100A1

THE MAGAZINE OF LLOYD'S REGISTER

ISSUE 2 1992

Viewpoint: Michael F Lykiardopulo

Quality and innovation in Japanese industry
BNFL introduces a new thermal oxide reprocessing plant
Shipbuilding, shiprepair and offshore potential in Malta
Front cO\Ier:

Ships of the luIure:

the surface effect
Te<:hno-Supe~iner
(151.·,1,) (tOp) and the
dyn3lT1ic lift Te<:hno-
Superliner (TSl.f)
(middle) are ClJrrentty
being re!Hlarched in
J/IPIII'l. ~are
designed to be able
to carry a 1000 tonne
payload OYer 500 nau-
tical mileS M 50 I<.OOts.
The )2tmalo-l (OOltom)
is the first ship In the
world to be powered by
magnetic hydrodynamic
ship driw. An e lectric
current Is passed
through a magnetic
field Cl eal ed by a
wpereonducting coil
to creale a propulsive
force.

JP Kn!ght Umited is
celebr8tlr€ its cente-
nary this June: a cele·
bration made possible
by tugs like the Kenley.
pictured here mar1oOCU-
vrina a K Une car carr~
er. This 3200hp LR·
classed tug, sold on
last June, was the
apogee of Knight's
dewlopmllnt on the
Medway, She was
bought from Japan In
1985 and was, Mlhat
time. the most sophis·
ticated 01 Knight's
Z' peller tugs.

Translation of the Japanese
leK!. OIl the front coYer:
'Preparing fOO" the Mure'
ISSN 026&8971
Head, EdltOfial Group:
J. C. Kevan
Editor: Helen Drummond
Assistant Editor;
Tim Johnston
ContJibutors;
C.E. Crowley.
N, Grice
Designed by
MlchlMll Morris
C Uoyd's Register
or Shipping. 1992
71 Fenchurch Street.
London Ee3M 4BS.
PIlnted by
LR Prio1tin& Ser>Aoes Ltd.
Edward Wltj, Burgen Hili.
West Su5se~
RH159UA.
Picture credits;
British Nuclear Fuels LId
(Ioside back cover 8I"Id
pages 5-7): JP Krllgtlt Ltd
(Ioside frool cover and
Pages 25-27).
Permission to reproduce
any of the contents must
be obtained by writJng to
tile Editor.
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ADDRESS?
Important: please forward
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100Al
THE MAGAZINE OF LLOYD'S REGISTER
ISSUE2 1992
2 A tradition of Innovation
Michael F Lykiardopulo of Lykiardopulo
& Co Ltd, London agents for Neda
Maritime of Pirreus, shares his views
on corporate philosophy.
• THORP: the way forward
British Nuclear Fuels Ltd has dcvclo~d
a new Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant
(THORP) to recycle the more radioactive
spent oxide fuels from the newer reactors.
• The next Japane. . miracle?
Japan today is looking to take the lead in
world industry and is reviewing the pos-
sibilities offered by the latest technology
and working practices.
1.1 Quality operation
Many recent contracts require suppliers to
be accredited to ISO 9000. Jap.1nese clients
of LRQA Ltd are finding that implement-
ing an ISO certified system can improve
their in-house systems.
••
Matta: .aland with a future
Dr Joseph Fenech, Malta's parliamentary
secretary for offshore and maritime
affairs, discusses the Island's future.
•• Malt••e Potential
Tony Muncer, LR's senior surveyor for
Malta, outlines LR's involvement in
Malta's burgeoning maritime industry.
2. Future perfect
Jap.1n explores radical new forms of pro-
pulsion, such as magnetic hydrodynamic
drive, in preparing a new transport sys-
tem to overcome tomorrow's challenges.
2. The Knight. of old _
100 years on
JP Knight Ltd is celebrating 100 years of
providing a safe and efficient towage
service to its clients. It is also undertaking
many new business ventures.
2. Progressing
hydrodynamic propul.lon
LR's Propulsion group has developed
the expertise to help its clients overcome
a range of hydrodynamic propulsion
p roblems.
3. LR Today
Current news worldwide.
 IOOAI
A tradition of innovation
- Its nice when the corporate philosophy that you have
been supporting for the best part of 100 years comes
back into fashion .· So says Michael F lykiardopulo of
lykiardopulo & Co ltd , london agents for Neda Maritime
in Pin~O!us. Its continuing commitment to quality can be
seen today in the double-hull VlCC being built to LR class
for its overseas clients at Hitachi Zosen's Ariake yard.
SmlNG IN HIS OFFlCE in Baltic
Exchange Chambers-since damaged
by the recent explosion-at the desk
which his father and grandfather
before him have occupied, Michael
F Lykiardopulo describes the latest
project with which Lykiardopulo is
involved; the building of what may
well be the world's first double-hull
VLCC. The ship, to be delivered early
next year from Hitachi Zosen's Ariake
yard, has a number of design features
that will make it stand out from other
ships by making it Solfer and longer
lived.
The ship was ordered in early 1990,
shortl y after the Exxon Valdez incident
and before the OPA '90 had passed into
Jaw. The shi p is d esigned not only to
conform to new legislation such as
IMO Resolu tion 131' and OPA '90, but
to surpass their requ irements. Among
the extra features of the J\.rosa, as the
ship has been provisionally named,
are extra steel in the outer hull, the for-
ward bottom plating and areas which
were judged to be at higher risk from
corrosion . The owners, in drawing up
the contract, relied extensively on LR's
services to calcu late where in the ship
the steel could be used to the best
effect.
Additional to the extra steel, the
vessel is built with a reduced amount
of higher tensile steel (I'ITS 36). Michael
Lykiardopulo states that, where the
I'ITS 36 content of a single hull tanker
of the s..lme cap.lcity might be in the
region of 47 per cent, in the Arosa the
2 HTS 36 element will be in the region
ISSUE 2 1992
of 7 per cent. This is part of the p rinci-
pals' general policy of building ships
w ith heavier scantlings w hich will
give the ships a safer and longer life.
After the concerns expressed by LR
and a number of other organisations
about corrosion damage in segregated
ballast spaces, the owners, in conjunc·
tion with LR, have incorporated cer-
tain additional features as well as
increased sca ntlings. The CO<lting
specification for the segregated ballast
tanks and lines has been significantly
upgraded and all ballast spaces are to
be fi tted with sacrifi cial anodes to fur-
ther reduce corrosion damage. Addi-
tionally, all ballast spaces in way of the
cargo area will be filled with equip-
ment to monitor continuously the
atmosphere for hydro-carbon gases,
as well as having inert gas and fresh
air ventilation systems fitted. These
systems are enhanced by cargo tan ks
that have been speci fically designed
to promote good overall ventilation.
Commenting on why the owners
chose to build at Hitachi, Michael
Lykiardopulo says: ''They have been
building ships with Hitachi si nC(! the
1950s and have had consistently good
results. This ship, although the design
concept is not new, will be one of the
first of a new generation of double
hulled VLCCs and because of this they
felt they had to go to the best that was
available, not just in quality of build
but also in design facilities ."
The Arosa's ballast spaces are
also fitted with improved access sys-
tems for surveyors, such as extended
stiffeners that can be used as walk-
ways. Commenting on these features,
Michael Lykiardopulo says that his
principals fimlly believe that the co-
operation of the shipow ner can make
the difference between a thorough and
reliable survey and something that is
of little more value than the paper on
ISSUE 2 1992
which the certificate is printed. In light
of this, Mr Lykiardopu lo is worried by
the increasing importance that is gen-
erally attached to certificates: "One of
the big dangers of the way in which
the industry is heading today is that
we are seeing owners starting to con-
centrate solely on gaining the piece of
paper. Getting the certificate is only the
beginning of the story; while I firmly
believe that a system of having to have
a certificate of class to trade is impor-
tant, the shipowner has a duty to im-
prove the safety of the ship by, among
many other things, improving his and
class surveyors' access to the different
p.1rts of the ship. I was very pleased to
see that the IMO, in Resolution 13F,
made stipulations about designing
double-hull b.1l1ast spaces with a mind
to improve access fo r sUlVey."
lOOAI
Implicit in these words is the worry
that-as certificates are increasingly
relied upon as a guaralltee of safety-
they will become increasingly mean-
ingless, particularly to the unscrupu-
lous owner who might be tempted to
'turn a blind eye'. Although high-qual-
ity classification services are vital, it is
the shipowner's duty to ensure that he
is ru nning a safe ship and, the more
difficu lt it is to inspect the shi p, the
more difficult it is to ensure that this
is being done. Michael Lykiardopulo
says, "Unfortunately you will never
m<lnage to totally eradicate accidents
at sea; by introducing more and more
ccrtificates for everything, from man-
agement to ballast space inspections,
you run the risk of defeating the origi-
nal purpose of reducing and, ultimate-
ly eliminating, sub-standard ships." J
 IOOAI
The requirement for
seismic protection pre-
sented enormous teen.
nlc8l problems which
were solved by this
relnfOfcement of the
main strllClures of the
plant to resist earth-
quakes.
u ra niu m dioxide enriched in the 23S
isotope: the penalty lies in the higher
level of radioactivity associated with
spent oxide fuel. Construction of such
reactors escalated around the world
and BNFL, appreciating the potential
for reprocessing work from them, set
about planning a plant designed
s jX'cifically to reprocess the more
active oxide fuels.
Among the chief concerns of BNFL
was the development of a safety case.
A report in The Chemical Engineer in
1987 declared that the THORP safety
case was "likel y to be the most com-
prehensive and closely scrutinised
safety case prepared by lINFL to date':
The lengthy period between initiation
of the development programme, early
construction in 1977 and 1978, and the
actual commencement of major wo rk
in 1981 allowed for the gathering of a
, Oxid e fuel, on the other hand, is a
considerable amou nt of technical data.
The delay was initially due to the
Windscale public inquiry in 1977 and
the subsequent re-allocation of staff to
other projects. The technical data gath-
ered covered areas such as the s.1fety
case, new solvent extraction processes
in volving three cycles-instead of the
previous five cyclcs-.1 nd changes to
equipment requirements. This enabled
the THORI' team, S.1ys Bill Bennett, to
go ahead w ith far more confidence
than if they had started immediately in
the 1970s. The resulting safety case has
been submitted to, and acce pted by,
the UK Nuclear Ins tallations Inspec-
torate (Nil) in stages as the design and
construction programme progressed.
Construction at THORP was subject
to considerable delay in the mid 1980s
because of what Bill Bennett describes
as "the unforeseen complexity of the
civil structure. We had to take account
of seismic design and this cost us a lot
of time". Unti l the early 1980s, there
had been no serious consideration
given to the possibility of UK earth-
quakes. From the early 1980s, however,
concern began to grow and the Nil
required BNFI. to demonstrate that
all new constructions were protected
against a 'remote event', ie one occur-
ring every 10 000 years or, more tech-
nically speaking, a 'quake with an
horizontal acceleration up to O.25g.
Bill Bennett says: "There is a local joke
in the project team that if the UK suf-
fers an earthquake, THORP will be the
si,fest pi(lce in the country!"
Seismic considera tions, however,
were not the only factors which the
THORP team had to take on board.
Obviously, the fact that the plant
would be dealing with the higher
activity oxide fu els rather than natural
uranium fuel, meant handling and
treatment differences had to be
resolved. At the early stages of all
reprocessing, the used fuel goes
through a dissolving process using
nitric acid as the solvent. One
of the first changes which the THORP
team had to make was at this stage,
Fuel being reprocessed from the first
generation Magnox-type reactors is
metal dad in a magnesium alloy.
ceramic-type material clad in stainless
ISSUE2 1992
steel or Zircaloy. The old style fuel is
'de-canncrl'-stripped of its d adding-
before it passes on to the dissolving
stage, whereas the oxide fuel, together
with its cladding, is fed to the dissolver
and the cladding or 'hulls', which are
insoluble, arc removed later. This is
d one using a sieve-like device w hich
reta ins the hulls, w ith the exception of
a small amount of particulate matter,
for d isposal.
The solvent extraction process was
another area that req uired the THORP
engineers to act on two specific differ-
ences between the old er style fuels and
newer oxide fuels. The first is a greater
plutonium content in the higher bum-
u p oxide fuels; and the second, a need
to reprocess fu els of higher specific
activity while reducing the quantity of
liquid waste. The first of thes<! differ-
ences was resolved by the ado p tion of
pulsed columns fo r stages of the pro-
cess involving significant quantities
"There is a local joke ill tile project
team thllt if the UK suffers 1111 eartll-
quake, THORP wili be the safest
place ill the COllI/try!"
of plutonium. The second has been
resolved by adopting a virtually S.1Jt-
frcc flowsheet. Flowsheet chemistry
has been tested over the full range of
materials to be reprocessed at THORP
under the technical development
budget.
The original deadline for start-up
of THORP was 1990, but fo llowing the
delay during early construction, a
revised date was set for this year. It
is now expected that commissioning
w ill be completed in December and
that the first conSig nment of irradiated
material will be introduced shortly
after. The design life of n lORP is 25
years but, says Bill Bennett, as w ith
previous plant at Sellafield, the actua l
life will be longer and there will be
no shortage of work throughou t that
period. "We anticipated that we could
reprocess 6000 lonnes of fuel in the
first 10 years of the plant's life but we
have now d iscovered that we h ave
enough capacity for 7000 tonnes."
BNFL secured initial contracts cover-
ing a 'base load' of 10 years' reprocess-
ing; a large proportion of this fuel is
alread y housed in THORP's receipt and
storage facilities. The first fuel actually
arrived at the new faci lity in August
1988. The first 10 year's worth of work
ISSUE2 1992 [OOA[

already accounted for, by clients from

Japan, western Europe and the UK.
BNFL is now looking to the following
10 years and anticipates working at
full capacity throughout that period.
Safety has been a prime concern
from the project's inception. Bi1Il3cn-
nett is confident that the rigorous safe-
ty standards set by the industry's
watch d ogs, both in the UK and
abroad, have been strictly adhered to
at THORP. "We have also published our
own Health and Safety manualllnd
Codes of Practice, as welllls various
technical support documents." Part of
the general technical develqpment
budget was sct aside for research into
various aspects of safety, including
criticality safety. specific experimental
work and chemical safety such as the
examination of the re-agents used. in
reprocessing.
The issue of safety was brought
to the public's attention in 1979 by
the accident at Three Mile Island in
America and again by the C hernobyl
incident in 1986. While both of these
events involved nuclear reactors rather
than reprocessing plants, the! public
looked to the whole nuclear industry
fo r reassurance. Bill Bennett points
out that these incidents did not have
a great effect on wo rking practices at A full·sca[e pulsed c0l-
Scllafield, other than to focus the puJ>.. umn test fig Introduced
for stages of the pro-
lic's gaze on such sites, because they
cess involving signlfi·
already had stringent safety systems cant quantities of ph..·
in opera tion. "It is our aim," he says, I onium. Thl:re [s II THORP is part of this process of plan-
"to tell the public as much as we can. greater plutonium c0n- ning ahead and investing in the
This is particularly the case with tent In the waste gen- future of the nuclear industry. Vi rtual-
erated from the ocwer.
regard to our safety procedures." hlghef.tJuminC oxkIe
ly all the s upport facilities at Scllafield
At THORP, a team of BNFL'S own fuels. have been replaced since the site first
safety assessors works hand-in-hand opened and in excess of £1 billion has
w ith a team of independent safety been spent in replacing effluent treat-
technology consultants, induding plant. These studies identify potential ment faci lities alo ne. The experience
specialists from LR's recently-opened hazards, examine how they can be gained from over 30 years of repro-
Warrington office. LR undertook the prevented or mitigated, and quantify cessing is rcOected in the refining of
sa fety assessment and safety case the frequencies and consequences of processes and equipment requirements
preparation for THOR!' on behalf of hazards in the plant to demonstrate at THORP making it a healthy economic
IlNFL. LR's assessments covered the acceptability. prospect. Now, with an estimated £500
Head End Mechanical and Chemical Plant maintena nce is a key area million profit for the first 10 years of
Separation areas of the plant, in which of safety concern-a well maintained operation, HNFL has the opportunity
spent nuclear fuel is transferred from plant will have a safer and longer to become the world leader in oxide
pond storage to the reprocessing plant, working life-and maintenance fuel reprocessi ng.
sheared and dissolved. LR has also requirements were considered at the
been involved in the assessment of d esign stage. Inspection and surveil-
Zircaloy hazards in l1'IORP and pro-- lance facilities, for instance, which are
vided advice to BNFL on such ha .....ards generally based upon closed circuit
in other p lants at Sellafield. The BNI-1. television, are provided for all 'caves
team arc working full-time on the and cells' . Equipment which might
preparation of safety case documenta- require maintenance is located outside
tion for examination by the Nil, and are the primary biological shielding. but
undertaking both HAZOPS (Hazard and within engineering enclosures.
Operability studies) and HAZANS BNR. has made a major commit-
(I'lazard Analyses) for all areas of the ment to enhancing its Sellafield site. 7
 lOOAI !SSUE2 1992

The next Japanese miracle?

Japan is an unlikely economic superpower: it is not

blessed with raw materials in any quantity, has a large
population living almost exclusively on the narrow coastal
plains and had its manufacturing base virtually destroyed
by the last war. However, starting with carefully directed
investment into heavy industry, particularly shipbuilding,
Japan has built a wide industrial base that is, in terms of
production , second only to the US. That industrial base is
changing, however, to embrace the possibilities and
opportunities offered by modern technology and working
practices.
Japan', traditional
ethics of herd work,
attention to detail ancl
pride In II job well done
has catapulted the
nation Into the front
rank of the wo~d's
economies.
8 general manager of the Shipbuilding
JAI'ANESE INDUSTRY IN general, and
the space and labour-intensive heavy
industries such as shipbuilding in par-
ticular, are facing an uncomfortable
squeeze. From one side there is the
shortage of labour willing to work in
an industry stigmatised by the 'three
Ks' (which can be roughly translated
as Dirty, Dangerous and Demanding)
and the relatively large space that a
shipyard requires in a country where
land is at a premium, On the other
side there is the changing profile of
Japanese industry; over the last two
decades, from producing high volume,
low margin goods which requjred sub-
stantial amounts of cheap shipping to
be competitive; it is now concentrating
on low volume, high margin goods
requiring less freight, and for which
the cost of freight is a relatively smaller
component of the final price.
The shipbuilders arc faced with
an awkward problem when it comes
to labour. The first component of the
problem lies in the fact that Japan has
reached full employment and trying
to persuade people to come into ship-
building is proving hard. This is not
only because of the 'three Ks', but also
because of memories of the shipping
slump of the 1980s when many ship-
yards were forced to layoff labour in
order to survive. In a country where
the traditional ethos has ~n that a job
is a job for life, this has served to make
recruitment even harder. The reactions
of the yards have been a mixture of
increased automation and re-ernploy-
ing those workers vital to the long-
term survival of the shipyards else-
where in the organisation while the
slump lasted.
The general trend towards increased
automation among Japanese yards has
Jed to some reducing their workforce
by as much as a third while maintain-
ing their capacity. There have been
suggestions that Japan might be forced
to import foreign labour to make up
the shortfall, but none of the ship-
builders asked by l00Al were in
favour of this solution: Mr Akira
Miya7..aki, managing director and
l$ISuE2 1992 lOOAI

duction. After the wa r they tended to

revert to old style onc-off shipbuilding.
but the Japanese adopted these meth-
ods and have been constantly improv-
ing continuous production techniques
and Ocean Development department over the intervening 45 years. The just-
of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said in-time stock procedures, automated
"Further automation-robotics-will cutting and welding programming and
allow Japa nese shipbuilders to integrated CAD/CAM systems have all
increase capacity; there is no need to been adopted by western shipbuilders
build new docks or employ more after being developed by Ja panese
labour. At present, labour accounts for ya rds.
about 20 per cent of the cost of a new- The shape of Japanese industry has
building; we hope that, through changed: what was once a centre for
automation, we will be able to cut that the high volume production of low
to about 10 per cent." Most companies margin products and the birth place of
are making a concerted effort to Asian heavy industry is now synony-
improve shipbuilding's safet y record
and brighten the work environment to
try to dis pel its reputation for being
dirty, dangerous and demanding.
The shipyards are festooned by signs
encouraging the workforce to be safety-
conscious, and new shi p designs have
required less staging during construc-
tion since this was discovered to be a
major contributor to accidents.
One advantage of automation that
has been relatively under-publicised is
that, as it makes work less physically
demanding, it becomes possible to tap
the relatively under-utilised female
workforce. Having women working on
the shop fl oors in heavy industry waS
almost unheard of in Jap.1.11 10 years
ago; today the sight of female opera-
tives of automated welding equipment
is becoming common.
It is pa rtly the rising cost of labour
that has prompted Japanese industry
to search for technically innova tive
prod ucts and production techniques.
In the past it has been generally true
that most shipping inventions, such as
container ships and LNG carriers, to
mention but two, have come out of
Europe and the US, and the Ja panese
have then adopted and improved
lIpon them. This is still true to some
extent; for example, Mitsubishi's new
UI! series of engines arc of a fami liar
layout but they have an improved
scavenger port design that substantial-
ly boosts efficiency. Japan has, howev-
er, moved on from merely improving Al.Itomatie weldirlC
on other nations' inventions, as Mr robots at Hitaehl
2osen"s ArI8ke )'!Ird.
Miyaz.1.ki commented: "Soon, with
The Increased automa-
projects such as the Techno-Su perliner, tion of Japanese ship-
we will see Japanese shipbuilders mous with high margin, hi-tech prod- yards has led to huge
exporting their inventions back to ucts. The traditionally labour-intensive productMty gains.
Europe and the United States." heavy industry has taken a back seat to
Japanese production techniques mass produced consumer products.
have, of course, already been widely Yoshio Miwa, managing directo r of
adopted throughout the world. During Hitachi Zoscn Corporation, explained
the last wa r, ya rds, particularly US
yards, were geared up for mass pro-
that, through automation, innovative
production techniques and concentra- ,
 IOOAI ISSUE2 1992

Ttl. Japane....laaed fleet

",.
In years Number Gross tonJl8(e
0- ' *'9 7188 867
5- 9
"" 9 770 086
10 - 14
15 - 19 ""
".2
4174116
3892608
m
•
..
20 - 24 401770
25 - 29 "9 118336
30. 64913
Total number 9998
Total GT 25610696

TM wCH1d fleet market shows signs of picking up

...-,.- Number Gross tonnage

agai n. A scrapping initiative has
already been sta rted by the shipown-
ers and builders, under the co-chair-
0- '
5- 9 "'"
12358
70665600
89284 284
manship of the president of Mi tsui OSK
Lines and the chairman of Sumitomo
10 - 14 15148 89689845 Heavy Industries, to p romote a n

--
15 - 19 14814 125442837
20 - 24 11910 41533373
25 - 29 666' 13260 891
30. 9515 11112947
Total lll,K'llb&r 79914
Total GT 440989782
tion on the more technically demand-
ing ships, they are maintaining a
return on capital comparable to that
of the mass-production industries. He
also pointed out that a large proportion
of the ya rds' output went to domestic
owners whose operations generally
involve long-tcnn cargo commitments
and who are, therefore, less exposed
to the vagaries of the market. The
Japanese-flagged fleet has shrunk
from 40 million gross tonnage in 1983,
to 26 million gross tonnage in 1991.
This reflects the combined effect of the
reduced needs of Japanese industry for
bulk transport and an element of flag-
ging out by Japanese owners.
The Japanese-owned fleet, com-
pared to that of the rest of the wo rld,
is relatively new. Owners have taken
advantage of the slack newbuilding
period before the last boom, at the end
of the 1980s, to rep lace aging tonnage.
Under-utilisation of existing build-
ing capaci ty is not expected to be a
major problem in the near future. As
the bulk of the world fl eet, and partic-
ularly the tanker fleet, is approaching
the end of its life, major renewals will
be nffessary. Estimates of how many
VLCCS w ill have to be built range from
280 to 350 new ships over the next
decade or so. The current worldwide
VLCC building cap.1city is approxi-
mately 40 ships per yea r. The Japancsc
shipbuilders are reluctant to create
more capacity, remembering the effects
of the slump in the late 19705 and early
1980s when a lot of recently-opened
capacity had to be cu t. Mr Miwa of
Hitachi Zosen believes that the neces-
sary capacity can be fully s upplied
through improvements in prod uctivity.
Also, there is under-utilised cap.1city,
particularly in Europe, that could be
turned over to VLCC building if there is
a sufficient demand-driven price rise.
Although a gradual rise in the number
of newbuilding orders would keep
d emand-driven price riscs to a mi ni-
mum, this does not seem likely
because the recent drop in freight
rates---<:aused by a fa ll in demand
rather than over-c.1p.1city as was the
case in the 197Os-wiJI mean tha t new-
building p lans will be put off until the
orderly renewal of the world fleet and
avoid la rge swings in newbuilding
prices.
TIlerc is a tre nd for Japanese
bu ilders to concentrate on specialist
ships such as gas carriers and cruise
shi ps. The recent order for eight LNG
ca rriers for the Northwest Sheli p roject
to LR class at Mitsubishi Nagasaki,
Mitsui Chiba and Kawasaki Kobe
shows how s uccessfully they have
penetrated this market. It seems likely
that many Japanese yards will follow
this ro.1d, marketing the undoubted
quality of their d esign and building
services to owners world wide. This
gradunl movement into the hig her
margi n shipbu ilding areas wou ld fol-
low the general movement of Japanese
industry.
The Japanese shi pbuilding industry
leads the world in the sophistication of
their production facili ties and systems
and in terms of tonnage produced.
Chastised by the painful experlcnces
of the aftermat h of the last shipping
boom, Jap.1nese shipbuilders are reluc-
tant to be caught w ith excess produc-
tion cap.1city again. They are confident
that their current faci lities are both
sufficient to cope with the predicted
boom nnd cap.1ble of remaining
profitable when the good times roll
to a halt. Their massive investment in
production systems and consistently
high quality will ens ure that they will
remain competitive with other, less
developed, shipbuilding nations.
[SSUE21992 l(XlA1

Quality Operation
It is becoming more frequent for contracts to stipulate
that suppliers are certified for compliance with the
ISO 9000 series of quality standards. This, in itself, is
not surprising in a world that is becoming more Quality
conscious; what is surprising is that Japanese firms-
which have built an unrivalled reputation for making
Quality products-are increasingly adopting ISO 9000
and are finding that, aside from the marketing advan-
tages that it can offer, it can also enhance their existing
Quality systems .

companies developed their own sys-

The production line at
Yamatake-Honeywel[·s
Fujisawa fijctory.
The qua lity d irector
Eiji Kawashima told
lOOA1: " Together. QUALITY-the complianc~ of a product
ISO 9000 and our total to the customers' specifications and
qua li\)' system can expectations-has become the watch~
eradicate all the weak
word of industry in many parts of the
points in the produc-
tion chain. " world during the last few years.
Japanese industry, however, realised
the importance of quality many years
ago and has earned itself a reputation
for reliably delivering a consistently
high standard of products. To enable
Japanese companies to achieve and
maintain this reputation, it was neces-
sary to evolve their own systems for
managing quality. As there were no
national or international standards,
tems based on quality control princi-
ples. Many companies in Japan have
been operating Total Quality Control
(TQC) systems within their factories
for some years. The continual striving
for improvement in the product has
resulted in a substantial export-market
share and an enviable worldwide rep-
utation for quality. Given the self-
evident effectiveness of these quality
programmes, it is surprising to find
that Japanese companies are now
starting to modify their own systems
to conform with the [SO 9000 series of
quality standards which have been the
focus of attention in other parts of the
world for the last five years.
The two approaches to qua lity,
while they aim at the same end,
approach it from different directions.
rhe Japanese TQC approach is, as it
sounds, product orientated. TQC grew
from the basic principles laid·down by
W Edwards Deming, Ishikawajima
and others when Japan was undergo-
ing rapid industrialisation after the
second world war. TQC places great
emphasis on continual product
improvement, reduction in costs and
defects, training, control of the manu-
facturing process through use of statis-
tical methods and total involvement of
all personnel, in the improvement pro-
cess. Due to the emphasis on the prod-
n
 1000Al
The Osaka S8llS0
Kogyo Ltd (0511) plant
al Am8(a$8kl, Osaka.
OSK, a part 01 the 80C
&rouP. WitS the first
company In Japan to uct and manufactu ring, however, TQC
receioJe LRQA Lid d ocs not necessarily cover all the
eertl!lclllion for compl~ aspects of a company's operation
ancelo ISO 9000.
which can affect quality.
The ISO 9000 approach is system-
based, and focuses on the customers'
specific requirements. It requires man-
agement systems to control all aspects
of a comp.lny's operation which can
affect the customers' product. It places
great emphasis on the documentation
of procedures, responsibilities and
au thorities on the basis that, if these
are consistently adhered to, a quality
product will result. The ISO 9000 series
of standards were developed by quali-
ty practitioners from various countries
around the world based on experience
with national quality standards such
as BS 5750. Various countries have
established national schemes to audit
and accredit the certification organisa-
tions which audit companies to ISO
9000. LR's w holly owned subsidiary
LRQA Ltd was the first certification
body to be accredited by the UK's
Nationa l Accredi tation Council for
Certification Bodies (NACCB). U~QA is
now developing a strong presence in
Jap.ln, where it has certified five com-
panies to the [SO 9000 series and is in
the process of certifying a further 40.
Despite the difference to TQC in
"
tssuE2 1992
approach, ISO 9000 certification has
found acceptance and praise among
Japanese industrialists. Most comp.l-
nies originally wanted certification
because of the marketing advantages
that it offered for operations in Europe.
In the process of understanding the
requirements and implementing the
systems, however, they have fou nd
that in a number of key areas the two
complement each other and that there
is no connict between them.
Yamatake-Honeywell is a case in
point: originally a joint us-Japanese
projcct, it is now majority Japanese-
owned. Its European and North Amer-
ican marketing, however, is done jOint-
ly by Honeywell and Yama take-
Honeywell. It received its certification
for compliance to ISO 9001 on October
1 1991. Eiji Kawashima, director of
Yamatake-Honcywdl's Quality Assur-
ance department, comments that:
"When the TQC system was ru nni ng
well it was fine; however, when things
sta rted to slip, it was very difficult to
tell exactly where the problem was
arising because we had insufficient
documentation." The documentation
issue also provoked comment from
other companies: Dr Chiharu Nakai,
the quality director for Do Pont Japan
Ltd said: "Looking back, I think we
 ISSUE 2 1992 l OOAI

can see that our documentation system
was inadequate: since we have started
working to gain [SO 9000 certification,
we have improved tremendously."
The increased emphasis on lines of
responsibility and authorisation also
caused comment; Dr Nakai observed
that management is rapidly changing,
with fewer people being able to remain
in the same job fo r a long period of
time. Without a comprehel1sivcly doc-
umented system in place, it will be
impossible to maintain continuity and
limited to that of the system versus the
product: Dr Nakai points out that
while TQC is aimed at improving the
quality of a product, [SO 9000 is aimed
at preventing a loss of quality. This can
also be used to the benefit of the pro-
......
,
The ISO 9000 series of standards define Ihe
basiC management systems whiCh a manufac-
ture r Should have in place to ensure that the
end-product consistentlY conforms 10 Ihe order
requirements. ISO 9000 requires these sys-
tems to be documented (in manuals and pro-
cedures). implemented, audited and reviewed.
For a manufactlJrer to rece ive certification
to ISO 9000, an accredited certification body
such as LRQA Ltd. must review the company's
documentation, and then carry out a detailed
audit to ensu re the systems comply with the
standard. are fully Implemented and are effec·
tive In ensuring the customers · requirements
are achieved.
After satisfactory init ial assessment. com·
pan ies ere visited every six months to ensure
they are maintaining the system. After three
years, a full reassessment is carried out.
An Acc redited Certllication Body. such as
LRQA Ltd, is an independent body which has

o therefore sustain the quality of the

product. This, however, is looking
some way into the future, as Masataka
Tamura, president of Osaka Sanso
Kogyo Ltd, the first company to
receive certification from LRQA Ltd,
points out. He believes that currently it
is only the least qualified and the high-
flying employees who are moving,
whilst the bulk of the workforce is
staying with the same company. He
also mentions that there arc other fac-
tors that might have an adverse effect
on the running of the traditional TQC
programme, such as the constant
renewal of product lines and technolo-
gy which require rapid change without
loss of quality.
Companies that have either been
certified or are in the process of gain-
ing certification are quick to point out
that, in their experience, there is no
conflict between [SO 9000 and TQC.
Both philosophies arc aimed at achiev-
ing the same objective, a quality prod-
uct, and it is merely the approach that
differs. Mr Kawashima believes the
TQC programme that was in place at
Yamatake-Honeywel1 before they
investigated gaining [SO 9000
certification was not in itself enough
to reach the quality target they desired
and also believes that this would be
true of other companies in Japan. He
believes that a welding ofTQC with ISO
9000 is the best way to reach the
required standard. He also emphasises
that it is vital that the entire workforce
is made aware, not only of the impor-
tance of quality, but also of the reasons
behind why the system must be made
to work. The traditional Japanese
emphasis on quality takes care of the
first of these and training programmes
the second.
The differences in approach arc not
ducer: "I think implementing the
requirements of [SO 9000 has helped to
consolidate the gains that have result-
Itse ll been assessed by a higher authority,
such as the UK·S National Accreditation Coun-
cil for Certification Bodies (NACCS) or Outch
Raad voor de Certificatle (Rve) and judged to
ed from the system that we had in be competent to assess a company's quality
place beforehand," says Dr Nakai. system to the requirements of ISO 9000.
LR has been certifying quality The ISO 9000 series of standards-[tse lf
adopted from UK standard IlS 5750--have
systems for many years. Initially this been adopted verbatim In many countries
was under LR's Quality Assurance around the world. These countries have given
schemes for suppliers of components me series their own numbers: eg Australia-
and steel to shipbuilders and the like. AS 3900, Europe....-EN,~ 2900
;;;;;~O",,:
,~,,.
, ____ 01
The experience that the organisation
has built up over the years has proved
to be of invaluable use to its clients,
not least in providing the training for
quality and line managers. LR has run
internal auditor training seminars for
Du Pont Japan for eX<lmple; Dr Nakai
says that the most important aspect of
the training was that it helped the
workforce understand why the
increased documentation and
definition of responsibilities were
important.
The companies with which LR
has been involved have found that
achieving certification to 150 9000 can
substantially improve the already
world-beating reputation for quality
that Japanese manufacturers have
established for their product, quite
aside from the obvious marketing
advantages that it offers. They have
also fou nd that the understandable
fears of some quality managers that
the ISO system would clash with the
existing one have proved unfounded.
LRQA's long record of certification
and training for companies around
the world means that manufacturers
benefit from being assessed by speci<ll-
ists with an in-depth knowledge of
the field in which they operate.
03
 l00Al
Malta: Island with a future
Malta is only 17 miles long, but its fine harbours and
its position at the crossroads of the Mediterranean
have always made it a desirable possession for powerful
maritime countries. Its only natural resource is its people,
and Dr Joseph Fenech believes its future lies in develop-
ing Malta as an international maritime business and
financial centre of excellence.
DR JOSEPH M FENECH is Malta's
p.lrliamentary secretary for offshore
octivities and maritime affa irs with
r<!Sponsibility for ships, yachts, yacht
marinas, ports and ship registry-in
fo et anything that happens in territorial
waters comes under his aegis. He also
has the task of establishing Malta as an
international financial and business
centre.
Malta became an independent
republic within the British Common-
wealth in 1974. When the British left
Malta in 1979, after a presence of 180
years, a qucstion mark arose over its
future. As Dr Fenech remarks: "Malta
wns genred to a fortress economy. We
hnd to switch to a commercial econo-
my, starting with tourism; and then
we built up our maritime and manu-
fa cturing industry, and now we are
promoting the full expansion of our
service sector."
Dr Fenech full y supports the Gov-
ernment's philosophy of total involve-
ment with the development of Malta
as an interna tional maritime and busi-
ness service centre. He believes that
the Island's major natural resource is
the entrepreneurial spirit of its people.
Expansion in the maritime sector
is a priority and, to further this aim,
a new organisation, Malta Maritime
Authority, has been established . Its
functions include the operation and
improvement of ports and yacht mari-
nas, ship registration, pollution con-
trol, port and shipping safety mea-
sures, and the provision of advice to
the Government on maritime activities.
Malta enjoys a long tradition as a
maritimc nation and can boast a com-
plete maritime infrastructure. "Malta
"
ISSUE 2 1992
Of Joseph M Fenech
is helping the GQyem.
ment to achieve its
goal of developing
M1I111I1IS III1lnternation.
111malitime and bus~
r'leSS service centre.
Drydocks is one of the largest rep.lir
yards in the Mediterranean, employing
3800 people;' says Dr Fenech. "The
Malta Government owns Malta Dry-
docks (MDD) but it is managed by a
Drydocks Cou ncil elected by MDD
employees. Shipbuilding in Malta is
carried out by Malta Shipbuilding
Company Limited (MSCL), a private
limited liability company employing
1900 people. It is owned by Malta
Development Corporation (61%),
Libyan Arab Maltese Holding Compa-
ny Limited (30%) and Banque Algeri-
cnne de Developcme.nt (9%)."
A growing arca of respo nsibility
for Dr Fenech is ship registration.
Since 1978 the Ma lta Register has
grown from 1.7 million gt to 8.0 mil-
lion gt. Malta's Merchant Shipping Act
is almost identical to the British Mer-
chant Shipping Act of 1947, suitably
updated to meet modern require-
ments. Dr Fenech adds: "We arc a sig-
natory to all the important internation-
al maritime conventions. Our nautica l
school is accepted internationally and
our cadets arc taken on by British
ships beca use we share a similar ship-
ping tradition."
The Malta Register has its own
surveyors and also delegates work to
Lloyd's Register and other classifica-
[SSUE2 1992
tion societies. In due course, the Malta
Maritime Authority p lans to set up its
own inspectorate.
The Malta Register is in constant
dialogue with the International Trans-
port Workers Federation (ITF). Dr
Fenech recalls: "I suggested a novel
concept of setting up an lnternational
Industrial Agreement suitable for open
registers. Rather than have an agree-
ment for each particular ship, depend-
ing on the nationality of the seafarers,
I proposed that we should have a
standard agreement stipulating clearly
that the minimum wage would be that
prevailing in the particular seafarer's
country of origin, while all safety,
social.and security conditions would
be standard./I
Competition between open regis-
ters is intense and the advantages for
owners registering ships under the
Maltese flag include: low company
formation and registration costs; no
restrictions on either the nationality
of officers and crews, or the sale and
mortgaging of Maltese-flag ships; tax
exemption for owners, chart~rers and
financiers of Maltese ships over 1000gt
and no restrictions on Maltese ships
calling at any foreign port. Dr Fenech
does not believe that the level of fees
is the most important issue: "It is a
question of providing efficient services
with a quick response, coupled with
a high reputation for the flag."
In line with its development as an
international business and financial
centre, Malta is concentrating on
attracting ship management compa-
nies to the island. Last August saw the
establishment of Wallem Ship Manage-
ment (Malta) and Dr Fenech sees an
even greater potential for cruise ship-
ping. "We are building a cruise ship
terminal. We see Malta as much more
than a port of call; we see it as a home
base for operators. It could become
host to fly / cruise operations for North
One of many COlourful
traditional fi shing boats
to De found in the pic-
turesque harbours of
Ma lta. complete with
ey<:!s painted on the
bow-an ancient
Mediterranean custom
be lieved to he lp the
vessel on her way.
l00Al
European, North American and Far
East cruise passengers."
Dr Fenech has visited the Miami
Cruise Ship conference for the last
three years, and the response to
Malta's bid for recognition was very
positive. "Malta is ideal for 3, 4, 7, 13
and 15-day cruises. It is centrally locat-
ed for cruises to the north, east or west
of the Mediterranean, and in a unique
historical setting./I
Another ambitious p lan is to con-
vert the whole of Marsamxett Harbour
into an international yacht marina,
provided tank-tests show that a break-
water can be built without harming
the natural flushing of the harbour. It
would be the largest yacht marina in
the Mediterranean.
There is no lack of ideas and pro-
jects in Malta today. They include
improving the offshore sup ply base
on Manoellsland and the completion
of a freeport.
The strategiC possibilities of Malta
have been recognised over the years
by the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs,
Normans, Knights of St. John, Turks,
French and British. Indeed, Malta's
position in the Mediterranean makes
it a natural link between the southern-
most part of Europe and North Africa.
It has one unique characteristic in that
it is the only European country speak-
ing a Semitic language with Semitic
grammar and syntax. Yet it is also the
only Semitic language written in
Roman script.
Dr Fenech says: "We have good
commercial links with North African
countries and they are the only nations
with which we have a positive balance
of payments. We export a lot of ser-
vices and goods-from shoes to elec-
tronics-to the value of £350 million
a year." His concluding remark is a
tribute to Malta's entrepreneurs,
"We have even succeeded in setting
up a supermarket for Maltese goods
in Libya" .
 IOOAl
Maltese Potential
Tony Muncer, LR's senior surveyor for Malta, is
impressed by the enterprising spirit of the Maltese :
"There is much unrecognised potential in Malta. In
particular, I have been very impressed by the
entrepreneurial skills which abound on this island."
LR's senior surveyor
lor Matta. Tony Muncer.
Is pictured here on
board In s-Kaftaplin's
LR-classed semi·sulr
mersible drilling unit.
ZAGR~81. The Croat·
Ion rig was In the Gulf As MIGHT BE EXPECTED, LR's main
01 Sirle undefgolng a
~ 01 fIaC surYe)'.
work is at Malta Drydocks (MOD) and
Malta Shipbuilding Co Ltd (MSCL) but
there is a small amount of industrial
inspection work which consists mainly
of equipment for turnkey projects in
Libya. Some items arc actually manu-
factured in Malta but many are
inspected in Malta, during trans-
shipment, en route to Libya. Offshore
related work is now becoming im-
portant with the increasing offshore
activity in Maltese waters and in the
Gulf of Sirte.
Like many LR surveyors Tony
Muncer gets involved with local busi-
ness life and he is a member of the
Malta-based Foreign (Consultants)
Resource ]Jersons Group of the Malta
Council of Science and Technology
based at the University. This is an
assembly of expatriate consultants
which meets every month to excha nge
ideas. He says: "Malta is d eveloping
16 rapidly; for instance, the Office of the
ISSUE2 1992
Prime Minister has formulated Man-
power and Structure Plans for Malta
which cover business, housing.. trans-
port, sewage, water and electricity."
Malta's ambitious plans for the
future have made it an island of
opportunity and challenge for LR.
The Maltese Government is deter-
mined to maximise the potential of
the island's centra l pOSition at the
crossroads of the Mediterranean.
Already ideally placed on the main
shipping routes for shiprepair work,
Malta is chasing newbuildings, devel-
oping a cruise ship terminal, improv-
ing its offshore supply base, attracting
ship management companies and
building up its Ship Register.
It has set up a freeport, established
international yacht marinas, and is
promoting itself as an international
maritime and offshore business activi-
ties centre.
This is all welcome news for LR, as
Tony Muneer explains: '1n percentage
terms the last quarter saw about 60 per
cent of our time spent on ship surveys
at Malta Drydocks (MOO), both in and
out of harbour, with 15 per cent at
Malta Shipbuilding Co Ltd (MSCL).
Some 13 per cent of our time is spent
doing statutory and classification sur-
veys on ships calling at Malta and at
Malta Drydocks. Industrial work
accounts fo r about five per cent of the
workload, and offshore work, seven
per cent and rising."
At present the 250 OOOdwt tanker
Cero/Ia is undergoing engine repairs
at MDD under LR supervision. MDO is a
major force in the shiprepair sector
with seven drydocks-the largest able
to take vessels up to 300 OOOdwt- and
having 2km of deep water berths. In
1991 the yard repaired 260 ships, many
of them large bulk carriers and
tankers.
John Darmanin, council secretary at
MOD, comments: "Because Malta is on
 ISSUE 2 1992 lOOAI

a direct route from Europe to the Mid-

dle East oil.fields, many tanker owners
opt for repairs at the island rather than
undertaking expensive diversions to
Marseilles, Palermo or Pineus."
The yard has a reputation for swift
and competitive passenger ferry and
cruise liner repairs, conversions and
upgradings. Cunard and P&O have
both overhauled their ships at Malta.
"We arc currently talking with an
English customer about the conversion
of a standard ro-TO ferry to a passen-
ger / car ferry," says John Dilrmanin. "It
will be a jumboising exercise with the
addition of an accommodation block." The LR..classed 250 000
A us $250 million development dwt Gcrona dwarfs the
10 programme started in 1991 for the waterfront at Ma lta Dr),"
docks (MOO) where It is
upgrading of afloat-repair berths and undergoing engine
drydocks, including construction of repairs. MO~ has seven
an eighth drydock for 150 000/200 000 drydocks, the largest of
dwt vessels. The computerisation of which is able to accom-
modate vessels of up
MDD is also being progressed and the
to 300 OOOdwt.
new system will be commissioned by
December.
Smaller companies engaged in
shiprcpair are Cassar Ship Repair Ltd
and Bczzina Ship Repair Yard Ltd.
Both are busy versatile yards able to
deal with repairs to smaller ships in-
house, and repairs to VLCCs afloat.
Cassar has a crane barge for carry-
ing out repairs afloat. Present work
includes special survey work on a
1000gt passenger/car ferry which plies
between Malta and Gozo. The job
entails engine repairs and replacement
of pipework and steelwork. A modern
offshore supply boat, Halliburton 301,
is in for renewal of hydraulic parts on The LR..classed Cunard
her acid supply system. Impressive Princess came into
Ma lta Drydocks for her
past contracts include afloat repairs
annual docking. MOO
carried out on a semi-submersible has earned a good rep.
drilling rig in the harbour. bulk carrier. In line with increased utation in cruise ship
Ingenuity of a high order is often work from oil industry sources, some repairs. upgrading and
required. Cassar once had a passenger- drill pipes are being repaired for conversion.

ship in for repairs and someone Glomar Marine.

noticed that she had made a voyage
across the Mediterranean with a miss·
ing propeller securing nut. "We fabri -
cated a temporary nut by getting a
diver to take the dimensions and mea-
sure the number of threads," says Joe
Camilleri, Cassar's tedmicat/general
manager. "We machined the threads
and also made a replacement for the
key bolt which had sheared off."
At Bezzina two 200 x 48ft float ing
docks are available and at present one
is host to a tug and a ferry for dry-
docking surveys. However, the largest
ship to be repaired was a 400ft-long
"We take on many challenging
jobs," says Charles Jones, Bezzina
manager. "Last year we built the chim-
neyand four water treatment tanks for
the new power station at Marsaxlokk.
We also built some small boats for the
tourist trade----they were all steel but
fitted with glass bottoms for viewing."
At present Bezzina is erecting three
cranes at Malta Freeport for Ans.1ldo
of Italy.
"
 IOOAl
The Kapitan Gooch8fOy
was the first of a
$erles of algtot
1700dwt iclll-Streng(h.
ened container!bulk
cargo ships ordered by Much of LR's survey work in Malta
Sudolmport. of the for· is being carried out at Malta Shipbuild·
mer USSR, to be deliv- ing Company Limited (MSCL) on a
ered. Its new owners
are said to be very
series of eight 7700dwt ice-strength-
pleased with the ship. ened timber/container/bulk cargo
ships contracted at the end of 1984 on
a fIxed pricc dollar basis by Sudoim·
port (of the fo rmer USSR). LR is super·
vising their construction on behalf of
the Russian Register.
MSCL enlisted outside expertise for
the construction of these ships; the
design is by Poland's Gdansk yard and
MSCL's Planning and Production Engi-
neering Dep<1ttment is being managed
by A&P Appledorc personnel. The
design embod ies suitable ice strength·
ening and insulation for operation in
Arctic regions at ambient temperatures
of -40° C.
The vessels can cany 20ft and 40ft
containers in four holds and on hatch
covers, and bulk or packaged timber,
bulk grain and coal, general cargo and
packaged combustible cargoes in hold
No.1. Cargo handling equipment
includes two Hagglund twin deck
cranes, each with a lifting capacity of
12.5 tonnes.
18 The first two ships have been deliv·
ISSUE2 1992
ereel, two more have been completed,
one is fitting out and three more arc
still in various stages of construction,
funded by the Maltese Government.
Mr Buhagiar, Msc:L managing director,
says Ihe yard was hit by financial
problems when, after paying for one
and half vessels, the clients stopped
the payments: "On this project the
financial situation is not favourable for
the yard since no payments are being
effected by Sudoimport. This organisa·
tion belonged to the former Soviet
Union but now we are not certain to
which Republic it is attached or even
whether it still represents the maritime
sector."
Although Sudoimport signed the
contract as 'buyer', the Baltic Shipping
Company of 51 I~etersburg is the end
user of the ships. ME Buhagiar adds,
"I understand Baltic Shippi ng is very
pleased with the two ships it already
has."
The original fixed-price US dollar
basis contract, due to the devaluation
of the dollar, has also worked against
the builder. Mr Buhagiar comments:
"We consider we have lost about 30
per ccnt of the original money and this
ISSUfi 2 1992 IOOAl

Principal ~tlC"'" of the

MSCL container/genera' c-p ",Ips

Length overall 131.6m

Breadth 19.3m
Depth 8.8m
Draught 7.0m
Ma in engine MAN+B&W 7L45GBE ZAGREB 1 is a semi-submersible
(Built In Poland under licence) drilling unit classed with Lloyd's Reg-
OutpUt 4690kW at 175 rpm
ister. Once these statutory surveys
Trial speed 14.9 knots

-
is being made up by Maltese Govern-
ment loans."
For the future, MSCL is negotiating
new contracts, including construction
of three 80m ro-ro passenger ferries for
the Gow Channel Company, two sup-
ply vessels for Chinese interests, plus
general cargo vessels and products
tankers ranging from 10 OOOdwt to
30 OOOdwt. LR has put in a tender for
the classification of the ro-ro ferries.
With increasing offshore activity
at Libya's Bouri field and in Maltese
waters, offshore supply boats and
semi-submersible drilling units consti-
tute another important category of
business for MDD and other repair
yards in Malta. The reasons are obvi-
ous.
"The cost of keeping a drilling rig
on station, taking into account previ-
ous related operations such as seismic
exploration, may approach $250,000 a
day," says Frans Said, chief executive
of Mediterranean Oilfield Services
(Medserv). Medserv's d edicated off-
shore supply base on Manoel Island
meets the needs of the oil industry in
the region.
"We have our own quay with
berthing facilities, offices, bulk plants,
mud and cement storage, warehouses
and pipe yards---cverything the oil
industry needs to keep boats and rigs
operational," comments Mr Said.
LR is actively promoting its exper-
tise in offshore work and carries out
surveys on offshore supply boats, both
at the Medserv offshore supply base
and afloat. "On the offshore side
things are building up as an increasing
number of rigs come into the area,"
says Tony Muncer. "I am going to
lna-Kaftaplin's ZAGREB 1 rig in the
Gulf of Sirte soon to carry out the
required Change of flag surveys,
including MODU Code."
have been completed by LR, the rig
will be certified.
[n support of LR's interest in
Malta's offshore potential, the manag-
er of LR's Offshore Division, Tony
Sanders, presented a paper called
The role of the certifyillg authority at the
recent Mediterranean Oil and Gas
Conference at Valletta.
Malta has two agreed offshore
boundaries-one with Italy and the
other with Libya-covering parts of
its continental shelf. This has made it
possible to proceed with exploration
in these areas without any problems.
Water depths vary from about 100m
to 600m. Oil production could prove a
challenge in the deeper waters, calling
for technology developed in the North
Sea. Negotiations for the further settle-
ment of boundaries are being actively
pursued by Malta to enable more
exploration to take place.
LR surveyor, Mike
Fegan, examines the
twlst·lock devices
wllich hold the contairl-
ers in place onboard
one of the eight
7700dwt Ice·strength-
ened containerfbulk
cargo ships bu ilding at
Ma lta Shipbuild ing
Company Umlted.
These were contracted
at the close of 1984
by Sudoimport of the
former USSR.
"
 lOOAl ISSUE2 1992

Future perfect
The whole industrialised world, to a greater or lesser
extent, suffers from the problems of traffic congestion.
Japan, where there is a relatively large population living
on the small coastal littoral, has worse problems than
most. There comes a time when these problems escalate
from being an inconvenience to being commercially
damaging. Japanese industry has anticipated that
moment and is preparing to create a new transport
system to overcome the challenges of tomorrow. It is
also looking into radically new forms of propulsion such
as magnetic hydrodynamic drive systems.

Techno-Superliner

JAPANESE MANUFACJ1JRERS are faced

with a number of choices when trying
10 d ecid e how they are going to have
their supplies delivered; road is unreli-
able given the traffic, sea is slow and
air is expensive. In trying to solve this
problem, a number of Japanese firms
have grouped together to d esign a
mode of transport that overcomes all
of these problems. The Techno-Super-
liner (TSL) has been conceived as a
high-speed cargo-carrying concept; the
final designs must be able to operate a
regula r service, and in order to do this,
it has been calculated that they will
have to be able to operate in cond itions
up to sea state six, at a speed of
approximately 50 knots and carry a
payload of 1000 tonnes over a distance
of 500 nautical miles.
The project is being carried ou l
by seven companies-Hitachi Zoscn
Corporation, Ishikawajima-Harima
Heavy industries, Kawasaki Heavy
industries, Mitsui Engineering and
Shipbuilding, Mitsubishi Heavy indus-
tries, NKK Corporation and Sumitomo
Heavy Industries-joining the Techno-
logical Research Association of Techno-
Superliner based in Tokyo. The project
was started in 1989 and by 1995 it is
expected that there will be viable
desig ns available to potential pur-
chasers.
20
An artist's imprHsIon
of the T$l·A. A sorf8C&
effeel: shiP. she Is one
of two possible designs
for a cargo-<:arryiog ship
with a payloacl of 1000
tonnes and an operat·
Ing speed of 50 knots.
There are two d ifferent design con-
cepts being prepmed simultaneously:
one which uses a combination of buoy-
ancy and dynamic lift, and another
which combines buoyancy and air-
pressure. These were chosen because it
was felt tha t they would be most likely
to deliver the required performance
with the least amount of research, and
because there are problems in getting
more traditional deSigns such as plan-
ing hulls and catamarans up to the
required speed. The te<:hnical chal-
lenges that face the respective design
teams are fonnidable: they are trying to
build a vessel which is much faster
and much larger than anything previ-
ously attempted. Materials, propulsion
systems, control systems and manoeu-
vring gear m ust all be designed from
scratch, aside from the more usual
design problems that are associated
with hull forms, vibration and hydro-
dynamics.
TSL-A
The ai r-cushion Techno-Superliner
(TSL-A) will be the largest air-cushion
vehicle in the world. The loaded
weight will be apprOXimately 3000
tonnes according; to Mr T Yoshiki,
general manager of the Research and
Development department at Mitsui
Engineering and Shipbuilding, and the
leader of the research team for TSI.-A.
 ISSUI! 2 1992
The design team for TSL-A consists
of approximately 40 people, split even-
ly between Mitsui and Mitsubis hi
Heavy Industries. The power require-
ments of such a heavy craft arc awe-
some: four marinised aero-gas turbines
producing over 17 000 horsepower to
provide the lift, which is estimated at
1000 kg/m', and four more producing
100 000 horsepower to provide the
main propulsion. The four V{ater jets
will be placed vertically in the back
of each side-hull, as close to the waler
as possible 10 maximise efficiency.
II The four lift-fan unils w ill be placed
al each side of the bow and stern.
The main hull w ill be made out of
aluminium alloy with stainless steel
being used at critical pOints. The alu-
minium alloy was chosen for its light-
ness and the stainless steel because of
ils strength and corrosion resistance.
There has been a large amou nt of
research into the wave loadi ngs that
the hull will have to cope with; initially
research had to be d one on how these
lo.1dings could be predicted before
they started to design a hull that could
handle them. In the process of solving
these problems, the T$L-A team have
had to develop a totilily new system.
The problems of maintaining a con-
stant pressure under the skirt have
required a large amount of research .
According to Mr Yoshiki, there were
no materials available w ith the
required properties for the skirt.
They have, therefore, been investigat-
ing special plastics fo r the skirt itself,
and using hydraulically- operated lou-
vres to regulate under-skirt pressure.
These features will substantially
reduce vertical movement, and, to
reduce other movement, it is intended
that sma ll, computer-operated, control
planes are to be fitted u nder the twin
hulls. Most of the fundamental
research has already been completed
and it is mostly model testing and
d eta il d esign that remains to be d one.
A small 12m model has already been
tested, although it could only provide
limited information.
An Impression ot TSL·F,
which uses 11 comb in a.-
tion of buoyancy and
dynamic lift. Both
designs fOf the Techl"ll>
Supefliner are e~pectCd
to be able to operate In
sea state six.
TSL-F
The relative stability of the alterna-
tive design (d esignated TSL-F), which
uses a combination of buoyancy and
dynamic lift, is one of its attractions.
Much of the cargo is expected to be
priority and high-value and needs,
therefore, to be protected from damage
in transit. Because the main hull of the
TSL-F has no contact with the surface of
the water, this design should theoreti-
cally provide a smooth ride; the attack-
ing planes of the foils would, however,
be controlled by sophisticated software
to further improve the ride.
TSL-F is being d esigned by a team of
five companies; Kawasaki Heavy
Industries, Ishikawajima-Harima
l'leavy Ind ustries, NKK, Hitachi Zosen
and Sumitomo Heavy Industries, led
by Dr Ryotaro Ogiwara, the technical
director of Kawasaki's Ship Group.
Kawasaki has gained considerable
experience in the building of hydro-
foils, being licensed by the Boeing Cor-
poration to bu ild Jeifoils. The design-
ers have come up wilh a ship which
consists of one totally submerged hull
HlOAI
connected to dy namic lift planes which
are in turn at tached to the upper, main
cargo-carrying, hull. The totally sub-
merged hull would provide added
buoyancy to the dynamic lifting planes
thereby red ucing the total amount of
power thai is required to raise thc hull
out of Ihe wa ter. This d esign again
would use gas turbines for propulsion
because of their power-output to
weight ratio. There are a number of
areas of concern s uch as the con nec-
tions between the foils and the hull
which will have to be examined. In
order to save weight and decrease the
complexity of the joints, the stru ts will
be fixed, as opposed to the hydrauli-
cally raised planes that are used fo r the
smaller, passenger-carrying. hydro-
foils .
Because of the novelty of the buoy-
ancy / dynamic lift combination that
this design will employ, there is almost
no data available for usc in predicting
the performance. The combination
design is only effective over certain
weights and al certain speeds and it
must, therefore, be proven that thc
ship w ill be able to maintain its eco-
nomic speed even in rough seas. To
this end, it is anticip.:1ted that thc ships
will have a high lift to enable them to
raise the upper hull above the water. 21
 IOOAI
Dr Kawo Sugal,
manegil'lt director
of !he Technoi0gicai
Research Ass.ocla\ion
of Tectmo-Supctllner.
Dr Kazoo Sugai, managing director
of the Technological Research Associa-
tion of Techno-Superliner, points out
that this is largely a new area for
Japanese shipbuilders; the design pro-
cess fo r the Superliner having more in
common with aircraft design than tra-
ditional shipbuilding. He expects that
the fi rst examples of the Techno-Super-
liner will be in service towards the end
of the century, The initial aim of the
association is to take the programme
as far as building large-scale models of
both the designs and then seeing if
there is any commercial interest.
He sees the project as a sign of
Jap.'ln's industrial maturity, in that it is
not only leading the world in ground -
breaking technology, but also in the
fact that the project is largely fin anced
by the companies involved, aided by
30 per cent government financin g at
the beginning, falling as it progressed,
[t is one of the conditions of this
investmen t that it is confined to use
in fu ndamental research rather than
the development of commercial tech-
nology,
The implications of the d evelop-
ment are widespread; it will allow
the Japanese to develop some of their
more remote regions such as Hokkaido
and Kyushu, taking some of the pres-
sure off the already severely crowd ed
conurbations on Honshu. [t would also
allow them to utilise fully suppliers
22
ISSUE2 1992
from newly-industrialised neighbours
such as South Korea and Hong Kong,
both of which wou ld be about 10
hours Stiiling away, not to mention the
possibili ties that are presented by
China. Research is also being carried
out separately into cargo handling sys-
tems; it is anticipated that the ships
will have no cargo handling equip-
ment of their own, but that dedicated
quays would be built fo r the service,
able to discharge an entire l OOO-tonne
cargo withi n one hour. The initial
designs are for contai ncrised cargo, not
nccess.'lrily teus, but it is expected that
the designs-once they have been
proven- will be readily adaptable for
either p..'lssenger or ro-ro usc,
Dr Sugai sums u p: "We are break-
ing new ground with the Techno-
Superliner, there is no past experience
for us to rely on. We have had to
design the programmes that will be
used to design the ships. However the
progress tha t we have made has been
very exciting and I believe that what
we are doing here will revolutionise
cargo transportation worldwide."
A small model of the
TSl-Fundcrgol", trials.
The project will culm~
nate in !he buildl", of
large scale (10m) med-
els of the two designs.
-.. -
- ,,
..
---
--
--- -- -
. ....-
ISSUE 2 1992 lOOAI

Yamato

FLEMING'S LEFT-HAND rule illustrates

the principle-known since l%l - that
if you pass an electric current through
a magnetic field in sea-water, a propel-
lant force would be produced. Before
the successful test of Yamato-l earlier
this year, however, the principle had
not been put into successful operation
in anytj:l.ing larger than model scale.
Full-scale sea trials are scheduled for
the summer.
Yamnto-l was built at Mitsubishi
Heavy Industry's Kobe shi pya rd and
was successfully tested in March.
Although the system could not be
fleming's left·hand rule defilles the relation.-
ship between magnellc field and electric cur-
rent necessary to Pfovlde thrust. It is so
called becoose it Clin be illustrated by holding
the thumb, forefifl8er and second finger of tha
left hand at right (IIlgles to eacl1 other.
The thumb and the second finger repre-
sent the direction of now of the magnetic nux
and the elect riC curront respect ively while the
forefinger Illustrates the dlrectlofl of the forca.

described as ready for commercial

production, the fact that it was shown
to work on a commercial scale has
opened the door for more research that
could see it becoming a viable option
to some of today's propulsion systems. Lorentz
The project was (unded by the Ship Current ""---1 force
& Ocean Foundntion which was set up
by Ryoichl Snsakawa in 1975 to advance
'modernisation ond rationalisation of Magnetic flux
Japan's shipbuilding and related
industries and to co-operate in the
activities of public corporations engag-
ing in shipbuilding-related business.'
The Yamato project wns set up in 1985
with a steering committee and two
sub-committces; one, under Professor
Kensaku Imaichi of Osaka University,
oversaw the design and building of the -~
Magnetic-Hydrodynamic (MHI))
propulsion system and the other,
under Professor Seizo Motora of the
University of Tokyo, in charge of the
Ij j
design of the experimental ship and
the co-ordination of the total system.
II is the developments in the field
of superconductivity that made the
Yamato project possible. An experi-
ment had been tried in the US, but it
was unsuccessful as it used conven-
tional magnets which lacked su fficient
power. If the system can be made to
work commercially, it will have many
intrinsic advan tages: it has no moving
parts such as propellers or waterjets,
--
~-

which not only menns that there

would be no propeller cnvitation,
which should allow higher s peeds to
be attained, but also that it would pro-
vide smooth and silent running.

2J
 IOOAI
The »rnialo.l. the first
ship In the world to
soceessfully apply the
principles Of ma&oeUc
hydrodynamic drive
systems.
-
"
Yamato-l has two thruster units,
each of which consists of six thruster
tubes. Each thruster tube is surround-
ed by di-polar superconducting elec-
tro-magnets which are polarised verti-
ca lly. Within the magnetic field, placed
horizontally, are two electrodes. The
combination of an electric current
passed horizontally through a vertical
magnetic field is to provide lateral
thrust.
The problems w ith the previous
attempts to make thrusters was that
they required large energy sources
to maintain the magnets' power. By
super-cool ing the magnet to -269" C
in liquid helium until the material
superconducts, there is minimal seep-
age of the magnets' power; therclore,
once the magnets are charged-from
an onshore power source in the case
of the Yamato-l-they w ill continue to
give the required (about 3.5 tonnes at
the centre of a magnet) force for a con-
sid erable time.
The thrusters were made to the
sa me d esign, one by Mitsubishi and
the other by Toshiba. Special machin-
ery was designed for winding the coil,
w hich is made out of a niobium/ tita-
nium alloy; although there are com-
pounds that will achieve superconduc-
tivity at a higher temperature, the diffi-
culty of working them makes them
currently impractical for this type of
application. Each cable (2mm x llmm)
consists of 25 strand s each of about
O.8mm thickness and each strand con-
sists of approximately 1000 filaments
of 20 micron thickness. Each thruster
is enclosed in a vacuum vessel called a
IS6UF. 2 1992
cryostat w hich maintains the tempera-
ture of the helium. There is also a small
on-board back-up refrigeration system,
w ith a much more substa ntial system
on land. It was impossible to fit the
whole system on the vessel bec.a use of
the weight involved. The land-based
system also has a large accelerator
fo r supplying the initial charge to
the supercond ucting magnets. The
on-board power to the electrodes is
provided by two MTU high-speed
0
diesel engines producing 4000 amps
AC which is converted to oc. By regu-
lating the power to the electrodes, the
speed of the vessel can be controlled.
Masaaki Hashii of Mitsubishi's
Ship & Ma rine Design Department
comments: "Yamalo-7 is still at the
experimental stage; we have managed
so far to establish that the concept
works and which fields w ill need fur-
ther research. Currently we are con-
centrating on improving the efficiency
of the system, mainly by improving
the power of the magnets. We are still
some way from having a commercially
viable product but what we have done
represents the most difficult part of
developing a commercial system."
ISSUll2 1992 lOOAI

The Knights of old •••

100 years on
James Percy Knight had established his reputation for
high standards of safety and service in towage by the
end of the last century. 100 years on, there are still
Knights at the helm of JP Knight Limited--but today they
preside over a family of companies involved in activities
as diverse as rig repair and fish farming, as well as the
original family business of towage.

"THll I'AMILY HAS ALWAYS been impa-

tient for something new and has con-
stantly looked for change throughout
its history," S<lyS Richard Knight.
fourth-generation director of j P Knight
Ltd, when asked what attributes had
brought his company successfully to
its centenary celebrations this june.
This d esire for change is the one
thing which has not changed through-
out a whole century of the company's
existence. The Knight family has a lin-
eage of technical innovation originat-
ing with the founder's father who, as
manager of the London Brighton and
South Coast Railway, was responSible
for introducing Westinghouse brakes
and Pullman ca rs to the railways
under his charge. He also invented the
first gas traffic lights for the regulation
of horse-drawn traffic in the mid
18005. "Among firsts over the years The first of the z·peller
for this company," comments Richard tugs to come to the 1.11(,
J(jnross was bought
Knigh t, "are the first use in towage
from Japan in 1981
of the predecessor of the Kort nozzle; and set a trend for
the introduction into the UK of the acquired moorings in 1894 to house its the Knight fleet. Het'
z-peller--or reverse tractor-tug, and exp.lnding fleet. In 1958 JP Knight's Z-pe1Iet'S are capable
the uSC! of flat-topped barges in the headquarters were moved to of azimuthing through
360". he<alding the
marine construction and transporta- Rochester reflecting a shift in the bulk ~nt of push-pull
tion industries." of its business from the Thames to the ship handling In the UK.
The company was founded in june Medway, and from the towage of A flKther feature of
1892 by Richard Knight's great-great- barges to tankers. this vessel is her high
bollllfd pull to power
uncle James Percy Knight, who operat- The 880hp tug Kent was built
ralio.
ed three tugs from Blackwal! Pier. The for the company in 1948 and was
original business of JP Knight was the designed specifically for Ihe towage
towing ofbargcs and lighters on the of both bmges and ships. This acquisi-
Thames, then the busiest river port in tion was a landmark in the history of
the world. JP Knight's first tug was a TP Knight, and being the first new-
steam tug named Kfliser, and the fact building of its tanker towing fleet, it
that she was LR-classed was an early marked the start of a very definite
indication of the company's pride in change in the direction of its business.
its high standards of operation. The This development coincided with the
Knight tugs soon found themselves commissioning of the BJ> oil refinery
towing barges out of the Thames to the
River Medway where the company 2S
 l00Al
on the Medway prospered and the
Knight annals tell of days when just
six tugs completed as many as 17
tanker movements in 24 hours.
Not a company to stand still, no
sooner had JP Knight established its
tanker towage operations than it was
011 the Isle of Grain which brought looking for new business-and found
JP Knight a contract for the towage of it at Invergordon on the Cromarty
tankers which ran until 1982. Firth in northeast Scotland where
The Bl' contract firmly establishcd JP Knight Caledonian was set up to
JP Knight's base on the Medway and assist a local dredging operation in
gave rise to the extensive development 1969. Currently operating three tugs,
of its fleet with the introduction in this company is the first of the Knight
1955 of tugs like the LR-classed Kestrel, group to prepare for QA accreditation
the most sophisticated tug of her day, to BS 5750, possibly through LRQA
incorporating powerful fire-fighting Ltd. Others may follow: "Apart from
equipment. This concentration on the obvious customer-drivcn motiva-
tanker towing protected JP Knight tion to improve our services, I feci it is
from the gradual decline of trade on also a matter of mceting the challenge
the Thames. Meanwhile, m!lritime life of a discipline and reinforcing our
The 1500hp LR·
classed fire-fighting
tug Kenleywas built In
1958 for the towage
and berthing of
tankers. In terms of work ethic," says Knight. "Total quali-
ship handling. tugs ty management is a useful tool for
wolk well in matched achieving a greater degree of control
pairs and Kenleywas
and communication. I should likc to
matched with sister
tug, Kestrel. These see it brought into thc entire group."
workhorses operated Two major developments took
on the Medway up to place in the 1970s which served to
1983, when they were strengthen operations. In 1976, in con-
scrapped and replaced
by a new pair named
junction with the Orkney Council, it
after them. formed the Orkney Towage Company
Ltd which currently works three fire-
fighting tugs out of Scapa Flow. In a
logical extension of its specialist skills
gained through its association with the
oil industry, JP Knight entered the field
of offshore transportation in 1974
26 when it introduced 9400dwt flat-
ISSUE 2 1992
topped barges, finally commiSSioning
one of 21 700dwt, the largest transport
barge ever built under the British flag,
according to Richard Knight.
The crisis which hit the offshore
industry in the mid 1980s had an
adverse effect onJP Knight's business
which led to major diversification of
the company. "Though the oil industry
has always been good to us-we still
own ten flat-topped transport barges
-we felt we were becoming too
reliant on it," Richard Knight explains.
The new ventures include the
Cromarty Salmon Company which
has become a major producer and will
raise 200 tonnes of salmon trout in its
seventh year of existence; and a jOint
venture, with Kawasaki and Atlantis
Submarines, to run a Caribbean tourist
submarine which enjoyed a healthy
0
first year last year logging in 37 500
passengers. Despite the desire to
become less dependent upon the oil
industry, it could not resist involve-
ment with yet another arm of the busi-
ness when it bought into rig repair
interests with the acquisition of shares
in Moray Firth Service Company and
Scottish Rig Repairers during the years
1984 and 1985 respectively. This ven-
ture now runs the principal rig repair
facilities in the UK.
The reccntly revealed UK Trust Port
Privatisatiol1 Programme encouraged
JP Knight to believe that the company
would find itself in the impossible
position of being forced to fend off
competition without the depth of
resources to do so, while providing
secure employment for its crews.
Consequently,JP Knight sold its high-
0
ly profitable fleet of five Medway tugs
to Humber Tugs Ltd, a member of the
Howard Smith Group.
Richard Knight does not believe
that offering a total package, as some
ports are gearing up to do, is the best
way to serve the clients. While
acknowledging its convenience to
ships' agents and sympathising with
the desire to control all profit centres,
he believes that a monopoly situation
will never offer the same degree of
specialist expertise and keen service
borne of competition. However, as
employers of crews on the Medway
for 100 years, the Knight family's
major concern is ensuring job security
for its crews and the decision to sell
the fleet in June last year was taken
with this in mind. "I did not want
my crews to become a casualty of
this affair, and a quick handover was
essential in mitigating any disruption
[SSU1!2 1992
to both crew operation and customer
service. I find I miss the crews hugely:'
says Knight.
This does not mean that JP Knight
-100 years on-is abandoning ship-
ping. The company's fully employed
fleet today numbers 24 vessels of
which five are harbour and coastal
tugs, four are deep sea and !Hllvage
tugs, 10 are deck barges and five are
river-push tugs. LR classes 35 per cent
of this fleet.
In a development of its maritime
activities, JP Knight has acquired con-
tracts in Guyana and Surinam for
round-the-clock river and co.lstnl
tra nsportation of bauxite, either to
trans-shipment orshore-bascd facilities.
There has been heavy investment in
capital equipment, and JP Knight has
just taken delivery of a new 2500hp
inland waterway push-tug. the KUlari.
She was built at the Van der Sluijs and
Kampers yard in The Netherlands and
haS the benefit of an LR Building Cer-
tificate fo r inland waterway certifiCa-
tion. 'The move to South Americn is a
culture shock," Knight admits, "There
are few of the facilities which are
essential to minimise the effects of the
extreme wear suffered by our plant,
given the nature of cargo and environ-
ment. The reduction in risk-taking in
the insurance market does not come to
our rescue either."
l00Al
Three Knight tugs are
pictured here moving
an offshore platform.
The tug In !he bottom
of !he picture is the
K/rIro.sI. Top left is the On that subject, Knight is preparing
Kelloo. one of only a to leave forCuyana to study crew
handful of tugs ever operations: .... We know enough about
built with triple screws.
p lant; [ now want to [cam more about
how to take care of the human angle.
Our operations arc only ever going
to be as effective and efficient a s our
crew members."
Though 100 years has clearly
The Kutari is the first newbuilding brought many technological and
since the 1987 commission for an economic changes, some things never
offshore barge from North East Ship- change: ....It really has come full circle,....
builders in the UK. The rise in new- Knight muses.....We find ourselves
building costs in recent years forced once again pushing barges, which
Knights to venture into the second- is how it all began."
hand market where it found one of the
push-tugs now working in Cuyana.
Other vessels have come from HoI-
land, Hong Kong and Jnpan-from
where Knights bought the Kinross in
1981. This tug had z-pellers capable
of a:rimuthing through J6OO, a feature
which was then new to UK towage.
Knight is very mysterious about the
latest project which is presently in the
latter stages of a two-year research and
feasibility study, considered impera-
tive by Knight to the success of any
new venture. All he will reveal about
the new project is that some thought is
being given to the unified standards
of a single Europe and to the needs of
European companies come 1993. He
perceives a need to balance the com-
pany's geographical exposure. 21
 lOOAl ISSUIl2 1992

Progressing
hydrodynamic propulsion
Despite a century of research and development dedicated
to the enhancement of propulsion systems, problems still
ari,se in this critical and expensive area of ship operation.
The Propulsion group of LR's Technical Investigation,
Propulsion and Environmental Engineering department
(TIPEE) has built up the expertise to help its clients over~
come the practical difficulties encountered in the field
of hydrodynamic propulsion .

HYDRODYNAMIC ASrECl"S of ship

design arc primarily geared to opti-
mising a ship's hull and propeller to
maximise its efficiency of operation.
They do this by reducing fuel con~
sumption and, therefore, running
costs, as well as keeping induced
vibration and noise levels within
acceptable limits. An accompanying
reduction in atmospheric pollution
is one additional benefit of hydrody-
namic efficiency; a fact which has
heightened interest in the subject,
given the recent rise in environmental
awareness. To achieve the above, it is
essential to ensure the propeller, hull
design and machinery configuration
are all working together harmoniously
as a single unit.
The problems are varied. Those
falling under the umbrella of propeller
performance problems, also termed
'as deSigned' conditions, include
power absorption, blade erosion, noise
and vibration. Other difficulties may
be experienced due to a shortfall in
the manufactured integrity of the pro-
peller or a previous repair failure.
An entirely different class of problem
is the physical d amage caused to the
blades by accidental impact or ground-
ing-damage to which propellers are
especially prone, given their location.
Each sort of problem requires a
different form of treatment which LR's
Propulsion group is amply qualified to
p rescribe, with over 100 years' cumu-
lative specialist expertise, dedicated
computational analysis capabilities
and full-scale trials equipment. The
28
A flxoo.pitch propeller
undergoing testing in
a cavitation tunnel to
study the Interaction
between propeller and
rudder. The long rib-
bons of vapour bubbles
Ind icate a tip vortex
and some rudder
cavitation .
propulsion group participates in a
number of international hydrodynam-
ics research projects and is a centre of
specialist expertise on:
• flow around ships
• flow around propellers, ducts
and rudders
• propeller-hull-appendage inter-
action
• cavitation (erosion, excitation
and noise)
• propeller strength
• computational methods and
physical modelling of ship
propulSion hydrodynamics.
o
Patrick Fitzsimmons is a recent and
valuable addition to the propulsion
group, having joined LR last year.
His 20-year career in hydrodynamic
research and development has brought
him into contact with LR frequently
through such international R&D pro-
jects as the propeller/hull interactive
vibration excitation (rHIVE) and pm--
peller excited vibration (rEV) studies.
More recently he found himself work-
ing with L1{ within the MARIN Co-
operative Research Ships (CRS) on
many projects. Fitzsimmons is now
helping to further LR's own internally-
funded u&o projects and is, with his
team, undertaking a diverse range of
contract assignments for LR clients.
"Focused R&D work will enhance
our own capabilities and serve to
improve the Rules which are under
constant review," says Fitzsimmons.
 !SSUI!2 ]992
"In the longer term, it w ill help us to
help our clients. There are fou r basic
methods of either solving existing
propulsion problems or reco mmend-
ing a new system for a new building.
They arc; the application of analytical
methodology, including model tank-
testing; mathematical calculation and
computational analysis; the examina-
tion of data ga thered from R&D work
and, lastly, the skill of the individual
in using his experience and e.xpertise.
The theory takes you part of the way
towards a solution, but it is the ability
o to id entify patterns in the available
data whicll w ill provide an early and
accurate diagnosis of the situation."
The specification of a new propul-
sion system and its additional perfor-
mance enhancers covers a number of
factors such as operating speed, engine
and manoeuvrability requirements.
A designer has a range of specialist
devices at his disposal, from the tradi-
tionalfixed-pitch conventionally-
skewed propeller to highly-skewed
controllable-pitch propeller; from
ducts or Grim Vane wheels to thrust-
ing or dynamic fins.
The determining fa ctors in the
choice of propeller are the economy of
the propulsor and the required habit-
ability standards. These, in turn, are
dictated by the ship type and its hull
resistance. For instance, most p<1sscn-
o ger ships use highly-skewed control-
lable-pitch blades because of their bet-
ler vibration and noise characteristics.
A further consideration is that they
give a greater degree of manoeuvring
control and allow 'hotel' loads to be
taken off the main shaft.
Once a system has been chosen it
has proven prudent to tank-test the
configuration as confirmation of its
practical performance. Whereas 20
years ago relatively few ship designs
were tank-tested, today that number
has increased. This is largely because
vessels are more innovative and, there-
fore, less reliance can be placed on his-
torical data for guidance as to antici-
pated levels of performance. The
increase in tank-testing has seen
a corresponding decrease in design
problems, although John Carlton, head
of TWEE, points out that tank-testing is
a complex matter which should be
used as one of several tools in the
d esign process.
]OOAI
In parallel with phYSical testing in
recent years, computational methods
for propulsor analysis have advanced
sufficiently to enable reliable compar-
isons between alternative designs.
This is particularly useful in such
areas as hull excitation and blade
stresSing due to propeller interaction
with the hull wake field obtained
from model testing.
With such tools at its disposal,
the group is currently undertaking
research into different aspects of both
wake scaling and the blade stressing
which occurs during manoeuvres
with highly-skewed propellers; it is
extremely important to take account
of both of these during the ship design
process. Wake scaling is the procedure
by which data taken from model tests
corresponds to that taken from ships
in service. It is used extensively in pro-
peller design. Carlton explains that This partial fin is II
any 'variance' between measurements typical fIow.eontrol
appendage wttlch Is
taken from tank tests and those
designed to reduce
obtained. from ships in service is one of e~essive vibnltion by
the 'tolerances' which the design engi- ImproYing the flow into
neer will encounter. "We aim to reduce the propeller.
this band of uncertainty," says Carlton,
"using analytical and computational
methods. The end res ult should be the
translation of the model wake field
into a ship-effective velocity distribu-
tion. The real value of this exercise is in
being able to design out potential prob-
lems before any steel is laid and costs
incurred."
The second area of research, blade
stressing during manoeuvring, is of
fundamental importance to LR, since
it deals with the mechanical integrity
of blades of complex sha pe operati ng These diagrams show
the caieulated changes
In propeller stress (:()no
tours between ahead
and astern operations.
Pressure Slele Sltess Suc~on Side Stress
Contc>u~ In """l1li C¢nd~ Con tou~ I~ Astern Cond~lo"
29
 lOOAI
This propeller blade
surface has suffered
damage due to cavita-
tion erosion.
in extreme conditions.
Another tolerance issue which has
been the subject of extensive R&D
interest for the past four years within
the Propulsion group is the examina-
tion of the implications of manufactur-
ing tolerances in propeller blades. Each
blade is designed to a precise specifica-
tion but is, in fact, cut within a
mechanical tolerance. Fitzsimmons
relates the story of an owner who had
taken delivery of a ship, only to dis-
cover it was consuming 10 per cent
more fuel tITan its sistership. Although
the propeller had been manufactured
within a tolerance, there are different
classes of tolerance and in this case it
should have been [SO Class-! as
opposed to ISO Class II. Consequently,
the propeller was not delivering the
required power.
Model testing in a cavitation tunnel
will minimise the chance of producing
a propeller which is likely to suffer the
harmful effects of cavitation. Should
adverse cavitation occur during ser-
vice, a range of solutions is available
in order to adapt the blade geometry
to the prevailing inflow conditions:
• pitch adjustment
• modification of the blade outline
• modification of the leading and/
or trailing edge profiles
• replacement of blades (control-
lable pitch) or the complete
propeller (fixed pitch).
It is not always a matter of chang-
ing the blade geometry. Carlton recalls
a puzzling case of a fast patrol craft
30 that was suffering serious erosion of its
ISSUE 2 1992
propellers at the blade roots after only
eight hours of operation. It was fou nd
that the problem was one of erosive
cavitation-a process where tiny
vapour bubbles imploding close to
the blade surface, gradually eat away
the material. The solution was to inject
air in way of the roots of the propeller,
providing a protective blanket of air
which cushioned the blades from the
damaging effects of vapour-bubble
collapse.
Some cases of forced vibration-
due to harmonic pressures generated
by the cavitation dynamics-can be
solved by the modification of the in-
flow conditions. Carlton and Fitzsim-
mons emphasise that, while expertise
exists in selecting appropriate hull
appendage devices-intended to
control the undesirable feature;; of the
wake field-finding a totally success-
ful solution is not a simple matter. The
device used depends on the character-
istics of individual wake fields. Model
testing can be used as a guide in
choosing the right device but, because
of the scaling discrepancies discussed
earlier, it should not be solely relied
upon. [n this case, as in all aspects of
propulsion hydrodynamics, there is
no substitute for the application of
expert knowledge gained from past
experience.
The TIPEE PropulSion group is sup-
ported by LR's vast concentration of
skills. Apart from keeping LR at the
forefront of new developments in the
hydrodynantic field, Carlton sees the
main gains of the future lying in the
integration of disciplines. He believes
that we must try to optimise the
whole, as well as the individual parts
- the two are not necessarily the same.
The propulsion system cannot be
considered in isolation, but must
This pICture <lctallS a [)IadO
be thought of as an integral part of
failure In seMce wh(!f'(! tM
the whole ship. blade has sheared 011 c0m-
pletely. This dam .... I. Iyp-
K:aI or bl_ streSSing du(·
Ing manootMlng.
 IS6UE2 1992
LR Today
LR and UP launch
shipowner directory
WORLD SHIPOWNING
GROUPS, a new quarterly
publication, was launched
on 2 Ap ril by Lloyd's Regis- .
ter and Lloyd 's of London
Press (LLP).
o The new directory is
the first non-confidential,
quarterly directory of vessel
ownership. It goes behind
the flag and registered
owner to unravel the often
complex ownership struc-
tures of some 50 000 ships
and 20 000 companies. Each
issue of World Shipowlling
Groups w ill include an analy-
sis of ship types and a pro-
file on different sectors of
the shipping market, high-
lighting significant trends in
vessel ownership and con-
trol. Analyses will focus on
tankers in April; container-
ships in July; bulk carriers in
October and general cargo
vessels in january 1993.
o The ann ual subscription
rates for World Shipowlling
Groups are £440 in the UK;
£460 in Europe; US$925 in
North America; HK$7,725 in
the Far East and £515 in the
rest of the world. A 25 per
cent discount is being
offered on these rates for
first year subscriptions. For
further information on sub-
scriptions contact: Tony
Lcscombc, LLP, Tel: (0206)
m 277; Fax: (0206) m 240.
Eight oao. for Frontline
APRIL SAW the completion
of the huge Frontline AB
order for eight 169 OOOdwt
ore/bulk /oil carriers (OOOS)
built to LR class in two
South Korean yards.
Hyundai I-Ieavy Indus-
tries Co Ltd (Hi'll) delivered
the Front Climber and the
Front Driver last year to thei r
Swedish owners. Also last
year, Daewoo Shipbuilding
and J-Ieavy Machinery Ltd
delivered the Front Leader,
Frollt Breaker and Frollt
Guider. In January this year
Daewoo Shipbilliding deliv-
ered the Frollt Striver, fol-
lowed by the delivery on
13 April of the last ship
from this yard, Front Viewer.
LR cia •• for Thame. cats
CONRAD CHElSEA HARBOUR
is the first of three 23m
high-speed passenger cata-
marans classed by LR to
begin service on the
Thames. Designed and built
by FBM Marine of Cowes
and operated by the Rive r-
bus Partnership of London,
the vessel will ca rry 62 pas-
sengers at 25 knots and will
link central London with the
City, travelling as far as
Greenwich.
The vessel complies with
LR's Rules for High Speed
HHI delivered its final vessel
of the Frontline order, Frollt
Rider, allhe end of April.
Frontline's president and
chief executive officer, Kjcll
jonson, says that his compa-
ny has ensured tha t there is
a market for its huge invest-
ment. The flexibility of ODOs
is an advantage over other
specialist ships and should
minimise their time in bal-
last. Frontline's radical Ot30-
building policy will, Jonson
believes, have laid the foun-
dations fo r profitable trad-
ing into the next centu ry.
(See looAl, Issue 1, 1992)
Catamarans and also meets
the UK Department of
Transport's latest safety
standards for passenger
craft. LR's Yacht and Small
Craft department carried
Qut a structural design
review using its recently-
developed computer analy-
sis program for hull to.1d-
ings of high speed catama-
rans. It also approved the
material specification and
machinery d esign. (See
lOOA1, Issue 3, 1991)
lOOAI
LR supports offshore
foundations conference
THE OFFSHORE Site Investi-
gation and Geotechnics
(OSIC) committee of the
Society for Underwater
Technology (SlIT) is organis-
ing an international confer-
ence on Offshore Site Inves-
tigation and Foundati.on
Behaviour at the City Con-
ference Centre, London, on
22-24 September this year.
LR is a ro-sponsor of the
conference and Dr Ra y
Hobbs, senior engineer
(Foundations) of the Off-
shore Division will chair
one session and present a
paper entitled A review of
the dr:sigllllnd certification
of offshore piles.
LR has been actively
involved in the OSIC com-
mittee si nce 1975 and Dr
Hobbs sits on both the main
and conference committees.
He will also be presenting a
paper on The impact ofaxial
pile load tr:sts at Pentre and
Tilbrook 011 the desigl! and cer-
tIfication of offshore piles ill
clay (based on research part-
ly funded by LR) at a con-
ferencc on recent large-scale
fully instrumented pile tests
in day, to be held at th e
Institution of Civil En gi-
neers in junc this year.
31
 ]OOA] ISSUE 2 ]992

New Chandri. eml..

ahlp I. LR cl.ssed

LR HAS UASSED the 47 255

Shen ' .nker.
get. QA certification
LRQA LTD has awarded its
quality management certifi·
cate to Shell Tankers Bvof
Rotterdam, operator of a
fleet of 18 tankers. To get th.e
certification, the company
had to prove its compliance
w ith 1509002 and 1MD'S
sa fety and pollution preven·
tion guidelines. LRQA Ltd
conducted its examination
of the compa ny through
LR's Rotterdam office.
Outlining the commercial
benefits of the award, Ger-
ard Veldt, general manager
of Shell Tankers 8V, says:
"Over a five-year period
we plan to incorporate grad-
ually the concept of total
quality management in
our activities. We believe
the demand for quality ton-
nage will increase and we
see our recognition as a
quality operator by LRQA
as an important strategic
advantage in competing in
this market."
LR departmental merger
LR's TECHNICA l. Investi-
gation department has
merged with the Propulsion,
Perfonnance and Environ-
mental Engineering group
of the Performance Technol-
ogy department to fonn a
single unit. John Carlton has
been appointed principal
surveyor for the new section
which is called the Technical
Investigations, Propulsion
and Environmental Engi-
neering department (TWEE).
John Carlton explains
that this mergi ng of depart-
ments should provide a
"
gt luxury cruise ship Zenith,
w hich has now been deliv-
ered to operators Chandris
Celebrity Cruises of Miami,
USA, by Meyer Werft of
Papenburg, Germany.
Zenith's sistership, HoriZOIl,
is also LR classed. Zenith
has a cruising speed of
21.4 knots and a passenger
capacity of 178l.
LR was involved from
the design stage, and its
work covered structural
analysis, plan approval
and surveys during con-
struction. Statutory survey
wo rk was also carried out
on bchaU of the flag state,
Liberia. LR issued the Pas-
senger Ship Safety Certifi-
cate on behalf of the Liberi-
an maritime au thorities.
Zenith arri ved at
Southampton after sailing
from Emden and, after a
transatlantic crossing to
New York, the ship wiU
sail to Port Everglades
while undergoing a US
Coast Guard Initial Control
Verification Survey en route.
An LR specialist passenger-
ship surveyor will be in
attendance to represent
the flag administration.
John Carlton
strengthened and unified
engineering consultancy
capability. The new depart-
ment will be active in the
fields of marine engineer-
ing, naval architecture,
propulsion hydrodynamics,
machinery thermo-dynam-
ics, condition performance
monitoring and environ-
mental engineering.
LR cl..... World'. large. t containership
THE LR.(;LASSEO container-
ship Brmga Pelmrgi-deliv-
ered to owners Malaysian
International Shipping
Corporation Ikrhad (MISC)
at the end of last year-is,
at 4469teu, curren tl y the
la rgest of her type in the
world.
The I3rmga Pelangi was
built under LR survey by
Hyundai Heavy Industries
Co Ltd (HHI) at Ulsan in
Korea. She has a n overall
length of 275m and a widtb
of 37.1 m. Design appraisal
of the hull structure was
LR Southampton move
LLOYD'S REGISTER of Shi p-
ping in Southampton has
relocated from its Oxford
Street premises to a new
office suite on the city's
Town Quay waterfront
development. The new
address for LR's Southamp-
ton office is Medina Cham-
bers, Town Quay, and it has
retained its former tele-
phone number which is
(0703) 220 353. LR's
Southampton office is
responsible for an area
reaching from Portland Bill
carried out by LR's Central
O rient Plan Approval Cen-
tre in Susan and a finite
element study was carried
out by Construction Ser-
vices department and Class
Approval Services at LR's
HQ in London.
Two similar vessels are
now being built to LR class
for Hyundai Merchant
Marine Co. The Hyu.ndai
Admiral and Hyundai Baron
will differ from Brmga Pelangi
in that they will be driven
by the largest two-s troke
diesel engines in the world .
to Dover along the coast, up
to Chiswick on the Thames,
across to Banbury and back
to Portland. The area is cov-
ered by 22 surveyors and
support staff based at the
new offices.
David Monks, principal
surveyor and area m anager,
said of the move: "Our old
lease expired and we want-
ed to remain near Ollr main
clients. Town Quay provides
us with the perfect setting."
()

o It has been 11 year of

cOnSOlidation for BNFL'S
newly-formed TIiORP
Divis ion, respons ible
for the construction,
comm isSioning and
operat ion of 9NFl'S
largest project. the
Therma l Ox ide Repro·
cess ing Plant. Pictured
here is some of the
innovative equ ipment
to be found In lHORP
for the transfer of irra-
diated fuel (rom pond
storage to the shear
cave.
11ovrl's
Kegrsrer

Osaka Sanso Kogyo

ltd's Amagasakl plant
in Hyogo. Japan. OSK.
part of the BOt Group.
was the first company
In Japan to be certified
to the ISO 9000 serie s
of standards by LR's
quality asslirance
certification company,
lRQA Ltd.