Technorati Tags: Green Award for Shipping

What does the Green Ship term mean? In International shipping “Green Ship” is mainly associated with the Green Ship Award Program. There is also something that is called Green Ship Initiative established in North America and some others but that is a whole other subject that we might get into another time. So here in these articles we are going to concentrate on “Green Ship Award System”.

In order for us to get an understanding of what it all means I think we should lay a bit of background.
The ships that we are using on the seven oceans have always had a great attention to the safety. The ship owners were always greatly concerned with the safety of the vessel and the cargo that it transported. After all the aim was to make money as a transporter. Onboard the ship, crew was always concerned with the safety and the equipment needed in situations of emergency.
As ship types and technology has changed so has the quality of the ship. The navigational equipment used to navigate safely on the oceans and especially in areas of high traffic has seen a great improvement and made the logistic quality very high. Probably the greatest advancement we have made so far is the GPS and all the technology that became possible due to that technology.
Our Ships, the way they are constructed and the way they operate, are safe. The crew onboard and the management office ashore are all part of making it safe. Today the big word in ship safety is prevention.
Just after the Second World War United Nations founded a body name IMCO overlooking the safety of maritime shipping. This body has since become IMO (International Maritime Organization). Imo have been laying the laws applying to shipping and has bodies in place to enforce those rules. These laws that IMO has set for shipping to follow are basic minimum requirements and to some they are not strict enough. Looking at the ships we could see a large spectrum of ship types and also quality. The age of the ship was also an issue. If we had a quality level of let’s say 1-10, 1 being the top, the gap between 1 and 10 was simply too large. There had to be a second set of higher standards set in place and also incentives to owners for bringing the operation up to those higher standards.
This was the base for the governing body at the Port Of Rotterdam when they took the initiative in 1994 to establish these higher standards. It was all on a voluntary basis and became “Green Ship Award ” standards. It was to be applicable to the whole shipping company both ashore and onboard the vessel. The first ships to get into this higher set of standards were tankers. Since then we have seen the bulkers come along also. Personally, I’m still waiting for the container ships to catch up.
I think that in this first article about the Green Ship Award we have opened up for some interesting subjects and discussions. Where are we heading from here? Come back and visit as we get the next article online soon.

In this series of articles to be posted we will do just that, examine the subject and also look at what it means to have your ship certified as a “Green Ship”.

The project will be a ongoing thing and we will post our findings and comments here on this blog.

Technorati Tags: Saint Lawrence Seaway

The water freezes up and sticks to the cement walls in the locks and also to the lock doors. This build up of ice can be very destructive if it is allowed to get hold. It will decrease the volume of the lock it self and Seaway Max ships will not be able to pass unless it is removed. The doors them self can not be closed properly and also to get them open will be difficult as the groove or hole in the cement where they would fold in would be covered with ice and it is simply not possible to pass the ships inn and out of the locks with the doors protruding as they would in this case. Some elaboration on the above would be to explain that a Seaway Max ship might have 10” clearing on each side between the ship side and the lock wall. If that clear space is filled with ice the ship will not be able to move and would get stuck in the ice. In order for the ship to enter into the lock the water has to be able to flow out of the lock. If the space is not there for this to happen it wouldn’t be possible to enter or exit the lock by the ships. The time from the fist ice build up until the closing of the seaway is kept ice free in front of the doors by the use of large compressors that are forcing air into the water and therefor creating a bubbling action that pushes the warm water to the surface and also a current that keeps the ice away from the lock doors. In the latter part of December the ice pressure on the upside of the locks are simply to great for this system to work. The natural flow of the Saint Lawrence River is simply forcing the ice against the upside of the lock and mechanically removing the ice is simply not feasible.

Technorati Tags: maritimecommunity.com

Modern equipment for weather and navigation has made things easier for preparation but it should not make you complacent. I guess that a few hours of steaming should be enough time to see if all is ok with cargo lashings etc. Making rounds and verifying lashings and other security is routine on most cargo ships but the North Atlantic makes for heightened security inspections and attention to details become more important than ever. Your life might just depend on it. Stress on ship and men are extreme this time of the year.

So what are some of the factors involved?

From a safety point of view onboard the ship, nothing should really change but it does.  Maximum safety precautions should be taken no matter what time of the year it is but wintertime a few is added and some of the others are simply strengthened. Winter brings with it freezing condition in addition to the bad weather so ice build up becomes a great concern. Any build up of ice on deck will change the stability of the ship and therefore has to be watched very carefully and removed before it becomes a problem. One thing I have found is that a couple of good fan heaters mounted under the forecastle can be of great help in reducing the amount of ice build-up. Use of ice mallets by the crew in order to physically remove the ice is almost guaranteed this time of the year. I prefer the hardwood type myself, as I seem to get more of an impact with it. I have tried the rubber ones and also the plastic but they don’t give same effect on the ice. One positive thing about the rubber/plastic ones is that it doesn’t damage the paint as much as the hardwood ones.

Wintertime storms make the sea a bit ruff and the movements of the ship makes for possible movement of cargo onboard. One inch to start can become 1 foot in a hurry if it gets the room to play. This is one of the reasons for the inspection rounds as we talked bout earlier on. To verify and tighten lashings are a part of regular routine onboard.

Cargo lashing gears are strengthened and some are doubled up for maximum effect.
A Container Ship is typical for this type of arrangement and also a very exposed type of ships as it usually carries a lot of containers on deck. A Tank Ship is somewhat less exposed as all cargo is liquid and below deck in tanks. However it can be rolling quiet a bit more than the container ship. It all depends on the cargo and how it’s loaded.

We are heading north to cold weather and lots of ice. This time of the year it can be some severe weather conditions facing you. Better be prepared for some cold weather. One of the first things to do is to make sure that any water that can freeze is drained or protected. I’m talking about drinking water in the lifeboats. Pipe lines like fire lines, freshwater lines, ballast lines, lines for water to the anchor chain etc. They have to be drained and preferably blown with air to remove all water. You should add some antifreeze liquid to sounding pipes, enough to prevent it from freezing. Humidity can make for a lot of problem in the hydraulic lines if it has a chance to freeze. It would be a good idea to have the hydraulic system run so circulation is going. Certain areas might prevent you from doing all the above so other measures has to be taken. I lamp with some cover can be sufficient heat to prevent from freezing. Electrical heating coils or cables can also be used. There are many options available to you. Wheelhouses have a tendency to be cold in this climate. A trick to maintain heat in the wheelhouse is to have a fan heater on each side, very close to the door out to the bridge wing. This will act as a heat curtain and prevent the cold from accessing the wheelhouse. Having a fan heater blowing towards the wheelhouse windows or portholes will prevent them from freezing up on you. If started early, you prevent it from building up and it becomes easy to maintain.

These above are some simple things that can prevent a lot of headaches later on. You will have ice on deck so a couple of mallets would help you with removal. Ice buster or road salt is also of good help. Make sure you have warm clothing available for the crew. They will need it. You don’t need a bunch of sailor becoming sick on you with colds and flu etc. It can be a great experience going north in the winter providing you are prepared for it.