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NORWAY
TANKER
Operator
Moving forward: DNV points the way to a sustainable future
The global maritime industry must adapt to the challenges of a changing world and gain more credence
with the general public. That was the underlying theme of a presentation given by DNV’s Tor Svensen
earlier this month during a presentation in Oslo, writes Patrik Wheater.
Speaking from the classification
society's head office in
Høvik, DNV's chief operating
office outlined the main drivers
forcing change as: the environment,
fuel economy, Arctic
shipping, materials, globalisation
and corporate responsibility.
Of the main drivers, economic
expansion in Asia was considered
to be the strongest and that the
market growth the industry is
currently enjoying is almost
entirely due to the growth in Asia,
particularly China. This has
resulted in a tremendous need for
imports of raw materials and the
export of manufactured goods.
Svensen warned, however,
that the industry could be vulnerable
to Asian development,
especially in terms of increased
energy consumption and fluctuating
oil prices, although Europe
will find different ways of
remaining competitive and continue
to be a force for innovation;
the latter, he said, is indicative in
the step up from the 145,000 cu m
LNGC to the 260,000 cu m-capacity
vessel, which is expected to
drive down unit transportation
costs by some 40%.
"Natural gas will become the
fuel of the future and we have to
prepare for this. We are already
working on preparing new rules
and frameworks. Europe consumes
more energy per capita
than China and India but this
will change as these countries
develop; but how that energy
demand will be satisfied….
"We are now seeing larger
LNG ships being ordered and we
will also see compressed natural
gas carriers (CNG) for short distances
and stranded gas. From a
technological point of view there
is no problem with a CNG ship,
although there are some stumbling
blocks in terms of safety,"
said Svensen.
Northern seas
A lot of these 'new' energy
resources are in the northern sea
areas, which means shipping will
have to adapt to hostile climates
and new developments in ship
design will almost certainly see the
opening up of new trading routes.
"There is no doubt that the
future supply of energy is
dependent on the northern territories
and the northern sea route in
particular. This has consequences
for shipping; in sub zero temperatures
ships will have to be
designed for the freezing up of the
entire deck area, which puts
severe restrictions on equipment
and severe demands on the means
of dealing with the problem, not
least the ships' crew," he said.
DNV and the Norwegian
shipping industry per se are well
placed to meet these challenges
and the classification society is a
key contributor to an intensified
research and development effort
to strengthen Norway's maritime
presence globally.
The seven areas in which DNV
area is involved within the
MARUT project, which is intended
to make Norway a world leader
in innovation and technology are:
achieve more
• Sustainable maritime operations
in cold-climate areas;
• Competitive short sea intermodal
transport of bulk and
unitised cargo;
• Reliable monitoring and
communication of land and
sea data;
• Scaleable distribution of LNG
in regional waters;
• Integrated worldwide maritime
service and product delivery
by networked resources.
"The entire project integrates
traditional technology development
with promising business
concepts. It provides a new way of
thinking about national R&D
efforts in the maritime field and
contains new challenges, with
more emphasis on business development
and wealth creation, and
implicit knowledge and skills
development. It establishes more
effective framework conditions
and supports new, more efficient
means to promote innovation and
R&D-based business development,"
Svensen explained.
Construction
materials
The introduction of new shipbuilding
materials is another
area in which DNV is investing
both time and money. The main
area of its research and development
here is a new material for
more effective ship maintenance,
monitoring and corrosion protection,
which is manifest in a new
type of concrete-based ship construction
material.
Steel/concrete sandwich ship
construction material was developed
by DNV Research about
five years ago. This concept was
further enhanced in 2003 in a collaborative
venture with Aker
Yards, in which DNV focused on
technical development and Aker
yards studied the potential for
fabrication and various ship
applications.
The outcome of that collaboration
and resultant fatigue and
strength analysis tests indicated
that in many ways the material
"is superior to today's welding
structures". Although this is not
an entirely new concept as some
ships' hulls used concrete during
the two world wars, DNV's sys-
New era for DNV as Madsen takes reins
Henrik O Madsen has now
officially begun his tenure
as DNV's chief executive officer
following the retirement of
Miklos Konkoly-Thege on 8th
May, 2006.
Madsen, 52, began his DNV
career at its Høvik headquarters
in 1982. In 1990 he became
regional manager for DNV's
operations in Denmark and was
regional manager in Japan from
1993 to 1997, when he returned
to Høvik to manage DNV
Maritime's strategy and business
developments.
As a member of DNV's executive
board, he has been
responsible for two of the society's
four business streams: oil
and gas and certification. He
has also been the head of DNV's
research department.
Madsen has a doctorate from
Henrik Madsen is now DNVs
new ceo following the retirement
of Miklos Konkoly-Thege
the Technical University of
Denmark, a professorship in
structural mechanics from the
Danish Engineering Academy
and is represented in the US
Offshore Energy Hall of Fame
for his contribution to the development
of risk-based rules for
offshore constructions. •
Save time and money on cargo handling
The BM 70M Precision cargo level radar offers unique features making life easier
for tanker operators
Closed cleaning – An integrated cleaning facility allows to clean the antenna
without opening tank. Cleaning may be performed fully loaded.
Stand alone radar – The unit makes all level calculations locally, and transmits
a corrected level to the cargo system for monitoring. Hence, a computer problem
will not stop cargo operations, as cargo level is always displayed on the integrated
display on the unit.
Visit our radar stand No. 326
for more information.
www.krohne-skarpenord.com
TankerOperator May/June 2006 page 15