Features: - Tanker Operator

TANKEROperator
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2008 www.tankeroperator.com
Features:
� KGs attract overseas investors
� Shipmanagement consolidation
� Hybrid gas carrier
� Science of tank cleaning
� Equipment – fit for purpose?
� Discharge requirements examined

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TANKEROperator Contents
Vol 7 No 8
Tanker Operator
Magazine Ltd
213 Marsh Wall
London E14 9FJ, UK
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PUBLISHER/EVENTS/
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Karl Jeffery
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Ian Cochran
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Printed by FISCHER Poligrafia
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04
10
11
Markets
Sale and leaseback
opportunities
Spot or timecharter?
UKHO profile
ENCs will be in place on time
German Shipping
Review
� KG schemes face lack of
bank funding
� Tanker owners still
expanding
� Germany attracts overseas
players
� GL and DNV expand
academies in Hamburg
� Training centres re-emerge
� GL and Lindenau research
the breaking point
Front cover photo
Blenheim Shipping's Aframax Star
Lady seen recently at Fos. She is
one of four sisters, which the
London-based company outsources
the technical management to
Scinicariello. Another Aframax and two
Suezmaxes are currently under construction.
The company also owns drybulk carriers.
28
Shipmanagement
� New BSM set up explained
� InterManager wants pay rise
� Kristen and the environment
� GL and Ulysses offer software
Chartering
Cargo contamination in spot light
Technology
43 Ship description
New gas hybrid
47 Gas detection
Ensuring it’s fit for purpose
52 Chemical tanker discharge
- should be made easier
55 Tank gauging
- a new name emerges
57 Tank cleaning
- the Achilles Heal?
SMM Preview
This year’s exhibition is set to
break records
August/September 2008 ��TANKEROperator 01
41
43
60
TANK CLEANING
We assist Tanker Operators with:
IMO-approved Chemicals
in accordance with
MEPC.1 / Circ.590
� Chemical Tank Cleaning during cargo changeover from DPP to various CPP, CPP to
Water White Standard, removal of MTBE residues, Inert Gas Soot, Dye, Veg. Oil etc.
� Preparation and assessment of the required tank cleaning
� Tank Cleaning Advice and Recommended Tank Cleaning Procedure
� Delivery of newly IMO-approved Marine Tank Cleaners from stocks world wide
� Delivery of chemical injection and special spraying equipment
� Supercargo and Supervision during the cleaning at sea by experienced experts
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Tel. +45-4917 0357 · Fax +45-4917 0657 · E-mail: navadan@navadan.com

COMMENT
Will SMM be the turning point, or will it be business as usual?
The bi-ennual fun of rushing headlong through
exhibition halls knocking countless people out of
the way to make an appointment is nearly upon us.
This, as if it would need any introduction, will
shortly be SMM week.
"Bigger, better, more visitors, more stands, more halls" - appear on
every press release. And indeed, ever since your Editor first attended
the show, which was longer then he cares to remember, it has indeed
become bigger and better.
Fed by the gigantic world orderbook, the equipment suppliers have
never had it so good. In fact, the only worry seems to be how to
manufacture and deliver that piece of equipment on time and
within budget.
'Where will it all end?' the cynics ask. Will the economic situation
cause a slowdown in vessel ordering? But, with most yards hanging the
'full up' sign outside until 2011-2012, the suppliers are still sitting pretty.
Many have also signed lucrative after sales deals. One manufacturer
told TANKEROperator a couple of years ago, that after sales and
service etc accounted for more than 50% of the company's turnover.
With all the various rules and recommendations from the many
regulators on the horizon, the equipment industry will doubtless
continue to reap the rewards of retrofitting and installing new
equipment on newbuildings - ballast water treatment plants being the
prime example just now.
Like the Greeks highlighted in our June issue, the Germans have
been major investors in new tonnage, but mainly in box ships.
However, the various KG funds have now opened up to other types of
vessels, including tankers.
All is not rosy, however, as in what could turn out to be the shape of
things to come, the German banks have almost ceased lending to KG
fund investors, leaving the shipping companies who rely on KG type
02
Product tankers in demand
It would seem the consolidation bug has struck
the product tanker industry yet again.
Following relatively closely on TORM/OSG's buyout of OMI,
Moller-Maersk has shaken the industry with an agreed bid for
Broström.
Interestingly, the offer was formally made through a company
called Maersk Product Tankers AB, a wholly owned subsidiary of
AP Møller - Mærsk.
"The scale of the combined operation will enable us to offer a
superior worldwide service through a large, modern and
homogeneous fleet. We need scale to ensure our organisation is cost
effective and for customers to have easy access to chartering offices
globally.
"Combining Maersk Tankers and Broström's scale with skilled and
dedicated employees will further enhance our competitive position
and create the world's leading product tanker company", Søren Skou,
Maersk Tankers' ceo said when announcing the deal.
Until this announcement, the No 1 position in product tankers was
held by TORM, following the OMI buyout, but with more than 130
vessels both owned and long term chartered, the new combined
operation will claim that title.
Maersk also said that the demand for energy transportation was
funding bereft of investment for their projects.
Without the proper finance for these projects, the shipyards will
slowly run out of orders, which in turn will have a knock-on effect on
the equipment suppliers. However, this is the 'worst case' scenario. We
do not appear to have reached such a low point thus far, although the
money men (and women) are warning of 'doom and gloom' next year.
There are many problems facing the shipping industry, most notably
operating costs. Most of them if not all will be discussed at SMM and
solutions found, but havn't we been talking about similar problems for
many years to varying degrees?
I admit to being old enough to remember slow steaming in the 1970s
and 1980s when the price of fuel rocketed, resulting in the Norwegian
Fjords being awash with VLCCs and ULCCs. It was difficult to get
finance in those days, due to low earnings, leading to negative equity.
At the time, some even blamed to banks for the shipping crisis for
being too free with their money and not undertaking proper credit
checks. We can't accuse them of that in today's credit crunch aftermath.
Two problems stand out above all- the perceived lack of experienced
seafarers and the environment. In Germany, positive steps are being
taken to recruit and train not only seafarers, but also office staff in the
maritime field.
Environmental issues are also being addressed, mainly by those
seeking to reduce emissions and the polluting of the oceans, although
like many things, opinions vary not necessarily for the right reasons.
Will we be in time to address these issues for the better of the
shipping industry and even more important- for mankind? Time alone
will tell.
The atmosphere at this year's SMM could be rather strange as on the
one hand there is still a state of euphoria over the shipping industry's
recent strength and on the other apprehension over what the next year
or so will bring.
expected to continue to grow, which together with the IMO's phase
out of single hull tankers by 2010, underlined the positive business
environment for the tanker market. It was in this light that AP Møller
- Maersk had previously stated its intention to invest in Maersk
Tankers as one of the growth areas within the group.
Of course, the regulation authorities will have a look at the deal
before it is allowed to go through, but this will probably be a
formality.
Once it is rubber stamped, Maersk said it would evaluate how the
various partnerships and agreements could be integrated into the
business structure.
One partnership was with Hamburg-based Offen Tankschiffreederei,
which was to put eight Hyundai Mipo type 37,000 dwt product
tankers into Broström's fleet, adding to the eight already operated by
the Gothenburg-based concern.
Both companies are in favour of operating in pooling
arrangements and this move will no doubt considerably strengthen
Maersk Tankers' Handytankers pool.
Other pool partners also operate the now standard Hyundai Mipo
37,000 dwt type tankers, most notably another Copenhagen-based
operation, Norient Product Pool, managed jointly by Interorient
and Norden. �
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008
TO

First Class tankers: a new perspective
TAKING
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Vorsetzen 35 · 20459 Hamburg, Germany
Phone +49 40 36149-0 · Fax +49 40 36149-200
headoffice@gl-group.com · www.gl-group.com
Stand No. 150, Hall B4
See you at SMM 2008
Tankers are like a work of art – the more quality they offer, the more valuable
they are. Welcome to GL, your First Class partner in improving the operational
safety and profitability of your tankers!

INDUSTRY - MARKETS
04
Sale & leaseback as a
financial tool in freight &
credit markets - part 1
By Basil M Karatzas*
As anybody in the shipping industry can attest, prices for shipping assets
have been experiencing their highest levels in recent memory.
Asset appreciation has been more
accentuated in the last four years,
as Graph 1 depicts for five-yearold
tankers - VLCCs, Aframaxes
and MRs. The data is provided by the Baltic
Exchange Sale & Purchase Assessment Index
(BSPA) for which Compass Maritime Services
is a panel member.
Although the asset appreciation is welcome
by shipowners who have had the good fortune
and perspicacity to acquire assets in time, there
is always the strategic consideration of how the
shipowner should be utilising the current state
of the markets by unlocking and deploying the
capital appreciation and optimally positioning
the company for the future.
The selective sale of assets (older vintage,
lower quality vessels, etc) is one obvious
answer. However, for tonnage built in the
early 1990's, the consideration is of
maintaining control of the (still modern) assets
in a strong freight market, and keeping access
to tonnage in order to serve strategic accounts
(charterers with their own cargoes) and
generate operating profits.
One such approach of unlocking capital
gains that has been successfully employed by
several shipowners is the sale & leaseback
transaction (SLB), whereas the shipowner
sells a vessel (a tanker for the purposes of this
article) at today's prevailing market rates and
simultaneously taking back the vessel on
employment for a certain period of the time.
In such transactions, the shipowner frees up
capital which can deployed in any way the
owner sees suitable, optimally by placing
orders to renew and replace the fleet, while at
the same time retaining commercial and
operational control of the tanker for a period
of time in a robust freight market.
In order for such a transaction to become
feasible, several parameters are important and
negotiable between the shipowner and the
lessee, terms such as the period (short term
versus long term) and type of employment
(bareboat versus timecharter employment),
purchase options, if any, and of course the
daily rate that the shipowner will be paying to
the new owner and lessor. Several other
parameters indirectly affect the transaction
such as the credit markets and cost of finance
(for leveraged leases), type of asset class and
assessment of residual risk of the vessel at end
of lease, and finally the credit rating of the
shipowner (an ex-owner and charterer of the
vessel once the transaction has been
consummated).
What type of financial concerns would be
interested in acquiring vessels on such terms?
Leasing companies and investment funds that
specialise in leases due to tax reasons (they
can use depreciation for accounting purposes
versus a tax-free shipowner in most cases), for
residual value reasons (in a market moving
higher vessels can have a market value above
book value and thus offer to the financial
owner an attractive return on investment),
fixed income reasons (low risk, low reward
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return) above cost of finance for a credit
worthy lessor.
From a financial and tax point of view in
the US, leases are categorised as either -
a) Capital or finance leases - long-term
leases covering more that 75% of the
vessel's economic life, with the present
value of the lease rental payments
constituting 90% of the vessel's fair
market value, and whereas the lessee
automatically acquires the asset or has the
option to acquire the asset at a bargain price.
b) Operating leases - which are all noncapital
leases (usually short-term leases
where the lessee does not have an interest
in the vessel after the termination of the
lease).
There is also the distinction of 'wet lease'
versus 'dry lease' [in the former, the lessor
provides crewing (timecharter in shipping
terms), in the latter the lessor provides the
vessel alone (bareboat charter)]. A couple
more leasing terms to keep in mind are the
'net lease' where all costs associated with
insurance, taxes, maintenance are paid by the
lessee/charterer, and the 'leveraged lease'
where the lessor arranges financing through a
long-term creditor.
Commercial applications
Having covered the basic terminology, it's
time to turn to the commercial applications of
leasing in shipping.
When negotiating the terms of a sale &
Your answer to
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TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

Asset Price (USD mil)
$180.00
$160.00
$140.00
$120.00
$100.00
$80.00
$60.00
$40.00
$20.00
$0.00
16-Sep-03
Graph 1
16-Apr-04
INDUSTRY - MARKETS
Tanker Asset Prices (5yr-old Vessels)
16-Nov-04
16-Jun-05
16-Jan-06
VLCC - 5yr old
AFRAMAX - 5yr old
MR PRODUCTS TANKER - 5yr old
16-Aug-06
16-Mar-07
16-Oct-07
16-May-08
leaseback transaction, the purchase price and the daily rate are usually
the most contested points. The higher the purchase price the happier
the owner/seller, and the higher the daily rate the happier the lessee.
While most asset prices in shipping are quoted basis 'prompt, charterfree
delivery', in a sale & leaseback transaction the purchase price is
some sort of a function of the daily rate.
Usually, the higher the purchase price, the higher the required daily
rate, all else being equal. In other words, the transaction can take place
'at market levels', 'below market' or 'above market.'
An 'at market levels' transaction is when the purchase price of the
asset reflects the sale & purchase market on a 'prompt, charter-free
delivery' basis, and the daily rate is based on the purchase price. A
'below market' transaction is when the shipowner sells the vessel at
below market levels in exchange of a below market daily rate that will
allow generation of higher operating profit during the period of the
charter. An 'above market' transaction is when the shipowner sells the
vessel at above market levels while the daily rate will be higher than
otherwise (think of this type of transaction as the owner using the
vessel as an ATM machine, whereas the sale allows a few million
dollars above market, which of course have to replenished during the
period of the charter in the form of higher daily rate).
An early generation double-hull Aframax built in 1993-1994 of
about 95,000 dwt was contracted back then for about $40 mill. In
today's market, 14 years later, such a vessel has a fair market value on
a prompt, charter-free basis of about $43 mill. In a sale & leaseback
transaction for such vintage vessel based on such purchase price,
originated in 2007, the daily rental rate (bareboat charter to the
financial owner) was around $15,000 - $16,000 for a decent credit
(lowest investment credit) for a five-year term. Assuming the technical
management cost of $8,000 per day, the daily vessel operating expense
was around $23,000 - $24,000. In today's market, while the purchase
price of such vessel is still within the same range, the required daily
rate is in the region of $18,000 per day to reflect the tighter credit
criteria and higher lending costs in the current financial markets. The
daily vessel operating expense based on such a sale & leaseback net
quote adds up to about $26,000 - $27,000.
In Graph 2, we show the charter rates in the last eight years, on
bareboat basis, for an Aframax of such vintage. The data was obtained
from Clarkson Research Services on a timecharter basis, and adjusted
for the daily operating expense and the utilisation rate to 100%. We
have shown the one-year and the three-year firm contract daily rate and
the spot rate against the pre- and post-credit crunch average daily rate
that would have been secured for a typical transaction.
It is no surprise that in the strong freight markets of this period, with
the exception of an overall anemic 2002 and a couple more short-lived
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August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 05

INDUSTRY - MARKETS
Daily Rate (Bareboat Basis, USD / d)
soft freight market windows, the
shipowner/lessee would had the opportunity to
trade the vessel profitably on the spot market
and on one and three year firm contracts and
would had made an operating profit. Of
course, the shipowner/lessee would have been
exposed to the market risk of either renewing
the short-term firm employment contract until
fully covering the leaseback term, or risk the
spot market. However, in such strong markets
06
$80,000
$70,000
$60,000
$50,000
$40,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
$0
2000-01
Graph 2
2001-01
2002-01
Historical Aframax Rates (on bareboat basis)
2003-01
2004-01
2005-01
2006-01
2007-01
2008-01
Post-Credit Crunch
1YR BBC Equivalent Daily
Rate
3YR BBC Equivalent Daily
Rate
BBC Equivalent Daily
Average Spot Rate
Pre-Credit Crunch
conducive to leasing transactions, there was
the case in early 2007 when an Aframax
tanker of such vintage could be sold to a
leasing company, bareboated back for five
years and immediately 'flipped' to a third party
also for five years (no market exposure) at a
small profit ($1,000 - $2,000 per day).
For this article, we have primarily focused
on early vintage double hull Aframaxes, since
they have been offering the best perspectives
for such transactions. A post-2000 built
Aframax with a purchase price materially in
excess of $60 mill would require a daily rental
rate of around $30,000 for five years, which
would have made the project unfeasible from
an economic/commercial point of view. Of
course, the period of the lease can be extended
to more than eight years, among other factors,
in order to become workable.
The term of the lease and the rest of the
parameters will be covered in future articles in
this series, examining the variables and terms
affecting a sale & leaseback transaction. TO
*Basil M Karatzas is managing director
for projects & finance with Compass
Maritime Services, based in New Jersey,
US. He has executed projects in the sale
& purchase (S&P) sector of the shipping
business and has acted extensively on
behalf of operating and financial owners
in originating shipping transactions
(sale & leaseback transactions, raising
equity and debt, advisory services on
shipping transactions and vessel
arrests). He can be contacted at
BKaratzas@CompassMar.com, +201-
585-9999, or www.CompassMar.com.
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

INDUSTRY - MARKETS
Spot or timecharter
your asset?
The old argument as to whether to opt for long term charters or play the spot market
has concentrated some of the finest minds in the shipping industry, usually to no avail.
Upon analysing many fleets'
charter exposure it soon
becomes clear that different
mixes of spot and period charters
are used. The ideal fleet mix will gain the best
results if the peaks of both spot and period are
taken advantage of.
However, traditional market spikes are
becoming more uncertain and short term
market hikes more common, making the job
of shipping planners more complicated and
making it more difficult to predict market
behaviour at any given time.
US consultancy McQuilling Services has
tried to analyse the period charter market. By
placing a vessel on period charter an owner
will be protected from the current high bunker
costs, while at the same time provide a steady
income.
On the other hand, period charters prevent
an owner from maximising potential earnings
by taking advantage of a strong spot market
and triangulating opportunities.
McQuilling said that its analysis showed
that the timecharter market is at times
driven by the spot market, but is also
has its own driving factors. For example,
when the spot market is on the rise, the
period market tends to follow and the spot
market earnings stimulate an increase in
period rates.
When the spot market is falling, the
period market will only fall to a certain
benchmark and it will not sink any further,
regardless of what the spot market does.
During this phenomenon, the period
market rates will remain higher than the
weak spot market earning for over a year
at a time.
McQuilling found that a VLCC fixed for 12
months in December 2006 would have
generated higher earnings than if left on the
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August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 07

INDUSTRY - MARKETS
spot market for the same period. Owners are attracted to the spot
market by VLCC rates that could result in over $250,000 per day in
TCE earnings.
The consultant said that it had noticed spikes in a non-traditional time
08
admin@marine-service.gi snp@marine-service.gi
The 12 month MR
charter rate has been
above $20,000 per day
for the past two years
according to
McQuilling Services.
of the year, which is making the spot market an even more attractive
option. If owners are able to take advantage of these spikes, then the
spot market would be a much more lucrative proposition than the
period market. However, not all owners will have vessels in place at
the right time.
The decision on whether to opt for the period or spot market is
also dependent on financing structure, company policy, market
levels, among many other factors. In a simple observation of
historical market earnings, some conclusions may be drawn.
McQuilling said.
For example, in the Suezmax market, earnings have been clearly
higher in the spot market compared with the one year timecharter
market since January 2005. Furthermore, if triangulated, these
vessels earned even more.
In the smaller tanker sector, the immediate picture looked
somewhat different. In the MR sector, the market had favoured 12
months timecharters for the last two years. However, two
observations should be noted - the Singapore/Japan 30,000 tonne
lifting drags down the average spot earnings and triangulation was
not taken into account, despite being an essential part of MR
operation. Notwithstanding this, the 12 months charter rate has been
above $20,000 per day for the last two years and thereby provided
healthy earnings for most of that period.
Turning to longer period, McQuilling said that placing a vessel in
a three year or longer charter is becoming even more complex. There
were simply too many future unknowns that are almost impossible to
predict.
For example, the operating costs were expected to increase within
the general line of inflation including commodities, labour and
administrative costs. However, the cost of the shrinking number of
seafarers was forecast to increase at a much higher rate, thus driving
the operating costs upward.
Even if owners are increasingly trying to regulate escalation costs
into their calculations for period charter earnings, future operating
costs remain an enigma and therefore diminish the attraction of long
term charters, McQuilling warned.
TO
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

Marinvest provides uncompromised quality as
manager for international investment consortia
of which Skagerack Invest is the largest.
www.marinvest.se
Marinvest will take delivery of a further pair of ICE 1A, LR1 product
tankers completing a series of six ICE classed environmentally friendly
modern product tankers with focus on flexibility.
Marinvest specializes in larger
product tankers and has designed,
contracted and supervised the
building of the Marinvest class
LR1, ICE class 1A, product tankers.
Marinvest manages seven existing vessels
transporting all types of refined petroleum
products plus easy chemicals and vegetable oils.
Marinvest has since 2004 a productive and mutually rewarding cooperation with Sirius
Rederi, a shipowning company from Donsö with the same focus as Marinvest on quality.

INDUSTRY - UKHO PROFILE
HOs confident of having official ENCs in place
Following the official launch of the
Admiralty Vector Chart Service
(AVCS) earlier this year, the UKHO's
chief executive Mike Robinson said
that the organisation was “very
comfortable” with its progress.
"The sales have exceeded our expectations"
Robinson said. The UKHO is continuing with
its policy of offering three-month trial
licensing periods and thus far about 30 vessels
had taken advantage of the offer. Feedback
has been positive but like any new initiative,
there have been some teething troubles
requiring some fine tuning of the service.
Negotiations are still underway with China
and other countries with a view to having as
many electronic navigational charts (ENCs)
available as possible by the end of this year in
a bid to cover most of the world's largest ports
(see TANKEROperator, May, page 36).
While inconsistencies in chart information
are the same whether an ENC or a paper chart
is being used, in the case of ENCs it becomes
much more apparent to the mariner because on
ECDIS adjacent ENCs are displayed together
on screen, whereas paper charts are normally
used one at a time. The problem is highlighted
where ENCs overlap due to sensitive political
boundary type issues, this affects ENCs in a
number of areas around the world, although its
impact on the mariner depends to some extent
on which ECDIS is fitted.
Another difficulty in producing a truly
harmonised ENC dataset is that underlying
hydrographic data could have come from
surveys of different eras resulting in
discontinuities at survey boundaries -
especially where there is a mobile seabed.
The UKHO said that it is determined to
reduce the problems that inconsistency causes
the mariner by working closely with other
hydrographic offices (HOs) and by appropriate
application of its compilation expertise.
The organisation stated that the ENCs had
to be at least as good as the paper charts
currently used, "Users have come to expect
accurate data from the UKHO", Robinson
said. The UKHO is working with other (HOs)
to ensure that the information issued by the
Taunton-based organisation meets rigorous
standards for accuracy and provides the
mariner with the most appropriate
navigational picture.
Regarding the recent IMO NAV54
recommendations; a consensus was reached on
a mandatory carriage requirement for ECDIS
starting in 2012; this will be put to the next
Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) meeting.
10
The HOs believe they will have adequate ENC
coverage and consistency by 2010 and that
pricing levels will have reduced by then. Extra
training within STCW will be needed to ensure
that all navigators have the necessary skills to
use ECDIS safely and effectively.
The NAV54 recommendations were based
around papers submitted by Norway and the
UK. After much debate it was agreed tankers
of over 3,000 gt and passenger vessels of over
500 gt would be the first ship types to be
fitted with ECDIS starting in 2012 for new
hulls, with cargo vessels of over 3000 gt
following in 2013. If these recommendations,
which include retrofitting of existing tonnage
by 2018, are adopted by MSC then this would
mean around 60% take up of ECDIS across
the board, Robinson thought. "ECDIS is the
best method of navigation going forward. The
starting gun was fired at NAV54," he added.
The onus is now on HOs to produce the
ENCs and ECDIS manufacturers to produce
the systems. The UKHO is also looking to
add layers to the ENCs so that other
information that could be integrated into an
ECDIS to support activities, such as passage
planning and voyage execution. Digitising
information, rather than relying on the paper
format would provide greater flexibility in use
of the data and was therefore the ultimate
goal, the organisation said.
Second phase
The UKHO is in what it called a second phase
of discussions with OEMs regarding the
implementation of its plans. Given the lead
times necessary it is hoped to be able to
demonstrate 'front of bridge' operation
sometime next year.
Also under discussion at the IMO was
ENavigation. This new concept could mean
the provision of totally integrated services,
including digitised port information running
on the navigators' and masters' workstations
and aimed at 'front end navigation'.
One thing is certain, that when the use of
ECDIS becomes mandatory in 2012 or later,
depending on its adoption and ratification
period, ENCs will have to be provided by
Government approved HOs, so quite where
this leaves the commercial vector data
producers is not yet clear.
However, the capacity to produce ENCs
could be a problem in the near future for some
nations, and so the UK, along with other states
involved in hydrographic work, is offering
assistance and training in producing ENCs,
working through bi-lateral agreements and
UKHO ceo Mike Robinson.
sharing technical experience.
Nations that are signatories to the SOLAS
convention are obliged to ensure provision of
hydrographic services and when ECDIS is
mandatory this will include ENCs. The
International Hydrographic Organisation
(IHO) encourages all states, which have
navigable waters to recognise this
responsibility. Nations can meet their
obligations either by developing their own
capability, or through agreement with another
state to provide these services on their behalf.
The IHO said recently that its goal was to
improve the level of hydrographic services
throughout the world by capacity building, a
theme supported by the UKHO. The IHO
defined three phases in the development of a
national hydrographic capability as the core to
this strategy.
1) Focus on the need to recognise their
national responsibilities for the provision
of hydrographic services and to initiate the
collection and dissemination of marine
safety information.
The first stage is essential in order to
maintain existing charts and publications to
enable safe navigation.
2) The provision of advice and training
assistance to support the creation of basic
hydrographic surveying capability.
3) Support further development of a national
hydrographic service, including such
capabilities as paper chart production,
ENCs and nautical publications.
Underpinning the IHO initiative is a four-step
process - awareness, assessment, analysis and
action. The organisation said that by
proceeding in such a co-ordinated manner, the
capacity building strategy will over time help
HOs worldwide to develop appropriate levels
of hydrographic capability.
TO
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

Focus on Germany
Germany's seemingly insatiable
appetite for newbuildings
continues, especially in the more
traditional German liner sector.
Despite spiralling newbuilding costs, the
interest continues to be fuelled by the 'KG'
fund schemes, whose liquidity shows no sign
of abating.
However, the more traditional German
finance houses will no longer look at
speculative deals, but rather seek a shipping
project with a charter attached for cash flow
reasons resulting in some of the KG fund
investors finding finance harder to come by.
During the past few years, the KG fund
managers have looked at other projects away
from the traditional containerships and have
recently endorsed almost all types of tankers,
including gas carriers; offshore support vessels
and even a drilling rig. This has attracted more
oversees players to Germany, either in joint
ventures with established German players, or
by setting up shop on their own.
To take advantage of KG type finance, a
company must have an operational base in
Germany and more contentiously, if the
German flag is being considered, then the
Banks pull the plug on KG funding
vessel owner/operator must employ a master
who is fluent in German marine law.
A successful German tonnage tax regime
was introduced in 1999 and to keep it going
for the foreseeable future, the authorities have
asked that German-based owners ensure that
500 vessels will be under the German flag by
the end of this year. This means an extra 70-
100 ships will need to register in the coming
months, a fact not lost on the German
Shipowners Association (VDR), or its
members.
The attraction of Germany and in particular
Hamburg, as well as other centres, such as
Leer and Bremen, is that maritime clusters
have been built up that clearly work.
According to figures produced by the
Hamburg Metropolitan Region, in Germany
there are 440 shipping companies operating
around 3,300 vessels totalling around 67 mill
gt. Of the owning companies, more than 200
are based in the Hamburg area. There are also
many overseas company subsidiaries located
in the German coastal cities.
Within the next three years, according to
figures produced by the VDR, there will be
another 1,300 vessels delivered into the
INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
German-controlled fleet, which will put a
strain on crewing resources and training. At a
recent German Maritime Conference a
decision was made to support the nautical
training locations in the coastal states by
expanding their capacity.
Greek interests
One example of an overseas concern setting
up shop in Hamburg is Hellespont. The
leading Greek-based tanker owner and
manager relocated part of its operations,
including the shipmanagement to Hamburg in
a joint venture to take advantage of the KG
finance system.
As a result, Hellespont Hammonia GmbH
& Co KG was formed, which is 50% owned
by Hellespont, 25% by shipowner Peter
Doehle and 25% by KG emission house
HCI Capital.
Apart from full day-to-day
shipmanagement, the Hamburg office is
responsible for manning, insurance, repair &
maintenance, purchasing, operations,
husbandry, accounting and chartering.
Since the German arm first commenced
operations out of Peter Doehle's offices,
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 11

INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
Hellespont has built up a considerable
presence, both in terms of ships and of people.
Today, the company has six crude tankers
(five Suezmaxes and one Aframax), six LR1
coated product tankers and three recently
purchased IMO II chemical tankers.
Not stopping there, the company ordered
another eight IMO II chemical tankers and six
platform supply vessels for delivery between
the end of this year and the middle of 2010.
All have been ordered through KG financing
schemes.
The company's ceo Christian Freiherr von
Oldershausen said that Hellespont had
earmarked its eight 17,000 dwt IMO II epoxy
coated newbuilding chemical carriers for a
pool operation. "It (a pool) creates a certain
stability of earnings and the KG fund
investors now understand this concept,"
he said.
Despite the 'credit crunch', von
Oldershausen said that there was still an
appetite among investors for shipping
projects, but the trick was to find the right
project. "Investors’ appetite for shipping
equity has not diminished. The problem is
finding a project that yields an acceptable
return as newbuilding prices have gone up
tremendously," von Oldershausen said.
The escalating cost of newbuildings has
squeezed margins. In addition, the German
finance houses that lend to the KG investors
have become more discerning as have the
investors themselves.
From Hamburg, Hellespont technically
manages all of the fleet under new managing
director Captain Matthias Imrecke. Captain
Andrew Lidgard was also recently recruited to
manage the offshore fleet, also operating out
of the Hamburg office. For crewing purposes,
Hellespont has a small stake in Manila
12
Shipmanagement & Manning Inc.
Hellespont hopes to employ its first cadets
in August of this year as due to the number of
newbuildings, the company needed to grow its
seafarer pool. The company is already
achieving 92-93% seafarer retention and
claimed to have a large officer pool.
The company recently moved out of partner
Peter Doehle's offices on the Elbchaussee to a
more central location as more space was
needed. Another reason was to be near the
major banks, broking houses, laywers etc that
abound in the centre of Hamburg, von
Oldershausen explained.
To cope with the fleet expansion, four teams
have been set up in the office to look after the
crude, product, chemical and offshore sectors.
Von Oldershausen admitted that the chemical
carriers required more attention due to their
specialist nature. A dedicated health and safety
officer will be appointed soon.
Around the same time that Imrecke was
recruited to head up the technical management
team, former head Spyros Vlassopoulos who
had spearheaded Hellespont's start in Germany
went back to Piraeus to take charge of the
company's commercial activities, to strengthen
“
Hellespont ceo Christian
Freiherr von
Oldershausen receives a
commemorative plaque
from Father Apostolos on
the occasion of the
blessing of Hellespont’s
new Hamburg premises.
the relationship with charterers and subcharterers.
As for the current fleet, two of the three
13,100 dwt chemical tankers in the fleet are
working the spot market, while the third is
long term chartered to Vitol trading in Asia.
Von Oldershausen described the chemical
carrier market as "disappointing" in the first
quarter of this year. However, it picked up
slightly in the 2Q08.
He expected a "rough period" until the end
of next year when, "…..in line with
expectations of market participants things
should pick up again. In the meantime there
are a lot of newbuildings coming on stream,"
he said.
The six Panamax LR1s are timechartered to
Sanko for seven years and are operating in the
product market sector. Four of the five
Suezmaxes and the Aframax are also long
term chartered to the Japanese operator.
The remaining Suezmax -Hellespont Trust -
is chartered to Heidmar and is operating in its
Suezmax tanker pool. Sister Hellespont
Trader is also operating in Heidmar's
Suezmax pool having been sub-let from
Sanko.
“Investors’ appetite for shipping equity has
not diminished. The problem is finding a project
that yields an acceptable return as newbuilding
prices have gone up tremendously.”
Christian Freiherr von Oldershausen, CEO,
Hellespont Hammonia GmbH & Co KG
”
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

Although not ruling out the use of the
German flag for some of the vessels in the
near future, von Oldershausen explained that
if the three 13,100 dwt chemical tankers were
put under the national flag, then the company
would need to employ around 15 German
officers, which in today's climate would be
extremely difficult.
Dutch interests
Last year, Amsterdam-based Seaarland
Shipping Management expanded its growing
global network into Germany by setting up a
joint venture with Hamburg-based TB
Marine-Hamburg GmbH.
The same year, Seaarland and TB and
Partners' jointly ordered four IMO II shallow
draft 29,000 dwt product carriers, plus two
coated LR1s from China's Zhejiang Hongguan
Shipbuilding for delivery in 2011 and the
latter from New Century Shipbuilding for
delivery August and September 2008.
To manage the ships and to provide access
to the German equity market in July last year,
Seaarland and TB Marine set up Seaarland
Shipmanagement (Hamburg) GmbH & Co
KG, which now operates under the watchful
eyes of managing directors Andreas Sand and
Claus Bethke.
The joint venture originally started with the
delivery of a secondhand handysize IMO III
product tanker - 36,000 dwt Alia - on 19th
December 2007 while three more handysize
tankers were purchased from Teekay for
delivery this year, plus a newbuilding, which
is due for delivery next January. These were
the first vessel to be technically managed from
Hamburg by Seaarland.
At the time of the agreement, Seaarland's
head Antonio Zacchello said; "We now have a
strong foothold in the Mediterranean, in North
Europe in both Amsterdam and Hamburg, and
in Asia, through our Singapore and Indian
companies. This German initiative with strong
partners follows our strategic growth plan,
always working with good partners to
maximise our mutual strengths and deliver to
our charterers the powerful combination of a
global shipping company with strong local
knowledge."
TB Marine-Hamburg GmbH was founded
on 1st July 2005 by Stephan Bracker and
Steffen Thate to initiate, finance, own and
manage newbuildings and secondhand ships
for both private and public investors in the
German KG market.
It has strong relations with Chinese
shipyards and a Chinese investment group via
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INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
Aquarius Marine Consulting (AMC),
Hamburg. Thorsten Schablinski, sole partner
and managing director of AMC, provides
technical consultancy, plan approval and
newbuilding supervision for TB's projects.
TB Marine and its partners now have 30
tanker newbuildings on order. In a recent
investor presentation, TB Marine said that
vessel Nos 1-24 will be employed under long
term charters and pool arrangements with
leading European pool operators in the size
range of up to 20,000 dwt. For example, eight
of the Ice Class 1A chemical/product
newbuildings were fixed long term to Maersk
Tankers and another eight to the Clipper
Group. The final eight in the 16,500 dwt-
19,000 dwt range are intended to go into the
Swift Tankers pool.
Four 29,000 dwt tankers will join the
Handytankers pool while two LR1s are also
on order and will join the Global Tanker Pool.
Other vessels planned include three 92,500
dwt bulk carriers and the latest venture
involving the financing of eight vehicle
carriers (PCTS), which are being built for
Laeisz management.
Amsterdam-based Seaarland Shipping
Management is a commercial
shipmanagement company and part of the
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 13

INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
Zacchello Group, which also includes Venicebased
Motia Compagnia di Navigazione, as
one of the shipowning arms and the technical
management arm for the group's fleet.
The group controls a fleet of 25 modern
product and Aframax tankers with 15
newbuildings to come, plus three Panamax
bulkers with another seven Panamaxes and
minicapes to come.
At the end of its newbuilding programme,
the Zacchello Group will control about 85
ships, including a fleet of 30 medium to longterm
timechartered ships. In addition, the
group has a 50% ownership of 10 Naplesbased
SynerGas Ethylene/LPG carriers and
has offices in Venice, Naples, Amsterdam,
Singapore and Hamburg.
TB Marine's Steffen Thate told
TANKEROperator that initially, the joint
venture was set up to focus on newbuilding
14
Zacchello Group Profile
Zacchello's shipping interests
originated in 1948 when Antonio
Zacchello and some partners
purchased a 10,700 dwt 'Liberty'
ship - Rialto.
He subsequently bought his partners out and
continued to build his shipping empire on
his own.
Today, this consists of Seaarland Shipping
Management BV (Amsterdam), Motia
Compagnia di Navigazione SpA (Venice),
Seaarland Shipmanagement (Hamburg)
GmbH & Co KG, Seaarland Management
Services (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Seaarland
Management Services Pvt (India) and
Seaarland Management Services (Geneva)
SA.
Basically, the companies' operations are
split as follows:
� Seaarland Shipping Management
(Amsterdam) acts as commercial
manager of the ships owned by the
group's Dutch companies and for the
third party owned vessels.
� Seaarland Management Services
(Singapore) is responsible for the day-today
operations east of Suez. The office is
growing as Zacchello puts more
emphasis on the developing Persian
Gulf/Asian markets.
� Motia carries out commercial and
technical management for its owned
vessels and is responsible for the
technical management of the vessels
owned by the Dutch-based companies, as
well as third party owned vessels.
� Seaarland Management Services Pvt is
responsible for the group's Indian
seagoing crew requirements.
� Seaarland Shipmanagement (Hamburg) is
jointly owned with TB Marine-Hamburg
and manages the co-owned vessels with
German investors and provides a gateway
to the major German market.
� Seaarland Management Services
(Geneva) is responsible for advisory and
the execution of FFAs on behalf of the
group and its clients.
Seaarland Hamburg will handle an
additional 24 product/chemical tankers in
the range 16,500 dwt to 19,000 dwt, which
together with four out of eight car carriers,
have been financed by German investors.
Venice-based Motia has 12 vessels under
full management and expects to take
delivery of another four newbuildings.
Motia also operates four ships on
timecharter.
Technical management of the whole
Zacchello group is handled by Motia and
Seaarland Hamburg.
As at June of this year, the total number
of vessels controlled by Seaarland and
Motia was 116. These include 62 currently
in operation, 37 newbuildings and 17
timechartered vessels yet to be delivered.
Zacchello has placed some of the vessels
in pools, such as Suezmax International,
Aframax International, Handytankers and
Baumarine. Other vessels are timechartered
projects. During the past three years, TB
Marine has been responsible for 42
newbuildings and four secondhand vessels and
has built up a pool of private investors within
the KG scheme.
The loan facilities have been arranged
through the world's largest ship financing
bank HSH Nordbank and also with Deutsche
Bank, Hamburg and Norddeutsche
Landesbank, based in Hannover.
"We are now benefiting from the Seaarland
handysize, Aframax, LR1 and Suezmax tanker
pools, which in turn benefit from the German
market, including the KG funding schemes,"
Thate said.
TB Marine/Seaarland Shipmanagement
gained its ISM certificate from ABS in October
2007 and now employs around 25 persons in
Hamburg. Thate explained that Seaarland has a
global network of crewing outlets.
Antonio Zacchello.
to operators such as Trafigura, STX Pan
Ocean, TotalFinaElf (Italia), ST Shipping,
ENI, Cargill and Armada. The group also
operates on the spot market.
The group also holds a 50% stake in
Synergas SrL through a Dutch concern
called Julia Finance, which was set up
specifically for this purpose. The other 50%
is owned by Ca.Fi.Ma, the holding company
of the Cafiero Mattioli Group.
Synergas was formed in November 2005
to purchase the fleet of 10 LPG carriers of
4,000 cu m to 9,000 cu m capacity from
Navigazione Montanari, which was duly
completed a month later. �
As for the future, "By about 2011, we will
have around 35 chemical/product tankers
under full management owned by Zacchello
and his partners," Thate said.
It is Thate's intention to put around three to
five vessels under the German flag while
another 10 are flying the Italian flag under
Motia's control. Other major flag states have
also set up shop in Hamburg, including Liberia
and the Marshall Islands, which employ
German speaking auditors and surveyors.
Oil majors are being focused on by the
group as there is more external control being
exercised today through various schemes,
most notably TMSA.
Frequent safety, security and other meetings
are held between TB Marine, Seaarland and
the pool/charterers. Thate said that the
company was also co-operating very closely
with ABS.
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

As for AMC, this concern offers third
party technical newbuilding supervision and
only puts its own people in the shipyards,
rather than relying on third party
newbuilding surveyors. For example, ACM
newbuilding standby chief engineers will
move into the office as engineer
superintendents, once the newbuilding
supervision period has ended.
Seaarland Shipmanagement only employs
ex seafarers and a cadet scheme is run in a
joint venture with ASP Ship Management
Scandinavia based in Mariehamn, Finland.
KG expertise
The German KG (Kommanditgesellschaft)
equity syndicating system is perhaps not
suffering as badly as other forms of raising
finance in today's economic gloom and doom.
Whereas some would be investors in
shipping equity will still rely on the debt
financing to purchase shares in vessels, other
private shareholders do not.
KGs were originally designed to help the
German shipyards and shipping industry. A
general partner (GmbH) is usually required.
Individuals participate with fixed equity
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To qualify for syndication, vessels must in
compliance with international class society
standards, while both the commercial and
technical management of the vessels must be
undertaken in Germany and the vessels must
be registered in Germany, although an
internationally accepted flag is also possible.
Once the domain of smaller container and
multipurpose vessels, all types are now being
considered providing they have a long term
timecharter attached, but not a bareboat, or
demise charter contract.
The change in the German tonnage tax of
1st January 2007, bought no substantial
difference to equity finance deals. Basically,
the tax is based on the gt of a vessel and not
the profit/loss performance (see page 18).
However, Tobias Koenig founder of Koenig
& Cie GmbH said that the syndication
market, which is most important in Germany
for larger projects, is almost totally disrupted
by the current financial crisis. "The KG funds
are not lenders. They are syndicating equity
and combine it with debt financing to buy
ships, which they operate and charter out,"
he explained.
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Koenig said that despite this, the company
had managed to realise new products. He
criticised HSH Nordbank, the world's largest
ship financier, saying that the default rate in
the vessel mortgage loan sector is zero per
cent. "Their caution with the granting of
loans does not always seem reasonable to
us," he said.
Koenig was founded in 1999 and in 2006
established Marenave Schiffahrts with HSH
Nordbank. It is claimed to be the first German
shipping trust set up legally as a public listed
company. The objective was to provide
institutional investors with the possibility of
investing in the shipping market on a long
term basis, creating a new asset class for
better investment portfolio diversification.
He said the most KG investors were
experienced and many of them invest 'anticyclically'
and "...were in it for the long run."
Due to their cyclical nature, the volatile
markets have led to diversification being
highly valued. For example, besides shipping,
Koenig is now established in real estate,
private equity, renewable energy, secondary
market of UK life insurance policies and
infrastructure.
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rapid and efficient aid to ships indistress
as well as internal communication.
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 15

INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
A joint venture - Scorship - was also
formed with Monaco-based Scorpio, which is
involved in the running of two tanker pools, in
which Koenig is participating. "To have a
joint venture, such as Scorship, seemed to be
logical as Scorpio was seeking access to the
German market and we had been looking for
a partner to invest in Panamax tankers,"
Koenig explained.
"Therefore, our Panamax and handymax
product tankers had been managed by Scorpio
Ship Management, Monaco. Later on Scorship
Tankers GmbH was formed by the two
partners, which has now taken up the
management of these vessels," he said.
"There is a lot of interest outside Germany
to find a local partner. And this is the reason
others have formed partnerships and will
probably continue to do so in the future," he
added.
Last June, Scorship Tankers GmbH
christened two further double hull tankers at
New Times Shipbuilding, located on the
Yangtze River.
The tankers were the last two in a series of
six sister ships. They were christened King
Daniel and King Douglas. The latter was
handed over to the charterer ST Shipping and
Transport, Singapore and King Daniel will be
delivered in September. The six double hull
crude oil/product tankers were ordered in
2005 for delivery in 2007 and 2008. They
were Panamax class LR1 product tankers.
The last two both make up the Product
Tanker Fund IV, which had been open to
16
Koenig & Cie investors since the end of
March 2008. The fund concept is a
combination of fixed charter and pool
earnings, with one vessel benefiting from the
stability of the former and the other vessel
from the variable earnings of the latter (this
vessel will be deployed in a leading
tanker pool).
Koenig uses what it perceives as the best
partners available to technically manage the
vessels, for example, Columbia
Shipmanagement (CSM), Thien & Heyenga
and V Ships. For example, all of the Marenave
vessels are managed by CSM Hamburg.
The issuing house invests in containerships,
bulk carriers and product tankers. But thus far
the different ship types have not been included
in one fund.
For tankers, Koenig thought that initially,
this had proved more difficult. However,
today Koenig & Cie is a successful tanker
company with…."an unparalleled network in
the tanker markets. We offer investment
opportunities that are hard to match, which is
giving us a competitive advantage over other
German issuing houses," Koenig concluded.
In another move, Jens Mahnke recently
joined Koenig & Cie GmbH as a managing
partner to take on responsibility for all
shipping matters.
Prior to this, Mahnke worked with the
Nordcapital Group, where he was managing
partner for shipping project development for
the last six years.
From 1st June, the shareholder structure of
Koenig & Cie GmbH was Tobias Koenig
holding 86%, Klaus Fickert and Jörn Meyer
each holding 5% and Johannes Bitter-
Suermann and Jens Mahnke each holding 2%.
Since TANKEROperator's visit, Scorpio
Tankers GmbH & Co KG and Scorpio
Shipping Company, Monaco have said that
they are set to broaden the business scope and
as a result have been renamed Scorship
Navigation. As part of the expansion plan, the
company will soon manage drybulk carriers as
well as tankers. Jens Mahnke was named ceo
on 1st August.
Essberger expands
John T Essberger is expanding its tanker
fleet by ordering a series of newbuildings
from China and Turkey. The company has also
extended its shipmanagement portfolio by
winning a management contract for a series of
Swedish product tankers newbuildings.
The Chinese order involves two 8,500 dwt
Ice Class 1A chemical tankers fitted with 16
stainless steel tanks, plus another two options.
The first vessel will be delivered at the end of
2010 and the second in February 2011.
Essberger chose Dingheng (Jiangsu)
Shipbuilding, which Captain Stefan Buelow,
managing director John T. Essberger Ship
Management described to TANKEROperator
as a new yard specialising in LPG and
chemical tankers. The vessels will be built in
co-operation with the Dutch-based Volharding
Shipyards and were designed by a Norwegian
concern. They will be powered by MAN
The 5,771 dwt chemical tanker
Georg Essberger seen in the
Kiel Canal.
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
medium speed common rail engines from the manufacturer's
Augsburg works.
Earlier, Essberger had selected the new Turkish shipyard of Eregli to
construct an 8,400 dwt and three 5,300 dwt vessels. The larger vessel
is an IMO II type 124 m long, oil and chemical tanker fitted with
MarineLine coated tanks. Construction began on 26th November last
year under the supervision of Essberger and Bureau Veritas and the
vessel is due to be delivered in January 2009.
The three Ice Class 1A 5,300 dwt tankers will be fitted with
stainless steel cargo tanks and all will feature MAN prime movers.
They are due for delivery in September, December 2009 and April
2010 respectively.
As for the management contracts, these were for Svithoid Tankers'
three 3,400 dwt and two 4,500 dwt tankers. Essberger inspectors
travelled to an Estonian shipyard in Tallinn to take over the first vessel
for Svithoid. One 3,400 dwt tanker - Vedrey Thor - was chartered to
Fisher Everard, while the larger units will operate for Herning under a
long term charter.
Buelow explained that Essberger's philosophy was to continue to
operate specialist tankers of up to 10,000 dwt in partnership with the
oil and chemical majors on a mixture of timecharter and spot business
basis. The vessels normally operate in northern Europe, Baltic and
Mediterranean/Black Sea regions.
In 2004, Essberger bought Dutch chemical tanker operator Broere
from the Vopak group and formed the Broere/Essberger chemical
tanker pool. In April of this year, the operation was brought under the
banner of Essberger Tankers. The new vessels and all Essberger
vessels will be gradually renamed taking the Essberger suffix.
At the beginning of this year, Hugo Finlay was recruited to run
Essberger Tankers as managing director. He has had more than 40
years' experience in the tanker business having been employed at
senior level by Stolt Nielsen and Jo Tankers among others.
At present, the fleet flies the Dutch flag (Broere vessels), German
and Madeira flags - the latter as a European flag. As for seafarer
training, Essberger uses various establishments in Poland, China, the
Philippines and in-house seminars are regularly held. On board
training will be continued, Buelow said. The company employs
European masters on its tankers, mainly from Holland, Germany,
Poland and the Baltic States.
The seafarers are employed on a two month on, two month off
rotation, which helps to ensure a good retention rate, Buelow believed.
Being a family owned company, it was easier to bring the seafarers
into a family type working atmosphere, he thought.
In Europe, Essberger has its own crewing agency in Gdynia, while
in Singapore, the company owns the crewing agency -Transocean Ship
Management and has a partnership in a Manila-based training centre,
which is equipped with modern simulators, including bridges. These
can be attached to engine control rooms and a small engine. The Asian
facilities are mainly used for the bulk and cement carriers managed by
Essberger, as well as for ratings on tankers (Filipinos).
Essberger has set up a safety and vetting department in Hamburg
and Buelow said that he was "quite happy" with the TMSA audits.
Similar to the vessels, Essberger has bought the shipmanagement
activities closer to home by dispensing with the old shipmanagement
company Transocean to better reflect the Essberger brand.
Buelow explained that the shipmanagement arm will only look at
third party management business for special projects, such as
newbuildings. It was not Essberger's intention to become a fully
fledged third party shipmanagement concern.
He is an active member of BIMCO, IPTA, the VDR and sits on the
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator
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INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
technical advisory board of Germanischer
Lloyd.
Explaining this involvement, he said; "It is
vital to be in the front line with all the rules
coming up. We have to join together to
present a good image and have to be
proactive. We cannot just lean back and forget
about what is happening. Everybody has to
participate. If something comes up, don't fight
it, but discuss it, otherwise we will loose
credibility," he added.
To ensure adequate repair and maintenance is
carried out, Essberger has a repair shop in
Dordrecht, Holland, which came with the Broere
buyout. The company also uses the Hamburg
shipyard Norderwerft among others for its tanker
fleet. Buelow said that he did not believe in
outsourcing too many activities, but rather keep
them in-house to better monitor costs.
18
GTS opts for Lindenau tankers
Another major German tanker player is
Bremen-based German Tanker Shipping
(GTS), which now controls 12 product
tankers averaging 3.5 years old with one
newbuilding still to come.
Eight of the earlier product tankers are of
the Kiel-based Lindenau 32,000 dwt class,
while the newer four are of 40,600 dwt.
Another vessel due for delivery in March of
next year will be slightly larger at 43,000
dwt, but still built to the Lindenau design.
All the vessels were built by Lindenau
Shipyard. Ten are in the KG system while the
other two are wholly-financed by the
company. All the activities connected with
the ships are handled in-house by just
18 people.
The vessels fly the German flag and are
German tonnage tax explained
Introduced in 1999, the German
tonnage tax scheme has been
by and large welcomed by the
German shipping community.
So much so, that moves are afoot to reach
the target of 500 vessels under the German
flag by the end of this year, otherwise it
could be scrapped or amended, according to
the German authorities.
If the target is reached then the tonnage
tax stays in place for the foreseeable
future, and all the signs are that this will
happen as the German shipowners
interviewed by TANKEROperator were
considering putting at least some of their
vessels under German flag.
Basically, the scheme allows companies
to elect to have their taxable profits from
shipping activities determined at fixed rates
with reference to their ship sizes for 10
years at a time, hence the call for more
tonnage by the beginning of next year to
start the next decade of fixed rates.
Graduated Tariff
Up to 1,000 nt = Eur0.92 per 100 nt
per day
1,000 - 10,000 nt = Eur0.69 per 100 nt
per day
10,000 - 25,000 nt = Eur0.46 per nt per
day
More than 25,000 nt = Eur0.23 per nt per
day
As an example given by the Hamburg
Metropolitan Region, a graduated tariff is
imposed on the net tonnes, which is then
One of the Lindenau class
32,000 dwt product tankers,
managed by German Tanker
Shipping.
classed by GL. Managing partner Frank
Jungmann described the flag as "of very
good quality", but said the process of
registration could do with improvement as
at present several different authorities
become involved.
"We need a central department in Germany
for registration and a simple, efficient
administration," he said. Other German
companies spoken with by TANKEROperator
voiced the same opinion.
Being under the German flag, all GTS'
officers are German, while the ratings are
from the Philippines. Jungmann agreed
with other German owners requiring
German officers that for the future, the pot
was empty.
GTS' vessels normally trade in the spot
market, however, there a few charters
multiplied by the number of days a vessel
is in operation.
In the case of a 40,000 nt vessel, the
calculation is based on an assumed profit
of Eur174.80 per day. For 365 days of
operation, this is calculated at Eur63,802,
on the basis of which taxes will be
charged independently of the actual annual
profit.
Assuming the equity capital totals
Eur21.6 mill, the calculated profit is 0.3%
of the equity capital per annum, which is
claimed to be of minor relevance. In
accordance with the current Income Tax
Act, the amount - assuming that the
economic development of the vessel
operations will be positive - indicates a
largely tax free capital gain. �
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

GERMAN TANKER SHIPPING
German Tanker Shipping GmbH & Co. KG
Hans-Böckler-Str. 50
28217 Bremen
Phone +49 421 387638
Fax +49 421 3876390
e-mail info@german-tanker.de

INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
concluded on coa terms. The company was
formed in 1998 by former Carl Buettner
executives. It originally owned seven vessels
up to about 23,000 dwt, but has since
concentrated on the larger size ranges,
leaving Buettner to compete in the smaller
market sector. The six 24,000 dwt tankers
built in Croatia are today Buettner's
largest vessels.
Jungmann described the 40,000 dwt to
43,000 dwt size as being in the middle of the
South Korean designed 37,000 dwt and
47,000 dwt types with good draught
capabilities of about 11 m on maximum dwt
cargo capacity (dwcc).
The Lindenau-built vessels are fitted with
MAN Diesel 4-stroke 8-cylinder medium
speed diesel engines from the manufacturer's
Augsburg works connected to a CP propeller
through a reduction gear. Becker rudders have
also been fitted on the larger vessels for extra
manoeuvrability.
Being fitted with the same engines results in
continuity of spares enabling the use of the
same maintenance and other systems used
across the entire fleet.
20
Classed with GL, the vessels are Ice
Class E3, or E2, equivalent to
Finnish/Swedish Ice Class 1A, or 2A.
Eight are 1A and the other four have the
E2 (2A) notation.
Today GTS operates with six partners and
two managing partners. Jungmann explained
that the company's policy is to operate the
vessels in Europe or transatlantic and sell
them when they reach their second or third
surveys (10-15 years old). "They will still
be in excellent condition," he said.
When operating in Europe, the average
voyage time is only around 4.5 days,
including loading and discharge operations.
The normal economic service speed is 13.5
knots, although the vessels can steam at
15.5 knots if needed. They each carry 18
crew on board.
As for the pumping systems, the smaller
vessels have been fitted with Framo
Deepwell hydraulic pump systems, while
the larger vessels have Hamworthy
Svanehoj electro-pump systems fitted. Each
tank is coated and the vessels are fitted with
cargo heating systems.
Offen up and running
The first four of CP Offen's eight Hyundai
Mipo 37,000 dwt MRs have recently joined
Broström's fleet.
Ordered and technically managed by
recently formed Offen subsidiary CP Offen
Tankschiffreederei, the eight will be
commercially managed by Bröstrom following
the signing of a long term partnership
agreement with the Hamburg-based company
last year.
Before the first four were delivered,
Broström was already operating eight 37,000
dwt MRs in the European
market transporting refined petroleum
oil products.
All the new vessels were scheduled for
delivery by the end of this year from South
Korea. The first four picked up a cargo of
vegetable oil from Asia to reposition to
Europe. They will all fly the UK flag.
*Since this update, it has been announced
that Broström is to be taken over by Maersk.
Where this leaves CP Offen Tankschiffreederei’s
joint venture agreement is thus far unknown
(see page 2). TO
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
GL academies prove
successful
Last year, Germanischer Lloyd (GL) held 276 seminars worldwide,
attracting 4,086 participants, compared with 220 in 2006, which pulled in 3,950 people.
GL has developed what it calls a
'Modular System for Further
Education in Shipping', which is
split into 11 distinct subjects.
Both public and private seminars are held, and
tailor-made in-house tutorials are also offered.
GL Academy's Susanne Schreeck told
TANKEROperator that it was not the intention
to compete with seafarer training schools or
universities, but rather join forces if possible.
Seminars and tutorials are held worldwide
in English, although local languages can also
be used, for example to train surveyors in
overseas locations.
Most maritime subjects are covered, from
basic shipping knowledge to high technology,
including a series aimed at 'training the
trainers'.
The UAE and India are areas of obvious
potential, GL said. An academy will be
opened in Dubai this October, which will be
used by the other Gulf States and the class
society is also in talks with Dubai Maritime
City about a co-operative partnership. Another
partnership is also in place with the Indian
Institute of Marine Engineers based in
Mumbai.
Other co-operative training ventures are
“
based in countries such as Vietnam and earlier
this year, GL recently opened GL Academy
Hellas, which is run from Piraeus. The class
society is also one of 12 partners in the soon
to be opened MTC Maritime Training Center
Hamburg (see page 23).
GL has found that the more popular
seminars are the ones that cover general
topics, such as basic shipping and technology,
for example for bank staff involved in the
maritime sector. Some of the courses will
include exercises involving individual and
group work and interactive sessions. "We do
not only show overheads," Schreeck
explained.
One of the more specific training courses
covers the 'Certified Coating Inspector'. This
course will be held between 16-22 November
and is already fully booked with 15
participants. The seminar has been put
together by GL in co-operation with
Muehlhan, which specialises in marine surface
protection.
As for GL's class portfolio, over 6,300
vessels totalling 70 mill gt are now under
regular technical supervision of GL.
In the space of 12 months, GL's fleet has
grown by 10 mill gt. "This is a milestone in
the history of the classification society," said
Dr Hermann Klein, member of GL's executive
board, at the classification society's Hellas
committee meeting in Piraeus at the beginning
of June.
"Based on the incoming orders we expect a
sustained growth rate again," he said.
To cope with the extra tonnage, GL has
increased its staff level particularly in East
Asia. In 2006 alone, a total of 312 employees
were hired worldwide. Since the beginning of
this year more than 300 international positions
were filled. Today the workforce totals over
4,100 worldwide.
In another move, GL has been authorised to
participate in the US Coast Guard's (USCG)
alternate compliance program (ACP).
As a result, US shipowners can select GL as
their recognised organisation, acting on behalf
of USCG. GL is one of only three non-US
classification societies to have a USCG ACP
authorisation.
ACP is a voluntary alternate process for a
US registered vessel to obtain a USCG
certificate of inspection by complying with the
standards of a delegated classification society,
including its ACP Supplement and
International Conventions.
In the space of 12 months, GL’s fleet has grown
by 10 mill gt. “This is a milestone in the history
of the classification society...based on the incoming orders
we expect a sustained growth rate again ”
- Dr Hermann Klein, member, Germanischer Lloyd Executive Board
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 21
TO
”

INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
DNV claims second spot in German vessels classed
On 1st June, 2005, DNV moved its
European headquarters from
London to Hamburg. The German
offices cover northern Europe and
Africa.
At the time, DNV said that Hamburg was an
increasingly important international maritime
centre for shipowners, management
companies, financial institutions as well as
shipyards, reflected by the steadily growing
number of vessels managed or owned by
German companies, in particular
containerships.
"The decision to move the regional office to
Hamburg is underlining our strategy to
become the number-one class alternative in
Germany and shall give a clear signal to the
market that we see increasing potential for
growth of DNV services. At the same time,
we recognise the ongoing importance of the
UK maritime market by continuing our good
work in the London market," said DNV
Maritime coo Tor Svensen, speaking at the
time of the move.
Regional manager Joerg Beiler and country
manager Joerg Langkabel said during
TANKEROperator's recent visit to Hamburg
that competition among class societies will
increase the focus on the service level and will
trigger the introduction of new services for the
market. However, competition would not lead
to reduced focus on quality.
DNV has opened its own dedicated academy in Hamburg.
22
Last year, DNV moved into larger premises
located in the centre of Hamburg, close to the
flag administration. Langkabel explained that
the German flag authorities have now
extended the scope to carry out statutory
surveys etc on German flag ships by other
class societies.
DNV now claims the No 2 spot in terms of
German-controlled tonnage entered behind
GL. Although the high number of
containerships controlled by German interests
under GL class is attracting much of the other
class society interest, DNV claimed more than
38% of the tankers in German management in
terms of gt. DNV also boasted 1.3 mill gt of
German newbuildings by the middle of this
year, compared with 1.85 mill gt of
newbuildings entered for the whole of 2007.
The class society has appointed a local
customer service manager whose job it is to
visit the owners and listen to their needs,
Langkabel explained. Thus, the concept of a
Hamburg service centre had been expanded.
For example, a tailor-made service is offered
on fuel savings - a very pertinent example
today when the cost of IFO 380 cSt had hit
the $700 per tonne mark recently. Another
example of the service concept is that advice
can be given on TMSA and Safety
Management Systems.
At the beginning of this year, DNV
employed 70 people in Hamburg and the
satellite offices around Germany. By the
end of 2008, this number will have risen to
90. An office has also been opened in
Bremen.
DNV has a huge database containing what
it calls 'knowledge management'. For
example, some German owners and managers
need to know about potential propeller
damage in routes through ice. The information
held on propeller damage could help the
owners and managers decide upon the need to
carry a spare propeller.
Certification of marine equipment and subsuppliers
is another strong area within
Germany as many suppliers, such as MAN
and MTU among others, have full orderbooks
due to the massive vessel ordering spree
during the past few years.
Several vessel types, including
containerships, cruiseships and ro-ros are
being built in German shipyards to DNV
class. Also included are four LPG carriers at
Meyer Werft for Harpain Shipping. German
ports are among the busiest in Europe and the
repair yards are experiencing better times of
late, creating more work for class surveyors
in general.
Similar to GL, DNV has set up an academy
in Hamburg, which takes up one floor of the
six-storey building. Three rooms are available
in an open type landscape, the largest of
which can accommodate up to 60 persons.
Both seminars and courses are held
focusing on operations and technical topics,
including technical courses aimed at nontechnical
personnel, which are proving
popular.
DNV has been holding seminars and
courses in Germany since 1995 and welcomed
more than 1,200 participants last year, which
encouraged the society to open its own
dedicated facility.
Seminars and courses are split into
categories, such as ship types, which
include containerships, oil and product
tanker, chemical tanker and gas tanker
updates plus design, equipment and cargo
operations.
Another series covers maritime technology
in all its forms from hull inspection to
managing complex electronic systems
integration. Four courses are offered on
maritime rules and classification issues and a
larger selection of courses cover management
systems. General shipping business is also
covered aimed at the office newcomer.
All the listed seminars and courses are held
in English.
TO
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

Large training centre nears completion
One initiative underway in which
GL is a stakeholder is the
Maritime Training Center (MTC)
Hamburg, which is due to open
its doors next February.
Hamburg has been without a major training
facility since many nautical colleges closed
down during the shipping downturn
experienced during the 1980s, which left a
huge gap in training. Hamburg also lost the
'SUSAN' simulator training facility to Leer,
which is now home to a large
shipmanagement fraternity.
MTC will be located at Harburg, a suburb
of Hamburg, built in an old dock area.
Illustrating Hamburg's maritime cluster
mentality, MTC is a joint venture between
shipping companies Rickmers Reederei, Orion
Bulkers and Marlow Navigation who acts as a
crew manager.
Apart from GL, other stakeholders include
MAN Diesel, the River Elbe, Port of Hamburg
and Kiel Canal Pilots' Associations, port and
logistics training concern ma-co maritimes
competenzcentrum (formerly known as FZH),
and private investors. SAM Electronics is
acting as a co-ordinating partner while
Bremen-based Rheinmetall Defence
Electronics will supply the shiphandling,
radar/ECDIS, GMDSS, liquid cargo handling
and ships engine simulators.
Furthermore, hands on training will be
provided for the operation and maintenance of
marine diesel engines and their components
through a MAN Diesel workshop. Previous
FZH fire fighting and rescue boat courses will
also be included.
MTC managing director Heinz Kuhlmann
explained that by integrating the pilot groups,
ma-co specialists and the GL Academy, MTC
will be able to offer quality and professional
knowhow at the highest level in most
disciplines.
Kuhlmann said that marketing the centre
would start in earnest this September when
bookings will be taken. He also claimed that
he already had verbal promises from some
shipowners to use the facilities. All the
training courses, seminars etc, plus the
documentation will be in English to attract
Marine Training Center - Hamburg
www.mtc-simulation.com
INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
An impression of the full mission bridge
simulator.
international clients.
Once MTC is fully operational, it will have
a training capacity of 14,300 man hours,
making it one of the largest training centres in
Europe.
The equipment and operation alone is costing
Eur6.5 mill and the City of Hamburg is
donating Eur900,000 towards the project. Apart
from Harburg, another simulator centre is
planned in Hamburg for a 2010 start up. TO
MTC will open it’s doors beginning of 2009 in Hamburg and provides a wide range
of maritime training courses for navigation, technical operations,
maintenance, GMDSS, safety and tanker operations.
For more information and course catalogue 2009 contact: info@mtc-simulation.de
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 23

INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
By providing tankers with predetermined
breaking points in
their double hull, Lindenau
believes it can enhance tanker
safety. While mandatory double hulls offer
significantly better protection against the
threat from a collision than single hull vessels,
pollution may still occur if both the outer and
inner hulls are punctured.
If the inner tank shell was designed to
partially disconnect from the supporting
structure in a lateral collision, it would deform
more easily, bulging inwards to produce a
large dent at the point of impact, rather than
rupturing. This would require an inner hull
24
SPOS®
A hull with a
breaking point
Kiel-based Lindenau Shipyard is further enhancing tanker safety
by designing vessels with a pre-determined breaking point.*
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made from a highly ductile, extensible
material. These ideas inspired the concept of a
so called 'crumple zone' for tankers.
To turn this idea into an actual project,
Lindenau got in touch with Hamburg-Harburg
Technical University (TUHH) and
Germanischer Lloyd (GL) to arrange for a
basic initial research programme.
It was thought that an austenite with high
ductile yield might prove suitable material
for the inner tank shell. Under tensile
loading, these kind of austenites resist
failure for a much longer period than
standard steel types. While shipbuilding
steel has a ductile yield of between 16% and
www.SPOS.eu
22%, austenitic steel can be extended to 30%
to 35% before failing.
However, a tensile shell in itself will not
suffice. To bulge inward across a large enough
area, the shell must be allowed to separate
from its supporting structure. To illustrate the
problem, Lindenau's project head in charge of
developing the design - Ingo Tautz - used an
image of a balloon inflated inside a wire cage
and glued to the bars.
"Pushing the balloon downwards will cause
it to burst. But if you don't glue it to the bars,
it will be free to move so you can push it
inwards to quite an extent before it will burst,"
Tautz explained.
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
Predetermined breaking point. In a collision, the malleable inner hull of the tanker will bulge inwards without causing an oil spill.
(Graphics – Lindenau)
On any ship you will find the cage's
equivalent. It is formed by longitudinal
stringers and vertical frames. Stringers and
frames make up the skeleton that supports the
outer and inner hulls of the ship and which are
spaced about 2 m apart. The critical question
is how to enable the inner shell to separate
from this supporting cage, thereby enlarging
this space.
As far as the longitudinal stringers are
concerned, the solution is straightforward
enough- the stringers are welded only to the
outer hull and have no contract with the inner
hull. A more complicated matter is the case of
the vertical frames. A series of holes, known
as perforated pre-determined breaking points,
are made in the sections closest to the inner
shell. In a collision, the frames are intended to
rupture at these locations, thus releasing the
inner shell. The larger number of breaking
frames, the better.
This design concept was first developed by
Lindenau partner and former managing
director Guenter Stehn, who estimated that
frames may break over a length of 20 m along
a ship's body, allowing the austenitic inner
shell to bulge inwards by several metres
without rupturing. To ensure that this works,
tanks may not be fully loaded and must be
fitted with burst plates designed to break on
impact. The cargo then flows into a
neighbouring tank or ballast tank.
What made Stehn's approach appealing was
its simplicity. The vessel's inner shell deforms
without causing an oil spill. But how far can
this be taken before the ship's structure
becomes unstable? As it is, sailing in rough
seas is a punishing experience for a tanker,
exposing it to incessant assaults from different
load combinations, a constant interplay of
compressive and tensile stresses.
This relentless strain is particularly
aggressive around cut outs and holes where
cracks may form. Perforated pre-determined
breaking points are not exempt from this
threat. The critical question is, how should the
perforations be designed so the frames only
fail in a collision as intended while
safeguarding the structural integrity of the
vessel during normal operations?
In his dissertation completed under the
supervision of TUHH's Professor Eike
Lehmann, Tautz analysed the hidden pitfalls
of calculation methods that simulate the
planned failure of pre-determined breaking
points. The ductile yield of austenitic steel,
while known, does not help in determining the
highly important parameter of time of failure
when calculating collision simulations.
Knowing the time of failure is critical. If a
tank shell separation from the frames is too
late, the striking vessel might penetrate it.
No matter how many calculations are
performed, there is no substitute for physical
measurements and practical tests. To
accommodate this, Lindenau has requested
research funding from the German Federal
Ministry of Economic Affairs. The research
project aims at clarifying important aspects of
operational and collision safety.
Operational safety measurements have
already begun on a ship section built
according to the new design concept and
installed on the 44,700 dwt product tanker
Seychelles Patriot.
Seychelles Patriot. One side
section was built with integrated
predetermined breaking points.
(Photo – Lindenau)
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 25

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We are pleased to introduce the
Glosten Ballast Management System
Target Release Date: September 2008
• Software solution for environmental compliance
with ballast management regulations. Designed for
fleet consistency and time savings for crew.
• Easy entry of planned ballast uptake, exchange,
treatment and discharge evolutions by port or tank.
• Immediate compliance feedback based on geographic-
based regulatory database.
• Searchable advisory library of world-wide ballast
management regulations.
• Automated generation of mandatory reports and logs
(e.g. IMO, USCG, Saint Lawrence Seaway, Australia,
California).
• Under Development – Target Release September 2008.
• Contact gbms@glosten.com for more information.
INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
Put to the test. A side section for Seychelles Patriot featuring
perforations. (Photo – Lindenau)
This 189 m long double hull tanker was delivered by the Kiel yard
last February. A three-frame side section of this vessel was built
according to Stehn's design, featuring perforated pre-determined
breaking points. GL is conducting long term measurements on one of
the frames to verify the results of the structural durability calculations
performed thus far.
These measurements were taken using strain gauges attached to the
perforations. These strain gauges consist of plastic strips with etchedon
copper leads. When the material expands, the copper's electrical
resistance will change accordingly. The resistance readings are then
converted into units of tensile force, providing a means to assess the
static and dynamic stresses occurring around the measurement points.
Three perforation holes have been fitted with six strain gauges each.
"Measurements will continue around the clock for an entire year," said
Peter Wania, GL's metrology engineer. "This should provide us with
enough data to answer the question as to whether this design provides
adequate structural durability."
These measurements provide clarity regarding the operational safety
of the design under normal operating loads. "What we cannot do with
these measurements is verify what will happen in a case of collision,"
Tautz conceded.
Therefore, Lindenau will run a series of crash tests, some of which
will involve a scale model of a ship's side, complete with predetermined
breaking points, which will be rammed by a bow-like
element. "We will not be able to substantiate the precise functional
behaviour of our design until we complete the entire research project,"
said Tautz. A three-year window has been assigned for the project.
All parties involved are aware that the new concept will fail in a
worse-case collision scenario, a high speed, right angle impact. "When
a ship collides at a 90 deg angle at high speed, it will cut right through
to the centre of the struck vessel. There is no way to prevent that," said
Stehn. But ships generally heave to when a collision is imminent, so
the impact occurs at an oblique angle. Five to six frames might break
in the process, Stehn estimated, producing an inner-shell dent two to
three metres deep.
The concept of a crumpling zone for tankers may not be ready to be
put into practice immediately. But conceivably, it will shape the way
oil and chemical tankers will be built at Lindenau during the coming
decades. Stehn himself was open to the idea that the patented design
concept of perforated pre-determined breaking points may become an
international requirement at some point in the future.
*This article first appeared in GL’s magazine ‘nonstop’
by whose kind permission this article was reproduced.
TO
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

INDUSTRY - SHIPMANAGEMENT
BSM comes of age
With the ink barely dry on the regrouping programme undertaken by the Bernhard
Schulte Shipmanagement Group (BSM), TANKEROperator spoke with ceo Andreas J
Droussiotis about the coming together of the group’s diverse shipmanagement concerns.
BSM is in the big league and currently
manages a fleet of 648 vessels; 285
fully managed and 363 crew
managed and 44 confirmed until the
end of 2008. Furthermore, the group employs over
17,000 personnel on board and onshore.
Droussiotis explained that the whole
purpose of the merger was to protect the
business and invest in a stronger future. "As
with any unification, the systematisation of
the group is taking time with close cooperation,
and a lot of hard work.
Organisations have used acquisitions to reach
new markets and acquire new customers. We
prefer to expand gradually, keeping all
operations under control", he said.
The decision to merge the various companies
was taken by the group as a whole. The
management teams of each concern considered
this as the best solution for the future.
"Merging a group of companies and diverse
cultures under one banner is a challenge, in
addition to a great opportunity. Situations like
this are never easy to deal with. You suddenly
recognise the need to put in place more
effective standards and policies. In order to
achieve this, effective leadership and
teamwork have to be reached on all levels.
"Both the challenge and the opportunity are
there, and by unifying the group of companies,
Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement plans on
representing just what the power of unity can
Andreas Droussiotis
28
mean in the shipping industry. The result? Being
better for the clients, for the employees and for
the shareholders", Droussiotis said.
Droussiotis explained that the company plans to
manage costs within the integrated group to profit
from opportunities in the shipping industry, while
continuing to provide quality shipmanagement.
"Ultimately, there will be savings; however, we
expect the usage of concentrated power to yield
positive results", he said.
"BSM has a strong management team, with
an established reputation for success. Working
under one banner, the new structure will only
reinforce our efforts to further develop the
opportunities throughout our organisation," he
said talking of the integration of senior
management. New roles have been assumed by
members of the management team, and new
roles were also being made available to cope
with the expansion of the group and the shift in
management roles. "Everyone has taken up
their new roles and they will work fully for the
success of the group", he explained.
All ship management units, which were
previously under the control of the separate
main companies will become fully fledged and
provide all the services to clients directly. Due
to the fleet separation, which was organised for
various reasons, they will report to the group
fleet directors for the different vessels who will
be responsible for their operations.
As a result of the coming together, BSM's
clients' fleet are now managed by strategically
located service delivery centres (SDCs)
around the globe. "These have the specialist
knowledge, the experience, the up-to-date
systems and certifications in place to manage
all types of vessel and fleet currently in
service with maximum efficiency", he said.
He said that from containerships,
conventional bulkers, gravity-fed self-unloading
bulk carriers, through Panamax, post-Panamax,
Handysize, ro-ros, pure car carriers, crude,
chemical, LNG, or LPG tankers, to heavy-lift
vessels, semi-submersibles and FPSOs - the on
board and onshore specialists are highly
experienced in managing vessels and fleets of
every type and age.
Basically, the fleet has been divided into
three categories - dry, tanker, gas/LNG and
each category is managed by a team headed
by a group managing director.
Droussiotis said that the most important
issue for BSM was nothing else but the
continuous training and upgrading of its own
people. The majority of people in BSM's
present training facilities/schools come from
the Philippines, Cyprus, India, and to a lesser
extent, the ex Soviet states.
"Our foundations stand by the principle to
own the agencies we recruit from. We have
the company's policies, philosophy, mentality
and recruiting standards within these agencies,
as well as the training we conduct in these
areas", he explained.
He said that building relationship and
professional networks were just some of the
elements that keep the shipping industry on its
toes. Leadership, collaboration,
communication; these are aspects that are
needed to keep the human factor from
growing stagnant. It is the human factor issues
that are capable of acting as catalysts in
developing technologies, expansion rates, and
so on. "However, with strict follow-up of the
policies, we are able to cope with the
immense problem, as well as with the
unreasonable escalation of wages, which we
try hard to cope with", he said.
As for specialist vessels, Droussiotis said
that over the years, the group has managed a
large number of gas and chemical vessels.
The shipmanagement units are capable of
providing experienced crews for these vessels
from the BSM pool with the guidance and
control of the group managing directors.
"We have a number of our seafarers, both
officers and ratings, who have been with us for
over 10 years; a good number who have been
with us over 15-20 years. Dependable seafarers
are harder to come by today; which is exactly
why we work harder to keep them. We have a
good number of senior officers who started as
ratings with us, meaning we have been satisfied
with their performance and they have been
pleased with us as employers", he said.
As for Hamburg, Droussiotis said that
Bernhard Schulte's role in the group today is like
in the past- that is the role of the shareholders.
There is close co-operation and an information
flow, but the company is not involved in BSM
operations at all, he stressed.
TO
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

INDUSTRY - SHIPMANAGEMENT
must realise
that shipmanagement fees
need to increase otherwise
“Shipowners
the majority of
professional managers will become reluctant
to take on more ships", warned Ole Stene,
InterManager president.
Claiming that shipowners still had to
recognise the valuable role that third party
managers play in today's shipping industry,
Stene complained that owners still "did not
want to pay the fees that managers' deserve
for taking care of their assets"
He added: "I have not seen much
improvement in the management fee structure
since it first started to be debated in the media
and when you see how the shipping market has
improved coupled with the concerns we have on
recruiting and manning and taking care of the
asset value of the ships, we are surprised
owners are not prepared to share their fortune
with us in taking care of their ships."
Despite this reticence on the part of the
owners, Stene claimed it was inevitable that
fees would rise and that owners would start to
realise they have not only to invest in
manning but also in paying for the
management services that they are receiving.
"It is becoming more difficult for
shipowners themselves to recruit the right
shipmanagement resource. In a way it is the
third party managers who control those people
who will be eventually employed as
superintendents ashore. If a shipowner,
particularly the asset players, goes out into the
market to try and hire superintendents or crew
managers, he will find he has a huge problem
attracting the right people," he added.
InterManager has also reiterated its stance
on the continuing detention in South Korea of
the Hebei Spirit's master and chief officer.
"Yet again we see our highly professional
and valued seafarers singled out for appalling
treatment," said Stene. "How can we
encourage young people to take up a career in
shipping when they see experienced and
innocent crew criminalised in this way. Would
30
InterManager speaks
out for a pay rise
One of the major problems facing third party shipmanagement concerns today
is remuneration, especially when basic costs are escalating.
InterManager president Ole Stene.
the airline industry accept this - I think not!"
The 1993-built single hull VLCC was at
anchor waiting for a berth to discharge when
a crane barge broke its tow in stormy
weather and smashed into her side, holing
three cargo tanks.
About 10,500 tonnes of oil spilled into the
sea, causing the country's largest ever oil spill.
Two South Korean tug masters were jailed
for their part in the incident, but the tanker's
two officers, Indian nationals Capt Jasprit
Chawla and Syam Chetan, were cleared of all
charges on 23rd June.
However, they have since been prevented
from leaving South Korea pending a retrial
that is not expected to take place until early
next year. Under South Korean law,
prosecutors have appealed to the country's
high court against the decision by a district
court in the Daejeon area of South Korea that
exonerated the men of blame.
Depending on the outcome of the high court
trial, prosecutors may appeal to South Korea's
Supreme Court, which would result in another
retrial which might not take place until the
middle of next year.
The two men have received support not just
from their employer, V Ships, but also from
other seafarers in messages and telephone calls.
Capt Chawla, who has 17 years of exemplary
seafaring service, said in a recent interview that
he felt he had done nothing wrong and that he
was reluctant to return to sea, fearing that any
future decisions he took at the helm would be
coloured by this experience.
Stene added: "This criminalisation of
seafarers is having a seriously detrimental
effect on recruitment. Seafarers spend many
months away from their families doing an
essential job for global trade. It is horrific to
then confine these men many miles away from
their homes and their loved ones, particularly
when they have already proved they have done
nothing wrong. We are very concerned that this
type of incident is deterring young men from
pursuing a worthwhile career at sea." TO
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

Managing director Stavros
Hatzigrigoris explained that
this initiative was undertaken
to make the company "more
organised" and that it enabled him to "measure
what we are doing".
One of the major topics at present is the
control of the various emissions, such as SOx,
NOx and particulate matter (PM).
Hatzigrigoris thought that logical steps should
be taken to control emissions and said that he
applauded the recent MEPC findings. "It is
wise and workable", he said.
He warned that NOx and CO 2 emissions
problems don't go together as any fuel
consumption increase needed to control NOx
emissions would create more CO 2 . For
example, ballast water exchange would
increase fuel consumption to cope with the
more power needed to run the operation. For a
VLCC, Hatzigrigoris estimated that 800 kW
of extra power would be required to run such
a system.
"We need time to look at everything
including the reduction of CO 2 and NOx.
However, this energy problem is not (only) for
the shipowners, as it needs to be discussed at
IMO level," he said. "We need a safety culture
and an energy culture," he added.
Kristen has listed the initiatives being
undertaken by the company both ashore and
afloat to control energy consumption. For
example, three VLCCs have been fitted with
MAN Diesel electronically-controlled main
engines. These engines have no camshaft but
instead to provide power for fuel injection and
exhaust valve lifting, they use a hydraulic oil
loop with fine filtered oil from the main
engine's lubricating system at about 200
bar pressure.
The loop for heavy fuel oil is maintained as
on mechanically-controlled engines, that is
individual plunger type fuel pumps with
hydraulic activation. Hence, no fuel oil will
enter the precision fast-acting control valves
in the hydraulic oil control loop. This system
enables the adjustment of fuel pump and
exhaust valve timing for optimum economy
and NOx reduction.
Kristen said that this was producing lower
part load fuel consumption, lower emissions
and particularly smoother and better low load
operation. Switching to low emission modes
means that the NOx exhaust emission will be
below the IMO limits, and if desirable below
local emission regulations.
Recognising that prevention is always better
than mitigation, the company said that it opted
for an upstream solution, that is, trying to
reduce the formation of NOx, rather than just
cleaning the exhaust fumes.
To reduce NOx emissions, new sliding type
fuel valves were developed by MAN Diesel,
which have been installed on all of Kristen's
newbuildings since 2003. In addition, seven
out of 19 tankers built prior to this have
been retrofitted.
Slide valves are designed to reduce the fuel
volume remaining in the fuel injection nozzle
when the valve is closed. They are also
equipped with a specially designed injection
nozzle that optimises the distribution of fuel
throughout the combustion process. The aim is
to avoid high temperature peaks and thus
reducing the NOx build up.
INDUSTRY - SHIPMANAGEMENT
A company’s take on
the environment
Athens-based Kristen Navigation, part of the Angelicoussis group of companies, has
established an environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001:2004.
Kristen Navigation currently
has 34 tankers on its books,
plus another 15 on order.
These are -
� VLCCs = 23, plus four
newbuilding.
� Suezmaxes = Five, plus
seven newbuilding.
� Aframaxes = Six, plus four
newbuilding.
� Seven of the VLCCs
currently in service are
bareboat chartered to
ChevronTexaco.
In addition, these valves optimise the fuel's
combustion ensuring a cleaner engine. The
consequential reduction of the HC emissions
and also of PM results in less smoke
formation, Kristen said. Furthermore, the
engine benefits from reduced piston fouling
and exhaust gas boiler fouling resulting in the
exhaust valve duct being in excellent
condition.
The new VLCCs from Daewoo will be
fitted with asymmetric fins to improve
propeller flow and therefore enhance the
propeller's efficiency. Kristen estimated that
fuel savings of up to 4% can be achieved, but
this was to be confirmed following the trials
of the first vessel, which were due to take
place in June.
Energy audit
Energy efficiency is controlled primarily
through careful ship operation and
management. With the view to enhancing its
energy efficiency, Kristen organised an 'energy
audit' on board one of its VLCCs to assess the
energy performance of the vessel and its
major machinery and operational management
practices. Among the main objectives were:-
� Identifying energy saving opportunities and
the assessment of their technical and
economic feasibility.
� Setting up of energy conservation
programmes for existing vessels.
� Developing design considerations aiming
at higher efficiency levels for
newbuildings.
� Establishing 'best practice' for on board
energy management to be implemented by
the crew during their everyday working life
on board.
Another initiative Kristen regularly undertakes
when necessary is propeller polishing. This
has been estimated to increase the propeller's
efficiency by between 2-4% resulting in
significant fuel savings and therefore
emissions. Kristen now carries out propeller
polishing on all its managed VLCCs on a
regular six month cycle as a company policy.
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 33

INDUSTRY - SHIPMANAGEMENT
Kristen regularly uses low sulphur fuel oil
when entering an ECA, or other SOx
controlled areas established by national or
regional legislation. In addition, by regularly
carrying out independent fuel oil analysis, the
company is able to closely monitor the
sulphur content of bunkers lifted to ensure
compliance with the various regulations on
sulphur limits.
All the fleet have been supplied with
refrigerant recovery units to deal with
refrigerant gases. Kristen only uses
hydrochlorofluocarbons (HCFCs) and
hydrofluocarbons (HFCs), which are deemed
to be less harmful to the ozone layer. Their
consumption is closely monitored.
Kristen has also set up a Transport Energy
Efficiency Index expressed as grams per hfo
per tonne/mile and as well as a CO 2 index.
These are monitored regularly for
benchmarking and for identifying instances
where corrective action is needed to improve
environmental performance.
34
TMSA 2 hits the streets
Now that the tanker world
has digested the contents of
TMSA 2, it has become clear
that some of the anomalies
that appeared in the original
version, published in 2004,
have been cleared up.
One of the major changes is that smaller
tankers, including bunker barges, are
now included and the text has been
changed to reflect this, that is the word
'tankers' has been changed to 'vessels.'
It was thought that this omission in the
first version left certain gaps when
TMSA was applied to smaller tanker
operators. ISM expert Dr Phil Anderson
writing in ReportISM said that this move
opened up the TMSA concept to a wider
audience, including those drybulk
operators who have seen the benefits that
can be gained by adopting TMSA as a
whole, or in part.
Some of the key performance
indicators (KPIs) have been re-arranged
into a more logical sequence. The
anomalies in the text have also been
clarified, particularly on how the
programme should be used and
monitored.
Basically, the updated version keeps to
Greek nationals tend to stay with Greek
shipping companies and to help retention,
Kristen is organising a survey among
the officers, which it was hoped would show
the level of satisfaction in working
for the company.
“
”
The company is also one of the partners in
the EU-funded integrated R&D project
Hercules. This initiative was set up to design
cleaner and more energy efficient marine
engines by developing and testing new
technologies to reduce emissions and increase
efficiency and reliability, thereby reducing
fuel consumption, CO 2 emissions and engine
lifecycle costs.
Kristen said that the specific objectives
the same format as its predecessor,
which is aimed at helping tanker
operators measure and improve their
safety management systems, while
encouraging detailed and continued
assessments of safety management.
TMSA 2 also includes references
to all of the latest industry regulations
and practices adopted since the
original version was published four years
ago, ensuring consistency with the new
rules entering force since 2004,
Anderson said.
He also said that the guidance on
achieving the required improvements
under the original version has been
enhanced, as has the ability to react and
build on the experiences and feedback
from OCIMF members, vessel operators
and industry organisations.
Anderson thought that TMSA had
evolved in a major risk assessment tool,
which is used to assess whether a vessel
should be accepted to carry a gas or
oil cargo.
Almost 730 operators now have access
to the TMSA website with global interest
reflecting the tanker ownership. Users
include 107 in Greece, 66 in Japan, 62 in
the US and 49 in Singapore.
were to reduce related NOx emissions by
60% by 2020 and other emissions, such as
PM by 40%. This is to be achieved through a
variety of new developments in
thermodynamics and mechanics of 'extreme
parameter' engines by addressing advanced
combustion concepts, multistage intelligent
turbocharging and 'hot' engines with energy
recovery and compounding. In addition, new
internal emission reduction methods, after
treatment techniques and new sensors are
being developed.
Training initiative
To help cope with the lack of quality
seafarers, Kristen has set up its own training
school, near its office on the main Athens
thoroughfare of Syngrou. Hatzigrigoris
claimed that the company had the largest
number of cadets in the Greek fleet and
explained that the company's policy was to
only employ Greek officers as the vessels fly
the Greek flag.
Kristen's maritime institute has been
certificated by DNV. A Kongsberg
Polaris bridge simulator has been installed
as has a PC version of an engine room
simulator. The company uses its own
instructors to run its courses and refresher
courses and including the building, the
investment in the training centre ran to
about Eur500,000.
Greek nationals tend to stay with Greek
shipping companies and to help retention,
Kristen is organising a survey among the
officers, which it was hoped would show the
level of satisfaction in working for the
company. A Sea Tel satnav has been installed
on the vessels and seafarers are able to send
private e-mails through the company's servers,
Hatzigrigoris explained.
Kristen also manages about 10 tankers
owned by sister company Alpha Tankers,
including three coated and stainless steel coil
fitted LR2s. They have been operating in the
naphtha trades for about 18 months, before
switching to dirty trading.
TO
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

Winner - Sea Trade,
Dubai International
Maritime Awards, 2006 for
“Outstanding Maritime Services”
Finalist - Lloyd's List,
Middle East and Indian
Subcontinent Awards, 2006 for
“Shipping Agent of the Year”

255, MADHAV DARSHAN, WAGHAWADI ROAD, BHAVNAGAR (INDIA)
Phone: 91(278) 2424591/2524407 Fax: 91(278) 2429503 Email: harakhji@gmail.com
Exporters of Marine Machineries and Equipment
Website: www.harakhji.com
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Refrigeration Compressor
Carrier 5H-20
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Exporters of Second Hand Marine Machineries like Main Engines, Generators, Turbo Chargers,
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New are the modules reporting
and analysing plus compliance
management. "Ship operators
and managers have expressed
the need for a more workflow-orientated
software tool in order to overcome the
increasing administrative burdens of
complying with industry requirements and
regulations", commented Heiko Hofmann,
managing director of Ms Logistik Systeme
GmbH (MsLS), the GL Group company,
which put it together.
Based on the results of a focus group
consisting of three of Germany's largest shipping
companies and GL, compliance management
was designed as a best practice solution for
recording, analysing, acting upon and
documenting incidents, as well as occurrences.
The incident management tool is a main
component of compliance management and
facilitates the implementation of a company's
safety and quality management systems. The
module can specify the type of report with
default categories - accident, complaint,
deficiency, hazard, improvement, incident,
near miss, non-conformity and risk.
Given this information, incident
management will delegate and manage tasks
involved in carrying out corrective actions. It
has an action plan, which also includes
preventive action.
The compliance management module
covers all relevant requirements of the ISM
Code, which can be supported by an IT
system, GL claimed. While documentation
management enables easy updating and
dissemination of safety and quality manuals,
certificate management configures crew
profiles for various ship types in compliance
with relevant regulations.
Dynamic
GL ShipManager 2 is dynamic. It is not only
programmed for document management, but
INDUSTRY - SHIPMANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
Class society
offers integrated
software tool
Leading German class society Germanischer Lloyd has released
a second version of its software suite - GL ShipManager.
also for workflow orientation. With
compliance management it doesn't have to be
communicated through an external email
system like Outlook. It has a messaging
function, which is integrated in the mask of
the screen. Furthermore, the messaging
function has a ranking list, so all the persons
involved can be contacted.
The reporting and analysing module is
integrated with all other modules in the
system to collect data on various operational
processes and generate reports. It provides a
tool to analyse, evaluate the efficiency and
optimise costs, as well as processes.
Reporting and analysing offers an array of
standard reports combined with freely
definable reports and the flexibility of ad-hoc
reporting. The user is able to create his, or
her own reports and analyse key figures
on demand.
New license
In order to allow customers to implement
GL ShipManager within their own financial
constraints, MsLS sells GL ShipManager 2
under a new license model. In addition to
purchasing the software licenses, a leasing
option with the same software will be
available. With the upgraded system, the
data handling is claimed to be more
efficient and there is an expansion
of interfaces.
There is an increased efficiency and
security of data transfer, allowing any type of
attachments to be sent quickly and safely. In
addition, there is an increased configurability
of transfer data, which provides a higher
degree of protection.
The enhanced order management has a
function originally designed for a cruise ship
company. Namely, the integration of the
redelivery function as a standard component.
It enables efficient processing of transactions
in which goods or equipment are sent back
from ship to shore, for example, in the case of
incorrect delivery, damaged goods, quality
defect or service.
Each GL ShipManager module can also be
purchased individually. Implemented as a
complete suite, it is an integrated information
system that improves and automates
processes, resulting in a cost saving potential,
a reduction in workload and increased
efficiency, GL claimed.
The system will be continuously upgraded
with another version - 2:1 - due at the end of
this year. Another upgrade is planned for next
year, MsLs' head of marketing Michael
Bauerhaus told TANKEROperator.
Functions, such as a new comprehensive
crew management system, TMSA, ISM risk
management, hull monitoring, risk
management and assessment, shipboard
routing assistance (SRA) and condition based
maintenance will be enhanced, or added.
Bauerhaus explained that GL ShipManager
was originally designed to be a base system to
support all the other systems, which had
tended to become isolated.
The system as a whole aimed to cover all
processes, including GL tools, survey status
and many shipboard functions, including
heavy weather routing, crew functions etc.
The monitoring and certification of many
cargo and ballast tanks can be accomplished
in a short space of time with the minimum of
resources. Compliance documentation can be
speedily accessed. An incident report system
can be used with an integrated
communications system, between ship
and shore.
GL and MsLs will give comprehensive 24/7
support and training and among the companies
that have tested the system and provided
feedback are Hamburg-Sud (HSDG),
Columbus Shipmanagement, MPC and AIDA
Cruises. HSDG made use of the system's crew
management module.
TO
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 37

INDUSTRY - SHIPMANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
38
User friendly system
continuously
enhanced
Leading software developer Ulysses Systems has continued to develop its fully integrated
system - Task Assistant - for both shipboard and shoreside use.
This system is claimed to be very
user friendly as it allows the user
to access the task to be undertaken
and information needed without
scrolling through pages of information, which
might be irrelevant to what was required at
the time.
There are around 50 plus functions
available for each role at present and once the
user has quickly learned how to navigate the
system, the task to be undertaken can be
speedily accessed, Ulysses claimed.
Task orientation is the key differentiation of
Ulysses: Task orientation is an activity based
way to organise information so that it appears
to the user not only when he or she looks for
it, but also more when they are involved in a
task that might need it.
This is extremely important in making the
system user friendly and even more important
in rendering a system that helps seafarers with
their jobs, Ulysses said. People learn when
they are given information, which they did not
know, that is relevant to what they are doing.
“
Structuring a system enabling that relevance
to be achieved is the key to usability and
value of an enterprise software system.
Only those authorised to undertake certain
tasks are allowed access to the relevant pages.
The delegated persons can have access to
either part or the whole system depending on
what the requirements are. Once logged on,
the system will show the user what he or she
has access to and an audit trail can if needed
automatically track the user's actions.
Also Task Assistant pre-emptively provides
the user with relevant information from
various sources within the enterprise that
could be needed for the task at hand. Since the
user may not be aware of information
contained in the system that may be needed
for the execution of a task, the task orientation
presents the user with all relevant information
at the right time in the execution of the task.
Maintenance
One example is maintenance tasks,
maintenance schedules and work to be
Task orientation is the key differentiation
of Ulysses: Task orientation is an activity
based way to organise information so that
it appears to the user not only when he or she
looks for it, but also more when they are
involved in a task that might need it.
”
undertaken can be seen, including specifics
such as sorting by ship by fleet by
machinery including work schedule, spares
orders etc. For a person in an organisation,
such as a fleet manager who gets involved
only when others call him in, a view of this
information can be very different from that
of a chief engineer who is involved with the
same ship every day. Ulysses role task
orientation ensures the right configuration
for the right role.
Ulysses had found that the marine
industry has neither the time nor the budgets
to train officers to use unintuitive software.
Hence the software has been specifically
developed for multi-tasking users with a lot
of logical indexing structure tailored to each
role and task, resulting in the ease of
navigation of the system which is of
prime importance.
Thus the common requirement that
information for a certain user only makes
sense if combined with other relevant
information is fully accounted for. A prime
example is a group purchasing manager who
needs to see spares ordering information in
such a way as to back up his subordinates and
ensure the vessels were supplied in time, as
well as to check whether pricing criteria had
been adhered to.
The problem today is that the number of
qualified seafarers is decreasing while the
number of tasks, which need to be
undertaken on board, is increasing. This
results in more risk assessments, KPIs and
other tasks, which all involve a certain
amount of form filling, including the recently
revised TMSA for tankers. This means that a
lot more information needs to be collected in
forms for the above tasks, and a lot more
relevant knowhow needs to be provided to
users at the time it is needed to ensure
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

quality and co-ordination.
"If you had around 100 vessels in your
fleet, you could be collecting and using
information on 700 forms per day," director
Panteleimon Pantelis said. So organising
this information is clearly a priority. A
maritime system such as Ulysses organises
the information relevant to role, task
and context.
Accident investigation
Accident reports can be compared with the
crewing model enabling the shore staff to see
which seafarers, vessels etc have had the
most accidents and analyse the reasons why
to prevent similar situations occurring again.
The results can be saved as a 'Word'
document, or in an Excel spreadsheet.
Several reports can be compiled using the
stored data, such as a list of injuries,
accidents, non-compliances, records of chart
and publications upkeep, plus seafarers
qualifications and certificates, among others.
For example, seafarers' cargo operation
experience can be recorded and ascertained
using the seafarer audit voyage management
INDUSTRY - SHIPMANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
system, which will give all the relevant details
of his or her records, qualifications and
certificates and even which type of vessels
they had previously served on.
The non-compliance reports are fully
integrated with the other tasks. Ulysses
explained that if they were separated, it
would be extra work to reconcile all
activities relevant to resolving a non
conformance; activities such as maintenance,
purchasing, crew management etc, with the
underlying non-compliance. By using an
integrated system, the lifecycle of a non
compliance can be assembled with all the
related activities to help co-ordinate the
resolution, ensure process control, enable
statistical analysis, etc. Task Assistant blends
these tasks with all other corporate processes
to create what Ulysses believed was a
fundamental improvement in the way a
company benefited from information and
information technology.
"You need to have software that virtually
enables the user to teach him or herself how
to use the system. We tend to train the trainer
and this takes around four hours to cover all
the models available in the system," Pantelis
explained.
As mentioned, the biggest problem today
is the shortage of seafarers. The system can
help as a by-product by keeping a company
well informed of seafarer experience and
thus primed for most eventualities.
The system is continuously being updated
and Ulysses has offices worldwide that can
offer support. The company will tailor-make
the content of a system for a new client and
ship if needed, as it would obviously cause
major problems if a maintenance system
intended for a tanker turns out to be a system
meant for a containership once installed.
The idea is to start the system
configuration from a pre-configured
platform for as many of the tasks as
possible and ensure that the platform is
readily upgraded as situations, rules and
regulations, equipment on board and so
on changes.
Ulysses is used by a number of tanker
operating companies who are finding it more
and more essential to control the quality of
their operations, the company claimed. TO
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The Aframax Eos undertook a
voyage from Amuay Bay to New
York with a cargo of 549,087
barrels of fuel oil under a Shellvoy
5 charter form.
During the voyage, the vessel's heating coils
leaked and an amount of fresh water was
introduced into the fuel oil. The cargo had
reportedly been purchased with a maximum
sediment & water (S&W) of 1%.
The supplier's load port certificate of
analysis showed S&W of 0.7%. However,
upon arrival at New York, the cargo inspectors
found the S&W to be 1.8%.
Following an initial partial discharge and
considerable subsequent testing and retesting,
the charterer ordered the vessel to move from
the berth to the anchorage. The vessel
remained at anchorage for 18 days before reberthing
and completing her discharge.
As a result, the charterer lodged a claim for
$471,435, primarily for blending stock
required to reduce the S&W content to
acceptable limits and related tankage costs.
The owner counter-claimed for demurrage
totalling $1,117,842, including the 18 days
spent at the anchorage.
The charterer contended that it had proved a
prima facie case by establishing that the S&W
was 0.7% on loading and 1.8% on
discharging. Furthermore, the owner did not
dispute that the vessel's heating coils had
leaked fresh water into the cargo and therefore
the ship was unseaworthy at the
commencement of the voyage.
According to the US arbitrator, the owner
contended that the load port analysis of the
cargo used by the charterer was at least
suspect, if not erroneous. Moreover, the
amount of fresh water which could have
entered the cargo through the leaking heating
coils was inconsequential and therefore could
not and did not cause the considerable
increase in S&W content found at New York.
He said that the first issue was whether the
load port analysis used by the charterer as the
basis for its claim fairly represented the
condition of the cargo upon loading. The
cargo was loaded from a massive open pit
identified as open pit 801. Just before the Eos
berthed to load her cargo, a vessel loaded fuel
oil from pit 801 which had an S&W of 1.4%.
The Eos' certificate of analysis was prepared
by the supplier's laboratory and not by an
independent inspection company. The owner
had no involvement with the sampling or
analysis of the cargo from pit 801.
Further, if - as the charterer contended - the
sole cause of the increase in water content
from 0.7% to 1.8% was due to the leaky coils,
then there would have been a commensurate
increase in the volume of the liquid in the
ship's tanks. There was an increase of about
1,704 barrels based on the difference between
ship's ullages at load and discharge ports.
No evidence
However, to support an increase in the volume
based on a difference of 1.1%, there would
have had to be a volumetric increase of about
6,050 barrels. There was no evidence to
support this position, the arbitrator said.
While load port certificates may be prima
facie evidence of the cargo quality as between
buyer and seller of the product (and indeed
this is often 'final and binding'), the quality
certificate does not have the same import as
between a charterer and an owner. The sole
arbitrator, Jack Berg, concluded that, based on
the credible evidence, the cargo on loading
likely had a water content of between 1.4%
and 1.5% and that the leaky coils added about
0.3%. "The overwhelming bulk of the
problem" was the excess water existing in the
cargo at loading, for which the owner was not
responsible. The result was that the charterer's
claim was denied.
The arbitrator then considered the owner's
INDUSTRY - CHARTERING
Charterer’s cargo
contamination case
not proven
The Society of Maritime Arbitrators, New York, has sent a case note on
a recent arbitration award dealing with liability for cargo contamination*.
demurrage and expenses claim of $1,117,842,
of which $324,438 was for loading and
discharging operations and $822,066 for time
spent at the anchorage.
He had no difficulty awarding the former.
With respect to the latter, the charterer argued
that the high water content caused by the
leaky coils made it impossible to discharge the
cargo promptly.
However, the arbitrator found that this
position was not sustained by the evidence.
The terminal would have taken the cargo in at
any time and ultimately did so. Instead, the
arbitrator found that the time spent at the
anchorage had less to do with the cargo's S&
W content than charterer's decision to use the
ship as floating storage in a rapidly rising
market from which it "profited enormously".
The full amount of the owner's claim was
awarded.
Each side also claimed legal expenses in
excess of $600,000. With very little
discussion, the arbitrator awarded the owner,
as the prevailing party, $550,000 as being
reasonable in the circumstances.
(Case - Andorra Services Inc and Chemoil
Corp as charterer - and Venfleet Ltd, as
owner).
The 1993-built 99,440 dwt tanker Eos is
owned by Venfleet, a subsidiary of Venezuelan
oil concern PDV Marina and managed by
Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement. She is
entered with the UK P&I Club and classed by
Bureau Veritas, according to Equasis. TO
*We are indebted to Maritime
Advocate for permission to
reproduce this article and to the sole
arbitrator, Jack Berg, and the
Society of Maritime Arbitrators
based in New York for providing the
case study.
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 41

A more technologically advanced tug was needed in
North Puget Sound. Check out Crowley’s Response.
© Crowley Maritime Corporation, 2008 CROWLEY is a registered trademark of Crowley Maritime Corporation .
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To meet the challenges of oil tanker escort and assist work in the rough waters of North Puget Sound, Crowley created
a tug like no other. We took the basic technology of our Harbor Class tugs and modified it to create a vessel specially
designed for the task at hand: the Response. Its two powerful CAT engines, together with enormous
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knots. Its huge skeg is forward and the cycloidal units are in back, focusing its immense power
where it’s needed most. And its 10" amsteel blue tow line is rated at one million pounds, which
is strong enough to keep even the biggest tankers in place. The bottom line? The Response performs the fastest,
most efficient assists and escorts on North Puget Sound.
There’s one more necessary element: an exceptional crew. Take Ron Rubright. The Response’s chief engineer joined Crowley 26 years
ago, so it’s safe to say he knows his way around a Crowley tug. Rubright also participates in extensive training courses on CAT
engine technology. Plus, he and the rest of the crew take part in rigorous on-board and shoreside training sessions and safety drills.
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Anthony Veder’s innovative hybrid gas carrier - the 7,500 cu m LNG/LEG/LPG carrier
Coral Methane* - is due to enter service in December this year.
She was launched at the Gdansk
shipyard of Remontowa on 7th
May this year and is being built on
an owner/supplier basis.
Anthony Veder's managing director Jan
Valkier explained that the company was in
total control of the shipbuilding process, due
to the Coral Methane's complex design. There
were options attached to the original building
contract but these have expired.
The gas plant and tanks were designed and
developed by TGE Engineering. The
Hamworthy Svanehoj pumps had to be
redesigned to cope with LNG and other
gasses. Rolls-Royce supplied the complete
power and propulsion package, which
includes Bergen Diesel gas/diesel electric
propulsion unit and a twin Azipull propulsion
system for ease of manoeuvrability.
Coral Methane is being built to Bureau
Veritas Ice Class 1B and will fly the Dutch
flag. She has been chartered to Gasnor for 15
years but will used by other operators when
not engaged in Gasnor's LNG trade, which
will be mainly confined to the Norwegian
coast. She has been fitted for ship-to-ship
transfers and will also be able to load at most
European gas receiving terminals, including
the two being built in Rotterdam, acting as a
North European/Norway/Baltic Sea feeder.
Valkier admitted that the Coral Methane
had a larger capacity than currently needed in
Norway, but was convinced the trade will
grow as several Norwegian controlled coastal
vessels, such as ferries and offshore supply
vessels, now use LNG as their main fuel
source.
Anthony Veder technically and
commercially manages 15 LPG/Ethylene
carriers and has another four under purely
commercial management. The company
operates its own commercial pool in which the
other four vessels are included.
Like everywhere else, crewing is a problem
as the seafarers need a gas certificate and gas
experience. The company has a pool of Dutch,
Ukrainian and Indonesian officers and as
salaries have been rising appreciably, Valkier
thought that the incentives were in place to
recruit proper candidates. Gas courses are
available in Rotterdam and training is also
undertaken on board ship.
Anthony Veder operates a cadet programme
where potential seafarers are taken on
annually. Demands have also been put on the
shore staff. For example, the safety and
quality department used to consist of just one
person, but now there are three people
TECHNOLOGY - SHIP DESCRIPTION
Hybrid gas carrier
sets the standard
employed. In general Valkier thought that the
business was more demanding and there were
occasions where the crew was less
experienced than would be preferred resulting
in more supervision being necessary.
Veder favours the Dutch and Liberian flags
and although most of the vessels trade in
European waters, including the Mediterranean
and the Baltic, two vessels have been trading
for Japanese trading houses in Asia since 2000
and another newbuilding will join them
shortly.
Three of the vessels have been built to
Finnish/Swedish Ice Class 1A thus
guaranteeing them winter shipments in the
Northern Baltic, especially Finland.
A few months ago, Veder purchased
Bergesen Gas' Ice Class 1A 6,100 cu m BW
Helen on the back of a charter from YARA to
lift ammonia cargoes.
The ships mainly lift petrochemicals (80%)
and the remaining 20% of the cargoes are
made up of LPG. Other projects could be on
the horizon, including the carriage of CO 2 and
the question of shipping carbon capture
cargoes.
Charterers' vetting procedures tended to be
quite strict and Anthony Veder is also
involved with the TMSA process. About 70%
Once delivered, Coral
Methane will be
chartered to Gasnor
for 15 years.
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 43

TECHNOLOGY - SHIP DESCRIPTION
44
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

of the vessels are on long term contracts, such
as coas. Spot charters are used to optimise
some of the voyages. Normally just one cargo
is carried as Veder prefers to keep each ship
in the same trade for ease of purging,
although they are fitted with a nitrogen
generator for purging purposes.
As for the petrochemical and LPG markets,
Valkier said that they remained good. He
explained that the rates in this more specialist
market tend not to experience the same degree
of extremes as seen in other markets. TO
Wavespec Limited
Consulting Marine Engineers and Naval Architects
Specialists in the design, design
review, plan approval and
construction, commissioning and
survey of LNG Carriers, LPG
Carriers, Oil Tankers, Oil Product
Tankers and Chemical Carriers.
Fullbridge Mill, Fullbridge,
Maldon, Essex, CM9 4LE.
Telephone: ++ 44 (0) 1621 840447
Fax: ++ 44 (0) 1621 840457
General E-Mail inbox@wavespec.com
Web Site: www.wavespec.com
TECHNOLOGY - SHIP DESCRIPTION
*A full ship description of the Coral
Methane will appear in the first
issue of TANKEROperator following
her delivery.
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 45

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TECHNOLOGY - GAS DETECTION
Ensure the equipment is
fit for purpose
Gas detection equipment is required on board all types of ocean going vessels.
The requirement can range from simple enclosed space monitors to
multiple portable instruments and multi-point sampling systems*.
As with any large market, there are
a significant number of
equipment suppliers.
Unfortunately for those on board
the vessels, decisions can be made within
procurement departments that do not take key
factors into consideration; suitability for
required use, spares availability and technical
back-up. This can and does lead to problems
when the equipment does not meet the
requirements for the application and technical
support is required at the next port of call.
Suppliers looking to sell gas detection
equipment to the marine market often view
this sector as like any other. That being the
case, they meet the regulation or requirement
at the lowest cost and the orders will come in.
This often results in equipment that was
designed for another market being reclassified
and offered as a solution to the marine market.
Within Europe, Marine Equipment Directive
(MED) approval is gained and this is the end
of the process - equipment is certified for
marine use, make the sales !!
The intensive cost of the research and
development of a new product is such that it is
natural to look for the greatest return possible
on the investment. A new confined space
monitor, for example, will be designed with
the major land-based opportunities in mind -
these being telecommunications, water
treatment, construction and
petrochemical/refinery applications.
The temptation is to get the same equipment
marine approved and sell into the marine
market. This is perfectly acceptable when
being used as a confined space monitor on
board, as these are numerous such as hold
spaces, void spaces and cargo handling
spaces. Dangerous situations can arise,
however, when these units are adapted slightly
and sold as gas measuring instruments suitable
for specialist applications, such as the
monitoring of inerted cargo tanks.
Once the European Marine Equipment Directive approval is gained, that tends to be the
end of the matter.
An instrument being used for monitoring
during inerting operations is required by the
International Convention for the Safety of Life
at Sea (SOLAS) Chapter II-2 Reg.16 3.2.1 to
monitor hydrocarbon vapour concentration in
the cargo tank to less than 2% by volume. As
a confined space monitor is designed for
safety monitoring, it typically will not have a
suitable resolution or accuracy required to
monitor at low percentage volume levels; the
key measurement with these instruments is
LFL (Lower Flammable Limit) or LEL as it is
categorised in land-based applications.
Similarly, ISGOTT 3.2.2 demands that no
static hazard is introduced to a tank when
sampling to monitor gas levels. Specialist
marine equipment manufacturers understand
this requirement and will provide sample line
that is conductive, thus eliminating a possible
source of ignition. Equipment suppliers
without knowledge of the marine market will
supply adapted confined space monitors with
standard sample line; typical markets on land
do not require conductive sample line,
meaning it is not readily available.
Spares critical
Another feature of the marine market that is
often overlooked is the availability of spares
and technical support when needed. It is
straightforward when selling to land based
industries to be able to guarantee spares
availability and technical support. After all,
the end users will be in the same time zone, if
not the same country as the sales office. The
marine market requires such availability on all
of the main shipping routes.
Port authorities and coast guards require
that gas detection equipment is operational
and within calibration. Failure to satisfy these
checks can mean that a vessel will not be able
to dock in port or leave the port. This can be
extremely costly if the cargo has been sold on
the spot market and is required on a tight
shipping schedule thousands of miles away.
It is worth checking with your intended
supplier of gas detection equipment that they
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 47

TECHNOLOGY - GAS DETECTION
have the necessary infrastructure in place to
support the equipment. The basics of this
infrastructure should be authorised repair
centres in place on the majority of vessel
trading routes. It is important to confirm that
the repair centres are authorised as this will
mean they have a direct line of supply to the
original equipment manufacturer for
availability of spares and are regularly checked
for quality of work. When required, the repair
centres will have qualified technicians available
to come on board and assess any problems;
repair and putting systems back into
commission where required. The key issue is
that there will be a stock of key spares
available, removing the need for the crew of
shipmanagers to chase around looking for a
solution to what should be readily available.
Having a network of authorised repair centres
will provide additional benefits. These can be
significant such as a no-hassle warranty
exchange programme, equipment swap-out and
centralised invoicing, if required.
As with any instrumentation, gas detection
equipment can fail due to a number of
conditions. Knowing that such a failure will
be serviced or replaced at the next port of call
48
without delay is reassuring. The validity of the
warranty claim can be assessed later; the most
important aspect is not to delay the vessel.
A direct link and common policy between
authorised repair centres and the equipment
manufacturer increases the flexibility of
service. When gas detection equipment
requires a non-standard repair it is often
possible for the repair centre to supply a
temporary loan instrument that can be
swapped out at the next port of call with the
repaired instrument. This prevents any
problems with the vessel not having sufficient
operational units on-board while retaining the
familiarity of equipment usage by the crew.
Advanced payment
When a new customer looks to purchase parts
or a service, the terms can often be payment in
advance. This can be impossible to arrange for a
vessel visiting port one day and leaving the
next. Using an equipment manufacturer with
worldwide service centres means that invoicing
can all be passed through a centralised account.
Again, this serves to provide the vessel with the
required service without delay.
As has been explained, a procurement
Introducing the new range of Gas
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VISIT
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e-mail: marine@gmiuk.com web: www.gmiuk.com
department will often select gas detection
equipment primarily based on price. It is
possible that this equipment can mean that the
crew of the vessel will attempt to use it for
applications that it was not designed for. In
fact, it can introduce a dangerous situation
that would not arise if using equipment
designed specifically for specialist marine use.
Examples of such are lack of resolution and
accuracy for gas measurement in inerted tanks
or the introduction of a static hazard within a
cargo tank. Also, an often ignored factor is the
support required to keep equipment operational.
The support of authorised repair centres in ports
where they are required with available
technicians, spares and technical support can
outweigh the initial cost savings at purchase.
The motto of the story is that if you decide
to purchase gas detection equipment based on
selling price alone; be prepared to hear back
from the crew regarding excessive costs
relating to delays or being held in port. TO
*This article was written by David
McLafferty, formerly marketing
manager, Gas Measurement
Instruments Limited (GMI).
GMI can provide a complete
Gas Detection package:
Portable Instruments
Fixed Systems
- Gas Sampling Systems
- Addressable Detection Systems
Ballast Tank Monitoring
Pump Room Monitoring
Confined Space Monitoring
Void Space Monitoring
Inert Gas Monitoring
Accommodation Monitoring
for
for
OIL TANKERS
CHEMICAL TANKERS
LIQUIFIED GAS CARRIERS
BULK CARGO CARRIERS
REFRIGERATED CARGOES
GMI Head Office:
Inchinnan Business Park,
Renfrew, PA4 9RG
Scotland, U.K.
Tel: +44 (0) 141-812 3211
Fax: +44 (0) 141-812 7820
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

With a two-year lifespan and
guaranteed to be repair-free
during that time, the new
Draeger X-am 1700 is one of
a new generation of one-to-four gas detectors
specifically designed for personal monitoring
applications.
The new gas detector is claimed to be ideal
for use where explosive gases and vapours as
well as O 2 , CO and H 2 S may pose a threat
to health.
No larger than a mobile phone, this
lightweight, ergonomically designed
instrument is easy to use and features the
latest miniaturised XXS generation of
powerful electrochemical DraegerSensors.
For improved safety when facing unknown
hazards, the catalytic Ex sensor, calibrated to
methane, responds quickly to explosive gases.
Offering a high level of sensitivity to
combustible organic vapours it also ensures
dependable warnings in the event of explosive
hazards, Draeger said.
With a practical two-button control panel
and straightforward menu guidance system,
the X-am 1700 benefits from a large liquid
crystal display which provides all readings
at a glance. Fitted with a crocodile clip for
secure attachment to clothing, it also
incorporates gas inlets on both the top and
front to ensure that, even if it is accidentally
placed in a jacket pocket, it will still
provide a reliable warning against
gas hazards.
In alarm situations, the X-am 1700 provides
three different types of warning. These are an
audible multi-tone alarm, a visual 180 deg
alarm and a built-in vibrational alarm.
Dust and water-resistant to IP67, this
rugged instrument remains fully functional
and ready for use even after being dropped in
water. The integrated rubber protection and
shockproof sensors provide additional
TECHNOLOGY - GAS DETECTION
Two hand held gas
detectors launched
Leading gas detector
manufacturer and supplier
Draeger has introduced two
new products.
The pocket gas detectors are ideal for potentially hazardous areas, such as machinery spaces.
resistance to impact and vibration and the unit
is also able to withstand electromagnetic
interference, Draeger claimed.
The X-am 1700 can be used with either the
standard alkaline or optional NINH batteries.
In addition it can be fitted with a T4 battery
which can be recharged in the workshop or in
a vehicle, while still inside the instrument.
Equipped with a data logger as standard,
the unit allows data such as alarms, errors
and the results of function tests to be
transmitted via infrared interface to a PC.
The data can then be analysed using the
DraegerGas Vision software. A variety of
options are also available.
Meanwhile, the new Draeger X-am gas
detection instrument provides accurate,
reliable measurement of one to five gases.
Lightweight and as small as a mobile phone, it
is completely maintenance free and ensures
fast, reliable monitoring of ambient air.
Rugged in design and easy to use, this
innovative, ATEX approved to zone 0
instrument also offers extremely low
operational costs.
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 49

TECHNOLOGY - GAS DETECTION
Incorporating the latest miniaturised XXS
generation of high performance sensors, the
X-am 5000 can be fitted with up to four
sensors to detect as many as five gases at
once. For example, by using a catalytic Exsensor
together with two electrochemical
sensors and a combination, double sensor for
CO and H2S, it will provide simultaneous
measurement of explosive gases and vapours
as well as O 2 and other toxic gases.
50
As well as a wide range of sensors to
protect against CO, H2S, CO2, Cl2, HCN,
NH3, NO2, PH3 and SO2, Draeger oxygen
sensors offer a five-year expected lifetime,
and the catalytic Ex sensor, calibrated to
methane, offers exceptional longevity, the
company said.
Providing improved safety when facing
unknown hazards, this Ex sensor responds
quickly to explosive gases (additional
Inert gas generator from Coldharbour
UK based Coldharbour Marine, a
division of Transvac Systems
has added a new type of inert
gas generator (IGG) to its
existing range of products.
The new, patented third generation IGG
system (3gIGG) is claimed to reduce the
risk of explosions in cargo tanks and for
other applications, such as ballast water
treatment.
Howard Towers, Coldharbour marine
director said; "Our new third generation Sea
Guardian IGG represents the result of
several years intense research and
development effort by the team here in the
UK, and that in turn was based on our
combined in-house experience of more than
50 years in this important sector."
The new technology incorporates several
significant advances over traditional IGG
systems, in both burner and quench
scrubber design, resulting in a safer, cleaner,
lower maintenance, simpler to operate unit,
the company said.
It is fitted with a specially developed
Venturi type burner, using axial flow staged
fuel and low NOx atomisation and has been
developed from the power generation
sector, where the basic technology has a
well established history of stable, reliable
operation over long periods.
Coldharbour said that the patented
quench scrubber design is a particular
highlight of the system, offering an end to
Venturi/scrubbing towers, spray nozzles and
demister pads.
As a result, the units are more compact
than earlier technologies and this will
facilitate the retrofit market, as well as
newbuildings in the future.
calibrations are available) and offers a
high level of sensitivity to combustible
organic vapours. As a result, it ensures
dependable warnings in the event of
explosive hazards.
A variety of options are also available such
as an external pump with flexible hose for use
in pre-entry/confined space measurement
applications and the Draeger E-Cal automatic
test and calibration station.
Howard Towers.
Long term reliability and benchmark
performance testing was completed in late
2007 and the units are currently in the final
stages of receiving appropriate approvals
and certification.
Towers continued; "Our aims were to
design and build the best IGG for the
current and all foreseeable future market
requirements, capable of operating at 0.5%
or lower residual O2 levels while
maintaining zero soot output. We also
wanted to address the typical operating and
maintenance issues associated with the
earlier IGG technologies."
Coldharbour Marine is looking to expand
its distribution network for the technology
worldwide. It has already received
indications of interest from Europe, the US
and Japan and expects to deliver the first
customer units in 2009. �
TO
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

FOUR IN A SERIES on operating chemical tankers more profitably
Clean
Quick Turnaround in Port Starts with Fast Cleaning
MarineLine ® coating squeezes more profi t
from chemical tankers by ensuring quick
cleaning, leading to faster port turnaround and
more service hours on the high seas.
Often, tank cargos will change between
voyages, so effective tank cleaning is essential.
MarineLine ® coating maintains a very slick
and hard surface, i.e. an Ra 0.7 rating (very
smooth) vs. Ra 1.8 for Phenol Epoxy. So, the
steps of tank washdown, cleaning, drying and
desorption move along quickly, with superior
tank cleanliness as the ultimate result.
The cross-linked polymer structure of
MarineLine ® also ensures superior resistance
for thousands of chemical cargoes as well as
food grades and edible oils, when compared
to the limited service and extended cleaning
requirements for stainless steel or other coatings.
MarineLine ® is the best choice for clean,
profi table tanks!
MarineLine ® tanks are easily washed and cleaned so they can
be quickly readied for the next chemical cargo.
Advanced Polymer Coatings, Ltd.
Avon, Ohio 44011 U.S.A.
+01 440-937-6218 Phone
+01 440-937-5046 Fax
www.adv-polymer.com

TECHNOLOGY - CHEMICAL TANKER DISCHARGE
52
Discharge
requirements should
be simplified
Achemical tanker is a type of
vessel designed to transport
chemicals in bulk. Ocean-going
chemical tankers generally range
from 5,000 dwt to 40,000 dwt in size, which
is considerably smaller than the average sizes
of other oil tankers. Chemical tankers
normally have a series of separate cargo tanks,
which are either coated with specialised
coatings such as phenolic epoxy or zinc paint,
or constructed from stainless steel.
Tank cleaning after discharging cargo is a
very important aspect of chemical tanker
operations, as tanks which are not properly
cleaned of all cargo residues can adversely
affect the purity of the next cargo loaded.
Hence they are fitted with very efficient tank
cleaning system.
Since the design requirement of chemical
tankers is more stringent than oil tankers, they
are capable of carrying oil cargoes with some
modification. Most shipowners ensure that
their chemical tankers are certified to carry oil
and chemical cargoes.
The freight earned when lifting clean
petroleum products (CPP) is low compared
with chemicals, hence a shipowner will only
carry oil when a chemical cargo is not
available.
This happens on average once per year.
Another Annex 1 cargo is lubricating oil.
The carriage of lubricating oil requires a
Should discharge criteria of Annex II cargoes be applied to
carriage of Annex 1 cargoes in chemical tankers?*
CPP
Source:
250000000
200000000
150000000
100000000
50000000
higher degree of cleanliness and care of cargo,
thus chemical tankers are the natural choice.
Their freight is comparable to that of
chemicals. Hence lubricating oil is carried
exclusively on chemical tankers.
Broadly we can divide Annex 1 (oil
cargoes) carried in a chemical tanker into
three categories -.
1) Non-persistent clean petroleum products
like Mo gas, Kerosene and Naphtha. They
are volatile hence will tend to evaporate in
few hours. They are moderately toxic to
the marine environment. However, they are
more volatile then chemicals like Xylene
and Toluene. When compared to
Acrilonitrile, or Benzene they are certainly
less harmful to human health and the
marine environment.
2) Diesel and light grade lubricating oil (SN
150, SN 600). They are moderately
viscous. However, their viscosity is less
than 50 MPa.S at 20 deg C and they may
Need anchors and chains?
Meet us at SMM 2008
Hall A1, stand number 122
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Year
1000000
900000
800000
700000
600000
500000
400000
300000
200000
100000
www.wortelboer.nl
0
Lub Oil
CPP
Lub oil
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

take up to 12 to 24 hours to evaporate. As
far as their adverse effect on environment
and on human health is concerned they are
certainly less harmful than most of the pure
chemicals.
3) Base oil, such as SN 2500. This is
persistent oil. If spilled in
large quantity, it can have
similar of heavy grade fuel
oil. However, it is less
persistent than many of
highly viscous category Y
chemicals.
If we compare the properties of
some chemical and oil cargoes
we will see that tone for tone
adverse effect of Annex 1
cargoes carried in a chemical
tanker is several times less than
oil cargo. But the moment a
shipowner loads CPP or
lubricating oil, he has to
comply with following
requirements.
1) Instantaneous rate of
discharge should be less than
30 litres per nautical mile.
2) Vessel should be more than
50 miles off nearest land.
3) Tanker should be en route.
4) Tanker shouldn't be in a
special area.
5) Discharge should be through
overboard line.
6) Operational ODCMS.
7) Total quantity of oil
discharged should be less
than 1/30,000.
While complying with first six
conditions is easy, compliance
with the 7th condition poses an
extra burden. The operator has
to keep the slops on board.
Since most of the chemical
loading terminals do not have
shore reception facilities, the
operator has to arrange for a
barge for slop disposal. The
total quantity of wash water
after settling and discharging as
per MARPOL will be too little
to justify the use of barge.
If a vessel is trading in
special area, there is another
problem of huge quantity of
wash water, as most of small
chemical tankers do not have
inert gas fitted on board. The
layout of piping and pump
system is not suitable for
TECHNOLOGY - CHEMICAL TANKER DISCHARGE
reusing wash water. Hence, they cannot use
recycled wash water. Since copious amount of
water is needed for cleaning to chemical
standard, a large quantity of tank washing
builds up. Either he has to keep the slop on
board, which means short loading of the next
cargo, or else arrange for a big barge which
may be very costly, or may not be available.
Now let us compare the discharge criteria of
Annex 1 with Annex II cargoes as per
MARPOL for category Y for a vessel built
before 1st January, 2007.
1) The total residue in the tank
should be 150 litres.
2) Vessel should be en route.
3) Vessel should be 12 miles off nearest land
in a water depth of more than 25 m.
4) Discharge is made below water line.
Now take an example of a chemical tanker
with 20 tanks and a deadweight 15,000 dwt.
After discharge of the Cat Y chemical, the
total quantity of chemical discharged will be
20 x 100 = 2,000 litres or 2 cu m.
In the case of Annex 1 oil cargo, the total
quantity allowed will be 15,000/30,000 =
0.5 cu m.
Seut Industrier as Mosssev. 63/65 - 1615 Fredrikstad, pb.352, 1601 Fredrikstad
Tlf: 69 36 87 70 - Fax: 69 36 87 71, E-mail: torbjorn@seut.no, www.seut.no
The SUET valve placed in
Drain/Outlet Pipes from
tanks/reservoirs prohibit any
accidental discharges of
toxic/forbidden chemicals to the
environment. With a seal in the
top Bolt/Nuts it will convince the
Environmental Authorities and
the Insurance Co. that it will be
fool proof regarding wrongful
opening of the valve.
Seut blind flange valves
A product based on quality, efficiency, simplicity.
Easy to operate and reliable in use. Suitable for:
Ships � Rigs and platforms � Refineries � Terminals
Chemical and petrochemical industries
As shown in the drawing the
valves establish a "double
barrier" closing. Make the valve
able to bind off lines with all
known liquids and gases.
Also in the matter of bleeding
and take out samples of the
pipeline you can use the valve
together with pressure and
volume measures.
This valve can be delivered in
Carbon steel, ST.52.3, in
stainless: AISI 317L and in
Duplex material.
Wherever you require security when blinding:
Liquids � Oils � Solvents � Chemicals �
Gasses � Steam and water
Approved by: DET NORSKE VERITAS - NUREAU VERITAS - LLOYD'S REGISTER OF SHIPPING
- U.S. COAST GUARD - AMERICAN BUREAU OF SHIPPING - RINA ITALY -
GERMANISCHER LLOYD - USSR REGISTER OF SHIPPING
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 53

TECHNOLOGY - CHEMICAL TANKER DISCHARGE
If we compare the property and effect of
CPP and lubricating oils with some of the Cat
Y chemicals, we find that larger quantity of
harmful chemicals are allowed to be
discharged compared to less harmful Annex 1
cargoes.
When we compare the total quantity of
chemicals transported with the total quantity
of CPP, we find that total CPP carried in any
year is 20 times more than chemical cargoes.
Furthermore, the average size of product
tankers is 50,000 dwt or more, while the
average size of parcel chemical tankers is
12,000 to 20,000 dwt.
The larger size and greater number of oil
tankers mean in real terms that they will
discharge much larger quantities of oil
residue, which calls for very strict measures.
While due to the small size and relatively
small number of chemical tankers, the sum
of all the cargo discharged will be much less
than the total sum of oil residue discharged
at sea. If we compare the total CPP imported
in the US with the total lubricating oil
imported, we find that on average the total
CPP imported is 170 mill tonnes compared
to only 610,000 tonnes of lubricating oil.
(See graph).
Now take the case of CPP and lubricating oil
carried in a chemical tanker. The total quantity
of Annex 1 cargo carried is not more than 20%
of the total cargo in a year. Hence the total oil
discharged at sea will be a fraction of similar
chemicals discharged at sea.
If the discharge criteria of Annex II
cargoes, is applied to Annex 1 cargoes
carried in modified chemical tankers it will
be of great relief to chemical tanker owners
in the present day scenario of spiraling
expenses.
1) Instantaneous rate of discharge should be
less than 30 litres per nautical mile.
54
Forecast seaborne trade of liquid chemicals
(1982-2007, mill tons)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1985 1990 1995 2000 2003 2007
2) Vessel should be more than 50 miles off
nearest land.
3) Tanker should be en route.
4) Discharge should be through overboard
line.
5) Operational ODCMS.
6) The total residue in the tank should be less
than 150 litres after discharging.
7) Vessel should be in water having a depth
of more than 25 m.
8) Total carrying capacity of tanker should
not be more than 20,000 dwt.
9) She should not be used exclusively for
carrying Annex 1 cargoes.
If it is not possible to extend all the criteria for
discharge of Annex II, at least the parcel
chemical tankers of less then 20,000 dwt
should be exempt from "total discharge should
be less than 1/30000" requirement of the
discharge criteria.
TO
Organics Inorganics Triacylglycerols Others
*This article was written by Capt D
Kishore who graduated from TS
Rajendra in 1979. He joined
Shipping Corporation of India as a
deck cadet. Subsequently, he has
served in most types of vessels. He
joined Executive Shipmanagement,
Singapore in 2001 as master on a
chemical tanker and later joined
Samundra Institute of Maritime
Studies (SIMS) in 2004 as a faculty.
At SIMS he is lecturing in tanker
(oil & chemical) subjects, plus BTM
and other safety courses.
Speed claims...fact or friction?
The CASPER ® Service provides technical managers with the information they need to
sustain highest propulsion efficiency in a changing technology environment for drydock
treatment, planned maintenance and performance monitoring systems.
www.propulsiondynamics.com
Hull Performance Monitoring � Fuel Conservation � Emissions Reduction
©2008 Propulsion Dynamics, Inc. All rights reserved.
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

Enraf Holding consisted of six
groups, which at the time of
writing are being merged into the
Honeywell range of services, a
task which is almost complete. Of specific
interest to the marine sector is Enraf Marine
Systems, which is now part of Honeywell
Marine Solutions, while its land-based
division - Enraf Tanksystems becomes
Honeywell Tanksystems.
Philippe Despagne, managing director of
Honeywell Marine Solutions told
TANKEROperator that the buyout gave the
former company a greater advantage
worldwide, especially in the service sector as
Honeywell was a well established name with
operations around the globe.
Of particular advantage to the shipping
sector is Honeywell’s presence in South
Korea, Japan, China and the Middle East. The
company also has a large research and
development capability. Enraf being a small to
medium size concern did not have all the
advantages that can come by using economies
of scale, he said.
Another advantage is that by having the
entire marine portfolio in one division, a 'one
stop shop' service can be offered, involving
integrated systems. Honeywell has already
gained experience by installing integrated
systems (IAS) on LNG carriers building in
South Korean yards. Despagne claimed that
the division already had 60% of the LNGC
market and it is already installing a similar
TECHNOLOGY - TANK GAUGING
Honeywell builds on
Enraf purchase
It is just over a year since Honeywell agreed to buy Enraf Holding,
a division of the privately held Dutch company - Enraf Instruments.
BRUNVOLL – the single source
supplier of thruster systems
Refined and proven concepts
teamed up with supreme
technical solutions ensures
low life cycle costs
BRUNVOLL – manufacturer of
• Tunnel Thrusters
• Azimuth Thrusters
• Low-Noise Thrusters
• Thruster Control Systems
integrated system on board a large crude
carrier having developed the software.
Products include tank gauging, portable
level gauging, fire detection systems,
automated integration systems, portable
devices for gas detection in ballast tanks and a
portable topping off device. Retrofitting
wireless technology on vessels' bridges and
also newbuilding installations is another area
of potential for the company. With 15% of the
world's tanker fleet over 20-25 years of age,
the retrofit market was seen as being very
much "alive and kicking".
Based on the experience of work in
refineries, Honeywell is also introducing the
concept of front end engineering demand
(FEED) to both shipowners and shipyards.
TRUSTED WORLD WIDE
Another successful story...
The offshore construction vessel «Boa
DeepC» – equipped with Brunvoll lownoise
tunnel- and retractable thruster
units. Built by Factorias Vulcano S.A., for
owner Boa Offshore AS.
telephone + 47 71 21 96 00
fax + 47 71 21 96 90
e-mail: office@brunvoll.no
www.brunvoll.no
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 55

closed gauging
International trade fair
Hamburg
Meet us at SMM 2008
Stand no. 60, Hall A1
The HERMetic
UTImeter Gtex is a
portable electronic
level gauge for closed
gas tight operation
resulting in increased
safety and efficiency.
The unit is used for custody transfer,
inventory control measurement and
free water detection on marine vessels.
Connected to a HERMetic vapour control
valve, the UTImeter Gtex avoids
any gas release during operation and
enables 3, optionally 4 measurements
in one single operation, Ullage,
Temperature, Oil-water interface level
and Innage. By increasing safety and
efficiency, Honeywell Enraf Tanksystem
helps customers improve business
performance.
For more information visit our website
www.tanksystem.com or call +41 26 919 15 00
© 2008 Honeywell International, Inc. All rights reserved
TECHNOLOGY - TANK GAUGING
“ With 15% of the world’s tanker
fleet over 20-25 years of age,
the retrofit market was seen
as being very much
“alive and kicking”.
”
Training is another important aspect, involving both Honeywell
employees and seafarers on board vessels. Last year, the company
introduced a planned maintenance scheme for its systems whereby the
crew could be trained to the first level of maintenance, thus allowing
the service engineer to gain as much information as possible before
coming on board and starting a repair or maintenance project.
Despagne claimed that Honeywell was No 1 in the portable level
gauging market with a 60% share and one major competitor and
around 25% of the fixed tank gauging market with three main
competitors, coming in at No 2. Honeywell also boasted the No 1
position in LNGC IAS with 75% of the market. For example, Teekay
has ordered an IAS for one of its newbuildings in South Korea. Over
900 tankers have been fitted with tank radars thus far.
He explained that even an 8,000 dwt to 15,000 dwt chemical tanker
still had around 14 tanks plus a slop tank to take into consideration.
He also said that the systems needed to be made to suit the product as
for example, the same crude oil gauging system would not work in a
tank full of vegoils.
As mentioned, the service side of the business is becoming of
increasing importance and the company thought that today is was
essential for shipbuilders and owners to look for a powerful network
of service stations to provide a seamless and timely service concept.
To market this concept, Honeywell is active in 195 countries and
boasts a short response time with spares shipped within 24 hours of
a request.
For the future, wireless technology is seen as the way forward. In
addition, Honeywell is working on the ballast tank gas detection
technology with enhanced safety systems built in and a portable
topping off device to measure the level of ullage at the top of a tank.
Taking advantage of the lead in IAS technology is another area to
be exploited and the further development of the 'one stop shopping'
policy for both yards and owners resulting in the supply of entire
integrated systems, plus the FEED concept
Today, under the corporate banner of Honeywell International, the
Automation and Control Solutions division under ceo Roger Fradin
consists of Honeywell Marine Solutions, which in turn controls
Honeywell Enraf Tanksystems, Honeywell Enraf Terminal
Automation, Honeywell Enraf Fluid Technology, Honeywell Enraf
Calbron Solutions and Honeywell Enraf Contec.
Honeywell Marine Solutions France is responsible for all tank level
measurement and control activities and last year recorded $29 mill in
revenue; Tanksystems is based in Switzerland and markets the
portable tank level gauging systems and last year posted revenue of
$20 mill; Norway is the home of ELTEK fire detection and fighting
systems with a 2007 revenue of $6 mill; the LNG IAS division is
based in South Korea and recorded revenues of $30 mill last year and
finally US-based BW offers portable gas detection equipment and
boasted a revenue of $5 mill for 2007.
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008
TO

TECHNOLOGY - TANK CLEANING
The Science of Cargo
Tank Cleaning
If you ask any commercial or operational management company of a chemical
or petroleum product tanker, they will probably say that tank cleaning
is the Achilles Heel of the entire operation*
Certainly it is the rate determining
step and very often it is the main
reason why a vessel may or may
not load its nominated cargo.
But contrary to what you may hear, tank
cleaning is not difficult; it is sometimes
confusing and very often frustrating, but there
is always a reason why something has
happened and identifying this reason will very
often resolve a problem. The importance of
experience can of course never be underestimated,
but as a great deal of experience has
already retired, or is in the process of retiring, it
has to be said that experience is not critical.
It is actually noticeable that the days of the
little 'black book' containing tank cleaning
secrets are clearly becoming numbered, not
just because the number of individuals with
the experience is decreasing but also because
many of the most effective tank cleaning
secrets are pre-MARPOL regulations and
based on using tank cleaning materials that are
now prohibited.
The use and availability of tank cleaning
materials today is far more strictly controlled
in terms of marine pollution, but as a direct
consequence, the potency of many of tank
cleaning materials has diminished, which does
have an impact on the tank cleaning.
Safety is also a far more significant concern
and the tendency is to only use tank cleaning
materials that are non hazardous, non toxic
and non flammable. This too also affects the
efficiency of the tank cleaning materials and
does have a bearing on the tank cleaning,
particularly when coated cargo tank surfaces
are involved.
When one considers that most tank cleaning
materials are detergent based and detergents
contain surface active ingredients, it is clear
that the primary role of such products is to
'clean the surface of the cargo tanks'. If the
cargo tanks are lined/plated/clad with stainless
steel, these products are completely
satisfactory, but if the cargo tanks are lined
with organic or inorganic based paints that
allow previous cargo residues to become
A large cargo tank with a deepwell pump, drop line and a cleaning machine.
trapped inside the matrix of the coating, surface
active cleaning materials are largely ineffective.
This is mainly common sense, but knowing
and understanding this is sometimes difficult
to comprehend when there are apparently no
other solutions available.
What is tank cleaning?
All tank cleaning procedures are a logical
sequence of events that will ultimately lead to
the objective of loading the next nominated
cargo. The precise nature of the cleaning
process is specifically determined by the
chemical and physical properties of the cargo
being cleaned from, the type of lining inside
the cargo tanks, the size and dimension of the
cargo tanks and the pre-loading specifications
of the next nominated cargo.
The key to any successful cleaning
operation is very simply knowing how far to
clean and determining whether each step of
the cleaning has been effective.
In practice most tank cleaning procedures are
very similar, because there are not that many
different variables available to the vessels:
i) Fixed tank cleaning machines or portables
(or both).
ii) Water or solvent for the pre-wash?
iii) Reaction of the previous cargo(s) with the
cargo tank coating.
iv) Cold water or hot water?
v) Tank cleaning materials or not?
Determining the correct plan is essential, but
this can usually be gained from the many and
varied tank cleaning guides available on the
market. Of far greater significance and
importance is the monitoring of each step of
the plan, in order to make sure that it has
actually been carried out.
Tank cleaning guides are useful but they can
also be extremely misleading for the simple
reason that inexperienced operators will tend to
use the guides as a definitive method for any
particular tank cleaning. This is a mistake which
can and does cause problems.
Still today in legal disputes on whether a
vessel is deemed to have cleaned (or not as
the case may be) with "due diligence" in the
preparation of the cargo tanks prior to loading
the nominated cargo, legal reference is drawn
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 57

TECHNOLOGY - TANK CLEANING
as to whether the vessel cleaned within the guidelines stipulated in one
or two of the most commonly used and published tank cleaning guides.
One has to ask the question, "how can the outcome of a legal case be
influenced on a ‘guideline’?" By definition, this is an indicator and not a
definitive procedure? The answer to this question is quite simply that
there is no other indicator, apart from experience, which is almost
impossible to quantify.
In the same breath, many chemical cargoes are now only loaded if a
wall wash inspection is found to be within a set of pre-determined
specifications. Achieving a wall wash standard (particularly in a coated
cargo tank) is extremely challenging and requires extensive tank
cleaning. If a vessel fails to meet the required specifications, it implies
that the vessel is still dirty, yet in many cases this is just not true.
Wall wash specifications are very often set to the same levels of
magnitude as the export specification of the cargo being loaded. For
example:
i) Zero hydrocarbons in the wall wash and zero hydrocarbons in the
final loaded cargo.
ii) 0.5 ppm inorganic chloride in the wall wash and 0.5 ppm inorganic
chloride in the final loaded cargo.
In some cases, the wall wash specifications are actually stricter than the
export specifications of the cargo being loaded.
But we are now moving beyond a tank cleaning issue. How can a cargo
tank be rejected because an independent load port inspector finds a wall
wash sample does not meet a set of pre-determined specifications?
Specifications that actually apply to all cargo tanks of all vessels,
irrespective of vessel type, volume, shape, coating type and so on.
The wall wash test by definition is random and the sampling technique
(which can only be carried out on accessible areas of the cargo tanks which
are furthermore only representative of between 10 and 15% of the internal
surface area of the cargo tank) is impossible to standardise.
Yet the sample is analysed to the highest levels of analytical precision
in the cargo supplier's laboratories and it is these results that ultimately
determine whether a vessel is clean or not and of course whether the
nominated cargo can be loaded.
This goes against all the laws of science, which suggest that the
validity of any analytical procedure is directly governed by the quality
of the sample. If the sample is not representative/typical/reproducible/
standardised, the analytical procedure is not valid.
It is hardly surprising that tank cleaning is considered to be the weak
link of the operational chain, but realistically the odds appear to be
stacked well against the vessels.
Failing a wall wash inspection does not always mean that the tank
cleaning plan has been ineffective; similarly it does not mean that the
next nominated cargo cannot be successfully loaded. On the contrary,
passing the wall wash inspection does not guarantee that the next
nominated cargo can be loaded without the risk of contamination. Yet
still there is pressure to achieve this standard and without acceptance,
the vessel does not load and the competence of the crew is questioned.
This is where monitoring the tank cleaning procedure comes into its
own. Indeed, it is found that the wall wash test is actually a very good
means of monitoring the efficiency of any tank cleaning procedure,
because in many cases the cargo tanks are visually clean, but still there
are residues inside the tanks that are invisible to the naked eye, that can
be picked up in a wall wash sample.
Confirming the presence of these residues is only half of the solution.
Identifying what the residues are and removing them is the key to a
successful tank cleaning procedure.
The hydrocarbon or water miscibility test is one of the most important
parameters on a standard methanol or acetone wall wash. But the test is
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

not specific and does not tell the analyst what
the hydrocarbon is. In terms of monitoring
tank cleaning, it is very important to know the
nature of the hydrocarbon, because this can
directly impact on the subsequent cleaning
steps. It could be:
i) Previous cargo.
ii) Tank cleaning chemicals.
iii) Old cargo absorbed into coated surfaces.
iv) Reaction of the wall wash solvent with the
coating.
v) Other - for example hydraulic oil, leaking
adjacent cargo etc.
Different hydrocarbon products also have
different responses to the hydrocarbon test,
depending on the relative solubility of the
hydrocarbon in water. The most common
Five of eight 5,600 dwt double
hull chemical tankers delivered to
Bergen-based Mowinckel are
fitted with a Norclean super
stripping system. The other three
are still under construction.
According to Mowinckel Ship Management's
Ove Berntzen, the advantage in fitting the
systems is the reduced time and work needed
for tank cleaning. "In many cases there is no
need to gas free the vessel and go down to
collect the remaining liquid", Berntzen said.
"When we are using the super stripping
system, the remaining liquid is only 0.5-1 litre
in each bilge well. If, for instance, the
remaining cargo is gasoline, we just run the
nitrogen system to clear out the remaining
liquid," he explained.
For these types of vessels, the requirements
for stripping is a maximum of 75 litres
hydrocarbon products to slip under the net of
the hydrocarbon test are aromatics, because
many aromatics have a very slight solubility
in water.
For example toluene has a solubility in
water of approximately 0.18%, meaning that if
the wall wash sample contained for example
0.175% toluene, it would pass the
hydrocarbon test. Clearly having 1,750 ppm of
toluene in a wall wash sample is not the
preferred objective, yet this is quite possible.
Accurately monitoring tank cleaning goes
beyond just 'passing' a wall wash sample and
if done correctly, the cargo tanks will actually
be much cleaner than passing an independent
wall wash inspection.
The responsibility for the tank cleaning is
remaining in each tank with the associated
piping system.
He said that during stripping tests on board
one of the sisterships, the remaining cargo was
found to be 24-50 litres. "As we comply with
the stripping requirements by the use of
'normal' stripping, we do not use the super
stripping system during normal unloading
operations", he explained.
Each ice class tanker has a cargo carrying
capacity at 98% of 6,350 cu m and 138 cu m
of slops and has 13 cargo segregations each
with a double valve. They are fitted with
eight 200 cu m per hour, four 150 cu m
per hour and one 100 cu m per hour
centrifugal pumps.
They are provided with a cargo stock on
each side and a common line of 200 mm port
and starboard for and aft of the manifold.
All the tanks can be discharged through any
TECHNOLOGY - TANK CLEANING
always on the vessel and in the case of a cargo
tank rejection or cargo contamination claim
there is no recourse on the choice of tank
cleaning guide or the validity of the
independent load port inspection. The vessel
has to know how clean the cargo tanks are
before any cargo is loaded and without
monitoring the tank cleaning process this
TO
is impossible.
*This article was written by Guy
Johnson, BSc (Hons) MRSC CChem
CSci), director L&I Maritime (UK)
operations@limaritime.com
Tel. +44 1909 532 003
Super stripping system fitted on board small chemical tankers
of the common lines and/or separately through
the manifold. A stern line of 200 mm is also
fitted. Each presentation flange from the COT
is of DIN standard and 150 mm.
The entire cargo system is constructed of
stainless steel and the vessels are coated with
MarineLine. As well being fitted with the
Norclean super stripping system, a nitrogen
system was also installed in the tanks for
inerting and purging.
Out of the eight DNV classed vessels, the
Frosta, Troma, Lycian, Lydian and Ionian
have been delivered, while the remaining
three - Hadra, Hitra and Vinga will follow
this year and next. They are all products of
the Celik Tekne Shipyard in Tuzla, near
Istanbul.
Of the vessels in service, Frosta is chartered
to Esso Norge, Troma, Lycian and Lydian to
StatoilHydro and the Ionian to Gefo. TO
Left: The stripping requirement is a maximum of 75 litres for this type of vessel. Right: Troma is long term chartered to StatoilHydro.
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 59

SMM PREVIEW
To cope with the number of stands,
the floor space has been enlarged
from two years ago by about
10,000 sq m to 87,000 sq m to
cater for the expected 47,000 visitors.
SMM's organisers have developed a system
whereby a visitor will be able to obtain an
admission ticket promptly and easily and thus
avoid waiting at the cash desk.
With the new online ticketing, a visitor will
now have the opportunity to order an
admission ticket from home via the internet.
Tickets can be booked and paid for
instantaneously. Payment is exclusively by
credit card.
A visitor can also take advantage of the
convenience of online ticketing by receiving
an invitation ticket from an exhibitor. Printing
tickets out at home saves time and ensures
you can arrive at the SMM without stress, the
organisers said.
Upon arrival, the visitor will be confronted
by 11 halls, seven of which are new. A new
'sales lounge' will be built in the Central
Entrance -upper floor. Information will be
available on SMM Istanbul to be held 21st -
23rd January next year in the Turkish city.
SMM 2008 will be opened by German
Federal Minister of Economics and
Technology Michael Glos at 19.00 on 22nd
September. At the opening ceremony new EC
vice president in charge of transport Antonio
Tajani, honorary president of the Community
of European Shipyards Associations (CESA)
Corrado Antonini and Hamburg's Mayor Ole
von Beust will give addresses.
Several side events are also taking place
including Europe INNOVA Standards
Network (EUROMIND), which will be
organising an international workshop on
'Improving Interoperability in the
Shipbuilding Supply Chain' to be held on 23rd
September at VSM - Verband für Schiffbau
und Meerestechnik e.V.
The shipbuilding industry is characterised
by intensive co-operation between different
stakeholders (shipbuilders, suppliers,
60
SMM set to break
records
This month's SMM shipping exhibition, the 23rd to be held in Hamburg
will be the largest ever, as the event has already attracted more than
1,800 exhibitors from over 50 countries, 250 of which will be new to SMM.
classification societies and others) and the
increasing demand of working in highly
flexible networks, with often changing project
arenas. This intensive co-operation is apparent
in all phases of shipbuilding projects from
conception, design to production of the ship
until end of life.
Leading edge shipbuilding production is
aimed at the integration of latest developments
in ICT and logistics in the local and
distributed shipbuilding process. Without the
interoperability of ICT systems, which require
standards and compatibility between
standards, advanced forms of E-business are
impossible. Real progress towards reducing
production cost and lead time depends on a
deeper understanding of the integration of
internal processes and those of suppliers into
an 'integrated production system'.
The EUROMIND network, a project funded
by the European Commission, defined a
generic highly flexible reference standard
through a pragmatic bottom-up approach by
borrowing and learning from standards that
are best in their field and extending these for
the use in the maritime industry.
The consortium will present its results
during a special event, organised by VSM in
Hamburg. The workshop on 23 rd September,
will start with a walk-in session and
continuing with a workshop in the afternoon
with guest speakers from the European
Commission, the industry and European
associations.
Of course, the number of exhibitors are far
too numerous to be mentioned in this
TANKEROperator preview. However, we have
endeavoured to mention a few together with
their exhibits in strict alphabetical order.
Advanced Polymer Coatings will be
showing the technology that has persuaded
leading shipowners worldwide to specify the
coating- MarineLine®.
Donald Keehan, APC's chairman, the
developer and manufacturer of the
MarineLine® coating system, said, "The first
ship coated with MarineLine® was in 1994. In
2006, we announced in Hamburg at SMM that
the milestone 100th tanker ship had been
coated with MarineLine®. Just last year, 107
tankers were coated with MarineLine®, and in
2008 we expect to break that record, and we
are doing larger tankers then ever before. At
SMM 2008, this fall, we will present the
300th MarineLine-coated ship."
Demand for MarineLine® has led
Advanced Polymer Coatings to open offices in
the major shipbuilding centres across the
world. Existing offices, including Advanced
Polymer’s headquarters in Avon, Ohio US,
MarineLine Europe in the UK, and
MarineLine Turkey in Tuzla, have now been
joined with new offices such as Advanced
Polymer Coatings China in Shanghai,
MarineLine Korea in Pusan, MarineLine
Japan in Shizuoka, and Advanced Polymer
Coatings SEA in Singapore.
At SMM 2008, the company is preparing to
launch an application company that will offer
services in applying MarineLine® and other
coatings. "With our vast experience gained in
the past 18 years with regard to MarineLine®
application, heat curing, and inspection, we
know we can take coating application to
another level, thus ensuring for shipowners
and shipyards that their coatings work is done
professionally and will meet all the warranty
requirements."
Alfa Laval will display its PureThinking
solutions PureBallast and PureVent, as well as
the new S and P Flex range separator module
and the F-152 fuel oil filter. The focus will
also be on integrated ship support, which
combines spare parts procurement with other
value-added services. Similar to Alfa Laval's
preventive maintenance initiative, it provides
a way of streamlining and safeguarding a
supply chain, enabling faster and smoother
communication that results in more
economical operation.
Alfa Laval will also unveil AQUA - a new
freshwater generator - as well as the new
Gunclean Toftejorg i65 D tank cleaning
machine.
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

Alphatron Marine will be presenting a
comprehensive range of marine electronics
including -
� Alphaminicourse: The Alphaminicourse is
a gyro compass range including a fully
redundant DNV approved interswitch
according to OSV rules.
� Alphaseapilot: The Alphaseapilot is a
series of autopilot systems, ranging from a
basic autopilot MFC to the fully extended
MFA line.
� Alphaline MF: The Alphaline MF is a full
type approved line of marine instruments,
combining analogue and digital read-out into
one single instrument. This range includes:
� wind information system
� meteorological system
� rate of turn indicator
� gyro repeater
� shallow water echosounder
� udder indicator system
� engine RPM info centre
� Alphabridge: The Alphabridge is a
modular bridge console concept for small,
medium and large vessels.
� Alphabridge T: Apart from the "standard"
Alphabridge a full network based version
is available, which is produced in close
cooperation with Transas and JRC Japan
Radio Company.
� AlphaConnect & AlphaAnnounce: The
AlphaConnect telephone exchange and the
AlphaAnnounce Public Address system
will also be displayed at the exhibition.
� Alphatron JRC river radar JMA 609: The
Alphatron river radar JMA 609 has been
designed in close co-operation with JRC,
resulting in a very sophisticated river radar
targeted for the inland shipping market.
Alphatechnique: Alphatechnique, a
subsidiary company of Alphatron Marine,
formerly Progress technique, will also be
present at the Alphatron booth 334 and will be
displaying automation and control systems
such as;
� Alphatechnique bulk handling system
� Alphatechnique alarm monitoring system
� Alphatechnique tank monitoring and
control system
Altro Transflor is exhibiting its unique
maritime flooring, Gallium. It is the only
fully-approved, non-PVC slip resistant
lightweight flooring on the market. Gallium
offers enhanced underfoot slip and high levels
SMM PREVIEW
of fire resistance and wear resistance. It is full
compliant with MED under the guidance of
the IMO and full USCG approval.
Leading pump manufacturer Bornemann
will demonstrate how its intelligent pump
solutions are able to meet growing demands
in shipbuilding. Bornemann's flagship product
is its screw spindle pump, which comes in
various design and performance sizes and is
used depending on the task on hand and the
requirements. For special requirements,
Bornemann offers individual package
solutions, including monitoring and control -
high-end pumps for special requirements.
The screw spindle pumps are used as
loading pumps on tankers, as transfer pumps
for heavy-duty HFO quantities and as
lubricating pumps for supplying the main
engine. Bornemann progressive cavity pumps
are used as sludge pumps, bilge pumps, as
pumps to feed oil extractors, and to empty
tanks (residue pumps).
Caterpillar Marine Power Systems
(CMPS) will showcase a wealth of
advancements achieved in technology,
manufacturing, customer support and financial
solutions.
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 61

SMM PREVIEW
Caterpillar has two marine engine brands
Cat® and MaK. MaK has been on show since
the first SMM back in 1960.
The technology display segment will
present emission reduction solutions like
ACERT Technology, Caterpillar common
rail (CCR) and flexible camshaft technology
(FCT). Also on display will be the most
advanced MaK low emission engine
technology (LEE).
Finally, a new version of the MaK DICARE
engine diagnosis and monitoring system can
be seen.
Chemring Marine, parent company of
Pains Wessex, is exhibiting the Pains Wessex
Mark 8 range of pyrotechnics.
Sales manager Holger Muegge will be
available throughout the exhibition to meet
customers and distributors. Both managing
director Robert Hill and product manager Keith
Bradford will also be visiting from the UK.
Also exhibiting is Chemring's UK
distributor, Cosalt International.
Çiçek Shipyard's stand will display recent
ships completed or under construction,
62
Chemring’s product manager Keith Bradford.
including IMO II chemical tankers ranging in
size from 15,000 dwt to 26,000 dwt, some of
which were built to ice class 1A standards for
North European trading; a 1,300-teu
multipurpose breakbulk/container vessel; and
a 58,000 dwt Supramax bulk carrier, the
largest vessel ever to be built in Turkey.
New at SMM will be the yard's 3,150 dwt
coastal tanker design, which offers early
delivery dates, and its handysize bulk carrier.
The first 3,150 dwt tanker is now under
construction and is due for completion shortly
as an IMO II chemical tanker. Various
versions are available, including refined
products and bunker tanker options.
To be classed by Bureau Veritas and
constructed to meet ice class 1B standards,
these ships will be capable of worldwide
trading, transporting oil products, chemicals
and vegetable, animal and fish oils.
MarineLine coatings have been selected by
Çiçek to give the ability to carry a wide range
of cargoes while high manoeuvrability is
aided by the choice of twin azimuthing
propellers and a bow thruster.
Furuno Electric will be presenting INS
Voyager the Integrated Navigation System
(INS) and the new Bridge Alarm System BR-
1000. In addition, the Furuno INS training
centre (INSTC) will be introduced:
INSTC was established in Copenhagen in
TANKEROperator
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TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

SMM PREVIEW
Furuno will be introducing its training
facility.
2005. The sole aim of the training centre is to
educate the seafarers on the correct operation
of the navigation equipment installed on their
vessels - both during ordinary day-to-day
64
operation and under extreme conditions. The
training center offers ECDIS education, bridge
management training and product/ system
training.
To ensure and maintain a high level of
quality in the ECDIS training, the education
programme has been audited and certified by
DNV SeaSkill. This allows Furuno to issue
official ECDIS certificates in compliance with
IMO STCW 95 and course code 1.27, which
are accepted by the maritime authorities.
Also, the new VSAT and FleetBroadband
systems will be presented.
Hatlapa Marine Equipment will be
presenting its range of steering gear, which
has been further enlarged to meet the
requirements of the newest 13,000-teu
containerships, which have rudder torques up
to 10,000 kNm.
After several European company buyouts,
Hatlapa now claims to be the only non-Asian
manufacturer of large ram-type steering gears.
All its competitors are Japanese makers who
operate mainly as licensors in South Korea
and China.
In addition, Hatlapa has further developed
its range of small compact steering gears,
starting at rudder torques of 30 kNm ideally
suited for smaller vessel types.
With the start-up of Hatlapa-Korea in early
2007, the ability to serve the Asian and
especially the South Korean shipbuilding
market has been extended still further.
Hatlapa's co-operation with rudder supplier
Becker Marine Systems (BMS) represents a
valuable addition. The companies are aiming
at extending their knowledge range through an
intensive exchange of experience, to provide
Ballast water solutions - one of the highlights of the show
Many of today's ballast water
systems will be on show at
SMM, due to the new IMO
regulations on ballast water
management, which have
motivated manufacturers to
come up with a series of
innovations.
Some of these will be presented for the first
time at the SMM 2008. All new vessels will
be required to filter all ballast water before
taking it on board and before discharging it
again soon.
Along with the 12 bill tonnes of ballast
water taken on board every year, vessels also
carry an armada of stowaways to other parts of
the world - including plankton, invertebrates,
fish larvae, plants, and also pathogens.
According to the environment protection
agency World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF), there are more than 4,000 different
species being carried in ballast water to new
shores, sometimes with disastrous
consequences.
To back the arguments for the IMO ballast
water regulations, the BSH (Federal
Maritime and Hydrographic Agency)
conducted an analysis as early as 2004
showing the costs for fishery, aquaculture,
coastal facilities, etc resulting from this
transportation of organisms. For example,
the shipworm has caused Eur50 mill worth
of damage in the Baltic Sea since 1993, and
the Chinese mitten crab between Eur73.5
mill and Eur85 mill.
The 'International Convention for the
Control and Management of Ships' Ballast
Water and Sediments' put forward by the IMO
in 2004 aims to put an end to uncontrolled
migration of organisms to foreign waters.
From 1st January 2009, ballast management
will be introduced on ships, preventing
uncontrolled exchange of water.
By 2016 all ships, both new and old, will
have to be fitted with a cleaning system - a
lucrative market in view of the 44,500 ships
of more than 300 gt trading today, according
to figures of the ISL (Institute of Shipping
Economics and Logistics, Bremen).
Bremen-based ROW, a member of Veolia
Water Solutions & Technologies, will
showcase its new CleanBallast system at
SMM. Following extensive onshore testing,
the system has now been delivered to a
shipowner for a live application. The system
comprises DiskFilters and the EctoSys®
electrolysis system for disinfection, treating
the ballast water inline at full flow rate, and
guaranteeing compliance with the IMO
Performance Standard D-2.
The northern German concern Hamann, a
manufacturer of marine purification systems,
will presents its three-part Sedna system.
Hamann started to develop this system as
early as 2001 and has IMO final approval
and more recently from the German flag
administration. The system works with
cyclones and filters. Any remaining
organisms are killed by means of a chemical
in the third cleaning stage.
Envio Water will show its EnvioMar®
system, which kills micro organisms in
ballast water after a hydrocyclone has
removed the suspended particulates. This
system can handle up to 5,000 cu m of
ballast water per hour. The results of the onshore
test will be available at SMM.
Mahle NFV will have its
OceanProtectionSystem OPS for
mechanical/physical ballast water treatment
on the stand. It is another system that will be
show cased for the first time at SMM. The
approval procedure has just started.
Alfa Laval has a lead in this field - the
Swedish company already has IMO approval
for its new development PureBallast, a
chemical-free ballast water treatment system,
and took the first order for it in August 2007.
In total, Alfa Laval already has orders for 20
systems. Alfa Laval received its certification
from DNV on behalf of the Norwegian flag
administration.
In October 2007, the NEI Venturi
Oxygen Stripping (VOS) system was issued
with type approval certification by the
Liberian Bureau of Maritime Affairs. This
included a technical review by ABS.
The IMO Convention requires type
approval certificates from flag
administrations but not class.
Earlier, Alfa Laval and Hamann had IMO
G-9 Basic and Final Approval for their
active substances. However, the IMO G-9
Approval process does not apply to VOS
because it does not use an active substance,
according to NEI.
NEI will be exhibiting at SMM with its
German agent DVZ-Services. �
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

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Professional?
Endress+Hauser
Instruments International AG
Kaegenstrasse 2
4153 Reinach/BL
Switzerland
Phone +41 61 715 8100
Fax +41 61 715 2500
oil-gas@ii.endress.com
“Hit a hole-in-one with our full range of
solutions for upgrades and new grass
roots projects, increasing safety and
production effi ciency.”
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Global Industry Manager
Come visit us at StocExpo
in Helsinki
February 26 - 27, 2008
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LoeweLoewe.de

SMM PREVIEW
Around 37 Dutch companies will be exhibiting in the Holland Pavilion.
common rudder systems.
The range of vane type steering gears
currently exceeds 1500 kNm. With this
additional development, Hatlapa claims to be
the only supplier worldwide offering all
available types of steering gears.
The importance in recent years of frequency
inverter controlled AC motors has meant that
more than 1,000 winches with this motor type
have been delivered. This development was
patent-protected at an early stage and is
differentiated by the creation of nominal pull
even at zero speed. This is a key advantage for
mooring winches in their holding function.
The feature is also available as ex-proof
design for all kinds of tankers and gas
carriers.
Holland Marine Equipment organisation
will be putting together the Holland Pavilion
at SMM.
Some 37 Dutch maritime suppliers will
present their latest technologies in the
pavilion, located in Hall B2, lower floor. The
pavilion will measure 840 sq m and
incorporate a 'superyacht lounge'.
The Imtech Marine Group will be
officially launched at SMM.
It is an independent group of well
established Imtech companies who have
joined forces to offer the marine industry a
wide range of technical solutions.
The group offers tailor made, innovative
solutions (systems and services) in
automation, nav/com, HVAC (heating,
ventilation & air condition), fire protection,
energy and AV entertainment.
It includes companies such as HDW-
Hagenuk Schiffstechnik, Imtech Marine &
Offshore, Imtech Schiffbau-/Dockbautechnik,
Radio Holland Group and Royal Dirkzwager.
The Minimax Group will be showing its
66
new Minifog marine XP high-pressure water
mist extinguishing system.
Minifog can be deployed in all vessel areas
- whether cabins, corridors or in the engine
room - and with one single sprinkler it has an
area of coverage of up to 32 sq m.
Compared with classic sprinkler systems,
Minifog requires up to 90% less extinguishing
water in the event of fire. Due to this
extremely low need for water, the system's
piping and water supply are small and easily
laid out. Less need for space for piping in turn
significantly facilitates retrofitting.
One single Minifog sprinkler achieves can
cover an area of up to 32 sq m. In total the
Minifog system requires far fewer sprinklers
than before. Consequently, the piping network
has fewer branches and fewer fittings. As a
side effect this not only means a saving in
system costs but also a lower total
extinguishing system weight. Fuel costs can
also be reduced.
SAM Electronics will be showing its Ship Control Centre (SCC).
Rovsing Dynamics will join together with
shipowners, classification societies and
machinery manufacturers at SMM to
exchange views and experience with vessel
condition monitoring.
Condition monitoring of critical vessel
machinery is rapidly becoming an industry
standard. To meet the increasing demand,
Rovsing, a MAN Diesel approved condition
monitoring supplier, will provide a forum on
24th and 25th September at SMM.
The open seminars are entitled "Vessel
Condition Monitoring for Condition Based
Maintenance - What to gain and how to get
there."
Shipowners, who have implemented
monitoring solutions together with Rovsing
Dynamics, will share their practical
experience with monitoring of main engine
bearing wear, thrusters and turbochargers.
These include PRISCO (tankers), Reederei
F Laiesz (car carriers) and Scandlines
(ferries). DNV, Germanischer Lloyd and
Lloyd's Register will present their guidelines
for a successful condition based maintenance
strategy, supplemented by the requirements of
MAN Diesel.
MAN now recommends that shipowners
completely disregard regular open-up
inspections of the crank-train bearings of
certain engine types with an approved bearing
wear monitoring system, among other things.
SAM Electronics, an L-3 Communications
company will exhibit a wide range of
equipment at this year's SMM.
The company will display a series of newgeneration
automation, navigation, power
supply and energy distribution systems, as
well as safety, security and infotainment
systems, together with equipment from other
L-3 companies.
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

Major exhibits include a complete Ship
Control Centre (SCC) bridge assembly
integrating navigation, communication,
propulsion control and alarm monitoring
functions on ergonomically-designed,
standardised consoles via a series of four new
23-inch flatscreen monitors.
Realistic visual simulation on three 40-inch
monitors, supplied by Rheinmetall Defence
Electronics will be featured in co-operation
with the newly established Hamburg Marine
Training Center (MTC).
Key sub-assembly components based on the
NACOS XX-5 range include new-generation
series 1100 MULTIPILOT, TRACKPILOT
and CONNINGPILOT units together with a
CHARTRADAR and CHARTPILOT ECDIS.
The navaid systems will be exhibited
alongside the latest high-precision and typeapproved
Speedlog SATLOG SLS 4120 with
integrated alarm functions and which can be
used in all ambient conditions. A new
Integrated Navigational Data Display (INDD)
is capable of showing CONNING functions at
numerous on board locations.
Energy and drive activities will also be
highlighted. The latest diesel electric
propulsion systems from 1 MW up to 25 MW
will be exhibited, as will a new ecological
power connection system, SAMCon, housed
in a standard container for interfacing between
on board 6.6 kV electrical installations and
Alternative Maritime Power (AMP) sources
on piers.
Also featured for the first time will be a
switchboard system (ISA) comprising
complete process monitoring of the total
network, including visualisation by touchscreen
technology and a new network safety
concept.
Other key exhibits include an integrated
and modular high-end automation system
(IAS) Damatic from L-3 Valmarine of
Norway, which has modern human machine
interface solutions for crew and maintenance
personal, of which over 600 systems have
been sold. The latest version of L-3 MAPPS's,
Canada, Safety Management System (ISMS)
will be similarly demonstrated in association
with the IAS assembly.
The latest dynamic positioning systems
from L-3 Dynamic Positioning and Control
System of the US will be shown, as well as
the latest echo sounders and sonar systems
SMM PREVIEW
from L-3 ELAC Nautik of Kiel.
Finally, ship operation sensor systems will
be demonstrated by APSS, recently acquired
by SAM, and cost-effective window wiper
systems from WG Schulz of Hamburg will
also be exhibited.
Solar Solve Marine's existing ranges of
marine roller blinds and solar screens will be
on display as well as SOLASAFE-SR, the
latest product launched earlier this year.
The exhibition stand will be located in the
British Pavilion, in partnership with the
British Marine Equipment Association.
The new SOLASAFE-SR scratch resistant
anti glare roller screens are expected to
generate a great deal of interest and the eco
benefits of all the marine products will be
emphasised.
Tamrotor Marine Compressors will
exhibit its new compressor range for large
capacities, the TMC 240-365 series.
In addition to this, TMC personnel will be
present to provide information on other
services, such as the TMC spare part kits that
makes maintenance of the compressors easier
and cheaper.
The energy-saving, award-winning TMC
See us at stand 135, Hall B6
at SMM
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 67

SMM PREVIEW
Tamrotor will be showing its compressor range.
Smart Air® frequency controlled marine
compressor will also be exhibited.
The TMC 240-365 series will replace the
previous ML range. It is slightly smaller than
the ML. However, the actual footprint, in
terms of installation/fastening points, is the
same. This means that users who have already
planned installation of an ML compressor in
the engine room can install the TMC 240-365
without having to change the specifications.
Also, for repeat users, the new TMC 240-
365 compressor can be delivered with a kit for
making all attachment points the same as for
the ML series.
All service points are accessible from one
side, which means that placement is flexible
not only in terms of height but also in terms of
horizontal space, as it is not necessary to be
able to access the compressor from more than
one side. All canopy walls can be removed.
At SMM 2008, Transas said that it will
continue to demonstrate its ability to provide
'total solutions' to the maritime industry.
To illustrate this approach, the stand will
feature the company's Integrated Navigation
System (INS), a solution for both Shipyards
and crew training. This high-quality,
navigation product is designed to provide
seafarers with significant advantages in on
board navigation, while an identical system
can be used as a training tool enabling a
simulated training environment to be as
realistic as possible.
The INS is based on the world's only DNV
type-approved INS Class C Hyundai-Transas
intelligent bridge system. Incorporating the
company's type-approved ECDIS, radar and
vector conning applications and having been
developed in close co-operation with seafarers
68
and shipyards, Transas INS focuses heavily on
user-friendly and intuitive functionality.
As part of a continued product development
programme, Transas is constantly expanding
its range of on board systems to incorporate
the increasing number of bridge functions and
sensors needed to the INS such as gyro, echo
sounder, autopilot, log and many others.
Transas will also be displaying The Transas
Full Mission Bridge Simulator operating as a
fully functioning training tool.
It has been developed in compliance with
the DNV requirements for INS/IBS training.
Westfalia Separator will be unveiling a
new generation of mineral oil Separators -
eagleclass.
Westfalia Separator Mineraloil Systems has
expanded the capacity range both up and
down, and has designed the separators to be
more compact, lighter, more energy-efficient
and with fewer wear parts.
A new sensor technology system further
minimises oil losses during de-sludging
operations. The smallest and largest separator
in this new series will be exhibited at SMM.
Transas will be exhibiting its Integrated Navigation System (INS).
Westfalia Separator Mineraloil Systems is
also extending its product line to include a
newly developed fresh water generator,
providing shipping companies and shipyards
with a further module for the engine room
from a single source
This is the SeaWater Distiller, which has a
capacity range of 10 to 30 tonnes per day. The
Visco booster unit with a newly designed
pump module is claimed to be more compact,
lighter and more easily accessible. The
module also takes up less space.
As from next year, Westfalia Separator will
market the BilgeMaster system with maximum
oil contents of 15 ppm in the bilge water for the
complete series; without additional adsorption
filter and without chemicals.
Sewage treatment will be a new addition to
the range of equipment offered by Westfalia
Separator Mineraloil Systems.
With a combination of a centrifuge for
separating coarse impurities, a buffer tank and
an ultrafiltration system for removing fine
impurities, Westfalia is developing a new
sewage treatment system which is to be
launched to coincide with the coming into
force of the new IMO guidelines.
This year, ZF Marine will display a variety
of transmissions, controllable pitch propellers
and electronic controls on the stand and also
outside, where a propulsion shaft-line, with
ZF W43100 gearbox and CPP, will be shown.
The new transmission ZF W17000,
available in reduction (NR) or reversereduction
versions, is designed for continuous
duty, commercial application with engine
powers up to 3,000 kW (4,000 hp) at 1,200
rev/min and a ratio range from about 2 to 4.5.
Several PTOs and PTIs are available as well
as a 'get home' device and either manual or
automatic trolling for slow-speed operation.
Another new transmission system, the ZF
9050, represents ZF Marine's 9000 series,
which is available in many different
configurations - parallel offset (vertical and
horizontal), down-angle and vee-drive. TO
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008

14 million tons isn’t a drop in the bucket
Yes, size matters when trading bunkers. Let’s just say that with sales of 14
million tons annually, we’re big enough to meet your needs worldwide at
competitive prices—direct from our own stores or those of trusted partners.
On the other hand, we haven’t forgotten the importance of friendly service and
flexibility when it comes to doing business. Guess we’re not so big after all.
Physical Supply · Global Trading · Risk Management
www.owbunker.com
dependent
but hardly minor

DETAIL – FOR US IT’S NATURAL
OUR ATTENTION TO DETAIL IS YOUR SOLUTION
TO COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.
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Christmas tree worm, Caribbean Sea. The detailed spirals are the ocean worm’s highly-developed respiratory structures.
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