Immigration statistics: is the tanker turning around?

At last the Home Office has ‘good news’ to report on lower net migration figures. Don Flynn asks whether this is a measure of successful policies, or just a measure of how deep the economic mire we are all in

Captive model testing for ship to ship operations

Applications of ship-to-ship operations for liquid cargo transfer, in particular for crude oil and LNG, will to be increasing in the future. Moreover, such operations are expected to take place in more severe environmental conditions. In order to have a better understanding of the hydrodynamic phenomena that are of importance for this kind of manoeuvres, a research project entitled “Investigating hydrodynamic aspects and control strategies for ship-to-ship operations” has been initiated, co-ordinated by MARINTEK (Trondheim, Norway) and supported financially by the Research Council of Norway. The main objective is to improve existing simulator based training activities for personnel involved in complex ship-to-ship operations in open seas through increased knowledge and understanding of the complex water flow between two ships operating in close proximity. As a final goal, a new generation simulation tools for ship-to-ship operations incorporating up-to-date knowledge of fluid dynamics has to be established. The project consists of four work packages: (1) Computational Fluid Dynamics; (2) Particle Image Velocimetry; (3) Mathematical models for simulators; (4) Nautical safety and control aspects. In the frame of the third work package, captive model tests are being carried out at the Towing tank for manoeuvres in shallow water (co-operation Flanders Hydraulics Research – Ghent University) in Antwerp, Belgium. While the model of an Aframax tanker is attached to the computer controlled planar motion carriage, a VLCC model is attached to the towing carriage as well. Two types of tests are considered: steady state tests, during which the main tests parameters (ships’ speed, relative longitudinal and lateral position, propeller rates, drift angle of the Aframax tanker, rudder angle) are kept constant, and dynamic tests, characterised by a varying lateral distance and/or heading. Horizontal forces and moments, propeller thrust and torque, and vertical motions are measured on both ship models, while the vertical motions of the free surface are monitored in three fixed points of the towing tank. The paper intends to give a summary of the test results, that will be used for validation of mathematical manoeuvring simulation models and CFD calculations

Vessels at risk and the effectiveness of Port State Control inspections

Port state control regimes have been established more than 30 years ago to help prevent accidents in shipping. These controls are obviously not sufficient to correct or prevent all hazards leading to an accident, but they have played a major role in the general reduction of the number of maritime accidents observed during the last decade. Using data on 42,000 vessels/inspections carried out from 2002 to 2009 by 18 state members of the Indian Ocean Memorandum of Understanding, this paper focuses more closely on the type of deficiencies found during inspections and on changes in these deficiencies over time and between successive inspections.

Do Port State Control inspections influence flag- and class-hopping phenomena in shipping ?

The flag of registry and classification society are an integral part of the target factors used by Port State Control authorities (PSC) when deciding on vessels to select for inspection. A ship-owner may then have an interest in changing the flag of registry (flag-hopping) and classification society (class-hopping) to avoid future controls. Using data on PSCs collected over 6 years from 7,500 vessels, we study the relevance of this assumption using bivariate Probit models. Our estimates show that vessels in relatively bad conditions are more likely to be subject to flag- and class-hopping and that these phenomena are more likely amongst vessels which have changed flag and class in the past.

Terrorism and maritime shipment of nuclear material

Opponents of the nuclear industry often claim that material in transit is vulnerable to attack by terrorist groups who might seek to take the cargo and make a bomb, or otherwise cause a radiological incident. This paper lays out a range of conceivable objectives or attack scenarios in the context of maritime transportation and examines these in the light of what is known of the relevant security arrangements. It concludes that these arrangements provide a very substantial deterrent to any attempt at diversion or sabotage and that any such attempt would have little prospect of success, beyond the immediate media impact of whatever might have occurred

Stopping manoeuvre of high speed vessels fitted with screw and waterjet propulsion

Concern about the increase in high-speed vessel traffic necessitates steps to bring out safety guidelines in order to regulate and improve their manoeuvrability. The stopping abilities of vessels ranging from medium speed containerships to high-speed vessels have been estimated. Assuming a straight contour track, the stopping distances have been checked against the known stopping criteria of IM

The Great Hurricane and Tidal Wave of 1938: Scenes of the Disaster in Rhode Island’s East Bay

In September of 1983 a hurricane swept across New England. It was one of the most destructive storms to ever strike the region, causing damage in New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine

Spartan Daily, February 26, 1963

Volume 50, Issue 75https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/4413/thumbnail.jp

Policy Guide For Municipal Leaders and Legislators

This Guide for Municipal Leaders and Legislators, is a companion to the full 2013 State of Our Estuaries Report, and focuses more specifically on what state and local leaders can do to improve environmental conditions in the estuaries. It provides a short list of priority policy options for decision-makers to consider, as well as model efforts from our own communities that can be replicated in support of our environmental health and economic vitality