RINA to audit Clean Shipping Index ships and companies

International classification society RINA has been recognised by Sweden’s Clean Shipping Project as able to verify ships and shipping companies in accordance with verification guidelines developed for ranking in the Clean Shipping Index.

The Clean Shipping Index is backed by a number of Swedish bodies, many of Sweden’s largest cargo shippers, and the EU. It is an index taking a holistic perspective on the environmental issues of shipping. It takes into account the environmental effects connected to shipping, such as emissions to air and water, and the use of chemicals and antifouling, and ranks vessels or shipping companies according to their performance under each criteria. It is aimed at giving charterers a clearer view of the environmental performance of shipping providers.

The standard is fully aligned with the RINA Green Plus notation, a goal-based scheme aimed at certifying the environmental index of ships, and it clearly rewards those operators who invest strongly in environmental sustainability.

Pino Spadafora, RINA Group Area Manager for Baltic, Benelux and Scandinavia, says,“This recognition by the CSI is important for two reasons. It recognises RINA’s commitment to - and expertise in - environmental assessment, and it is another part of our expansion in this region.”

In recent months RINA has been recognised by the Norwegian Maritime Directorate as able to carry out statutory certification services on its behalf on Norwegian vessels, and also by the Polish and Faroe Islands’ administrations for similar authorisations.

“We are seeing Scandinavian owners increasingly recognising and valuing our environmental commitment and our special service,” says Spadafora. “For example, Dannebrog Rederi, a well-known Danish shipowner, has recently moved two chemical tankers to RINA class, building on good experience with RINA classing several of its dry cargo vessels. With our extensive experience with all types of vessels and our strategy of focusing on the environment, we make good partners for Scandinavian companies, which tend to have a strong green commitment themselves.” ·

The RINA Group is an international company that helps enterprises and communities to achieve greater competitiveness and effective risk management through the conception, creation, management and assessment of projects. The Group has developed the best competencies and combined them with its own values of integrity and responsibility, gained in over 150 years of experience, into a way of working that meets the highest expectations. RINA Group delivers advanced technical competency through a network of companies dedicated to different sectors covering Environment and Quality, Energy, Maritime, Ethics and Safety, Food Production and Healthcare, Infrastructures and Constructions, Logistics and Transport. With a turnover of around 300 million Euros, over 2,100 employees, and 130 offices in 42 countries worldwide, RINA meets the needs of its clients and is recognized as an authoritative member of key international organizations and an important contributor to the development of new legislative standards. www.rina.org

For more information:Claudia Filippone
Head of Media Relations
RINA
+39 010 5385643
cfp@rina.org

Giulia Faravelli
Media Relations
+39 010 5385505
giulia.faravelli@rina.org

Bureau Veritas approves LNG-powered Ultra-Large Containership

Leading international classification society Bureau Veritas has given approval in principle for the basic design of a 14,000 teu containership to be powered by LNG. The design was developed in a joint industry project between Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, liner major CMA-CGM and Bureau Veritas.

Says Jean-Francois Segretain, deputy technical director, Bureau Veritas, “The market will determine when these ships can be ordered and built, but this is a real milestone as for the first time we have a fully worked and approved design for a main line ultra-large containership running on LNG. After an in depth HAZID analysis we can say with confidence that there are no technical or safety barriers to introducing LNG as a fuel for long-haul large containerships. Major operational savings are deliverable, combined with very much lower air emissions. And the key feature of this design is that the vessel can also run on HFO if required, increasing flexibility in the period before LNG bunkering is widely available.”

The 14,000 teu vessel will be powered by an ME-GI (MAN Electronic – Gas Injection) 2-stroke dual fuel engine made by MAN Diesel. This delivers the highest efficiency among existing propulsion systems and works by simultaneous dual burning of HFO and LNG. In minimum fuel and maximum gas mode around 10 per cent of the fuel is oil, providing overall CO2 emission reductions in the order of 23 per cent and SOX reductions of 92 per cent.

The basic design is for a 365.5 m loa vessel with a design draft of 14 m and a design speed of 24 knots. In the dual fuel configuration a 22,490 cu m LNG prismatic tank would be installed under the forward accommodation, and there would be a bunker tank for heavy fuel oil aft of 4,430 cu m capacity. The LNG tank would be a Daewoo patent ACT-IB Aluminium Cargo Tank – IMO type B independent LNG tank with PUF(Poly-Urethane Foam) panel type insulation.

The main engine would be rated at MCR 72,285 kW and the vessel would have a range of 25,000 miles if fully bunkered.

Explains Segretain. “Compared to the same ship with a conventional fuel power plant there will be extra capital cost for the engine and for the LNG tank and gas handling system, and there is a loss of cargo space equivalent to 438 teu to make room for the gas tank and equipment. But the extra capital cost and the loss of earnings on a theoretical full ship are more than offset by the fuel economies and lower emissions of this design.”

For a graphic of the design e mail john@merlinco.com or download from http://bit.ly/pYqIVs


Bureau Veritas is a world leader in conformity assessment and certification services. Created in 1828, the Group has close to 50,000 employees in 930 offices and 330 laboratories located in 140 countries. Bureau Veritas helps its clients to improve their performances by offering services and innovative solutions in order to ensure that their assets, products, infrastructure and processes meet standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility.

www.bureauveritas.com for corporate information www.veristar.com for marine information


For more information:
Jean-Francois Segretain
Bureau Veritas
+33 (1) 55 24 72 00
jean-francois.segretain@bureauveritas.com

Philippe Boisson
Bureau Veritas
+33 1 55 24 71 98
philippe.boisson@bureauveritas.com

Bureau Veritas completes first Energy Management Systems audit for Northern Marine Management

Leading international classification society Bureau Veritas has completed the first certification audit of any shipping company in the world to the new standard ISO 50001- 2011 - Energy Management Systems.

Stena’s ship management division, Northern Marine Management Ltd including Northern Marine Management (USA) LLC, has achieved certification to BS ISO 50001, which ensures systematic monitoring and control of energy usage, helping to optimise efficiency, reduce fuel consumption, reduce the company’s environmental footprint and provide a cost saving for the vessels owners.

Only four other organisations in the UK have this certification, one being the Royal Mint, and no other shipping company has yet achieved this.

Northern Marine Management technically manages fifty-seven vessels, including the Stena tanker and gas carrier fleet as well as vessels for various other blue chip ship owners.

Says Philip Fullerton, Technical Director, Northern Marine Management, “Achieving this new and high standard for energy management across the whole company is a key step for us in demonstrating that shipping is at the forefront of environmental responsibility.”
BS ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems is intended to assist organizations in making better use of their existing energy consuming assets, create transparency and facilitate communication on the management of energy resources and promote energy management best practices and reinforce good energy management behaviours.

ISO 50001 accreditation demonstrates Northern Marine’s commitment to energy management and conservation. Northern Marine implemented its first Shipboard Energy Management Plans on board its Stena AB vessels during 2005. Last year an environmental and energy efficiency rating scheme was implemented on five of the company’s ro-ro vessels. That meant the monitoring and measurement processes were largely in place for the new fleet and company-wide standard. These were codified and documented with clear statements of intent in the form of the Company’s two new policies: the “Safety, Environmental, Energy & Quality Policy” and the “Energy management and Efficiency Policy”.

Says Claude Maillot, ships in service director, Bureau Veritas, “This is an important step for Northern Marine and for shipping as a whole. It shows how shipping can be a leader in responsible energy use. And it demonstrates the strength and range of Bureau Veritas’ range of environmental services, as we were able to combine energy use assessment ashore and at sea into this one new and high standard.”

Bureau Veritas is a world leader in conformity assessment and certification services. Created in 1828, the Group has close to 50,000 employees in 930 offices and 330 laboratories located in 140 countries. Bureau Veritas helps its clients to improve their performances by offering services and innovative solutions in order to ensure that their assets, products, infrastructure and processes meet standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility.

www.bureauveritas.com for corporate information www.veristar.com for marine information


For more information:
Claude Maillot
Bureau Veritas
+33 (1) 55 24 72 21
claude.maillot@bureauveritas.com

Graig order launches new generation container super feeders

The Cardiff-based Graig Group has ordered a series of up to 26 fuel-efficient new generation MARLIN 2000 Blue design container feeders to be built at the major Jin Hai shipyard complex in China. The first two vessels are scheduled for delivery in August and September 2013 with subsequent vessels to be delivered in pairs every two and half months. Discussions on charters for the vessels are advanced with a number of global liner companies.

Hugh Williams, CEO, Graig, says, “This series responds to the industry’s needs. There is a gap in the containership market for quality, fuel efficient, competitively-priced and environmentally-friendly feeder ships to service the ultra large containerships now being brought into service by the major lines. This advanced MARLIN family of designs will fill that gap, and we expect this order to be the first of several series of larger capacity future-proof vessels, backed by the strength of the MARLIN consortia.”

The MARLIN series of designs has been developed by Wärtsilä, working closely with Graig and classification major DNV. The designs are the product of extensive research and tank testing and consultation with end users. With a number of design variants, the series delivers approximately 30 per cent improved fuel efficiency per TEU carried, improved capacity and slow steaming potential, better loading flexibility for different container types including a high reefer intake and lower emissions when compared to vessels currently in service.

“This is a step change for the feeder section of the container industry. It marks the beginning of a two-tier market for feeder ships. The top tier will be those which are like MARLIN, clean and fuel efficient and matching the economies of scale of the new mega liners. This is a much better ship for the job than you can find anywhere today and it is ready to go as a package,” explains Williams. “We have a high capacity shipyard contracted, finance in place and employment models worked through. Three basic versions are available, suitable for owners ready to invest and lines wanting to charter cleaner and more efficient feedering.”

There are three basic MARLIN designs. All feature an optimised hull shape, increased capacity and forward accommodation. MARLIN 2000 Blue is a Bangkok-max, direct diesel powered and provides 30 per cent fuel savings per day per TEU carried while carrying 20 per cent more boxes. Crucially, and unlike most other container designs of this size, it has a wide and flexible range of service speeds delivering fuel savings across the speed spectrum from as little as 10 knots to about 20 knots.

MARLIN 2000 Blue, intentionally targeted at the current needs of the high growth intra-Asia trades, has been ordered and there is demand for a series of these vessels. There are two further MARLIN concept designs which will become more attractive to charterers as air emission standards tighten and bunker costs rise. MARLIN 2500 Jade is slightly larger and diesel powered but is delivered with either scrubber or SCR emission reduction technology, while offering similar fuel and efficiency gains. MARLIN 2500 Green is aimed at the market for feeder vessels in ECAS (Emission Control Areas) and provides the option for dual fuel and LNG powering.


Key features of the Marlin package are:

• Advanced suite of optimised, efficient and green designs
• Competitively priced
• Attractive finance package, subject to status
• Experienced partners
• Strong supervision team in place during construction
• Contract and high level shipyard support during construction
• Series production at selected Chinese shipyards giving high standards and timely deliveries
• Experienced technical managers for post delivery

Key features of the Marlin design series are:

• 30 per cent more fuel efficient in tonnes per day per TEU carried
• Slow steaming capability
• 20 per cent greater capacity
• Operational flexibility – efficient over wide range of speeds and loading conditions, an unusual benefit for vessels of this type.
• Lower emissions – scrubber, SCR or gas power
• ECA ready
• Forward accommodation giving safer navigation and increased capacity
• Greater cargo flexibility in container mix
• Improved manoeuvrability saving port costs

The initial order is for three MARLIN 2000 Blue geared vessels and three options followed by an understanding for the series to be extended up to twenty further vessels including other MARLIN designs. The first vessels have been ordered by Graig and a number of partners. Finance support is being led by a major European bank and China’s EXIM Bank.

The Jin Hai shipyard, close to Shanghai, was chosen for the series because of its track record of delivering high quality ships to demanding owners, and because it has the capacity to build four MARLIN vessels at the same time, so speeding delivery of the series. “Graig has extensive knowledge of Chinese yards, and we short-listed a number of yards before identifying Jin Hai as the best fit with our business model,” explains Williams. “Jin Hai is part of the Hainan Airlines Group, a major Chinese conglomerate which also owns a leading logistics player in Grand China Logistics and there is the possibility of the yard’s parent group owning or chartering MARLIN vessels. Jin Hai builds good ships and has a lot of production capacity for simultaneous building. We can provide a value added service, bringing our expertise into the yard with the long series of orders. With our teams in the yard and our experience with building container-friendly vessels we can help the yard to develop and we and our partners acquire good ships quickly at the right price. It is a win-win situation. We also believe the yard and its management have the capacity, working with Graig, Wärtsilä and DNV, to gear up to build the technically more demanding MARLIN Jade and MARLIN Green series of vessels, which we plan to order as soon as the market needs these increasingly environmentally friendly vessels.”

A presentation of the MARLIN concept and graphics of the designs are available to the media by e mailing john@merlinco.com

Graphics can be downloaded from http://bit.ly/m6hMSO

The Graig Group is a broad-based international ship owning and shipping services group delivering technical and commercial ship management, newbuilding supervision, lay-up services, ship design, ship owning, ship finance and marine consultancy to global clients who appreciate personal service.

Graig has been building, managing and owning ships since 1919. Today it provides technical management and crewing for a mixed fleet of vessels on behalf of a number of owners. It has supervised over 100 newbuildings for itself and major shipowners and provides technical consultancy and management support services to two major banks with a financed fleet of over 100 vessels. Graig develops advanced designs such as the successful Diamond series of bulk carriers. It can source yards and finance and provide newbuilding supervision and follow up with in service management. Based in the UK, Graig has offices in Cardiff, London, Shanghai, Singapore and Manila. www.graig.com

Wärtsilä Ship Design has an impressive order book of more than 300 vessels under design or construction. Wärtsilä Ship Design has operations in 10 countries and employs around 350 persons globally. As a part of Wärtsilä with 18,000 employees and operations in 70 countries Wärtsilä Ship Design is the leading global ship design player. www.wartsila.com



For further information contact:
Chris Williams
Graig
+44 2920 440 200
chris.williams@graig.com

Bureau Veritas says it is time for a new meaning of efficiency

LEADING international classification society Bureau Veritas says continuing pressure on environmental emissions, coupled with rising oil prices, puts a new focus on operational efficiency.

Writing in the Bureau Veritas Marine Business Review 2011 Bernard Anne, managing director of BV’s Marine Division says, “Efficiency has to take on a new meaning. To be efficient means more than optimising a ship to burn less fuel when loaded and at its design service speed. It must burn less fuel and cleaner fuel across a wide range of loading conditions and a wide range of speeds.

“To be efficient means more than saving fuel, it means burning the right fuel in the right place, making a pathway for the use of gas, nuclear and fuel cell solutions. To be efficient means operating the ship in the optimum way for every environmental condition, and that means having crew with the right training, the right support and the right feedback on operating conditions to make the right judgements. And to be efficient above all means operating without incident, without pollution, without breakdown, and without loss of life.

“Class can help with that quest for new levels of efficiency. We can facilitate and act as a catalyst at every level, measuring what happens now, predicting what effect changes will have, injecting knowledge and technical expertise and sharing development with academics and industry. And we can verify the outcomes, making sure they are safe. It is easy to build an underpowered, slow and fuel-efficient ship, but much more difficult to build a safe and fuel-efficient ship. And that is the role of class, at its most basic - to keep thing safe. We are there.”

Looking back over the previous year’s performance, Anne said, “We invested heavily in Arctic and offshore research and development to ensure that the best tools and experienced people were right there with the offshore operators and developers, helping them quantify and control risks, finding the optimum solutions that meet all the definitions of efficiency. Not the fastest, not the easiest, but the best and safest way to do things. That’s what we delivered in 2010.”

During 2010, BV’s classed fleet grew strongly to over 9,400 ships. “Our newbuilding order book doubled on the new orders from the year before. And we were entrusted with key contracts in the offshore field, such as the verification of the northern Norway Goliat FPSO and field, including all subsea systems. Our investment in research and development and links with key universities grew strongly, as we aligned the interests of academics, industry and class to work towards new and more efficient ways to do things at sea and in offshore energy,” continued Anne.

Key points from the Marine Business review include:

During 2010, BV’s classed fleet grew to a record 9,493 vessels totalling over 76.46m gt. The growth came from a large number of newbuildings and also a substantial transfer-in of ships in service. The ships in service being moved to BV class were of a low average age, which brought down the average age of the fleet once more.

Newbuilding orders entrusted to BV class doubled on 2009 to 9.5m gt, with a healthy presence in every ship type, every shipbuilding country and with every significant cluster of owners.

BV published new Rules for Offshore Floating Gas Units and saw several major FLNG projects come to fruition with BV assistance.

BV updated its AIMS asset integrity management system and delivered the first integrated AIMS plan covering topsides and hull with risk-based inspection and maintenance, on the FPSO Pazflor.

BV published guidance on Risk-Based Verification and Classification of Offshore Units and won a major third party verification contract from ENI Norway for the development of the Goliat field off northern Norway. The verification covers an innovative FPSO design, subsea systems and risers and electrification.

A Green Rating system based on BV’s experience in rating energy-efficient buildings adapted for shipping was published to help owners and charterers rate and manage the energy efficiency of ships.

The first MLC certificate was issued to a Greek owner, preparing the way for implementation of the MLC2006 maritime labour convention.

BV published new Polar Rules and guidance on ice structure interaction. The rules cover vessels able to operate without icebreaker assistance in the high Arctic and Caspian Sea and are intended to speed oil and gas development. A new ice loading and structural interaction tool, IceSTAR, was developed with St Petersburg University.

Guidelines for Offshore Floating Wind Turbines were developed and published and BV invested in a number of renewable energy development projects.

Guidelines for Ultra Large Containerships were devised and published, and BV took leadership of key projects investigating whipping and springing in very large open ship structures.

BV published rules on the classification of mooring systems for offshore structures, and its consultancy arm Tecnitas won contracts to design anchors and moorings for deepwater offshore units.

BV worked on projects to bring gas fuel for ships into reality, and on a specific project to help cruise vessels use LNG in ports.


Work began on developing a nuclear-powered bulk carrier.

The Marine Business Review contains a sector-by-sector breakdown of the activities of the Bureau Veritas Marine Division for 2010, and a look ahead to future developments. For a PDF or print copy please e mail chris@merlinco.com

Bureau Veritas is a leading international service provider, dedicated to quality assurance, environmental, health, and safety, (QEHS) management services across a wide range of economic activities, including marine, industry and facilities, government services, and consumer products. By far the largest classification and certification society in the world, Bureau Veritas has over 48,000 employees and 900 offices in over 140 countries throughout the world.

http://www.bureauveritas.comfor corporate information, http://www.veritas.comfor marine information.


For more information: Philippe Boisson Bureau Veritas +33 1 55 24 71 98 mailto:philippe.boisson@bureauveritas.com