for building
the company and turning it into a profit making shipping
company in a short span of time.
In 1991 he moved to Reliance Industries Ltd. as President,
Shipping Division. He was responsible for setting up and
operating Ethylene Supply chain, for the Hazira Petrochemical
Complex, which was done by uniquely designed shallow draft
Liquefied Ethylene Carriers discharging at dedicated terminal.
This Ship to Ship Ethylene Transfer System was undertaken
for the first time in Asia Pacific region.
Mr. Mehta has represented on various Technical and
Professional shipping bodies like,
14 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
• Chairman of Indian Technical Committee of Lloyd’s
Register of Shipping,
• Member of American Bureau of Shipping and
• President Indian National Ship owners’ Association
(INSA) for two year term.
In 1995 he joined Varun Shipping Company Ltd. as an
Executive President, and built the company fleet to 13 ships
including LPG carriers, amounting to 50% of Indian LPG
fleet.
His papers, which even today, are a bench mark for Indian
LNG policy and emanates from well-researched material, his
administrative and technical knowledge, and long experience.
In 2002, he chose to retire and decided to spend time at
Hrishikesh. He took up his passion, Yoga and meditation.
In 2003, INSA had nominated Mr. B. L. Mehta for the Varuna
Award .
During his entire professional journey he contributed
immensely to the shipping industry.
No matter how many long hours of work he had, he also took
care to meet all the needs of his family. He was married at an
early age of 23 to Sudarshan. She has been a strong pillar of
support and stood beside him through thick and thin. He has
wonderful two sons Sanjeev and Sanjay who are renowned
doctors today. He was extremely fond of his five grandchildren
for whom he will always remain as a role model.
Today when his journey has come to an end we remember him
not with grief but with happiness, not with a sigh of sorrow but
a smile of joy, for all the lives he has touched upon in his life.
A true Guru, a friend, a philosopher, a poet, a mentor, a devoted
son, a visionary, an idealistic, a man of substance.
Shri B.L. Mehta will always be remembered as a man of steel
with a golden heart.
www.imare.in
 News
Honour for Uday Purohit
Managing Director, Neptunus
Group of Companies
H e is the founder Director Neptunus Power Plant Services
Pvt. Ltd which he started in 1996 with a vision to ‘Delight’
customers. He is an expert in Root Cause Analysis of Diesel and
Gas engine failures. Mr. Purohit has set up 38 gas engine based
power plants for Guascor Gas Engines between 2006 and 2010.
He is working closely with the engineering team of Niigata Power
Systems of Japan to tropicalize their gas engines for the Indian
market. He has created and delivered for over a decade training
modules for V Ships’ senior seafarers. He has trained over 2000
Engineers and Mates between 1999 and 2010. His special skills
are Organization building using “Theory of Constraint”, customer
tailored engineering solutions, creating and implementing Quality
Management Systems, analyzing engine failures and designing of
Captive Power Plants.
challenge, Microsoft aimed to reward and celebrate outstanding
He has had a successful career at sea as a Marine Engineer with business leaders from the thriving mid-market sector.
three leading Shipping Companies, Tradax Gestion, Switzerland,
Mobil Oil, UK and Dole Fresh Fruits, USA (1981-1994). He is a It is a unique opportunity for leaders, CEOs and directors of
Member of our Institute midsize businesses to highlight their achievements. The winners
get a chance to have Microsoft (technology), LinkedIn (talent),
He was recently crowned ‘The Completely Boss’ in the Microsoft Moneycontrol.com (media), WebChutney (marketing), DOOR
sponsored challenge rounds where 2700 SMEs participated. The (business consulting) and CRISIL SME Ratings (knowledge)
award recognizes his leadership skills and vision. develop robust 5-year business growth plans for their companies.
Underpinning the growth of SMBs in India, Microsoft started Marine Engineers Review (I) congratulates Mr Uday Purohit for
an initiative named Completely Boss Challenge. Through this this outstanding achievement.

Smart Sulphur Switching Device

D anish-based Insatech has developed the Smart Sulphur Switch
S3 system (S3), which is claimed to minimise a shipping
companies’ additional costs as a result of the requirements of
MARPOL Annex VI.
The price of the S3 is less than 5% of the price for a scrubber, the
company said.
The system has the ability to blend and adjust two fuels to the
desired sulphur content. This enables monitoring and control of
sulphur emissions. It logs and reports net fuel sulphur content,
density and the ship's position and speed.
By installing the S3 system, shipping companies will meet
MARPOL’s requirements for observance, as well as documentation,
of sulphur emissions, Insatech said. Additional costs are minimized,
since there is only a need for two types of fuel aboard.
Irrespective of the ship’s destination, it is only necessary to carry a
marine gas oil (MGO) and a heavy fuel oil (HFO). Outside ECAs,
the cheapest fuel can be burnt and when entering an ECA, the
MGO and HFO blend can be adjusted in order to meet the allowed
sulphur emission in the area.
The system is claimed to be able to provide shipping companies
with significant savings by simplifying logistics regarding fuel
handling, minimising the products needed aboard, reducing the
number of bunker operations and limiting consumption of the more
expensive MGO.
In addition, use of chemicals is avoided and construction costs and
downtime during installation are minimised. The price for the S3
is less than 5% of the price of a gas scrubber, S3 is easy to retrofit
and the ship does not have to be drydocked in order to install
the system, as it can be easily mounted while the ship is at sea.
Maintenance is limited to one yearly calibration.
Currently, Insatech is awaiting the results of an international patent
application for the system.

Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in 15

 News

Carnival Decides on Automatic

Fuel Management System
C arnival Corporation contracts with JOWA Technology
& JOWA WFE for equipment supply, installation &
product training throughout its cruise fleet.
Carnival representatives believe that the automated fuel
switching system by JOWA Technology can save fuel by
optimising fuel changeover time when transiting in or out
of emission control areas, and that the system has proven to
be reliable, consistently accurate, and to reduce the potential
for crew error.
This agreement, says Carnival, follows a period of extensive
testing on board the Princess Cruises’ cruise ship Grand
Princess. The tested Diesel Switch DS MKII includes
a second display in the ECR, a compatibility test kit,
homogenizer and a GPS connection with date/time stamp.
The JOWA Water-in Fuel Emulsion unit was also tested. All The DS MKII also has the built in capability to blend
testing was conducted in co-operation between specialists compatible heavy and distillate fuels, using in-line fuel
from Carnival and JOWA Technology engineers, with blending to safely mix two compatible fuels to obtain a final
independent monitoring by Lloyd’s Register. product with constant, pre-set sulphur content in accordance
with local regulations. To ensure the blending compatibility
Carnival selected JOWA Technology because of their of two fuels, JOWA supplies a simple, portable testing kit for
experience and unique position in the market with the only use by ship’s personnel.
proven, fully automated fuel changeover system. The Diesel
Further, the DS MKII has full control over the temperature
Switch DS MKII is the only unit in the market that carries gradient during fuel change over, minimizing risk of thermal
Class Society Type Approval, and has been acknowledged shock, gassing, and the potential risk for loss of power.
by the United States Coast Guard as capable of improving
the safety of fuel changeover operations. JOWA also has an The JOWA system also offers an electronic data storage
extensive reference list of successful installations outside feature which includes start, stop, sulphur content of HFO,
MDO and Blend Fuel, longitude, latitude, date and time.
the cruise industry.

Maritime Events For Your Diary

Aug. 10, 2013 Mumbai, India. AGM IMEI Mumbai Branch, Navi Mumbai and Gujarat Chapters. +91 22851195/22834035

Aug. 15, 2013 Mumbai, India. Flag Hoisting ceremony at IMEI House Nerul, +91 27701664

Aug. 21, 2013 Delhi, India. AGM IMEI Delhi Branch, contact Ms. Asha on (O) 011-41660109, 011-41660110, (M)9650426134

Sep. 05-07, 2013 Jakarta, Indonesia.Indonesia Maritime Expo.www.maritimexpo.co.id

Oct. 08-10, 2013 Mumbai, India. INMEX India 2013. www.Inmex_India_2013

Oct. 22-25, 2013 Busan, South Korea. International Shipbuilding and Marine Exhibition.
www.reedexpo.com/en Events/2671/KORMARINE

Dec. 04-05, 2013 Warnemünde, Germany, 2nd Arctic Shipping and Offshore Technology Forum. http://imarest.org/arctic

Dec. 11-13, 2014 Mumbai, India.INMARCO-INAvation International Maritime Technology Conference & Exhibition.
+91 22851195/22834035

16 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in

 News

ClassNK Chairman and President

Noboru Ueda Honored at Seatrade
Asia Awards
H ong Kong - ClassNK Chairman and President
Noboru Ueda was honored with the Seatrade Lifetime
Achievement Award at the Seatrade Asia Awards on 21 June
2013 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the
development of the maritime sector in Asia. Held annually
by London-based maritime media company Seatrade
Communications, the Seatrade Asia Awards recognizes
excellence in such fields as innovation, safety, and education
within the Asian maritime industry. The awards ceremony was
held in the JW Marriott Hotel, Hong Kong with the attendance
of almost 400 people from all over the maritime industry.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ueda said: “As chairman and
president of ClassNK, it has been my mission to ensure that
our classification society would make a positive and lasting Noboru Ueda (middle) receiving the Seatrade Lifetime
impact on the maritime industry. I am deeply honored to Achievement Award
receive this award, a symbol that we have achieved some Society Award. These selections were based on ClassNK’s
small part of this goal”. commitment to innovation and activities in the greater
ClassNK was also awarded with the “Classification Asian maritime industry and its dedication to contributing
Society Award” and the “Technical Innovation Award” to the intellectual development of the industry over the past
by a distinguished panel of judges. This marks the third year. The awards were received by Mr. Ueda on behalf of
consecutive year for ClassNK to be awarded the Classification ClassNK.

ClassNK Releases Progressive

Speed Trial Analysis Software
PrimeShip-GREEN/PSTA
T okyo – Leading classification society ClassNK (Chairman
and President: Noboru Ueda) has announced the development
of the software, PrimeShip-GREEN/PSTA (Progressive Speed
Trial Analysis), to help shipyards comply with the Amendment
to MARPOL Annex VI making calculation of a vessel’s EEDI
(Energy Efficiency Design Index) mandatory. The software
analyzes the results from speed trials and calculates a ship’s speed
in calm sea conditions.
The Amendment to MARPOL Annex VI came into force from
January 2013, enforcing mandatory EEDI calculation and EEDI
regulation values for vessels contracted from 1 January 2013
onwards. When calculating EEDI, external factors such as the wind,
waves, tides, shallow waters, and displacement during speed trials
can be corrected for to allow for higher accuracy when determining
a ship’s speed in calm sea conditions. ClassNK developed this
software to provide a straightforward method for compensating for
external factors in progressive speed trial analysis based on ISO
Standard 15016:2002, recognized in the IMO EEDI Guidelines
“2012 GUIDELINES ON SURVEY AND CERTIFICATION OF
THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY DESIGN INDEX (EEDI)”.
ClassNK is committed to supporting the maritime industry in
complying with new international conventions, and is constantly
developing various support tools among others as part of this
commitment.
PrimeShip-GREEN/PSTA is provided to shipyards free of charge.
To apply, please complete the application form available from the
link below and return to the ClassNK EEDI Division.

Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in 17

 News

CSA to Test Ballast Water

Treatment Systems
T he Canadian Shipowners Association (CSA) is working with
the Great Ships Initiative (GSI), to perform efficacy tests of
ballast water filtration systems in the unique, cold, fresh waters
of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Waterway.
The CSA, run by President Robert Lewis-Manning, represents
the interests of short sea ship owners, whose vessels operate
trade routes within a single continent only.
The Great Ships Initiative (GSI), is a project of the Northeast-
Midwest Institute (NEMWI), that since its establishment in 2006
has had as its main objective the eradication of ship-facilitated
or ship-caused invasive species in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence
Seaway System, as well as globally.
It does so by providing performance/verification testing services
to developers of ballast water management systems (BWMS)
across the product developing phase, including bench, land-
based and shipboard.
With the recent ratification of the Ballast Water Convention
by Germany, the legislation is near coming into force which
highlights more than ever the urgency behind the newly
announced partnership: To date no technology has been type-
approved for operation in the GLSLW waters, where Canadian
vessels operate.
“Many of these international initiatives were developed with
the best of intentions, but when applied to domestic short sea
shipping, they have unintended consequences that could limit the
industry's attempts to innovate and renew with new vessels. The
marine industry in Canada and the United States has never faced
a single regulatory and environmental challenge as complex as
that associated with the regulation of ballast water discharges,”
writes Robert Lewis-Manning, President of the Canadian
Shipowners Association, in his Letter from the President.
“It is unlikely that Canadian government officials, or industry
for that matter, ever considered the impact to short sea shipping
when the Ballast Water Convention was conceived over a decade
ago, nor even when Canada ratified the Convention in 2010. innovative technologies and best management practices to
The marine industry in Canada and the United States remains improve performance, safety and to protect the environment.”
poised to develop a made-in-the-Great-Lakes solution to ballast
water and other regulations, but it will require leadership and “The partnership of our membership with GSI is important
collaboration between industry, government at all levels and because it builds on our industry’s leadership and demonstrates
across boarders, and the scientific community in order to develop the commitment of the members of the Canadian Shipowners
sustainable outcomes,” He went on to explain in the letter. Association to find solutions that are practical, can work in our
Recent investments of over $700 million in 14 new vessels have unique operating environment and will achieve results in a cost
positioned the short sea Canadian industry for growth, whilst effective manner,” He continued.
this new partnership marks a key step forward towards the types Since 2006, a bi-national (Canada - U.S) requirement between
of collaborations that Lewis-Manning describes as being so Canada and the United States, in which a mid-ocean ballast water
essential to the industry's survival. exchange has been enforced, has meant that no new organisms
He explained in the recent press release detailing the partnership: have been detected in the GLSLW from beyond Canadian
“Our membership has a track record of leading the use of territorial waters.

18 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in

 News
Draft EC Legislation For
Monitoring, Reporting and
Verification of GHG Emissions
European Commission Proposed Strategy
The EC proposed strategy is to develop a three phase approach
consisting of: initial development for MRV reporting; future
development of GHG reduction targets for shipping; and, in
the medium to long term, the possible application of additional
provisions such as a Market Based Measure (MBM).
The EC proposes that a European system could either be used as
the basis for a global system to be adopted by IMO, or in the event
of agreement being reached at IMO; the European proposals could
be modified to align with any future IMO system.
Key features of EC Legislative Proposals
The following key features are included in the EC proposals:
1. From 1 January 2018, CO2 emissions and fuel efficiency for
ships of greater than 5000GT will be monitored for:
I. Voyages between ports within the EU;
II. Voyages into Europe from the last non-EU port to the first
EU port of call;
CSCL Equips More of its Fleet
with ECO-Assistant
S hanghai/Hamburg, 28 June 2013 - To enhance the operational
efficiency of its fleet, China Shipping Container Lines Co.,
Ltd. (CSCL) has rolled out ECO-Assistant onto its entire fleet of
eight 14,000TEU container vessels, following a successful test
of the software on one of these vessels. Furthermore, an extra
agreement was signed to expand the deployment of ECO-Assistant
to another eight 9,600TEU container vessels of CSCL's fleet.
ECO-Assistant is advanced trim optimisation software developed
by FutureShip, the maritime consultancy unit of classification
society Germanischer Lloyd (GL). Once installed onboard, it can
produce instant fuel savings and a reduction of the ship's CO2
emissions.
The sea trial report provided by FutureShip demonstrated that fuel
savings of 10% have been achieved in one sailing of the 14,000TEU
container vessel using the tool. A further verification test conducted
by CSCL resulted in a reduction of fuel consumption of up to 8.2%.
ECO-Assistant has displayed in the real operation its instant effect
in saving fuel and cutting down on emissions. While used as a
hands-on tool for lowering the operational cost of a fleet, it also has
Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
III. Voyages from an EU port to the next non-EU port of call;
and
IV. Emissions from ships within EU ports will also be subject
to MRV
2. In addition to monitoring of the amount and type of fuel
consumed, it is proposed that information will also be required
on: distance travelled; cargo and/or passengers carried; and
time spent at sea. The proposed use and definitions of these
additional parameters are not clear. It is suggested that they
could be adjusted at a later stage following consideration;
3. Data is to be independently verified and reported to both the
European Commission and the ship's Flag State. A future
requirement (from 2019) for the carriage of a “Document of
Compliance” is also proposed; and
4. Information will be published identifying individual ships and
their owners with annual averages for a range of parameters
including: fuel consumption & CO2 emissions; distance
travelled; cargo carried; time at sea etc.
the potential to be instrumental in reducing the fuel consumption
and environmental footprint of the whole shipping industry.
Trim is one of the central drivers of energy efficiency in ship
operation. The ECO-Assistant delivers an optimum trim angle for a
specific ship with an input of a few simple operational parameters,
such as current speed, displacement and water depth. As a result,
fuel savings and reduction of CO2 emissions can be realised
instantly. The initial investment in implementing the system can
usually be paid back in the short term.
"As well as its instant effect, this software is easy to install, as there
is no need to modify the vessels. The software itself is also very
user friendly, so the training required is minimally time intensive,"
said Vincent Li, Vice President of FutureShip China. "The system
can also be deployed in all types of vessels, including container
vessels, multi-purpose vessels and bulk carriers."
Since its launch in 2009, there have been more than 300 installations
of the tool onboard and onshore across the globe. In Asia, it is being
employed by many large operators including Masterbulk. In 2012,
ECO-Assistant won the Environment Award at the Lloyd's List
Asia Awards.
www.imare.in 19
 News

Another LNG Powered Vessel

Takes To the Waves
T his past month saw the first of Fjord Line's two new cruise
ferries, which will be LNG powered, christened at Bergen
Group Fosen’s Rissa shipyard. On 8th July 2013, Fjord Line then
Fosen. They have all proven that high quality shipbuilding and
outfitting is still alive and well in our country,” said Fardal.
The vessel was named by Janne Johnsen, mayor of Rogaland
accepted delivery for the first of the pair, the MS Stavangerfjord.
county. “Our finest dreams have come true,” said Fardal at the
Even before delivery, the vessel had generated high expectations: ceremony.
its efficiency credientials had already been recognised by the
500 permanent and contract staff at the Bergen Group Fosen
Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization
shipyard were involved in the ship building process of the MS
(IMO), Koji Sekimizu with an award for energy efficiency at
Stavangerfjord. Next to join the fleet will be the sister ship, MS
NorShipping.
Bergensfjord.
The vessel's four gas engines, each with twelve cylinders and
The vessel has originally been due for delivery in May, but was
delivering 5,400 kW (7,300 hp), were delivered by Rolls Royce.
pushed back a full month to the end of June. “We have booked the
The cruise ferries will be the first in the world to run exclusively on
most technically advanced equipment available, and just have to
LNG, with substantially reduced emissions as a result.
take into account that the yard needs more time to get this in place
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions will be reduced by a huge 92%, and tested,” said Fardal at the time that the news broke.
whilst sulphur emissions will be eradicated. PM will also show a
The financial ramifications will be explained in Fjord Line's
significant drop of 98%. The technology will also offer a net drop
quarterly financial report.
of GHG C02 of 22%.
At the naming ceremony, the Shipyard Director Anders Straumsheim
“Air pollution while docked in port will also be minimal because
was upfront about the difficulties, ended on a positive note: “So
the diesel auxiliary engines have been equipped with powerful
that makes it even more gratifying to be able to deliver this elegant
catalytic converters. That means the cruise ferries will not add to
ship with new designs and environmentally-friendly LNG engines
the winter smog problems that sometimes hit Bergen and other
that will set the standard for similar projects to come.”
cities,” said Fjord Line's CEO Ingvald Fardal.
On its maiden voyage, the ship will call on Stavanger and Bergen,
“There are many who deserve a great vote of thanks for carrying
before returning to Hirtshals on July 16. It will make its first
out this amazing feat: Our owners who made these investments
crossing to its new terminal in Langesund, Norway the same day.
possible; our financial partners; our government that invested
through the NOx Fund in environmentally sound technologies. We MS Stavangerfjord is 170 meters long and can accommodate 1,500
also thank everyone who helped with the design and planning of passengers in its summer configuration. The cargo decks can carry
everything from technically important details to artistic decorations, up to 600 motor vehicles. The vessel will serve the lines Bergen-
not to mention the subcontractors and everyone at Bergen Group Stavanger-Hirtshals and Hirtshals-Langesund.

The Institute Of Marine Enginers (India)

IMEI HOUSE, Plot No. 94, Sector – 19, Nerul, Navi Mumbai. Tel: 2770 1664, 27706749 Telefax: 27711663 (Direct),
email: training@imare.in • Website: www.imare.in

REGISTRATION OPEN FOR Following DGS APPROVED COURSES

• Refresher & Upgradation Course for Engineer Officers commencing on 19th August 2013
• MEO CL. IV (NCV) 4 months Course Commencing on 15th September 2013
• MEO CL. II (FG) – 4 months Prep. Course commencing on 3rd DEC. 2013/ 2nd Jan.2014
• MEO CL. III(NCV_CEO) & (NCV_SEO) preparatory course commencing on 1st August 2013
Note : Payment can be done online through our website: www.imare.in and also through the ICICI Bank on A/C No.: 015101031872
in the name of “Institute of Marine Engineers (India)” only after confirming the availability of seats.
For enquiries contact on 022-27711663 between 1400 – 1700hrs
Features: Experienced Faculty, Air Conditioned Class Rooms, Well-Stocked Library, Individual
attention; special tutorials for orals.

20 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in

 News

Owner Prepares for Tier III NOx

Regulations with SCR System
M itsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. Is set to test a Selective Catalytic
Reduction (SCR) system across three power generators
of an MOL-operated oceangoing freighter to demonstrate NOx
denitration under the actual operation of freighter, to meet the
IMO's Tier III NOx regulations.
The SCR system, which was jointly developed by MOL, Yanmar
Co., Ltd. and Namura Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. , was verified by
Class NK earlier this month, thereby ensuring it meets the NOx
Tier III emission limit. The system was developed with support
from ClassNK's "Joint R&D with Industries and Academic
Partners" program.
SCR catalytic reactor onboard the vessel includes bypass system
which is onboard to save engine room space and allow greater
flexibility in design. Space needed for peripheral equipment is
reduced by integrating control of three units.
The test operation on an actual vessel is scheduled to last about
two years in order to observe operability and refilling of aqueous
urea, and ensure that all three SCR systems function properly under
normal power generator operating conditions. Mitsui claims that
long-term performance of the system can be maintained even if
the engines use Bunker C and other fuels that contain high levels
of impurities.
MARPOL Annex VI regulates NOx emissions from vessels and
diesel engines used on vessels built after 2016 will have to reduce
NOx emissions by more than 80% from the Tier I NOx emission
standards in ECAs, including North America.
The SCR system will give Mitsui the opportunity to develop
valuable operational experience with the new equipment and allow
the liner to adapt with a slower, more measured phase-in period
than if Mitsui neglected to react to the forthcoming legislation until
it was enforced.
As one of the strategies in its single-year management plan RISE
2013, Mitsui is searching to ways in which to reduce environmental
pollution and enhance efficiency in line with its commitment to
reduce costs.
The strategy is three-pronged: Number one, to transform the
business model of MOL through expansion of overseas and scaling
back free tonnage; Secondly, to achieve a higher level of business
intelligence to ensure continued strategic business decisions;
Lastly, to reduce costs.
Last month, this strategy paid off when MOL was recognised by
the port of both Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, for its
efforts to introduce slow steaming across its fleet.
Both ports aim to encourage operators to slow down to 12 knots
or less within a certain range of the ports to reduce emissions and
offer annual rewards to vessel operators that achieve extraordinary
compliance percentages.

Issue Of Watch Keeping Certificates (WKC)

and Tanker Endorsement (TE)
T he Institute of Marine Engineers (India) has been authorized by Directorate General of shipping to issue Watch Keeping Certificates
(WKC) to Engine room ratings, and Tanker Endorsements (TE) to Engine Room Ratings, Engine Room Petty Officers and Engineer
Officer Trainees, vide addendum to NT/ENGG. Circular No. 12 of 2012 dated 16.04.2013.
The Facilitation Centre started its operation from 3rd of June 2013 at IMEI House, Sector-19,Plot No. 94, Nerul, Navi Mumbai. 400706.
The collection of relevant application form and documents has commenced from 3rd June on working days (Monday to Friday 1000 hrs
to 1300 hrs)
Applicants are advised to report along with the forms and documents as mentioned below.
1) Application Form ( as per DGS-NT/ENGG. Cir. No. 12 of 2012)
2) Documents ( as per DGS-NT/ENGG. Cir. No. 12 of 2012)
3) Demand Drafts as Follows.
a) In case of application of WKC
1) One DD for Rs. 1250/-favouring “Principal Officer MMD Mumbai”
AND
2) One DD for Rs. 1685/- Service tax inclusive, favouring “The Institute of Marine Engineers (India)”
b) In case of application of Tanker Endorsements- TE (for each Endorsement)
1) One DD for Rs. 1000/-favouring “Principal Officer MMD Mumbai”
AND
2) One DD for Rs. 1124/- service tax inclusive, favouring “The Institute of Marine Engineers (India)”

Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in 21

 News

Closed Loop Scrubber Cleaning

Patent for Alfa Laval?
A lfa Laval Aalborg have applied for a patent for their new
cleaning apparatus that works on polluted scrubber fluid in
the exhaust gas scrubber fluid loop.
cruise ships had a value of SEK 55
million and delivery is scheduled
for 2013 and 2014.
The patent application states: “The system reduces shortcomings of Alfa Laval Aalborg, of the former
closed-loop scrubber systems by further improving environmental Aalborg Industries, offers a host
aspects of exhaust treatment procedures, improving the efficiency of solutions across industries,
in exhaust treatment procedures, minimising the amount of of which scrubbers is but one.
waste material that needs to be handled and disposed and They offer marine boilers and
further minimising the need for service and diminishing heat exchangers, thermal fluid
problems with process equipment handling scrubber fluid.” systems, inert gas systems, floating
How does the system work? The disc stack centrifugal separator production systems, and industrial
separates pollutants from scrubber fluid. The polluted scrubber boilers.
fluid is then siphoned off from the scrubber fluid loop to be The luxury cruise liners will benefit
disposed of. from a 98% reduction in sulphur
The separator includes a rotor enclosing a separation space oxides from its emissions.
with a stack of separating discs. A separator inlet extends into
“This order proves the technical
the separating space, with a first separator outlet for cleaned
acceptance among the largest
scrubber fluid extending from the separating space. The
players in the marine industry
second separator outlet is for the pollutant phase extending
for our Alfa Laval PureSOx
from the separating space.
system,” said Lars Renström,
Earlier in the year, Alfa Laval won an order from MAN Diesel President and CEO of the Alfa
& Turbo to supply its Alfa Laval PureSOx scrubber for two Laval Group at the time.

22 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in

 Technical
Titanic and the ISM Code
Mr Vikrant Rai (F-3874)
Abstract
The sinking of Titanic has become one of the most well known
disasters in history. It has become a metaphor for a disaster waiting
to happen. It is now part of our mythology and we continue to
find it fascinating. It sank on 14 April 1912 after a collision with a
massive iceberg in less than 3 hours.
The following few examples clearly show that even prior to Titanic
collisions happened at sea and there were loss of life:
A) White Star Ship Republic (15378 GRT, 525 Passenger, and
297 Crew) Collided with Lloyd Italiano liner Florida on 22 Jan
1909; bow crushed back to Collision bulkhead; 4 Passengers died
due to impact; Passengers and crew were however rescued but
Republic Sank.
B) Yoshino, a Japanese Cruiser collided with armoured Cruiser
Kasuga in dense fog on 15 May 1904 and sank with a loss of 319
lives.
C) On 30th January 1895, under stormy conditions in North Sea,
SS Elbe (4510GRT) with 354 passengers on board, collided with
SS Crathie.
Shipping is known to be associated with the risk of losing ship and
lives since the earliest days. In 1800’s many ships were lost; in the
single year 1821-22 in North sea 2000 ships were lost with over
20,000 people on board and in between 1876 and 1892, 10,381
British ships were lost with about 27,000 mariners and 3600
passengers. The internationalization of shipping regulatory regime
never took place because in those times all cause of casualties were
defined as “force majeure” in order to remove liability. Moreover,
the principle of economy being laissez faire, every intervention of
governments was strongly rejected by ship owners and seafarers
{1}.
However, the industrial revolution causing rise in sea trade,
shipping, shipbuilding and increased size of ships resulted in safety
at sea gaining importance and ultimately maritime administrations
and ship owners gave up under pressure of public opinion moved
by high mortality on board ships.
The demise of Titanic was the seed sown for Internationalization
of shipping regulatory regime when SOLAS was born in 1914.
Before SOLAS was born, and during the 19th century regulations
concerning safety varied from country to country, though,
Republic Yoshino
Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
significant move was made towards international regulations on
ship safety in 1857 with the introduction of the International Code
of Signal in 1863 when the Rule of the Road at sea was established
as an international agreement aimed at avoiding collisions between
ships.
The US and British Inquiry into Titanic sinking pointed fingers
directly and indirectly at various aspects of the Ship design and
operation. This included the sub-division of the vessel, lifeboat
capacity and operation of ship which directly linked lack of
emergency preparation to loss of lives. It indirectly pointed
fingers on Risk Management in ships operation.
The purpose of this paper is to give an insight into the journey
of SOLAS in last 100 Years and how the shipping regulations
have changed from being correction to preventions especially in
ship design and operations. It will deal with shift in regulatory
regime from prescriptive/corrective to proactive/risk based/
preventive nature. It will also deal with how ISM Code which
is prevention based regulatory regime and its significance in
prevention by relating it to the tragic Titanic demise.
The SOLAS Journey- Last 100 Years- From Prescriptive
towards Goal/Risk Based
Someone has said it well that “Revelations breed Regulations”.
It is well said for shipping: “No one notices us when things are
going right.” When high-profile accidents have thrust shipping
into the public eye, societal concern has often prompted significant
regulatory changes.
The First 50 Years- A Slow and Correction Based Journey
The first 50 years of SOLAS Journey was exactly as said above.
The provision of adequate life saving equipment was the primary
topic when the first International Convention for the Safety of Life
at Sea met in 1914, in response to the Titanic disaster. In the early
Twentieth Century very little attention was paid to containing and
extinguishing fires in ships. The 1914 Convention did however
give some consideration to fire hazards. This was largely because
of the public impact of the loss of the small British emigrant carrier
Volturno (3,581 tons) which had been destroyed by fire in mid-
Atlantic the previous year with the loss of 136 lives.
The outbreak of World War I prevented entry of SOLAS in 1915,
although many provisions were adapted by individual nations.
However in 1929, 18 countries attended another international
Elbe
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conference, which adopted a new SOLAS Convention, which
entered into force in 1933. A third SOLAS was adopted in 1948-
which was a greatly expanded version and covered a variety of
ships including Cargo ships of 500gt and above with detailed
requirements. The 1948 SOLAS was again corrective in nature
and included non-combustible construction regulations which
today form the basis of Fire safety regulations for passenger ships-
again due to lessons learnt from investigation of the Morro Castle
Fire, and thus placed great emphasis on Fire safety on board by
including three new parts D, E and F.
In 1960 another SOLAS Convention was adopted which can be
considered a landmark regulatory move in following two aspects:
- Creation of IMO to develop and maintain a comprehensive
regulatory frame work for shipping.
- It adopted an amendment adoption procedure which stated that
amendments will enter into force 12 months after being accepted
by 2/3rd of contracting parties to the parent convention. This
was a setback to the efforts to respond to the lessons learnt
from major disasters and keep the SOLAS convention in line
with technical developments. This was in essence a delay in
implementation of the corrective action.
This ERA was basically an implementation of corrective
action era, though some advances taken from War ships were
implemented.
The Next Half A Century 1960-2012 of Forward Movement- 50
Years of Correction and Prevention.
The 1960 SOLAS had delayed implementation of corrective
action by adopting above stated amendment adoption procedure.
With a smaller number of contracting governments, ratification
of amendments were fast, but as more and more countries ratified
SOLAS, it was found difficult to meet ratification criterion of 2/3rd
of parties to parent convention.
However this decade can always be referred as an era of fast
corrective and preventive actions.
The next SOLAS adopted in 1974 and later on was a period of
progressive developments on following two accounts:
A) It adopted the Tacit acceptance procedure where in all
amendments would enter into force by a certain specified date
unless rejected by 1/3rd of contracting parties or parties whose
combined merchant fleets represents not less than 50% of
world gross tonnage. The usual time frame from circulation of
proposed amendments through to entry into force is 24 months.
A resolution adopted in 1994 however, makes provision for an
accelerated amendment procedure to be used in exceptional
circumstances - allowing the entire process to be cut to 12
months. To gain acceptance, amendments are often only
mandatory for ships built after a specified date.
B) For the first time Risk based approach in shipping were
introduced as an alternative to deterministic damage stability
regulations and it should provide at least same degree of
safety as by the deterministic damage stability regulations.
The revision of SOLAS Ch.II-2 concerning fire protection
was finalized in 2000. It adopted an approach where safety
objectives and functional requirements are formulated initially
and where these are to be achieved either by compliance with
24 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
the included prescriptive requirements or by alternative design
and arrangements based on engineering analysis to be evaluated
and approved by the Administration. The IMO adopted
International Goal based Ship Construction Standards for Bulk
Carriers and Oil Tankers(l>=150m), along with amendments
to Chapter II-1 of the International Convention for the Safety
of Life at Sea (SOLAS), making their application mandatory,
with an entry into force date of 1 January 2012. It will require
new ships to be designed and constructed for a specified design
life and to be safe and environmentally friendly, in intact and
specified damage conditions, throughout their life. Under the
regulation, ships should have adequate strength, integrity and
stability to minimize the risk of loss of the ship or pollution
to the marine environment due to structural failure, including
collapse, resulting in flooding or loss of watertight integrity.
Analysis- Correction and Prevention Regime.
Prescriptive VS Goal Based Design[6]
In the last 40 years IMO has moved towards a journey of Prevention
and Correction. Though it is often suggested that for optimal
allocations of available natural and financial resources, Risk
based designs are very important. It is equally important to note
that Risk is function of Probability of occurrence of an event and
severity of its consequences. This occurrence of an event though
is a combination of many factors (e.g. for collisions, the factors
can be traffic density, navigation, human factors, environmental
conditions etc.), it is also a distillation of past experience (statistics)
same like Prescriptive requirements.
Derbyshire, a 5 year old capsize bulk carrier sank in 1980 and the
investigations revealed that the unimagined abnormal wave of 14m
height and failure of forward ventilator openings and cargo hold
hatch covers led to implementation of SOLAS CH XII.
Prescriptive and Risk based regulatory regime has to go hand in
hand so that we are able to learn from our past experience and also
do not sit ideal on our past laurels till something happens.
Titanic and The ISM Code
A question that crosses my mind every time when I hear or read
about Titanic is:
Were the Seeds of the Present day ISM Code sown on 14 April
1912 with the sinking of the Titanic? Are these seeds watered by
subsequent disasters at Sea to be grown as the ISM Tree adopted
as an amendment to SOLAS in 1994 and entered into force on 1
July 1998.
I try to look for answers to following points before finding any
answer to the above question.
1. Was the Design of Titanic Flawed?
A) One of the Key recommendations of the British Board of Trade
Inquiry report was:
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 Technical
Better watertight compartmenting schemes, (which includes both: a)
fitting of watertight decks at a convenient distance above waterline
and b) double skin up to waterline or fitting of longitudinal vertical
watertight bulkhead on each side of the vessel) both to reduce the
likelihood of a ships sinking and to keep the ship on an even keel if
the watertight compartments get filled. A bulkhead committee was
set up to analyze this.
The above shows that Court speculated that some loss of life could
have been avoided if the Titanic’s watertight compartments have
been more efficiently designed.
B) The lower section of the Titanic was divided into sixteen major
watertight compartments that could easily be sealed off if part of
the hull was punctured and leaking water. After the collision with
the iceberg, the hull portion of six of these sixteen compartments
was damaged as above shown. Sealing off the compartments was
completed immediately after the damage was realized by way of
shutting off the watertight doors between the compartments, but as
the bow of the ship began to pitch forward from the weight of the
water in that area of the ship, the water in some of the compartments
began to spill over into adjacent compartments. Although
compartments were called watertight they were actually only
watertight horizontally; their tops were open and the walls extended
only a few feet above the waterline. If transverse bulkheads (the
walls of the watertight compartments that are positioned across the
width of the ship) had been a few feet taller, the water would have
been contained within the damaged compartments. Consequently,
the sinking ship would have been slowed, possibly allowing
enough time for nearby ships to help. However, because of the
extensive flooding of the bow compartments and the subsequent
flooding of the entire ship, the Titanic was gradually pulled below
the waterline.
C) The Titanic was designed to survive a head on collision that
would have flooded the first four compartments or for a side on
collision flooding a maximum of two compartments.
The question that is often asked is how a compartment can be
watertight if the walls do not extend all the way up. The answer is
that the height of two watertight bulkheads is calculated by taking
Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
the volume of the compartment that is created between them and
assuming the compartment is completely flooded and subtracts that
volume from the ship’s displacement. If the tops of the bulkheads
are tall enough to be above the ship’s new load draft line after
losing the subject compartment, then water will not rise over the
tops, even if the affected compartment isn’t capped by a watertight
deck, the bulkheads are still considered to be watertight.
Analysis: It is important to understand that any design, whether
it is for a ship or an airplane, must be done in anticipation of
potential failures. In the case of Titanic, the engineers would
have been asking themselves:
“What if we have a hole in the hull?”
Well, water is going to come in.
How much water?
That depends on how big the hole is!
So the designer has to make this calculation and you can always
imagine a bigger hole or some worse condition.
Moreover, engineering and design are an important part of any
construction project, but they are part of a larger system that
includes the people that will manage and use the project’s end
product, whether it is an ocean liner or spacecraft.
The above all clearly shows that there is no design which can
ensure that no incident/accident/disaster will ever take place
and we have to be prepared to deal with emergencies.
2. Though Lifeboats on the ship met regulatory standards of
1912, still it was not sufficient for all the people on board?
It is said that the British government’s Board of Trade allowed
Titanic to sail with insufficient lifeboat accommodation. The
government simply had not kept abreast of advances in marine
engineering and based all life-saving regulations on ships up to
10,000 grt (gross registered tons) which were required to carry 16
lifeboats. Titanic was 46,329 grt. A ship designed to accommodate
3,511 passengers and crew was only required to provide lifeboat
accommodation for 962. In fact, White Star provided her with four
extra collapsible boats, increasing capacity to 1,178.
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However, the facts are that the passengers were reluctant to leave
the safety of the ship initially and many boats were launched
partially empty. With “Women and children first” the imperative
for loading lifeboats, Second Officer, who was loading boats on
the port side, only allowed men to board if oarsmen were needed,
even if there was room. First Officer, who was loading boats on the
starboard side, let men on board if women were absent. As the ship
increasingly began to settle by the head, people started to become
more nervous and some lifeboats began leaving fully loaded. By
02:05, the entire bow was under water, but two of the lifeboats had
still not been launched.
The above shows that no lessons had been learnt from SS Elbe
which sank in 1895. Within 20 minutes of the collision, the Elbe
had sunk and the only survivors were the 20 people in the one
surviving lifeboat. Though the Captain gave the order to abandon
ship, amid great scenes of panic the crew managed to lower two
of the Elbe’s lifeboats. One of the lifeboats capsized as too many
passengers tried in vain to squeeze into the boat. Twenty people
scrambled into the second lifeboat, of which 15 were members of
the crew. It is worthwhile to note that SS Elbe was 4510 grt and
lifeboat requirements were in force till passenger ships of 10000
grt at that time.
The above facts clearly indicate lack of emergency preparedness;
the crew were not given any standard emergency instructions as
can be seen from 1st officer allowing men to board and 2nd officer
not allowing the same. Even if boats would have provided for
all the people, unless the passengers are briefed what to do in an
emergency and crew is clear about their roles, it would have been
difficult to board all the passengers on the lifeboats. Another case
of lack of emergency preparedness.
3. In an era of no STCW convention were the Master and Crew
of Titanic competent? If yes, were they competent/prepared to
deal with emergencies?
Over the past hundred years, training has moved from being
localized and unregulated to a global footing and is now subject
to close international scrutiny. The STCW Convention in 1978
established international benchmarks in training and since being
amended in 1995 and 2010.
The glaring failures in emergency management can be sighted in
below mentioned points indicated by the inquiry reports:
- No general alarm was sounded, no whistle blown and no
systematic warning was given to the endangered passengers,
and it was fifteen or twenty minutes after the collision before
Captain Smith ordered the Titanic’s wireless operator to send
out a distress message.
- The Titanic’s crew were only meagrely acquainted with their
positions and duties in an accident and only one drill was held
before the maiden trip. Many of the crew joined the ship only
a few hours before she sailed and were in ignorance of their
positions until the following Friday.
- ”Officers and crew were strangers to one another. … When
the crisis came there was a state of absolute unpreparedness
… Titanic’s crew had never acted as a team to lower the ship’s
boats. … Untrained and untried, and … unfamiliar with the
lifeboats’ capacity … [they failed] to utilize lifeboats to their
capacity … [resulting] in the needless sacrifice of several
hundred lives which might otherwise have been saved”.
26 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
Here it is worthwhile to mention that the Master, 2/O and 4/O held
an Extra Masters Certificate and the other officers which included
C/O, 1/O, 3/O, 5/0 and 6/O were Masters Certificate holders.
Analysis: This clearly states that whatever be the competencies
or qualifications, there is one thing you cannot take away from
this tragedy; it is remembering that emergency drills can
and do save lives. A majority of people roll their eyes at the
mention of emergency drills; many fail to take part and the
ones that do usually just go through the motions. In the event of
an emergency these people would have known where to locate
a life jacket and where to evacuate. Boring, perhaps, but life
saving, quite possibly.
4. How was Risk Managed on Titanic? Since the time I have
been sailing I have always noted that though ISM had not
been implemented, Risk Management was always a part of
Maritime Culture.
Let us look at some facts:
In reviewing the active failures that led to the disaster, we begin with
Captain Smith. Captains are ultimately responsible for everything
that happens on the ship. When he was informed of an ice field
ahead, Captain Smith did not reduce his speed. He considered the
fact that it was a clear night with good visibility and that no ice
fields were in sight.
Titanic rushed onward on her true course, one recognized as
appropriate … yet dangerous at this season of the year, when the
Labrador Current may be bearing vast masses of ice across the
track of ships.
Ice positions were so definitely reported to the Titanic just preceding
the accident located ice on both sides of the track or lane which the
Titanic was following.
Captain Smith’s assumed, based on his past successful experience,
was that Titanic could establish visual contact with any iceberg in
front of the ship in sufficient time to manoeuvre and avoid it.
Wireless Officer Phillips was responsible for sending and receiving
messages on the one radio channel available at the time. He placed
priority on sending out personal messages. While he did receive
and pass on some iceberg warnings, he asked the senders to stop
transmitting them
No general discussion took place among the officers; no conference
was called to consider these warnings; no heed was given to
them. The speed was not relaxed, the lookout was not increased.
Basically No Risk Management
Conclusions
The Regulatory regime in last 100 years has moved from an era of
prescriptive requirements which were mainly a distillation of past
experience to an era of Risk based prescriptive requirements. We
often complain about two many regulations and when something
happens always blame the regulatory authorities for the lack of
vision. Henry Petroski has aptly said the following:
The Cycles of success and failure: When we have prolonged period
of success, we tend to become overconfident and complacent that
what we are doing is right, and we have finally got it figured out.
And then failure occurs and we look more closely at what we have
been doing and discover that in fact we have not been building
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 Technical
perfects ships, machines and systems. Everything has to evolve and
enough scope should be given for this evolution. Presently IMO
pro-activeness is an indication of coming to age by not getting
caught this cycle of success and failure.
Moreover there is nothing called a perfect design as any design
is made in anticipation of potential failures. The anticipation is
the probability, which is again a distillation of past experience
among other factors. Therefore, it is important that we understand
the necessity of continuous Risk assessment and management
and emergency preparedness. In this regard ISM Code can be
considered a landmark piece of legislation in shipping.
References:
1. System and Risk approach to ship safety, with special emphasis
of stability; Lech Kobylinski; Archives of Civil and Mechanical
Engineering, Vol VII;
2. Latest IMO Developments On Fire Protection; Downloaded
From Google Worldwide Website on 20 August 2012; www.
imo.org/blast/blastData.asp?doc_id=8969&filename...pdf -
3. Focus on IMO; Surviving disaster-life saving at Sea; January
2000; Downloaded from Google Worldwide Website on 31
August 2012; www.imo.org/OurWork/Safety/Regulations/
Documents/surviving.FIN.pdf - Cached
and Marine Engineering, The Universities of Glasgow and
Strathclyde, UK, Safety at Sea Ltd (SaS), Glasgow, UK; ;
Downloaded from Google Worldwide Website on 31 August
2012; www.safety-at-sea.co.uk/pdf/2005_Passenger_Ship_
Safety.pdf
7. T he Practicalities of Goal-Based Safety Regulation; By
J Penny, A Eaton CAA (SRG), PG Bishop, RE Bloomfield
(Adelard); Downloaded from Google Worldwide Website on
31 August 2012; www.adelard.com/papers/scsc2001_sw01.pdf
8. Safety in shipping: The human element; By Catherine
Hetherington, Rhona Flin, Kathryn Mearns; Downloaded from
Google Worldwide Website on 1 September 2012; www.abdn.
ac.uk/iprc/documents/safety_in_shipping.pdf -
9. HUMAN ELEMENT IN SHIPPING ACCIDENTS; By Lee
Seng Kong, Director (Shipping/Corporate Communications)
Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore; Downloaded from
Google Worldwide Website on 1 September 2012; www.
itfglobal.org/seafarers/icons-site/images/maritime_PA.pdf
10. Passenger Ship Disasters- Part 1; Downloaded From Google
Worldwide Website on 20 August 2012; www.shipsnostalgia.
com/guides/Passenger_Ship_Disasters_-_Part_1 -

4. Introduction to Risk-Based Approaches in the Maritime 11.

Industry; Pierre C. Sames; Downloaded from Google
Worldwide Website on 31 August 2012; rd.springer.com/
chapter/10.1007/978-3-540-89042-3_1
5. GOAL-BASED STANDARDS – A NEW APPROACH
TO THE INTERNATIONAL REGULATION OF SHIP
CONSTRUCTION; H. Hoppe, Maritime Safety Division,
International Maritime Organization; Downloaded from
Google Worldwide Website on 31 August 2012; www.imo.org/
ourwork/safety/shipdesign/documents/goal.pdf
6. Passenger Ship Safety – Science Paving the Way; Dracos
Vassalos, Andrzej Jasionowski, Luis Guarin, The Ship Stability
Research Centre (SSRC), Department of Naval Architecture
The limits of technological solutions to sustainable
development; By M.H. Huesemann; Downloaded from
Google World Wide Website on 15 October 2012; content.
csbs.utah.edu/.../Huesemann_The%20Limits%20to%20
Technological%20Solutions.pdf
12. MANAGING THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN MODERN
SHIP DESIGN AND OPERATION; By R V Pomeroy and B
M Sherwood Jones Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, London,
UK; Downloaded From Google Worldwide Website on 15
September 2012; general.marinefiles.net/.../MANAGING%20
THE%20HUMAN%20ELEMENT%20IN%20MODERN.
Author is Surveyor with Lloyds Register of Shipping

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Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in 27

 Technical
Preliminary Report of MSC92
The 92nd session of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC92) was held at the headquarters of the IMO in London from 12 to 21 June
2013. A summary of the outcome is given hereunder for your information. Please note that this summary has been made based on informal
information obtained from participants from ClassNK and Working Papers distributed during MSC92 with priority given to disseminating
the information as early as practicable.
1. Adopted mandatory requirements
(1) Passenger ship safety (SOLAS III/19)
Outline: To require that on a ship engaged on a voyage where
passengers are scheduled to be on board for more than 24 hours,
musters of newly-embarked passengers shall take place prior to or
immediately upon departure. Applied: on and after 1 January 2015
(2) Enclosed space entry and rescue drills (SOLAS III/19 etc.)
Outline: To require that crew members with enclosed space entry
or rescue responsibilities shall participate in an enclosed space
entry and rescue drill to be held on board the ship at least once
every two months.
Applied: on and after 1 January 2015
(3) Amendments to the IMSBC Code
Outline: To amend the IMSBC Code to enhance the safety of
carriage of cargoes that may liquefy.
Applied: on and after 1 January 2015
(4) Amendments to the ISM Code Part A
Outline: To require that company should ensure that each ship is
manned appropriately and that an additional internal audit should
be carried out to the ship.
Applied: on and after 1 January 2015 (5) Adoption of the RO Code
Outline: A newly established code to provide guidance on a
flag state’s recognition and oversight of ROs (Recognized
Organizations), which clarifies the responsibilities of flag states and
ROs, and regulates minimum criteria against which organizations
are assessed towards recognition and oversight by flag states.
Applied: on and after 1 January 2015
2. Approved mandatory requirements
Mandatory requirements were approved at MSC92 as follows:
which are expected to be considered for adoption at MSC93
(scheduled to be held in May 2014) and come into effect on 1
January 2016:
(1) Amendments to SOLAS II-2 to expand the scope of application
of current requirements for the installation of inert gas systems
(IGS) on tankers of 20,000 tonnes deadweight and upwards to
tankers of 8,000 tonnes deadweight and upwards, and revision of
the FSS Code Chapter 15 on IGS.
(2) Amendments to SOLAS II-2/13 to require two means of escape
from machinery control rooms and main workshops.
(3) Amendments to SOLAS II-2/10 to require that ships with open-
top container holds shall be provided with Water Mist Lance and
Mobile Water Monitor.
(4) New regulation SOLAS II-2/20-1 to regulate additional requirements
for ships carrying hydrogen and compressed natural gas vehicles.
(5) Revision of the IGC Code taking into account novel technologies
and methodologies for transportation as well as upsizing of ships in
relation to liquefied gas.
(6) Amendments to the IBC Code and the IGC Code concerning
Source: ClassNK
28 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
carriage requirements for stability instruments on board chemical
tankers and gas carriers (including existing vessels). (Amendments
to MARPOL Annex I concerning oil tankers have been approved
at MEPC65 and are expected to be adopted at MEPC66 (March
2014).)
(7) Amendments to SOLAS III to make the guidelines mandatory
concerning periodical inspections and maintenance of launching
appliances and on-load release gears of lifeboats.
(8) Amendments to SOLAS II-1/29 to accept the alternative
methods to verify the performance of steering gears when it
is impracticable to demonstrate the turning test at the deepest
seagoing draught.
3. Plans and procedures for recovery of persons from the water
SOLAS III/17-1, which was adopted at MSC91 (November 2012),
requires plans and procedures for recovery of persons from the
water to be kept on board both new ships and existing ships from 1
July 2014. (Ships constructed before 1 July 2014 shall comply with
this requirement by the first periodical or renewal safety equipment
survey of the ship to be carried out after 1 July 2014 whichever
comes first.)
In order to facilitate the preparation of these plans and procedures,
ClassNK, in cooperation with the industry, developed a sample
format and submitted it to MSC92 through the Japanese
Government.
At this session, the sample format was well noted among member
states without specific comments.
This sample format can be downloaded from our website:
(classnk.or.jp/hp/en/info_service/imo_and_iacs/topics_imo.html)
4 GBS (Goal-Based Standards for the design and construction
of new ships)
While SOLAS and other conventions allow the Administrations and
classification societies to approve equivalents and/or alternative
design, the unified methods to verify the equivalency have not yet
been globally established.
Therefore, MSC90 agreed to develop guidelines for the approval
of equivalents and alternatives based on Safety Level Approach
(SLA), and a correspondence group (CG) has been discussing this
matter.
MSC92 discussed the draft guidelines developed by the CG for
finalization and approved them as non-mandatory guidelines.
5. Approval of guidelines etc.
The following guidelines were developed during MSC92. (IACS
UIs shown as below are available from our website (http://www.
classnk.or.jp/hp/en/index.html) or that of IACS (http://www.iacs.
org.uk/).)
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 Technical
(1) Unified interpretations based on UI SC149 (Rev.2) were
approved, clarifying that two portable instruments as required in
SOLAS II-2/4.5.7.1 are to be provided for measuring flammable
vapor concentrations and oxygen, respectively.
(2) Unified interpretations were approved, clarifying that the
current regulation does not require the installation of fire detection
devices to cargo control spaces, in relation to SOLAS II-2/7.5.5.
(3) Unified interpretations based on UI SC245 (corr.1) were
approved, clarifying the areas to be insulated to A-60 class
standards with regard to suction and delivery pipes.
(4) Unified interpretations were approved, clarifying the place to
be fitted with isolation valves for the fire main system in tankers, in
relation to SOLAS II-2/10.2.1.4.4.
(5) Unified interpretations were approved based on UI SC250
(Corr.1), clarifying that fixed gas fire-extinguishing systems within
the cargo holds, required by SOLAS II-2/10.7.1.3 and 10.7.2, can
be used to control the self-heating of the cargo.
(6) Unified interpretations based on UI SC252 were approved,
clarifying that in relation to FSS Code 5.2.2.2, the “positive means”
for the sequential operation of fixed gas fire extinguishing systems
is to be achieved by a mechanical and/or electrical interlock that
does not depend on any operational procedures.
(7) Unified interpretations on the technical provisions for
permanent means of access for inspections required by SOLAS
II-1/3-6 were approved as the amendments to MSC.1/Circ.1176
and MSC.1/Circ.1197. The amendments are based on UI SC191
(Rev.4), however, it was agreed to delete the interpretations that
openings for passage may be reduced (Technical Provision para.
3.10 and 3.11) and not to include them in the circular.
(8) Unified interpretations based on UI SC179 (Rev.2) on the
remote control of dewatering of forward spaces of bulk carriers
required by SOLAS XII/13 were approved.
(9) Unified interpretations on IMO performance standard for
protective coatings (PSPC) for ballast tanks required by SOLAS II-
1/3-2 were approved. While they are based on UI SC223 (Rev.2),
some modifications are made such as deletion of interpretations on
the acceptance of alternative systems.
(10) Unified interpretations based on UI SC254 were approved,
clarifying the strength and testing standards to be satisfied by fall
preventer devices required by MSC.1/Circ.1392 and MSC.1/Circ.1327.
(11) Unified interpretations based on UI SC255 were approved,
clarifying the fuel pump arrangement when low sulphur fuel oils
are used in emission control areas and other marine fuels are
primarily used in non-restricted areas.
(12) Unified interpretations on clarification of greatest launching
height for a free-fall lifeboat in the LSA Code were approved with
modifications to UI SC248 to add the interpretations on “water
surface” and to correct the interpretations on heel angles.
(13) Unified interpretations were approved, clarifying that the date
of “delivery”, referred to as an application date of conventions,
means the completion date of the survey. The interpretations are
based on UI SC256 and UI MPC100, adding the definition of the
date of delivery to the interpretations of the date of contract in
MSC-MEPC.5/Circ.4.
(14) Guidelines for capacity of electric inclinometers were adopted.
6. Passenger ship safety
In responding to the Costa Concordia incident, which occurred
in January 2012 in Italy, MSC90 discussed to enhance the safety
measures for passenger ships. As a result, it was agreed to classify
the countermeasures into two categories: operational safety
measures to be implemented speedily (short-term measures) and
safety measures to be implemented after the examination based on
the outcome of the investigation (long-term measures).
At this session, based on the investigation report submitted from
Italy, the tentative recommended voluntary measures developed as
short-term measures at MSC91 (November 2012) were reviewed.
Further, as long-term measures, the items to be technically
examined were sorted out as follows:
(1) To expand the revision of damage stability regulations by the
Sub-committee on Stability, Load Lines and Fishing Vessels Safety
(SLF) to include consideration to limit the down flooding points on
the bulkhead deck for passenger ships.
(2) To consider the installation of onboard stability computer or
having access to shore-based support.
(3) To consider the redundancy of emergency power.
(4) To review the adequacy of passenger ship specific safety
training in the STCW Convention at the next session of the Sub-
Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping (STW).
7. Review and reform of the organization
The IMO has been considering the review and reform of the sub-
committees to facilitate efficient discussion and to reduce the
cost. It was proposed by the Secretary-General to rearrange the
existing nine sub-committees as seven committees as shown in the
following table.
This proposal was agreed by MEPC65 (May 2013) and MSC92.
The final discussion will be conducted at the incoming IMO
Assembly in November 2013.

New Sub-committees Relations to the current sub-committees

SDC: Ship Design and Construction The following three sub-committees are rearranged into two: (1) DE: Ship Design and
SSE: Ship System and Equipment Equipment (2) FP: Fire Protection (3) SLF: Stability, Load Lines and Fishing Vessels Safety

PPR: Pollution Protection and Response The following two sub-committees are rearranged into two: (1) BLG: Bulk Liquids and
CCC: Carriage of Cargoes and Containers Gases (2) DSC: Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers
III: Implementation of IMO Instruments FSI (Flag State Implementation) is renamed.
NCSR: Navigation, Communications and The following two sub-committees are rearranged into one: (1) NAV: Safety of Navigation
Search and Rescue (2) COMSAR: Radiocommunications and Search and Rescue
HTW: Human Element, Training and
STW (Standards of Training and Watchkeeping) is renamed.
Watchkeeping

Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in 29

30 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in
 General
Lack of well-being impacts upon performance and introduces unacceptable risks that detract from
the safe operation of the vessel”. Alert UK, Jan-2012

MLC beyond DMLC

Shantanu Paul

O n 20 August 2013, the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 mentions in the last point that “every effort should be made by
th

(MLC 2006) will enter into force internationally. The day will
surely be remembered as a red-letter day in the history of merchant
shipping for the reorganization of seafarers’ “Bill of Rights" by the
“Super Convention” which will now be the “Fourth Pillar” of the
international regulatory regime for “Quality Shipping”. While the
first three phrases are MLC 2006 jargons and well conceived today,
the idea of the fourth one although embedded in the objectives of
IMO (International Maritime Organization), appears incomplete
in the context of this ILO (International Labour Organization)
Convention. It is said that- quality shipping includes the ship, its
operator, its flag and the seafarers working and living aboard ship-
but what about the seafarer! Can quality shipping be achieved
without quality seafarers? Do ship-owners have any obligation in
this respect? These are the questions that have often haunted me
while teaching in the MLC course for seafarers since last two years.
As a matter of fact MLC 2006 is emphasizing more on the
“hygiene factor” rather than the “motivating factor” of seafarers
onboard ship. Motivated seafarer is often perceived as quality
seafarer - a vital element for achieving quality shipping and that is
mostly in the hands of ship-owners rather than regulators. Reputed
shipping companies have always taken the matter seriously for
maintaining a pool of quality seafarers. At this juncture when
the shipping companies are bogged down with the compliance of
the Convention, mainly the 14 items of DMLC (Declaration of
Maritime Labour Compliance) Part-I of the respective Flag State,
it may be prudent to pay some attention beyond DMLC, primarily
factors that motivate seafarers such as shore leave, arguably a
seafarer’s right that is compromised quite often, for the realization
of true quality shipping in the 21st century.
In fact MLC 2006 is based on the philosophy that a happy crew
is safer and more efficient. However happiness is often achieved
by the fulfillment of higher order of human needs. Nevertheless
without fulfillment of the basic needs happiness can not be
achieved. The Convention gives seafarers the right to visit doctor
including dentist ashore under Reg. 4.1 and makes provision for
shore leave and access to shore-based welfare facility under Reg.
2.4 and Reg. 4.4, respectively. While only Reg. 4.1 is part of
DMLC, a “certified item”, the attention of imprudent ship-owners
towards this vital issue may remain unchanged. However it may
be worth noting that Reg.2.4 is an “inspection item” for the Flag
State if not for the Port State. Although PSC (Port State Control)
detention is apparently unheard of on shore leave issues, but may
now lead to a complaint- a right given to seafarers under MLC
2006. Possibly for this reason the guideline of Reg. 4.4 clearly
those responsible in port and on board a ship to facilitate shore
leave for seafarers as soon as possible after a ship’s arrival in port”-
in foreign port. However, operational and emergency requirements
should be given due consideration.
Shore leave is not a luxury. It is essential for seafarers who spend
many weeks cooped up at their workplace, with only work mates
and managers for company. At the end of a long voyage if seafarers’
shore leave is declined due to some pretext of security issues or
shorter port stays, possibly that is the most de-motivating factor
that can affect the performance of seafarers for running the ship
safely and efficiently- for quality shipping. Existing Indian national
provisions substantially cover several MLC 2006 requirements, but
for shore leave a CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) is yet to
be made as identified in the “legislative gap analysis” of the M.S.
Act. On 20th August this year, while we celebrate the Sadhbhavna
(having good feeling for others) Divas in India- let’s have some
good feeling for our seafarers also!
Advertise in the MER (I)
If you have any product or service which finds
applications in the Maritime Industry (Shipping,
Ports, Navy, Coastguard, Offshore) then the MER
(I) is the ideal medium to promote your products or
service.
This monthly technical journal is distributed free to
the Members of the Institute of Marine Engineers
(India). Many of the readers of this journal are the
top decision makers in the Maritime Industry and
journal is on their desks all through the month.
Ask now for our Advertisement Rates.
You will be surprised !
Institute of Marine
Engineers (India)
Imei house, sector 19, plot 94, nerul,
navi mumbai 400 706.
Tel. : +91 22 27701664 / 27706749
Fax : +91 22 27711663 Url : www.imare.in

Note: The paper is based on literature review and professional knowledge of the author in the maritime field. The opinion(s),
view(s) and conclusion(s) expressed in this paper are purely author’s personal and not that of the organization he is employed with.

Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in 31

32 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in
 Technical
Spectacles in the bilges!
Sachchidanand Dhar (FEx-0350) & Parth Panwalkar (A-6018)
Extract:
It is aimed at all those seafarers who wear spectacles of some kind. Though prudence always recommends an extra pair of glasses in the
baggage, yet there may be unfortunate occasions of loss of spectacles on board - in the bilges, overboard, in machinery spaces, cargo and
ballast spaces, due to damage in the workshop, when on shore leave etc.
This article discusses an ALTERNATIVE SHORT TERM REPLACEMENT in cases of emergency – “The Lens Free Spectacles”, also
known as Pinhole Glasses or Stenopeic Glasses. These do not require any glass or lens. These can be made from any Hard Opaque Plastic
Sheet, Aluminium Foil or Cardboard, and a frame to hold the same. If one is ashore, any leaf of any plant will do too. All one needs to do is
to pierce it with a thorn. In case of non-availability of these materials, one can even use one's finger -by bending it.

Introduction:
Vision defects are associated mostly with inability of pupil to focus
correctly. The image does not focus correctly on the cornea; it
either focuses before it or behind it. Currently-In-Vogue method
is to place transparent lenses of appropriate focal length in front
of the eye to correct the focusing defect. But this technology has
only been commercially available with the advent of industrial
Rrevolution in the 16th century, whereas vision problems are likely
to have been with human kind for as long as human kind has been.
One wonders whether Pre 16th century humans had any method to
correct the defect!
Well it seems that they did have something.
In her book Eyes and Vision, Dr. Lea Hyvärinen ( a Finnish
ophthalmologist ) reports having seen metal pinhole glasses from
India - that are believed to be 1,000 years old - at the Museum of
Medical History in Helsinki.
They were first formally demonstrated in 1575 by Scheiner , a
mathematician, physicist, and Astronomer.
On May 22 of year 1934, Charles C. Guthrie of Pittsburgh, PA
obtained US patent no. 1,959,915 for lens-less spectacles. Pinhole
glasses have clearly been in commercial use since that time. One
can see this patent at “patent US1959915”, in patent search for
U.S.A. patents.
But an even earlier patent was granted to Franz Heilborn of Breslau,
Germany, on July 21, 1896. Patent #564,518 is labelled simply
“eyeglasses” (whereas Guthrie’s invention was called “lens-less
spectacles”). Heilborn’s glasses have a series of pinholes arranged
in a radial pattern.
The Principle and the Gadget:
The principle is that a pinhole would help the correct focusing of
image, when the mechanisms within the eye are not able to do it.
All it takes is a suitably thin & opaque (paper, aluminium foil,
leaf of a plant, anything similar will do) sheet with a SINGLE
pinhole of diameter 0.5 to 1 mm, placed in front of one of the eyes
(other eye closed) to make one notice the difference in quality of
viewing. This can also be used in case of emergency, or when in a
hurry.(Ref. Fig.1)
Two such pieces of sheets with pinholes can be used to replace
lenses in an spectacle frame. It can correct both kind of defects -
near sightedness and far sightedness - simultaneously.(Ref. Fig.2)
Commercially available Pinhole spectacles have several pinholes,
arranged in Linear or Radial fashion.(Ref. Fig.3)
The Mudraas:
But it may not even be necessary to have any physical or material
item to test the efficacy of the concept OR for use in case of
emergent situations.
Vaayu Mudraa (Ref. Fig.4)and Sanjeevanee Mudraa (Ref.Fig.5)-
of Hath Yogic System - tend to create pinholes between Index
fingers, Thumb and the palm. When in a hurry, it is possible to
view through pinhole fashioned in this manner, and read OR see
something afar clearer than with naked eyes.
The above mentioned Mudras are unlike the long term methods
recommended by seers of yore, viz. seeing the morning rising sun,
through a barrier of flowing water to help prevent any problem
to eyesight, and also help strengthen weak eyes. These Mudras
are emergency replacement for lost spectacles, as per authors’
suggestion – in true Marine Engineering tradition of using anything
for anything.
Yogic texts may have elaborated some other benefits of these
Mudras, totally unrelated to authors’ suggestions.
Advantages: Can be quickly resorted to, in case of emergent
situations.

Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in 33

 Technical
Disadvantages: Restricts field of vision. matter - in situations where s/he has no
Conclusion: access to prevalent methods of vision
Knowledge of possibility of improving correction.
eyesight by external aids, without the now References:
so common lenses, has been around for quite http://www.myopia.org/conspiracy.
some centuries. htm
With the advent of precisely ground lenses http://www.osa-opn.org/Content/
and beautified frames, idea of seeing through ViewFile.aspx?id=10540
a pinhole had been relegated to near oblivion.
But spectacles based on this principle are http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinhole_
available again in the market and can be glasses
searched on the internet. http://www.biox.kth.se/research/
Knowledge of the basic principle can be very visualoptics/publications/The
useful to a seafarer - or any traveller, for that Fig-4 Fig-5 Eye.PDF

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34 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in

 Technical
Groundings
Chris Adams BSc (Hons), MNI, MRIN
Director, Steamship Insurance Management Services Limited, London
Synopsis
This paper examines the incidence of ship groundings. These casualties appear to be occurring with increasing frequency and in circumstances
which give rise to concern about the standards of voyage planning, vessel resource management and bridge watch-keeping notwithstanding
the technological and training advances that have been made in recent years. The consequences of these casualties vary in severity. At
one end of the spectrum the vessel may suffer little or no damage and be refloated with tug or salvage assistance. At the other, the vessel
may suffer extensive physical damage resulting in the total loss of vessel and cargo, and environmental damage from the spillage of oil or
other pollutants. Coastal authorities will almost invariably require the complete removal of the wreck no matter how difficult the technical
challenges of such an operation may be. The costs of such operations, which are increasingly complex engineering projects, are very
high. The liabilities associated with such incidents are generally covered by the Protection and Indemnity (P&I) Clubs and in the most
serious cases are reinsured by the International Group’s (IG) pooling and excess loss reinsurance contract. Incidents of this type have been
responsible for a large proportion of the escalation of claims covered by the Pool and Excess Loss reinsurance.
It is also noteworthy that another significant proportion of the IG Pool and Excess Loss contract claims exposure is generated by vessel
collisions or contacts with fixed objects whilst on passage. These incidents also highlight shortcomings in bridge watch-keeping and collision
avoidance measures and involve causes which are closely connected with those that generate claims arising from grounding or wreck
removal.

Introduction 450.00

The experience of Steamship Mutual is that in any underwriting 400.00

year it is large claims in excess of US$250,000 that are responsible 350.00

for year to year claims volatility. Typically around 99% of the 300.00
number of claims incurred in any one year are for amounts less than 250.00
US$250,000. However the contribution that those claims make to
200.00
the overall annual claims exposure is proportionately much less –
on average around 40-50% in a typical underwriting year without 150.00

an exceptional experience of claims in excess of the IG Pool 100.00

retention. In those years where there have been particularly costly 50.00

Pool claims, that proportion has fallen to below 20%. It follows 0.00

that approximately 1% of claims by number are responsible for a 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Gross Ultimate Net Ultimate

proportion of the annual claims exposure that is very many orders
of magnitude greater.
Indicators of claims trends are to be found generally in the routine
claims below $250,000, primarily because of the far greater number
of claims and hence more representative sample that is involved.
The occurrence of large claims in excess of that threshold is much
Diagram 1 – Gross and Net Claims per Policy Year
more random and is therefore the reason why year on year claims
experience has peaks of volatility - see Diagram 1. The arrival of
large claims has much in common with London buses. They can
be conspicuous by their absence for a prolonged period, and then
a number arrive in quick succession. However the frequency with

Policy
Aug – 12 Aug – 11 Aug – 10 Aug – 09 Aug – 08 Aug – 07 Aug – 06 Aug – 05 Aug-04 Aug-03
Year
2003 145.1 146.6 126.2 131.1 127.2 139 137.8 138.4 131.7 41.5
2004 298.1 292.5 290.4 291.5 289.3 293.6 279.4 258.6 43.6
2005 246.9 248.2 246.4 257.9 233.9 221.8 184.3 2.3
2006 456.5 452.8 450.3 470 456.3 434.2 78.2
2007 404.4 359.2 363.1 364.6 319.5 84.7
2008 117.6 110 111.4 124.5 23.5
2009 231.6 227.6 216.9 54.8
2010 248.2 252.1 62.7
2011 252.2 60.3
2012 153.9
Diagram 2 – International Group’s Pool Claim Experience1
Paper presented at World Shipping Forum - Chennai
Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in 35
 Technical
which incidents of grounding and other casualties that owe their
cause to navigational errors are occurring raises the question of
whether there is perhaps a trend to be identified in relation to these
larger claims.
The financial impact of the large claims is considerable, as can be
seen from the annual development profile of the claims upon the
IG Pool – see Diagram 2. This table shows the value of the claims
notified to the IG Pool at the six month point of each underwriting
year since 2003. For example, for the 2003 underwriting year, six
months into the year at 20th August 2003 claims totalling $41.5m
had been notified to the Pool. Nine years later, at 20th August 2012,
the value of those claims had grown to $145.1m. This development
is entirely normal and reflects the development of the claims
experience in the second half of the underwriting year and beyond.
The worst overall Pool claims experience hitherto has been in 2006
and 2007. In 2006 every Club in the IG experienced at least one
Pool claim, and many Clubs had several. It can be seen from the
development chart that for those two years, the first six months of
each year accumulated $78.2m and $84.7m of claims.
By August 2012, those figures had grown to $456.5m and $404.4m
respectively.
What is of greater concern is the comparison of the six month
development figures for each year. It is apparent that for 2012, the
six month total of $153.9m is very considerably higher than the
equivalent figures for what are known to be the worst years yet
for Pool claims in 2006 and 2007. This indicates a new high water
mark in relation to the current year.
36 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
Grounding Claims 2007 to 2011
Diagram 3 below shows the contribution made to the IG Pool
Claims experience of casualties that arose from vessel groundings,
collisions and contacts with fixed objects for which the underlying
cause of the latter was a navigational error.
2007
Two major incidents in 2007 accounted for 26% of the value of the
total claims experience for that year.
In April 2007 the cruise ship “Sea Diamond” grounded on the island
of Santorini in Greece and subsequently sank, and in November
2007 the container ship “Cosco Busan” struck one of the pillars
of the Oakland Bay Bridge whilst outbound from Oakland under
pilotage.
Sea Diamond
On the afternoon of 5th April 2007 the “Sea Diamond”, with 1,195
passengers on board was approaching Santorini and navigating
within the flooded caldera of this volcanic Greek island. As the
ship closed the coastline she struck a well known and charted
volcanic reef. The vessel’s shell plating was breached and she
began taking on water. Fortunately all but two of the passengers
and crew were evacuated safely before the vessel capsized and
sank within the caldera. Santorini is a major tourist destination.
Whilst undoubtedly somewhat subjective, it was named the
world’s best island by the BBC in 2011. Consequently a sunken
cruise ship and the environmental threats associated with that
were deeply unwelcome. The topographical characteristics of a
volcanic island involve very deep water within the caldera, and a
www.imare.in
 Technical
very steeply shelving sea bottom, thus complicating operations to
remove pollutants and/or wreckage.
Investigations into the cause of the casualty established that there
was an error in the position shown on the chart of the rocks upon
which the “Sea Diamond” grounded. Instead of being 57 metres
from the shore as shown on the chart, the reef was actually located
131 metres from the shore. Further the chart indicated that there
was 18-22 metres of water at the position where the ship grounded,
whereas in fact the depth was less than 5 metres.
Charting inaccuracies do arise from time to time and this should
be borne in mind when passage planning is undertaken. The “Sea
Diamond” was a vessel of 21,484 GT, length 142.95m, beam
24.7m and draught 5.75m. One has to question how it came to be
that the vessel was allowed to come to within less than a ship’s
length of the shore and what might have caused the bridge team to
apparently consider that was appropriate. Did complacency have
to part to play?
Cosco Busan
The “Cosco Busan” incident has received much publicity. The
casualty occurred on 7th November 2007 when the vessel was
navigating within San Francisco Bay in dense fog. There were
health issues involving the American pilot who was not effectively
integrated with the ship’s Chinese Master and officers in the bridge
team.
The pilot, who had very many years’ experience operating within
San Francisco Bay, had his own passage plan and a particular
technique for piloting the vessel through the designated span of

Policy Number of Percentage Percentage Number of Percentage Percentage Combined

Year Groundings by Number By Value COL/FFO2 by Number By Value No. % No. % Value
2007 5 16% 11% 8 26% 40% 13 42% 51%
2008 7 37% 56% 4 21% 12% 11 58% 68%
2009 5 17% 20% 3 10% 27% 8 27% 47%
2010 7 26% 24% 8 30% 37% 15 56% 61%
2011 8 40% 86% 7 35% 10% 15 75% 96%
2012 4 31% 38% 1 8% 13% 5 21% 51%
Diagram 3 – IG Pool Claims Arising from Grounding and/or Navigational Error
1
Excluding Hydra’s 25% share at layer 1 of the General Excess of Loss Contract
2
Collision or contact with Fixed Object as the result of navigational error whilst on passage

Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in 37

 Technical
the bridge. His practice was to set the radar Variable Range Marker
(VRM) to one third of a nautical mile. Provided that the VRM on
the radar display was “rolled around” the outline of Yerba Buena
Island which was located at one end of the bridge span through
which the ship was intending to pass, the vessel would transit at the
centre of the span.
As can be seen from the image of the radar display in Diagram 4,
the VRM is displaced from the edge of Yerba Buena Island and ship
is clearly off-track. This would be apparent to anyone monitoring
the radar who was aware of the pilot’s passage plan. Unfortunately,
the pilot was not monitoring the radar, and since he had failed to
communicate his particular passage plan to the bridge team, none
of them were aware of the significance of the displacement of the
VRM that is evident in Diagram 4. As a result the ship came into
contact with the tower of the bridge and the impact ruptured two
bunker tanks, spilling approximately 200 MT of bunker fuel in
what is probably one of the most environmentally sensitive areas
in the world. Whilst the impact caused significant damage to the
bridge, the bulk of the liability exposure related to oil pollution
damage.
The casualty was investigated by the National Transportation
safety Board (NTSB) and further information can be found in the
NTSB’s report3.
Given the dense fog that prevailed at the time, the Master would
have been perfectly justified in deciding to delay the vessel’s
departure until visibility improved. That he apparently did not have
the confidence to take that decision, perhaps erroneously placing
undue weight on imagined commercial consequences is a concern.
A Master’s paramount obligation is the safety of his crew, the ship
and her cargo.
2008
Three of the grounding incidents in 2008 accounted for 44% of the
overall Pool claims exposure for that year.
Diagram 4 – Cosco Busan radar display showing vessel off track
3
http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2009/MAR0901.pdf
38 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
Fedra
The most serious incident was the grounding of the “Fedra”
on Gibraltar’s Europa Point in October of that year resulting in
considerable wreck removal liability. This was a spectacular and
high profile grounding. The vessel was in ballast and dragged her
anchor in heavy weather, eventually grounding directly beneath the
Europa Point lighthouse. The force of the waves caused the vessel
to break up.
The casualty was investigated by the Gibraltar Maritime
Administration (GMA) which published a report4. The 36,886
GT bulk carrier “Fedra” had arrived at Gibraltar in ballast on 9th
October 2008 with the intention of carrying out engine repairs. The
vessel anchored about 2 miles to the east of Gibraltar. When the
vessel arrived the weather was fair. However the weather forecast
for the period up to noon UTC the following day was:
Variable 4 to 6, but northeast occasionally 8 in east, veering East
8 or 9 from East overnight. Severe gusts. Locally rough, becoming
very rough. Thunderstorms.
The engine repairs that were necessary were to the cylinder liner
of one of the units of the main engine. The Chief Engineer sought
the Master’s permission to undertake this work immediately after
finished with engines was rung on the vessel being brought to
anchor. This permission was granted notwithstanding the forecast
of easterly gales which would put the vessel two miles off a lee
shore. The nature of the repairs effectively meant that the vessel
was disabled for the duration of the work. By 0600 the following
morning the weather had deteriorated with easterly winds gusting
35-40 knots, and the vessel was beginning to roll heavily. The
ship’s engineers resumed the repair work at 0700 but this was
suspended shortly afterwards because the rolling of the vessel
made the repair operations too dangerous. By 0640 the Master
had determined that the anchor was dragging. By 0800 the vessel
had dragged anchor into the one mile exclusion zone off Europa
Point. This was noted by the Gibraltar Port
authorities monitoring the zone and the
vessel was requested to shift her position
further east. The Master acknowledged this
communication affirmatively but did not
notify the port that the vessel’s engine was
disabled. Around half an hour later when the
Master decided to ask the Port to despatch a
tug, he merely advised that the vessel was not
able to start the main engine.
Prior to the decision being taken to engage
a tug, the Master telephoned the Company’s
Operations Manager to discuss the issue.
A tug called “Warrior” arrived and was
eventually made fast but was not able to arrest
the vessel’s drift towards the shore. Further
tugs were despatched but following further
conversations between the Company and the
Master, instructions were given to actively
resist taking a line from a larger and more
powerful tug that had arrived, and to await
the arrival of a smaller and less powerful tug
“Med Fos” engaged by the Company. By
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 Technical
noon, the vessel was less than four cables off Europa Point and Once the vessel began to drag her anchor the casualty could probably
throughout his communications with the tugs on the scene, the have been avoided if the true state of the vessel’s disablement had
Master misrepresented the situation concerning the main engine been disclosed to the port authorities and the masters of the tugs in
by repeatedly inferring that the engineers were actively working to attendance, and if the vessel had availed itself of the full extent of
start the engine. the towage services that were available. As it was, the effectiveness
of the response to the vessel’s predicament was compromised by
There were potentially four tugs available and in close proximity
the apparent requirement of the Company to minimise cost.
to provide assistance to the vessel. However, as the result of the
Master’s telephone discussions with the Company the decision was The Master was an officer with considerable experience. He had
taken to dispense with the services of two of these and to rely upon been in command for 26 years. There are many points in the GMA
the “Warrior” and “Med Fos”. It ultimately proved impossible report at which it is clear that the Master fully understood what
for the “Med Fos” to establish a connection. The “Warrior” had the correct response should be and yet he chose to follow the
managed to hold the vessel for several hours but as attempts were
being made the weigh the “Fedra’s” anchors to enable the tug to
attempt to tow the ship clear of the coast, the “Warrior’s” tow
line parted. Under the force of the weather, the vessel then drifted
rapidly towards the shore and grounded at 1736.
The GMA investigation report found that the decision to repair
the engine at anchor east of Gibraltar was taken on cost grounds.
There were points in the Master’s telephone conversations with
the Owners that made it clear that he was critical of that decision,
but nonetheless he took the decision to permit the repairs to start
in the face of a forecast of deteriorating weather. He also had
the opportunity to require the engineers to continue working
throughout the night rather than suspending work from midnight
until 0700 with the objective of returning the engine to service
before the weather conditions reached their worst.

3
http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2009/MAR0901.pdf
4
http://www.gibmaritime.com/search_results.php?searchString=fedra

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directions of the Company, thus compromising the response that
ought to have been made pursuant to the overriding authority that
the Master has concerning the safety of his ship and its crew. Why
that should be the case can only be a matter for speculation. What
is of the greatest concern is that this major casualty could so easily
have been avoided.
2009
One of the grounding incidents and one collision in 2009 were
particularly serious and those two incidents accounted for
approximately 28% of the total exposure. Both involved extensive
pollution liabilities.
Full City
On 31st July 2009 the bulk carrier “Full City” grounded at Sastein,
off Langesund, Norway. The vessel had anchored at 1450 the
previous day in a position about 9 cables from the nearest land. The
ship was in ballast. At the time of anchoring the wind was from
the southeast, near gale force. Later that evening the conditions
deteriorated and the wind force increased. At 2351 the vessel began
to drag her anchor.
Whilst the anchor was dragging, both flukes broke off from the
shank. Despite starting the main engine, attempts to bring the vessel
underway and to manoeuvre to safer water ==engine room became
flooded. Bunker tanks were breached and there was extensive oil
pollution.
The preliminary report issued by the Accident Investigation Board
Norway (AIBN) records that the vessel anchored at Sastein on
the instructions of Brevik VTS. The Master expected to receive
further information from Brevik VTS relevant to the ship’s safety
whilst at the anchorage. However, since that particular anchorage
lies outside its area of responsibility Brevik VTS did not consider
that it had any duty to provide any instructions. On 30th July the
vessel had received a weather forecast for the Skagerrak region,
which encompasses the anchorage, which contained a gale warning
which predicted winds initially from the southeast of near gale
force, increasing in the evening to southwest gale force 8, perhaps
severe gale force 10 for a short duration. Notwithstanding that
forecast it appears surprising that the Master should have accepted
the risk of anchoring his vessel less than a mile off a lee shore in the
anticipation of gale conditions.
Eagle Otome
This collision, in the Sabine- Neches Canal, Texas, involved the
tanker “Eagle Otome” which collided with a berthed cargo vessel
“Gull Arrow” and subsequently with a tank barge being towed
by a tug “Dixie Vengeance”. As the result of the latter collision
the cargo tank on the barge was breached and 462,000 gallons
of oil were spilled. The Eagle Otome was being assisted by two
local pilots. The NTSB concluded that the probable cause of the
casualty was the failure of the first pilot, who had navigational
control of the “Eagle Otome”, to correct the sheer that began as
a result of the late initiation of a turn at a bend in the waterway.
Contributing to the accident was the fatigue of the first pilot caused
by his untreated obstructive sleep apnea and his work schedule,
distraction caused by him unnecessarily taking a radio call that
could have been handled by the second pilot, and a lack of effective
bridge resource management. The pilot performance issues in this
case bear some similarity with the “Cosco Busan” incident where
the pilot’s requirement for medication arose from sleep apnea.
40 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
2010
Shen Neng 1
The most costly grounding incident in 2010 involved the bulk
carrier “Shen Neng 1” which ran aground on Douglas Shoal on
the Great Barrier Reef about 50 nm north of the port of Gladstone,
Queensland on 3rd April 2010. The casualty is the subject of a
report by the Australian Transportation Safety Board (ATSB).
The ship had sailed from Gladstone earlier that day for Bayuquan,
China laden with a full cargo of coal.
There are several passages through the Great Barrier Reef that can
be followed on departure from Gladstone. One of these lies north
of the Capricorn group of islands. The Shen Neng 1 had used this
passage inbound to Gladstone and the outbound passage plan was
based upon this route. The ship sailed from Gladstone at 1100 and
at 1200 the second officer took over the navigational watch on the
bridge. At this point the vessel was underway, heading due north.
The outbound route initially follows a course of 000T. The vessel’s
passage plan plotted a waypoint to the SW of Douglas Shoal at
which an alteration of course to starboard would be made to 075T.
The second officer asked the master for permission to amend the
passage plan in order to slightly reduce the passage distance by
cutting the corner created by the originally plotted waypoint. In
the context of the forthcoming passage to China the distance saved
by this manoeuvre would have been de minimis as it amounted to
about 2 nautical miles. A course alteration to 020T was made at
1530. Plotting that track beyond the point at which it intersected
the next course line of 075T showed that this alteration put the
ship on a heading directly towards the Douglas Shoal which was a
short distance beyond the next course line. The revised waypoint
associated with this amended passage plan was not programmed in
to the vessel’s GPS system.
At 1600, after fixing the vessel’s position on the chart, the
navigational watch was handed over to the chief officer. The
second officer informed him of the change to the passage plan
and that the coordinates of the revised waypoint were not in the
GPS. From his examination of the chart, the chief officer thought
the vessel would be at the revised 075T course alteration point at
about 1700. He did not measure the distance to go and compare that
with the vessel’s speed over the ground to determine an accurate
ETA. He apparently felt very tired and positioned himself on the
starboard side of the bridge where he had a clear view of the radar
and from the bridge windows. At about 1630 the chief engineer
came to the bridge. He checked the main engine rpm and the chief
officer confirmed the ship’s speed as 12 knots. The chief engineer
left the bridge at about 1635.
The chief officer had intended to fix the vessel’s position at 1630.
As that time had passed during the chief engineer’s visit, he
decided to wait until 1700. He read and recorded the latitude and
longitude from the GPS at 1700. As he went to plot the position
on the chart, he noted that ship’s speed had dropped to 8 knots and
realised that the ship was closing on the shoal. Hand steering was
engaged and just as this was accomplished the vessel’s speed was
rapidly decreasing and the ship began to shudder. Starboard helm
had no effect and the vessel ground to a halt on the reef.
The original passage plan had been programmed to the GPS system,
and alarms were set to sound when the next waypoint was 2 cables
distant, or if the ship was 3 cables off track. As the result of not
programming the revised waypoint for the 075T course alteration
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 Technical
in to the GPS, the defences provided by the alarms were rendered
ineffective.
Fatigue of the chief officer also contributed to this casualty. He
had 20 years of seagoing experience and had spent the last 3 years
as chief officer. However, he had only joined the “Shen Neng 1”
one month before the incident. It was his first call at Gladstone and
the first time he had been in charge of loading the ship. He was not
familiar with the operation and reliability of the ship’s de-ballasting
system and to ensure that there were no delays in loading he had
chosen to remain on duty for the majority of the time the ship was
alongside. Consequently he had had less than 3 hours sleep in the
38 hours before the grounding.
There are requirements of the STCW Code and the ICS Bridge
Procedures Guide which stipulate that the Officer of the Watch
should not hand over the watch if there is any reason to believe
that the relieving officer is unfit to discharge his duties effectively.
Fatigue is one of the reasons for which an officer might be unfit
for duty. The second officer was also involved in the cargo loading
operation and had sufficient experience to understand the work
demands that had been placed on the chief officer. In his answers
to investigators he said that on reflection the chief officer did look
tired on reaching the bridge, but he did not question him about his
fitness for duty. Admittedly, this is not an easy issue particularly
when an officer is being relieved by one of a more senior rank.
However, social niceties pale into insignificance against safety
considerations. Ultimately the Master should be called to decide
upon an issue such as this.
The STCW Code also provides that prior to taking over a watch,
relieving officers should satisfy themselves about the ship’s
position, confirm its intended track, course and speed, and also
Source and with acknowledgements to the Accident Investigation Board Norway
Diagram 5 – The movement of “Full City” before grounding
5
http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2011/MAR1104.pdf
Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
note any dangers to navigation expected to be encountered during
their watch. The second officer should have been aware that the
vessel was due to reach the alter course position at about 1642, but
this was not communicated to the chief officer. He had assumed
that the chief officer would reach that conclusion himself. He
very probably could and would have done so but for the issues
of fatigue and the distraction of the chief engineer’s visit to the
bridge which resulted in him not plotting the ship’s position at
1630. Fatigue is the probable explanation for him not exercising
greater care in determining the ship’s position as it approached the
alter course position. A false sense of security may also have arisen
from the fact that there were no surface points of reference for the
navigational danger that lay ahead. The ship was in open sea.
2011
The contribution to the IG Pool claims experience for 2011 caused
by incidents of grounding is striking. There were eight incidents,
and all but one of them involving an estimated claims cost of more
than US$10m. Two of those incidents are extremely well known by
virtue of the extensive publicity they have received in the maritime
press. They attracted that attention because of the cost associated
with them as each is estimated to cost several hundreds of millions
of US Dollars. Those two incidents involve the container ship
“Rena”, and the cruise ship “Costa Concordia”.
Rena
The m.v. “Rena” was a 1990 built 3352 TEU capacity fully
cellular container vessel. Her voyage commenced in Singapore on
5th September 2011 from where she sailed to Australia and New
Zealand. On the morning of 4th October she sailed from Napier
bound for Tauranga on New Zealand’s North Island. The outward
pilot at Napier was disembarked at about 1020 and the Master
estimated that on the basis of the vessel
making 17 knots, the ETA at Tauranga
would be at 0230 the following morning.
At midnight the second officer took over
the watch from the third officer. At that
time the gyro heading of the vessel was
about 272 degrees. During the watch hand-
over discussions, the third officer reminded
his relief that the passage plan required an
alteration of course a few minutes later.
Pursuant to that discussion, at about 0014
the vessel’s gyro heading was altered to
263 degrees. There was a difference of
approximately +2 degrees between the
vessel’s gyro heading and the ground track
so that on a gyro heading of 265, the ship’s
ground track was 263 degrees.
At 0015 Tauranga Harbour Control called
the “Rena” to discuss the ETA and the
pilot boarding time. The “Rena” gave the
Harbour an ETA at the pilot station of
0300. The Harbour indicated that 0300 was
at the end of the time window for pilotage
and the told the “Rena” to make the best
possible speed for the pilot station.
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 Technical
Diagram 6 shows the intended passage plan for the approach to
Tauranga which involved an alteration of course towards the pilot
station at a waypoint approximately 2 nm north of Astrolabe Reef.
It can be seen that at 0120, the plotted position placed the vessel
slightly to the south of the passage plan course line marked on the
chart.
Between 0120 and 0150 the ship’s course was progressively altered
to port such that by 0150 the Rena was on a gyro heading of about
255 degrees, a ground track therefore of 253 degrees.
The Master had placed a mark on the chart with instructions that he
should be called when the vessel reached that point. That occurred
at around 0135 and the second officer called the master at that point.
During their conversation the second officer confirmed the ETA at
the pilot station and also discussed an alteration of course to shorten
the distance to go to which the Master agreed. It appears from the
record of course alterations that the second officer had already begun
to implement that plan prior to his discussion with the Master.
The plan was to navigate closer to the Astrolable Reef and a position
was marked on the chart about 1 nm north of the reef. However, as
can be seen from the GPS track of the vessel in Diagram 6, the
vessel’s course over the ground was taking her directly towards
the reef.
GPS positions were plotted on the chart at 0120 and 0142. The
practice during the second officer’s watch was for the GPS position
to be recorded and plotted by the AB seaman lookout, and then
checked by the second officer. At 0142 the second officer had also
set-up on one of the radars a parallel index on the northern tip of
Motiti Island.
The Master arrived on the bridge at 0152 and they had a discussion
over the radar picture, after which the next waypoint that the GPS
was set to monitor was changed from that north of Astrolabe
Reef to that over the pilot station. At 0158 the Master removed
the parallel index lines from the radar because he felt they were
cluttering the screen. Shortly afterwards, and for several minutes,
he and the second officer were in the chartroom discussing arrival
arrangements at Tauranga. Whilst the AB seaman recorded a GPS
position at 0200, because he did not want to disturb the Master and
second officer, the position was not marked on the chart. As can be
seen from the diagram there was an error either in the reading or
plotting of that position since when it was put on the chart after the
casualty, it placed the vessel further north than her actual position
at that time.
At 0205 the master noted an intermittent radar echo about 2.5nm
right ahead of the “Rena” He and the lookout tried to locate the
echo with binoculars from the bridge windows and later from the
bridge wing but could see nothing. The Master decided to plot the
ship’s position and he began to make his way to the chartroom. As
he was doing so the “Rena” struck the Astrolabe Reef at a speed of
around 17 knots at about 0214.
Bunker tanks were ruptured and there was extensive pollution.
Containers and their contents were lost overboard and in the
heavy weather that followed the ship eventually broke its back.
An extremely difficult, time-consuming and costly operation has
followed to remove the pollutants, containers, cargo, and the wreck
of the ship itself. The complexity of the operation is exacerbated
by the underwater topography of the grounding site, the status of
6
http://www.atsb.gov.au/media/2478832/mo2010003.pdf#page=0
42 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
the reef as a sacred place to the indigenous population, and the high
energy environment in which the wreck is located.
There are similarities of this incident with the grounding of the
“Shen Neng 1” in that there was a deviation from the passage plan
with the objective of saving time and distance. Had the vessel’s
position been rigorously established and monitored to ensure that
its track did not have the vessel running into danger, particularly
when the final waypoint was fed into the GPS, this catastrophic
casualty could so easily have been avoided. The Master gained
his master’s certificate of competence in December 2007. He was
given his first command of a container ship one month later in
January 2008. He spent two and half months in command of the
“Rena” between November 2010 and February 2011, then rejoined
the vessel as Master in March until the date of the casualty six
and a half months later. The second officer gained his certificate
of competence in September 2010 and had been on the “Rena”
since November 2010.It is a well known feature of current crewing
arrangements that the collective experience of a ship’s complement
of officers is now far less than was historically the case.
Costa Concordia
On the night of 13th January 2012 the cruise ship “Costa Concordia”
struck a rock off the island of Giglio off the Italian coast with
consequences that have been well publicised. From a P&I claims
perspective the incident has given rise to the largest claim to date
on the IG Pool and its Excess Loss reinsurance contract.
The “Costa Concordia” had departed Civitavecchia at 1900 bound
for Savona with 4,229 passengers and 1,023 crew onboard. Prior
to departure there was the intention to pass close by the island
of Giglio on a “touristic sailing course” along the 10m sounding
contour. The vessel’s course on departing Civitavecchia was 302T.
After about an hour and forty five minutes, the vessel altered course
to 278T to head towards Giglio. When the vessel was in a position
just under 1 nm from Giglio a further course alteration to 334T true
was to be made to bring the ship on to a track parallel to the coast of
Giglio about 0.5nm to seaward of the 10m depth contour.
At about 2116 the Master arrived on the bridge and took over the
con of the vessel from the chief officer. At 2137 the ship was about
1.8 nm off Giglio and the turn to starboard was commenced with
vessel proceeding at a speed of 15.4 knots. At 2144 the manoeuvre
was still continuing. However, ships do not turn as if on rails,
and as can be seen from Diagram 7, the effect of this manoeuvre,
undertaken at speed, was to displace the vessel much further to
the south west of the intended 334T track line on the chart and
therefore much closer to the coast and on a track headed directly
towards the rocks at Le Scole Reef. When it became apparent that
the ship was running into danger, the helm was ordered hard to
starboard to successfully clear the bow, and then hard to port in an
unsuccessful attempt to clear the vessel’s stern. At about 2145 the
port side of the ship struck the eastern edge of the reef. The hull
was breached flooding several compartments.
After the impact the vessel headed north with considerably less
way and was turning slowly to starboard. She eventually grounded
just north of the port of Giglio on a heading almost reciprocal
to that she was following at the time of the initial impact which
caused the loss of the vessel.
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 Technical
Of itself, the wisdom of passing a small island at a distance of less
than a mile at night in a 114,147GT cruise ship with over 5,250
persons onboard has to be questionable. Doing so with the vessel
on a steady course at the requisite passing distance off the coast
is one thing. Approaching the island at speed and then seeking to
turn the ship through 55 degrees when less than two nautical miles
off is quite another thing altogether. It seems hardly surprising that
the manoeuvre was hazardous in the extreme as subsequent events
amply revealed. No matter who well designed or constructed a ship
might be, the flooding of more compartments than the vessel is
designed to withstand will inevitably lead to the ship foundering.
Other Incidents
Apart from the serious casualties referred to above there have been
a number of other incidents of grounding that have fortunately
not resulted in liabilities of great magnitude. However the
circumstances of those casualties suggest that all is not necessarily
well with standards of shipboard operation, bridge watchkeeping
and navigational procedure.
On 15th February 2011 the container vessel “K-Wave” ran aground
about 13 miles east of Malaga in Spain. She had departed Algeciras
on the evening of 14th February bound for Valencia. She was
making good a course of around 80 degrees true. At midnight the
third officer who had just attained his 22nd birthday was relieved
by the second officer. Thereafter a number of the other officers
arrived on the bridge for an impromptu party to celebrate the third
officer’s birthday, and an undetermined quantity of alcohol was
consumed. At 0200 the second officer asked everyone to leave the
bridge and the party broke up. At 0216 an alteration of course was
made from 080T to 305T, an alteration of 135 degrees to port that
Source and with acknowledgements to The Transport Accident Investigations Commission, New Zealand
Diagram 6 – The track of the “Rena” approaching Tauranga
Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
turned the vessel towards the coast. No alarms sounded when this
course alteration was made and the VDR revealed total silence
from the wheelhouse. At 0546 the vessel ran aground on a gently
shelving sandy shore. The chief officer came to the bridge 20
minutes later to find the bridge unmanned, the vessel hard aground,
and the main engine running with the controllable pitch propeller
set at full ahead. No lookout had been posted and the Bridge
Navigational Watch Alarm System (BNWAS) had been turned
off. The consequences of the unnoticed course alteration towards
the coast, and the absence of a watchkeeper could have been far
more serious and it is entirely fortuitous that more catastrophic
consequences were avoided.
On 20th June 2011 the 6,435 TEU capacity container ship Al
Rawdah ran aground on a reef off Batam Island in the Singapore
Straits after sailing from Port Klang. According to the Singapore
Maritime & Port Authority the ship ignored repeated warnings
that the vessel was standing in to danger and recommendations to
alter course. This incident bears similarities to the grounding of
the 6,188 TEU capacity Maersk Kendal on the Monggok Sebarok
reef in the Singapore Strait on 16th September 2009. The Maersk
Kendal had made a course alteration to starboard to give way to
vessels that were crossing her track from her starboard side. The
course alteration placed her on a track towards the reef. Despite
warnings from Singapore Vessel Traffic Information System
(VTIS) the Maersk Kendal did not reduce speed or alter course in
time to avoid the grounding.
On 3rd August 2011 the 803 TEU capacity container vessel “Karin
Schepers” ran aground on the Cornish coast whilst on passage from
Cork in Ireland to Rotterdam. The vessel had sailed from Cork at
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 Technical
2115 on 2nd August. The initial course from Cork towards Lands substantial liabilities, and/or which have occurred in circumstances
End in Cornwall was broadly south-easterly and set the vessel on which should be a cause for major concern. There are of course
a course towards the entrance of the southbound lane of the North- groundings that have occurred as the result of ships being
South traffic separation system off Lands End. overwhelmed by natural forces. Some of the incidents that arose
as the result of the tsunami following the earthquake off Sendai,
The Master, a Ukrainian who had sailed as master for 8 years, held
Japan in 2011 are cases in point. There have also been groundings
the 8-12 watch. At midnight he was relieved by the second officer,
that have occurred as the result of other extreme weather conditions
a Filipino national who had joined the ship in May and was making
such as hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons. The risk of such
his first trip as second officer. The Master returned to the bridge
casualties will always be present and seems likely to increase as the
some twenty minutes later. During the next two hours the Master
result of the increasingly more frequent adverse weather conditions
repeatedly left and returned to the bridge sounding increasingly
that are experienced worldwide.
intoxicated as time progressed. At 0323 the Master ordered the
second officer to leave the bridge and he duly complied despite However, it is also apparent that groundings are persistently
expressing the view that the Master was drunk. The Master then fell occurring as the result of avoidable human error on the part of the
asleep and with no lookout posted, and the BNWAS having been navigational team. The causes of these errors are varied, but there
de-activated, the vessel missed the alter course position. Instead are recurrent features such as fatigue – with or without the added
of turning to a southerly course into the southbound lane of the complication of alcohol consumption, complacency, deviation
TSS, she continued on her southeasterly course until she grounded from passage plans, poor risk assessment, and poor bridge
on the Cornish coast near the Pendeen lighthouse. This casualty resource management. The navigational equipment on vessels
highlighted a previous incident in March 2009 when the same ship is increasingly sophisticated. The amount of information that is
ran aground on the Danish coast. That incident was investigated by available to the navigator is also increasing. Yet notwithstanding
the Danish Maritime Authority which found that the grounding was the abundance of information that is available from a wide array
caused by the chief officer falling asleep during his watch as the of equipment and navigational systems, groundings continue to
result of being incapacitated by intoxication. Further there was no occur in circumstances which challenge credulity. It is particularly
lookout on the bridge and the BNWAS was turned off. In response noteworthy that those incidents which have given rise to the largest
to that investigation the DMA was informed that the owners had P&I claims could all so easily have been avoided.
introduced various measures including a zero alcohol policy.
When groundings occur which have severe consequences, such
On 8th November 2011 the 1,849 TEU capacity Turkish container as pollution and where the ship is so extensively damaged that
ship “Cafer Dede” ran aground on the Greek Island of Syros whilst the wreck has to be removed, the costs escalate dramatically.
in the course of a laden voyage from Turkey to Italy. Images of the Technological advances are such that it is now possible to remove
casualty that can be seen from the web show the vessel head on to wreckage from physical locations in which, not so long ago,
the rocky coastline somewhat reminiscent of the picture presented something less comprehensive may have been acceptable to the
by the container vessel “Alva Star” which ran into the island of authority ordering remedial action in relation to a wreck. In the
Zakinthos head on in November
20068 . There is no report in the
public domain to explain the cause
of either of these groundings. From
the photographs that exist, they look
unusual in the extreme.
More recently, on 15th February
2012 the fast ferry “Maverick Dos”
ran spectacularly aground whilst on
passage from Ibiza to Formentera in the
Balearic Islands, Spain. Images show
this small vessel high and dry upon a
small rocky island as if placed there by
a giant hand. On 12th December 2012 a
small multipurpose vessel “Beaumont”
ran aground near Gijon in Spain whilst
on passage from La Coruna to Aviles.
Coastal authorities had attempted to
warn the vessel that she was heading
for the rocks but reportedly received no
response.
Summary
There are of course many other
incidents, and those outlined in this
paper are but a small selection of Source and with acknowledgements to MIT – the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport
those that have given rise to very Diagram 7 – the Costa Concordia’s Turning Manoeuvre off Giglio

44 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in

 Technical
current era, the idea of partial wreck removal only to the extent
necessary to remove any threat to navigation is far less palatable
to coastal authorities than it may have been historically, and this
has a very direct cost implication. If it is possible to completely
remove a wreck, even though the cost might be extremely high,
it can be difficult to successfully oppose that. Further, the method
of removal might also be dictated by local authorities who might
oppose cutting a wreck into sections because of environmental
concerns, and insist upon removing the vessel intact with obvious
adverse cost implications for the P&I insurers.
Consequently in the face of extremely high P&I liability cost arising
from a grounding it is imperative that the utmost is done to avoid
these casualties occurring. As previously mentioned standards of
equipment are increasingly high and standards of training have
also improved. The ISM Code also introduced increased standards
of safety awareness and management. However notwithstanding
these developments, incidents of the type outlined in this paper
continue to occur. Ship owners and operators should be extremely
concerned to ensure that the substantial assets they have entrusted
to their seagoing staff are being operated safely and fully in
accordance with the company’s safety management system. This in
turn requires their superintendents to rigorously check the manner
in which vessels under their supervision are being operated and
particularly navigated. Safety is paramount and if the crew are
fatigued after a particularly long or difficult operation to load or
discharge cargo the Master has the authority to delay the vessel’s
departure to allow his crew time to rest and recuperate in order to
ensure that they are fit to handle the voyage ahead of them. This
is particularly the case if the immediate passage on departure is
likely to be challenging because of threats posed by weather or
navigational hazards. Whilst it is appreciated that delay is costly
and therefore undesirable from that perspective, avoiding that attuned to defer to those who are their seniors in age, rank and
delay and sailing the ship with a crew that is fatigued can be a very experience. More needs to be done to develop working practice,
false economy as some of the groundings outlined above amply particularly within the bridge management team, to ensure that it
demonstrate. works effectively. The bridge team needs to fully understand the
passage plan, frequently monitor the ship’s position as the passage
There are numerous factors at play which very probably also progresses, and ensure that threats to navigational safety are
contribute to the causes of these incidents. The growth of the world detected and responded to at the earliest opportunity.
shipping fleet in recent years has put pressure on the availability
of crew, and this in turn has had an impact upon the collective There is no room for complacency because the cost implications of
experience of those onboard particular ships. Training and vessel groundings can be so serious. The more that can be done to
qualifications are only part of the solution to sound ship operation. raise awareness of the risks and causes of groundings in an effort to
Experience is another very important factor and that of course takes prevent further unnecessary loss occurring can only be beneficial.
time to achieve. In an era of rapid growth, the experience of the
crew that are globally available is inevitably diminished. Introduction to Author
There are also problems caused by the prevalence of mixed Chris Adams served at sea as a navigating officer with Ellerman
nationality crews, and the cultural differences that arise. For the City Liners of London. After obtaining a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in
ISM Code to work effectively there has to be encouragement, led Nautical Studies from the University of Southampton in 1977
from the top at sea and reinforced by shore management, for junior he came ashore to pursue a career in marine insurance, joining
officers to question and challenge situations that they perceive The Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association Ltd., London
to be wrong. This can be difficult enough where the crew is of a in 1979 as a Claims Executive. He is currently a Director of
single nationality because of the inherent reluctance to question, Steamship Insurance Management Services Limited, the London
and thereby implicitly criticise, the actions or decisions of those Representatives of the Managers of The Steamship Mutual
more senior in rank. Underwriting Association (Bermuda) Ltd., a major P&I Club
That social barrier can be significantly hardened when the mix within the International Group, where he has responsibilities as
of nationalities is such that those of a junior rank are culturally Head of the European Syndicate, and Head of Loss Prevention.
7
http://www.denizgazete.com/haber/27405-
8
http://www.cargolaw.com/2006nightmare_mv.alvastar.html

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46 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in
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Installation Of Energy Saving
Devices For The Improvement
Of Propulsion Efficiency
Mangala Deoghare & Abbas Daruwala
Tolani Maritime Institute
ABSTRACT
Ever since sail gave way to mechanical power as the prime method of propulsion, shipping has accounted for a substantial quantity of the
world’s oil consumption which today amounts to about 3.3% but any increase in the efficiency of the propulsion system can lead to huge
savings. The propeller of the ship provides the thrust required to move it and simultaneously has certain losses associated with it. A propeller
in open water has a uniform inflow of water into it but the scenario is quite different when placed behind a ship. The flow field is changed by
the ship’s hull. Due to viscosity the ship’s hull drags the adjacent water with it and this effect increases with distance to such an effect that
water at the stern has a forward velocity. This phenomenon is called wake and it reduces the propulsion efficiency since it affects the inflow
of water into the propeller. In addition to this rotational losses and eddy currents are also present. This paper discusses some arrangements
to reduce these losses and improve the propulsion efficiency. One such device is the Wake Equalizing Duct which reduces the effect of the
wake. It works such that it decreases the divergence of water by locally accelerating the flow in the concerned region. A further modification
of the WED is known as the Mewis Duct. This basically reduces the rotational losses by giving a pre swirl to the water in the region. Another
possibility is the Grim Vane Wheel which is a freely revolving propeller fitted on the upstream side. This results in a substantial recovery
of rotational energy. Specially shaped Projections on the propeller boss called fins can also be fitted which reduce the eddy currents formed
due to propeller action. Additionally, a completely different propeller arrangement in the form of Contra-Rotating propellers provides higher
efficiency propulsion. This paper includes a descriptive analysis of the above mentioned methods and also a combination of them and how
these lead to reduction in propulsion losses. The above methods through an improvement of efficiency lead to a lesser fuel consuming and
a “greener” shipping world.

Introduction
When it comes to improving efficiency of a moving vessel, there
are a numerous areas where this can be done. This is simply
because the ship is subjected to losses because of the running
machinery, hull resistance and propeller action among others.
The phenomenon of wake is primarily responsible for the losses
in propeller action. This paper explores the phenomenon of wake,
the factors affecting it and why it leads to a reduction in efficiency.
Moving further the description of a few potential and new devices
that increase the propulsion efficiency is also presented. Since
efficiency is directly affecting the fuel consumption of the ship, the
fitting of these devices can lead to major savings in ship operation.
A ship moving in the water due to the action of the propeller is
moving because the rotational energy given to the propeller is
getting converted to thrust, thus giving the ship a translatory
motion. Now, this conversion is not completely efficient, or simply
the propeller efficiency is not 100% and the reasons are many, the
wake being the main cause.
When the ship is moving the friction on the hull creates a so-called
boundary layer of water around it where in the velocity of the water
on the surface of the hull is equal to that of the ship, but reduces
with its distance from the surface of the hull. Such a pattern of
water around the hull has an impact on the ship speed and the
efficiency of the propeller and the phenomenon is termed as wake.
The thickness of the friction belt too defines the movement of water
around the hull at various distances and by this virtue, the friction
of the boundary layer increases with its distance from the fore end
of the hull. The friction belt is thickest at the aft end of the hull and
this is nearly proportional to the length of the ship.
This means that there will be a certain wake velocity caused by
the friction along the sides of the hull. All this involves that the
propeller behind the hull will be working in a wake field (the area
affected by wake).
The wake depending upon its origin and effects is decomposed into
three components, namely:
Friction wake
Due to viscosity the flow velocity relative to the ship hull is slowed
down in the boundary layer, leading in regions of high curvature
to flow separation which means that the effect of the viscous
component increases towards the stern thus giving rise to a forward
velocity component.
Friction wake contributes almost 80 to 90% of the total wake and
differs with the type of the ship that is under study. This particular
friction wake component is effectively defined/measured or
recognized by a dimensionless number called the wake fraction
coefficient “w”.

Second prize winning article at the Technical Paper Competition held at Marine Engineering & Research Institute, Indian Maritime
University, Mumbai Campus.
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48 Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013 www.imare.in
 Student
Potential wake
Lower velocities at stagnant points give rise to a potential wake by
the virtue of the stagnant state of the fluid where the flow velocity
is less due to relatively retarded movement of the fluid particles.
Wave wake
The waves generated by a ship have an orbital motion. Crests have
a forward motion whereas the troughs have aft motions. The wave
component of wake varies with the speed of the vessel.
Also, the propeller will have different characteristics when behind
the ship than in open waters. And the wake related factors affecting
the efficiency are mainly
• Wake gain
• Thrust deduction
• Relative Rotative
efficiency
Wake gain
It is the increase in the
effective thrust of a
propeller, for a given power
delivered thereto, because
of the forward motion of the
water dragged along behind
a vessel's hull.
Thrust deduction Wake equalizing duct Schneekluth
The rotation of the propeller
causes the water in front of it to be “sucked” back towards the
propeller. This results in an extra resistance on the hull normally
called, if related to the total required thrust force T on the propeller,
“thrust deduction fraction” F. This means that the thrust force T on
the propeller has to overcome both the ship’s resistance RT and this
“loss of thrust” F. The thrust deduction fraction F may be expressed
in dimensionless form by means of the thrust deduction coefficient.
In general, the size of the thrust deduction coefficient t increases
when the wake fraction coefficient w increases. The shape of the
hull may have a significant influence, e.g. a bulbous stem can,
under certain circumstances (low ship speeds) reduce t.
Relative rotative efficiency, ηR
The actual velocity of the water flowing to the propeller behind the
hull is neither constant nor at right angles to the propeller disk area,
but has a kind of rotational flow. Therefore, compared with when
the propeller is working in open water, the propeller efficiency is
affected by the ηR factor – called the Propeller relative rotative
efficiency.
The propeller efficiency can be increased by fitting upstream or
downstream devices which improve the inflow into the propeller
and improve the wake field in which the propeller is operating. The
devices discussed in this paper are the following :
1. Wake Equalising Duct
2. Mewis Duct
3. Contra Rotating Propellers
Through recovery of rotational energy and homogenization of the
wake field, these devices increase the efficiency of propulsion. The
next part of the paper discusses how these are achieved.
Marine Engineers Review (India) August 2013
1. WAKE EQUALISING DUCT (WED)
Marine propellers are the most common propulsors owing to their
high efficiency. But this efficiency is also subject to a reduction
due to the various reasons discussed above. Thus, the efficiency of
propulsion can be further increased by auxiliary devices fitted such
as a Wake Equalizing Duct.
Constructionally, it consists of two aerofoil sectioned half-ring
ducts integrated to the hull in front of upper region of the propeller.
Some important parameters for the effectiveness of the WED are
the angles of duct axis to ship’s centre line plane, longitudinal
position, inner diameter, profile section shapes, angles of section to
duct axis and lengths of the half-ring ducts.
It is assumed that the WED accelerates the inflow of the upper
region of the propeller where the flow is slow relative to the lower
region of the propeller; and it improves the uniformity of the wake
over the propeller disc, so the propeller efficiency is increased.
In addition, a well-designed WED reduces the amount of flow
separation at the after body, generates an additional thrust as in the
accelerating type of duct, reduces the propeller excited vibrations
due to the uniform wake, and improves the steering qualities
because of the more straightened flow coming to the rudder. If the
WED is installed to an existing ship, constructional changes and
modifications in propeller design are not needed.
The installation of the Wake Equalising Duct results in various
effects on the vessel. The results are summarized as follows:
1.1 Resistance
The total resistance force affecting a ship hull can be mainly
subdivided into two components: wave resistance caused by
gravity, and viscous resistance caused by viscosity of water.
Viscous resistance force can be also subdivided into two
components: frictional resistance and viscous pressure resistance.
Frictional resistance depends on the wetted surface area of the ship
hull, viscosity of water and ship speed. An addition of the duct
increases the wetted area of the hull. But the surface area of the
duct is negligible as compared to that of the ship. Therefore, the
frictional resistance with and without the duct is more or less the
same.
1.2 Thrust produced by WED
The installation of the WED results in an additional thrust. The
magnitude and direction of this thrust depends on the arrangement
of the duct i.e. .the angle of the duct section and its position from
the aft perpendicular. Generally, for speeds between 10 and 15.4
knots the WED generates a positive thrust. In some cases with an
increase in speed, it can also generate a negative thrust.
1.3 Propulsion
The main aim of the WED is to improve the open water efficiency
of the propeller by homogenizing the wake. There is a considerable
increase in propeller efficiency on account of the positive thrust
generated by the WED, in some cases.
1.4 Conclusion
It has been observed that the effect of the WED would depend
on various factors which would differ from vessel to vessel.
The maximum increase in efficiency would result only by an
optimization of these factors such the angle of the section, the
vessel speed, the distance of the duct from the aft perpendicular.
www.imare.in 49
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But once taken care of, the WED can considerably increase the • A further small power reduction results from the improvement
propulsion efficiency leading to a power saving. of the cavitation behavior at the propeller blade tips.

2. MEWIS DUCT (MD) Now, the results of mounting this device on ships in service
have been observed and analyzed.
The Mewis Duct is one of the
Energy Saving Devices that is • Reduction in fuel consumption up to 8%.
mounted ahead of the propeller • A reduction of propeller induced pressure pulse and tip
therefore an upstream device. cavitation, which leads to less vibration in the aft ship.
The Mewis Duct, unlike the
• Small improvement in course stability.
other Energy Shaving Devices is
designed to efficiently overcome • The Mewis Duct is ideally suited for both newly built and
mainly two independent losses: retrofit applications.
• Losses in the ships wake
3. CONTRA ROTATING PROPELLER
• Rotational losses in the
slipstream The main aims of the marine propulsor designers are to
increase thrust, improve efficiency and to save energy. Most
The design of the Mewis Duct is
Mewis duct - Becker Marine Systems conventional propellers are working behind the ship hull
such that the above mentioned
losses are overcome by separate where the flow is not uniform, not steady and also imposes
components of the duct namely limit on the propeller diameter due to ship stern profile.
the pre-duct and the fins. A contra-rotating propeller is one energy saving devices that
It is a vertically offset mounted contributes largely towards overcoming the loss of thrust and
duct ahead of the propeller and the rotational energy lost.
the fins asymmetrically arranged
This device has two coaxial propellers sited one behind the
inwards meant to reduce the
losses due to wake and rotational other rotating in opposite directions. it is a thrust system in
losses respectively. which the aft propeller recovers lost energy due to rotating
flow occurring behind the fore propeller and changes it to
2.1 Fins ahead of propeller thrust, and furthermore high propelling efficiency can be
- Generation of pre-swirl, obtained by the assignment of thrust to two propellers and the
reduction of rotational losses reduction of the load borne by each of them.
2.2 Duct ahead of propeller-
Working and Construction
Improving wake, generating Contra-rotating propeller - Wärtsilä and
self-thrust IHI Marine Utd. The pitch and loading of the propeller is designed such that the
• Reducing the axial losses resulting rotational energy in the wake is zero. To reduce shaft
vibrations the number of blades of both [propeller / |propellers] is
• the duct flow is stabilizing the fin flow
different, so that not all blades pass each other simultaneously. The
• the duct works as endplates to the fins diameter of the front propeller is often slightly larger than that of
2.3 Pre-swirl mainly inside -Reduction of hub vortex losses the rear propeller, to account for the contraction of the propeller
wake and to avoid the rear propeller to hit the tip vortex of the front
The MD basically is installed to improve the inflow of water. propeller.
Working of a mewis duct: The rotational losses in the wake of a moderately loaded propeller
• Equalization of the propeller inflow by positioning the duct are some 6 percent. Half of that rotational energy is generally
ahead of the propeller. The duct axis is positioned vertically recovered by the rudder. So the gain of a CRP is not more than
above the propeller shaft axis, with the duct diameter smaller some 3%. More important, however, is reduction of frictional
than the propeller diameter. The duct is stabilizing the fin losses which is possible by a CRP. This can be understood when
effect as well as producing thrust. it is realized that in the design of a single propeller the optimum
• Reduction of rotational losses in the slipstream by integrating efficiency is reached at a certain pitch and rotation rate. An increase
a pre-swirl fin system within the duct. The chord length of in pitch will decrease the rotation rate.
the fin profiles is smaller than the duct chord length, with the
fins positioned towards the aft end of the duct. The duct itself In the case of a CRP, however, it is possible to increase the pitch
acts as a type of endplate to the fins, thus increasing their of the propeller without penalty, because the rotational losses are
effectiveness. recovered by the rear propeller. This makes it possible to reduce
• An additional small improvement of the propulsion efficiency the rotation rate and thus the frictional losses without increasing
is obtained from higher loads generated at the inner radii of the rotational losses. A CRP therefore has a lower rotation rate and
the propeller which leads to a reduction of the propeller hub the increase of efficiency from a single propeller can be as high as
vortex losses; this effect increases with increasing hub to 15%. A gear box can be used to reverse the direction of rotation of
propeller diameter ratio. the other propeller and to reduce its rotation rate.

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