Field measurements of angular motions of a vessel at berth: Inertial device application

[Abstract]: The study and characterization of the oscillations of a moored vessel has a major importance in port operational efficiency, not only in the design of mooring and anchoring systems, but also in order to prevent the movement of the cargo, minimize ship and dock damage and optimizing the operations which have to take place while the ship is moored.The dynamic behavior of a vessel moored in waves has been mathematically described and interactions between ships and environmental loads such as waves, wind, currents and ice are commonly tested for different docks and mooring systems in scale models. However, field data studies of the behavior moored ships have not been properly addressed so far.This paper proposes a novel application of Inertial Measurement Units to estimate the angular movements (roll, pitch and yaw) of a moored vessel. The proposed technique has been validated in laboratory conditions and the behavior of the ship Urania Mella in the Outer Port of Punta Langosteira (A Coruña, Spain), has been analyzed, obtaining very promising results.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, R&D National Plan, within the project BIA2017-86738-

Dynamical Study of a Moored Vessel Using Computer Vision

[Abstract]: Wind and wave effects have a major impact on the design of mooring and anchoring systems, whose purpose is to prevent the movement of the cargo and the moored ship while optimizing the operations which have to take place in port. The dynamic behavior of a ship moored in waves has been mathematically described and interactions between ships and environmental loads have been commonly tested for different docks and mooring systems in scale models. However, the behavior of real ships in true mooring conditions has not been properly addressed in scientific literature. This paper proposes a novel computer vision technique to monitor moored ships. This approach uses the correlation of visual features in the images of the ship to estimate its movements along time. The proposed technique has been validated in laboratory conditions and applied in a real scenario to study the behavior of the ship Urania Mella in the Outer Port of A Coruña (Spain), in Punta Langosteira, obtaining very promising results.The authors wish to thank the Port Authority of A Coruña, Aquática Ingeniería Civil and Siport21 for their cooperation and technical assistance, and the Urania Mella owners and crew for the facilities on board. The development of the artificial vision algorithm was partially funded by FEDER funds and Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, R & D National Plan, within the projects CGL2012-34688 and BIA2017- 86738-R

Operational thresholds of moored ships at the oil terminal of inner port of A Coruña (Spain)

[Abstract] Minimizing the stay of a vessel in port can lead to improvements in harbor efficiency. Currently, downtimes of cargo operations or their performance reduction because of excessive vessel motion are especially relevant. This work aims to evaluate the operational conditions of moored vessels in the inner port of A Coruña (Spain), comparing them with motion thresholds established by international standards for cargo operations. To this end, motions of 19 ships were monitored. Data analysis revealed large angular motions, particularly roll and yaw, including amplitudes that exceeded the limiting criteria of the standards in most of the analyzed vessels, with no registered downtime. Regarding linear movements, heave and surge recorded lower amplitudes compared to the values of standard thresholds. The specific behavior of each vessel was analyzed in terms of its size, maritime conditions, and mooring location. Field campaigns such as those performed in this work are an effective way of analyzing the operational conditions of ports, which could help in identifying problems in the mooring zone.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad; BIA2017-86738-

Application of an Analytic Methodology to Estimate the Movements of Moored Vessels Based on Forecast Data

[Abstract]: A port’s operating capacity and the economic performance of its concessions are intimately related to the quality of its operational conditions. This paper presents an analytical methodology for estimating the movements of a moored vessel based on field measurements and forecast data, specifically including ship dimensions and meteorological and maritime conditions. The methodology was tested and validated in the Outer Port of Punta Langosteira, A Coruña, Spain. It was determined that the significant wave height outside the port, and the ratio of the vessel’s length divided by its beam (L/B), are the variables that most influence movements. Furthermore, heave and surge are the movements with a better value of the coefficient of determination (R2 values of 0.71 and 0.67, respectively), the sway (R2 = 0.30) and roll (R2 = 0.27) being the worst when using the available forecast variables of the Outer Port of Punta Langosteira. Despite their low R2 values, sway and roll models are able to estimate the main trends of these movements. The obtained estimators provide good predictions with assumable error values (root mean square error—RMSE and mean absolute error—MAE), showing their potential application as a predictive tool. Finally, as a consequence, the A Coruña Port Authority has included the results of the methodology in its port management system allowing them to predict moored vessel behavior in the port.The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, R & D National Plan, within the project BIA2017-86738-R. In addition, special thanks to the Port Authority of A Coruña, Spain

Application of scanning techniques for damage analysis in rubble mound breakwaters

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Machine Learning Based Moored Ship Movement Prediction

[Abstract] Several port authorities are involved in the R+D+i projects for developing port management decision-making tools. We recorded the movements of 46 ships in the Outer Port of Punta Langosteira (A Coruña, Spain) from 2015 until 2020. Using this data, we created neural networks and gradient boosting models that predict the six degrees of freedom of a moored vessel from ocean-meteorological data and ship characteristics. The best models achieve, for the surge, sway, heave, roll, pitch and yaw movements, a 0.99, 0.99, 0.95, 0.99, 0.98 and 0.98 R2 in training and have a 0.10 m, 0.11 m, 0.09 m, 0.9°, 0.11° and 0.15° RMSE in testing, all below 10% of the corresponding movement range. Using these models with forecast data for the weather conditions and sea state and the ship characteristics and berthing location, we can predict the ship movements several days in advance. These results are good enough to reliably compare the models’ predictions with the limiting motion criteria for safe working conditions of ship (un) loading operations, helping us decide the best location for operation and when to stop operations more precisely, thus minimizing the economic impact of cargo ships unable to operate.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness, R&D National Plan, within the project BIA2017-86738-R, the FPI predoctoral grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (PRE2018-083777) and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Retos Call, within the project PID2020-112794RB-I00

Birth weight and blood lipid levels in Spanish adolescents: Influence of selected APOE, APOC3 and PPARgamma2 gene polymorphisms. The AVENA Study

Es reproducción del documento publicado en http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2350-9-98Background: There is increasing evidence indicating that genes involved in certain metabolic processes of cardiovascular diseases may be of particular influence in people with low body weight at birth. We examined whether the apolipoprotein (APO) E, APOC3 and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma-2 (PPAR gamma 2) polymorphisms influence the association between low birth weight and blood lipid levels in healthy adolescents aged 13-18.5 years. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 502 Spanish adolescents born at term was conducted. Total (TC) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), triglycerides (TG), apolipoprotein (apo) A and B, and lipoprotein(a) [ Lp(a)] were measured. Low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), TC-HDLc, TC/HDLc and apoB/apoA were calculated. Results: Low birth weight was associated with higher levels of TC, LDLc, apoB, Lp(a), TC-HDLc, TC/HDLc and apoB/apoA in males with the APOE epsilon 3 epsilon 4 genotype, whereas in females, it was associated with lower HDLc and higher TG levels. In males with the APOC3 S1/S2 genotype, low birth weight was associated with lower apoA and higher Lp(a), yet this association was not observed in females. There were no associations between low birth weight and blood lipids in any of the PPAR gamma 2 genotypes. Conclusion: The results indicate that low birth weight has a deleterious influence on lipid profile particularly in adolescents with the APOE epsilon 3/epsilon 4 genotype. These findings suggest that intrauterine environment interact with the genetic background affecting the lipid profile in later life.Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS PI021830), the Spanish Ministry of Health, FEDER-FSE funds FIS n 00/0015, CSD grants 05/UPB32/0, 109/UPB31/03 and 13/UPB20/04, Ministerio de Educación (AP-2004-2745; EX2007-1124