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We recently ran across some interesting statistics from a 2005 joint study on manpower from BIMCO and the ISF.

Q: How many officers are currently employed aboard ships?

A: Approximately 466,000

Here’s a chart of the numbers;

Regarding this chart the study notes:

An updated estimate of global seafarer supply has been produced based on the most recent national statistics provided by authorities in almost all principal labor supply and other maritime countries. The worldwide supply of seafarers in 2005 is estimated to be 466,000 officers and 721,000 ratings. The OECD countries (North America, Western Europe, Japan etc.) remain an important source of officers, although Eastern Europe has become increasingly significant with a large increase in officer numbers. The Far East and South East Asia (the “Far East”), and the Indian sub-continent remain the largest sources of supply of ratings and are rapidly becoming a key source of officers.

Here is the age structure of officers from OECD countries;

The study tells us:

The world fleet continues to rely heavily on officers from Europe, North America, Japan and other OECD countries However, over 25% of these are over 50 years old, and well over50% are over 40. Most are in senior positions such as Masters or Chief Engineers. The impact of their retirement, without adequate numbers of well trained and experienced replacements, could be severe.

The study itself discus, in depth, manpower issues facing the industry. You can download the report summary, including more information on the above charts HERE or the full report HERE.

Most mariners can tell you the significance of a ship’s IMO number but few know how the number is chosen. One of the guys mathematicians over at koti.mbnet.fi thinks he’s figured it out:

IMO Numbers are made up of letters IMO and seven decimal digits.

 

1. The digits to be checked are weighted from right to left by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
2. Products are added up.
3. The sum is divided by 10. The remainder is the check digit.

Example: IMO 9074729 (Pacific Frontier, Hong Kong)

	 9  0  7  4  7  2  9
	 7  6  5  4  3  2
	63  0 35 16 21  4  = 139 -> 9

The method could also be described by saying that the weighting factors are 3..8 from left to right, and the check digit is the digit that you need to add to the sum to make it evenly divisible by 10.

If anyone is a mathematician or cryptologist and can verify this please leave a comment below.

So what is an IMO Number anyway? Triton’s Tells Us:

As a result of the attack on the USS Cole, the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and the suicide bombing of the oil tanker Limburg, the IMO held a Diplomatic Conference on Maritime Security in December 2002. At the conference, it adopted a number of measures aimed at enhancing the security of ships and port facilities. In addition to the creation of the well-known ISPS Code, the conference also included a modification to SOLAS Regulation XI-1/3 to require ships’ identification numbers to be permanently marked in a visible place either on the ship’s hull or superstructure.

The IMO Ship Identification Number is a unique seven-digit number assigned to propelled, seagoing vessels of 100 gross tons and above. The number is assigned by Lloyd’s Register - Fairplay Ltd. on behalf of the IMO. It consists of the three letters IMO followed by seven numbers.

It is important to note that this number is separate and different from your official number. The official number is an internal control number issued by your yacht’s flag administration and cannot be used to replace the IMO number.

gCaptain’s Short Answer: A vessel’s “IMO Number” is the single best way to track and locate history on a ship since each number is unique and is the only identification that remains with a vessel from shipyard to scrapyard.

Links:

• Official IMO Issuance Page
• Pari-MOU - Ship Info and Detentions by IMO Number (Free)
• Look-Up Vessel Information by IMO Number (Registration required)
• USCG Vessel Information by IMO (Hull) Number
• Shipspotters.com Forum Discussion on IMO Numbers

Bravo on My Watch
By The Artful Blogger

I review shipboard incidents every day. It’s what I write about. Unfortunately, there’s plenty of material out there. The other day, something came across my desk. At first, I thought it someone’s idea of a joke. “Artful,” I said to myself, “There is no way that this really happened.” It was then I came to the realization that this paper was no joke . . . this actually happened . . . and , well I’ll just share this little tidbit with you and you can blog for yourself. Of course, I left out the names to protect the guilty. I’m just going to reflect on the high points of the story (mainly because it’s the most interesting part!).

Once upon a time, there was this cruise ship that went out for a three hour tour. The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was . . . (Oops. Sorry, wrong story). [Continue Reading →]

gCaptain’s all time favorite TV commercial and worst nightmare.

Funniest video of last year! Thanks, Berlitz

(Is your company blocking access? View the file here: LINK )

Click on the image for the Hi-Res version. The photo was taken using a technique we published in a story titled “Shipboard Digital Camera Tricks“. Many more great moon pictures by the photographer, Licya, can be found HERE.

(Originally published June 2007)

The title of one story in this week’s MarEx Newsletter proclaims “Maritime Academy Graduation Heralds the Continuation of Good Times” and nothing affirms this better than a look into the order books of the world’s largest shipyards.

The information the following links comes from the Colton Company: “a small firm of specialized management consultants. Its principal consultant is Tim Colton, an industrial engineer, maritime economist and naval architect, with 49 years of experience in the shipbuilding industry, both in the U.S. and worldwide. Our business is helping your business to grow and to prosper”.

MarineLog tells us:

Tim Colton opens new maritime consultancy
Tim Colton, formerly president of international shipbuilding consultants Colton & Company, has returned to the consultancy biz after three years with Halter Marine. Colton, the perennial moderator of Marine Log’s “Shipbuilding Decisions” conference and a frequent contributor to Marine Log magazine”

Here are the pages of greatest interest:

• Shipyard Activity in 2007. It seems that the Overseas Houston (in Aker’s Philadelphia Shipyard) is the only Unlimited tonnage being built this year.
• Large Cruise Ships on Order. The largest of the large are two more Royal Caribbean’s “Freedom of the Seas” class, the world’s largest (by Gross Tons) cruise ships. They are being built by Aker Turku in Finland and are scheduled to launch in 2009 and 2010.
• Offshore is seeing perhaps the largest growth with 13 Drillships and 39 Semi-Submersibles and 79 Jack-ups on order. View the list here.
• And what is seemingly the Topic of the Day… LNG orders. With an impressive 143 ships ordered we understand the push to build terminals across the U.S.

Of great interest to U.S. Mariners; The U.S. Shipping Fleet. With seemingly every ship under the U.S. flag listed this (along with our own Merchant Fleet Chart) makes for an interesting read. Many thanks to Tim Colton for maintaining this resource. Visit the Colton Company’s Homepage for more valuable statistics.

History is littered with bridges designed to do the impossible. One example, Euroroute (pictured above), would literally take drivers through the White Cliffs of Dover to an island five miles into the English Channel where a tunnel would bring drivers the twenty remaining miles to France. This bridge was never built of course but the dream existed.

Today bridges are being designed that would cast shadows over Euroroute’s proposed span. Here’s what is being planned.

Fehmarn Belt Bridge

Fehmarn Belt Bridge: Germany and Denmark have agreed upon building a 19km long bridge in between the two countries in the Fehmarn Belt region, and in that way shorten the trip between Scandinavia and central Europe. The construction of the bridge will be financed mostly by Denmark, with 4.8 billion euros, and Germany with 800 million Euros. The bridge will have two levels, one for road traffic, and one for rail. The start of construction is expected in 2011, and its opening in 2018. (Source: Javno)

Bering Strait Bridge

Bering Strait Bridge: The 55 mile long bridge across the Bering Strait would connect Asia and North America for the first time since the continents touched each other. At an estimated cost of 15 to 25 billion dollars this proposal is not only expensive but fraught with challenge. Ice breakup after each winter is violent and would destroy normal bridge piers. Specially shaped massive piers along the ocean floor would be needed to keep the bridge stable. (video - Map)

Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macao Bridge

Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macao Bridge: Being situated at the waters of Lingdingyang of Pearl River Estuary, is a large sea crossing linking the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Zhuhai City of Guangdong Province and Macao Special Administrative Region. The functions of the bridge is to meet the demand of passenger and freight land transport among Hong Kong, the Mainland and Macao, to establish a new land transport link between the east and west coasts of the Pearl River, and to enhance the economic and sustainable development in the three places. (Source: Hong Kong Highways Dept.)

Strait of Gibraltar Bridge

Strait of Gibraltar Bridge: One of the great challenges to the bridge and structural engineering profession is the design and construction of a fixed bridge spanning the Strait of Gibraltar. Several engineers have advanced designs for the Gibraltar Bridge on various alignments and with differing structural configurations but it was Professor T.Y. Lin’s proposal that captured the attention of the world. This design is different. With its 14km length, deep piers, and unprecedented 5000 meter spans Lin’s proposed crossing is innovative but, considering an estimated cost of over 15 Billion dollars and the lack of approval for this nearly 10 year old design, we doubt it will ever be built.

Straight Of Gibraltar Island Bridge

Straight Of Gibraltar Island Bridge: Eugene Tsui, a US architect has an alternative idea for the Straight Of Gibraltar, in fact it could become the longest bridge in the world spanning the Strait of Gibraltar and connecting the continents of Europe and Africa. This revolutionary design does not resemble any existing bridge and features an original floating and submerging concept while creating a three mile wide floating island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. From this newly created island a person could view both the European and African continents for the first time in human history. If construction ever begins it will be the biggest architectural project in the world. (Source: tdrinc

The following bridge proposals are in so new that we could not locate any design drawings but you don’t need the drawings to grasp their awesome size:

Sunda Strait Bridge

The Sunda Strait Bridge is a planned road and railway connection between the two Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java. After years of discussion and planning, eventually in October 2007 the Indonesian government gave the initial go-ahead for what will become the world’s longest suspension bridge, across the 26km (16mi) Sunda Strait. The $10bn project is for a series of bridges carrying a six lane highway and double track railway traversing three islands. The project’s greatest challenge is the fact that the strait lies in one of the world’s most dangerous earthquake zones. Sumatra is frequently rocked by significant tremors and more than 230,000 people were killed when a 9.0-magnitude quake in December 2004 triggered a tsunami. Many active volcanoes lies in the area, including Krakatoa only 40km away. (Source: Wikipedia - Map)

Qatar Bahrain Friendship Bridge

Look at a map of the world, and Qatar and Bahrain are so close that you would assume there was a ferry crossing between the two gulf countries. In fact, there is no way to enter the country except for a round trip through Saudi. The Bahrain-Qatar bridge, at 40 kilometres long, will be the longest bridge in the world, and it is estimated that it will take over four years to complete. Due to its length, the causeway will not consist of a single bridge but of a number of roads on dams connected by individual bridges, with a central island in the middle of the causeway. The has been planned for many years, but talks and plans have been moving ahead in recent months and work is now planned to start in May 2008. (Source: Qatar Visitor | Feasibility Study)

Millau Bridge

While these bridges are challenging, expensive and some are unlikely to be constructed the most impressive of the bunch is already built! Meet France’s Millau Bridge:

Millau Bridge: Towering 1,125ft above the Tarn Valley in southern France, driving along the Millau Bridge, the largest cable-stayed vehicular bridge in the world, is said to feel like flying. This Foster + Partners marvel is slightly taller than the Eiffel Tower, took three years to build and opened to the public in 2004. While it may provide picturesque views of the valley below, once the mist descends it is not a route for the faint hearted! The Millau Bridge has a total length of 8,071ft with the longest single span at 1,122ft and a maximum clearance below of 886ft; in short the bridge is massively impressive both on paper and in real life. The deck is lofted on 7 pylons and weighs 36,000 tonnes. A series of 7 masts, each 292ft tall and weighing 700 tonnes, are attached to the corresponding pylons. (Source: Frikoo | Construction Photos)

I took a tour of the FLIP back in 2002 when my wife was working aboard the Robert G. Sproul at Scripps and it is one of the most interesting ships I’ve ever seen. The Scripps website tells us alittle about this amazing vessel:

FLIP stands for Floating Instrument Platform: it is actually a huge specialized buoy. One of its creators described it as looking like a 355-foot long ( 108 m) baseball bat. If that isn’t unusual enough, it really flips!

Popular Mechanics is featuring the FLIP in this month’s magazine. Here are some highlights from the story:

Shaped like a giant baseball bat, the 700-ton FLIP, or Floating Instrument Platform, is a Navy barge operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. Once towed to a site, the vessel flips to vertical. “It was built in 1962 to refine acoustic targeting for submarine rockets, but scientists quickly realized that it would be useful for all kinds of research,” says Bill Gaines, FLIP’s program director. “So 45 years later, FLIP still serves the oceanographic community.” And it is still one of a kind.

Stability

Tanks 5, 8 and 9, and parts of tanks 6 and 7, remain filled with air to keep FLIP buoyant. Like the Louisville Slugger that the vessel was modeled from, FLIP increases in diameter from bow to stern — a profile that contributes to its stability when vertical. “A design criterion for FLIP was that it move less than one-tenth of a passing wave’s height,” Gaines says.

There is more good information at Popular Mechanics site in the story titled:

Open Ocean Lab FLIP Vessel: How it Works

More Links:

• Official FLIP Site
• Ship Technology Article
• Interesting Photos of FLIP
• Descriptive Photo of the Ballasting Process
• Scripps Institute of Oceanography

 

 FLIP Research Vessel [0:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you think Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears are the only ones suffering from Fame just be glad your not the captain of this brand new ship! This summer while transiting the Manchester Ship Canal the Container Ship “Arklow Fame” experienced exceptionally strong currents created by the high rainfall experienced in the region.

The silver lining? There are worse choices when naming a ship:

Know a ship with a terrible name? Submit it to our forum.

Pre-Accident photo by Shipspotter William Maclennan:

Links:

• Large photo of the damage
• Shipyard repair photos
• Arklow Shipping
• Other Poorly Named Ships
• Current Location
• Vessel Details
• Worst Website Domain Names

The above photo was taken by Mark Zanzig during a flight over the Nambia desert. Mark Writes;

Another photo of the Edward Bohlen, this time providing a view on the full body of the ship. The wreck from 1909 now lies far inland from the beach, which makes you wonder how it actually got there?

Well we are sure there’s an interesting incident story behind this wreckage and offer a free gCaptain t-shirt to the reader that best enlightens us with the facts. Also check out the full color photo of the Edward Bohlen HERE.