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ABS Principal Engineer, Technology and Business Development Shuji Maruyama highlights in his paper “Ballast Water Management: Update on IMO and the US Regulations” the inherent difficulties arising from the differing compliance requirements between those developed within the IMO and those in some US states which have used the Clean Water Act to develop local regulations that are up to 1,000 times more stringent that the international standard. Even when a federal regulation is enacted, it is possible that some of these states may still claim the right to enforce tougher standards locally. Maruyama says, “2009 and 2010 will be very important years in the journey towards implementation of the Ballast Water Management Convention.” He recommends that “owners, operators and builders begin preparing for the entry into force of these new requirements as early as possible.” ABS’ Sing-Kwan Lee is joined by representatives of CSBC Corporation, Taiwan, in presenting the results of considerations for improved propeller design. The paper “Efficiency and Weight: Considerations for Improved Propeller Design” outlines the challenge of developing a lower-weight unit with greater propulsive efficiency which could deliver savings in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. In developing an integrated propeller design for an 8,200 teu containership, the team worked on reducing the blade area ratio, enlarging the propeller diameter, reducing the blade skew and adjusting their distribution to increase efficiency. They then considered the effect of thinning the propeller blades on fatigue life through stress analysis. Lee says “During each of the three most critical phases of a vessel’s life – design, operation and maintenance – there are many ways of reducing fuel consumption and cutting emissions. However, the most cost-effective method, providing the greatest energy savings is at the basic design stage.” Design considerations are the core of the third ABS paper: “Explorations Beyond the Design Norms for Eco-Friendly Containerships” by Bill Shi, Wei Huang and Peter Tang-Jensen of ABS, in concert with Keith Michel of Herbert Engineering Corp. It discusses how environmental and economic demands might influence the design of next-generation containerships. Earlier this year, ABS teamed up with Herbert Engineering to produce a study exploring the feasibility and benefits of a 5,000 teu containership design with a high block coefficient (Cb) and reduced service speed. The study concluded that a shallow-draft, broad-beamed design that would replace the existing panamax container fleet could have lower construction costs than a finer-formed vessel and generate significant savings in terms of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Bill Shi, Assistant Chief Engineer for the Pacific Division of ABS, says “Low speed and high Cb containerships have been debated since the entry into service of some novel ships in this category back in the 1980s. This paper gives coverage of a re-examination of the merits of this, within the setting of new environmental protection regulations.” The ship would have a slower service speed but increased cargo capacity thanks to its boxy hull form making it a viable design for a niche trade such as the transatlantic or intra-Asia. The study also considered the feasibility of reducing the ship’s use of ballast water, concluding that the additional longitudinal strength required might be recouped by the reduction of tanks and piping as well as in reducing the need for ballast water management (BWM) systems. Founded in 1862, ABS is a leading international classification society devoted to promoting the security of life, property and the marine environment through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of marine-related facilities. ABS Press Release |
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International Symposium on Ship Design and Construction 2009, Tokyo, Japan, September 1-2
ABS Discusses Ballast Water Management, Propeller Efficiencies and Containership Design
at ISSDC
