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This weeks Interesting Ship is Dolphin Marine international Dolphin III Towing and Anchor Handling Tug.

The Dolphin III has been in service since 2001 and is based out of Port Fourchon, Louisiana. This SOLAS classed vessel is currently the most powerful offshore tugboat operating in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s powered by (2) EMD-20-710G7B Turbos which gives the tug a Bollard Pull of approximately 150 Tons. The Dolphin III has recently returned to service after it entered dry dock for a revamp and upgrades.

Video of the Dolphin III @ work

This weeks Interesting Ship is brought to us by MarineBuzz.com:

Thanks to increasing oil prices! Here comes E-Ship 1 from ‘Enercon’, one of the world’s leading companies in the wind energy sector from Germany. E-Ship 1 uses wind energy to cut down fuel costs and also helps to reduce emissions. Unlike Beluga Skysail which uses a huge parasail, E-Ship 1 uses four giant 25 metre high, 4 metre in diameter, rotating, vertical metal sailing rotors positioned two fore and two aft to harness wind energy. The sailing rotors are also called as Flettner rotors.

Here are some interesting features of E-Ship 1:

• Sailing rotors use wind energy to propel the ship and works on the the principle of Magnus effect named after German physicist, Heinrich Gustav Magnus .
• This concept was demonstrated by a German physicist Anton Flettner in 1924.
• The alphabet E stands for: ENERCON, Electro-technology, Environment, Economy, Ecology and the alphabet E also implies: Energy, Earth, Endurance, Encouragement, Experience, Experiment.
• Ship is under construction at Lindenau GmbH shipyards , Kiel and on August 02, ship naming and launching ceremonies took place.
• E-Ship 1 is expected to be delivered by December this year.
• The E-Ship’s main components such as sailing rotors, the highly efficient main engines, and the ship’s streamlined silhouette (above and below the water line) are developed directly by Enercon engineers.
• E-Ship 1 has been designed to cut down fuel costs by 30 percent.
• Technical data of E-Ship 1: [Continue Reading →]

In keeping with the arctic theme, this weeks Interesting Ship is the United States Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB-20). The ship is a research icebreaker that was first put into commission on November 10, 1999. Healy provides more than 4,200 square feet of laboratory space, numerous electronic sensor systems, oceanographic winches, and accommodations for up to 50 scientists. It is capable of breaking 4 1/2 feet of ice continuously at three knots and can operate in temperatures as low as -50 degrees F.

After Healy’s construction by Avondale Industries in New Orleans, LA, Healy performed sea trials off of San Juan, Puerto Rico and in the Baffin Sea between Canada and Greenland. It finally joined the rest of USCG Cutter fleet, Polar Sea and Polar Star, at its home port in Seattle and put on “Commission, Active” in August of 2000 following a transit of the Northwest Passage.

The USCG Cutter “Healy” utilizes technology provided by OmniTHRUSTER Marine Maneuvering and Propulsion Systems. gCaptain.com had the opportunity to speak with Kurt Widmer, President and COO of Omnithruster Inc., about their Omnithruster’s JT2200IB and its use on the USCG “Healy”.

OmniThruster JT Series

Kurt, could you tell us about how the Omnithruster JT2200IB works?

“The operating principle of the waterjet thruster is based on Newton’s third law of motion, which states, “to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” When the prime mover starts, seawater is brought into the thruster through the inlet grating/seachest at relative low velocity in order to minimize the ingesting of debris. Seawater travels through the kinetic converter at high head and moderate velocity thus reducing the losses due to turbulent flow. It then flows through the discharge ports which contain two 54″ hydraulically actuated butterfly valves. These valves modulate the discharge flow to the port side, starboard side, or both sides of the ship. At the ship’s hull, seawater is accelerated through converging nozzles, accelerating the water velocity. The accelerated water mass provides a reactive force acting on the ship’s hull. The direction and thrust magnitude is controlled by actuating the steering valves. The Healy thruster is also designed to operate in hull lubrication mode. In this mode of operation, 24″ valves open to allow water to pass through approximately 20 specially designed nozzles located along the bow of the vessel. Discharged sea water is introduced at the hull/ice interface reducing the friction during ice breaking operations.”

What other notable ships employ your Omnithruster water jet maneuvering systems?

Omnithruster systems are in use worldwide. Some notable installations are on the US Navy MCM (Mine Countermeasure) class vessels, as well as in all the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force mine sweepers (MSO and MSC class).

Do you have any interesting facts or stories related to the Omnithruster JT2200IB for our readers?

“One interesting fact… The Omnithruster JT2200IB discharges 135,000 gallons of water per minute of operation. This is enough water to fill up an olympic size swimming pool in 4.89 minutes!”

Thanks, Kurt

You can find out more about Omnithruster’s at Omnithruster.com

(Healy is currently still active in the USCGC fleet and its missions, along with the rest of the fleets can be found HERE.) [Continue Reading →]

Ship-Technology.com brings us this weeks Interesting Ship:

The Dole Chile and her sister vessel, the Dole Columbia, marked a new departure in reefer ship technology. Prior to their delivery, AP Moller’s large containerships were the world’s largest reefer ships with the ability to carry up to 700 refrigerated TEU.

The two Dole self-sustaining fully cellular vessels combine a hatchcoverless configuration, with a record-breaking concentration of perishable cargo carrying capacity. Dole Chile has a capacity of 1,000 40ft containers or 2,000 TEUs. This equates to approximately 2m cbf, making the Dole sisters the largest cold storage vessels in the world.

Dole Chile was built by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in Kiel for Dole Fresh Fruit International, and delivered in 1999. The vessel is deployed primarily in transporting bananas from Costa Rica to the east coast of the USA.

Dole Chile has Germanischer Lloyd classification and flies the Liberian flag. [Continue Reading →]

The Russian Ministry of Gas ordered the self- propelled crane vessel “Stanislav Yudin” from the Finnish Wartsilla shipyard in 1982.

The crane fitted on the stern of the vessel was designed by GustoMSC and built by Kone Oy in Finland.

The vessel built by Wärtsilla has a length of approx. 183 m, a width of 36 m and a depth of 13 m. The crane was originally designed with two 800-ton main hooks, which could be operated separately, a 400 ton auxiliary hook and a trolley with a 30 ton hook which could travel along the length of the box girder crane boom. To lift the maximum load of 1,600 tons, the 2 main hooks can be used independently allowing an angle with the vertical of up to 15° or they can be coupled together by a hoisting beam with a 1,600 ton hook.

As the vessel has an active ballast system and a minimum draught was required, the weight of the crane is minimized by omitting the counterweight and by using high tensile steel. [Continue Reading →]

Suffering from regulatory pressure, uncooperative management and looking at the success of a previous pirate radio ship, the Radio Caroline, a team of radio executives planned to create a new offshore venture by installing two pirate radio stations on an anchored ship. The original plan called for the use of a high-flying balloon system in order to keep a high antenna aloft which would transmit radio programs to nearby residents of the UK. The team soon realized this plan was overly ambitious, but settled on a more reasonable plan to transmit their signal. Soon after, the M/V Communicator was fitted with powerful gear and a towering antenna to launch their station, “Laser 558″. Wikipedia tells us:

Laser 558 was a popular European offshore pirate radio station (others include Radio Caroline, Radio Noordzee and Swinging Radio England) launched in 1984. Laser 558 used mainly American disc jockeys who had been recruited and flown over from the USA. The station was based aboard the ship the MV Communicator, which was based in international waters in the North Sea, and thus took advantage of a legal loophole which allowed them to circumvent the requirements for an official license and legally broadcast to the UK. Within a matter of months the station had gained an audience of millions - probably because of its programming format of one oldie followed by one current song. Eventually poor management and lack of advertising income starved the station off the air. In 1986 an attempt was made to return the station to the airwaves as Laser Hot Hits, but the same problems arose once more. Read More…

Teh following is a brief look at how they built the piracy antenna. Click here to see the full photo details.

For those who think “times have changed”, think again. While the M/V Communicator is no longer pirating the airwaves, the attitude of the times lives on aboard the Principality of SeaLand.

Strange Indeed.

M/V SEACOR CHEETAH is a 170 ft. class Catamaran passenger/cargo vessel with the capacity to carry 150 passengers at a top speed in excess of 40 knots.  It is designed to meet the specific demands of the oil and gas industry for crew transport in loop-style routes between high-traffic platforms and shore-base operations.  The Cheetah aims to increase passenger comfort and safety, personnel transport reliability, and dramatically reduce costs.

M/V SEACOR CHEETAH details: [Continue Reading →]

National Geographic also brings us this week’s Interesting Ship of The Week.  They tell us:

>> NAME: The Palmer is named for a U.S. seal hunter who sailed along the west coast of Antarctica in 1820 looking for seal rookeries. Many believe he was the first to discover the continent.

>> SIZE: Built in 1992, the Palmer is a 7,600-ton icebreaker capable of breaking 3 feet (1 meter) of ice at 3 knots. It is 308 feet (94 meters) long and has 12,720 horsepower.

>> CREW: The Palmer works year-round in the Antarctic. It has 22 crew members.

>> CABINS: Each cabin is outfitted with two bunks, a head (bathroom), a TV and VCR, a telephone, and a LAN jack for computers.

>> AMENITIES: A 24-hour mess hall provides meals to the around-the-clock researchers and crew. Several lounges have TVs, movies, and books, and there is a workout room.

>> COMMUNICATION: The scientists on board can send or receive e-mail twice a day. There are also telephones onboard the ship.

Image source: davidcmartin.com

(Image Source: blogimg.goo.ne.jp)

This week’s Interesting Ship of The Week was actaully recently named Ship of The Year for 2007 by The Japan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers.  Her name is Brasil Maru, a 320,000 DWT iron ore carrier operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL).  The selection committee noted that the Brasil Maru is a pioneering vessel in reducing iron ore transport cost which will have a great effect on steel production.  A June 18, 2008 press release from MOL reads:

Brasil Maru Vessel Characteristics

First of all, the Brasil Maru reflects the needs of the times, offering high efficiency thanks to its large size. With deadweight tonnage of 320,000 tons which is one of the world’s largest, it is the optimal size to transport iron ore produced in Brazil. MOL, with its customer (Nippon Steel Corporation), shipyard (Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.), and shipowner (Tamou Line S.A.) spent a year and a half studying and designing the vessel. It was built in Japan, where such large-scale iron ore carriers had never been constructed, and is ideally suited to meet increasing demand for transport of iron ore from Brazil to Japan via shuttle service.

Starting with the Brasil Maru, more than 50 iron ore carriers in the 300,000 dwt class have been ordered around the world. The Brasil Maru is truly the forerunner of future iron ore transport.

The vessel’s design relied on the most advanced computer simulation to optimize environmental protection and safe operation. It offers high-performance course stability that takes water flow into account, and excellent maneuverability. In addition, UIT, a revolutionary method of treating steel surfaces, was used to more than double resistance to metal fatigue in the welded parts. [Continue Reading →]

The Sea Barge (SEABEE) can carry the aircraft of Army units without extensive sectionalization. The 200- by 100-foot (61- by 30.5-m) deck area between the deckhouse and smokestacks provides a suitable landing area for fly-on/fly-off operations. The SEABEE barges are stored horizontally on 3 decks, 12 each on the main and lower decks and 14 on the upper deck. One hundred and sixty containers can be carried on 10 of the 14 barges on the upper deck. Barges are loaded aboard the SEABEE ship by a 2,000-ton-capacity submersible stern elevator. Under ideal conditions the SEABEE ship can load or discharge its load in 13 hours.

The dimensions and pertinent characteristics of the SEABEE ship areas follows: Length 874 ft (267 m) Width 106 ft (32 m) Deadweight (max) 38,410 LTON (34 000 MTON) Speed 21.7 knots Dry cargo 44,350 MTON Barge capacity 38 barges.

The watertight, double-hulled SEABEE barge is the same width and one-half the length of the standard US commercial river barge. It is slightly larger, but has approximately twice the cargo-carrying capacity of the LASH lighter. The barges are readily accessible during the voyage by catwalk in the ship and by manhole hatches in the barges. Each barge is fitted for smoke monitoring and has water fire-extinguishing systems. Forced draft ventilation while underway is also provided. The SEABEE barge, with the seven hatch covers installed, has a draft of just less than 2 feet (.6 m). The shallow draft allows the barge to be drawn very close to an unprepared river bank. No deck winches are installed on the SEABEE barge. However, sufficient cleats are available for securing the barge. The mooring lines must be kept taut at all times to prevent drift caused by tidal action or strong river currents. As the barge is loaded, the shoreside edge of the hull will settle firmly its full length on the river bank. The settling will add stability to the barge and aid in loading. Should high and low tidal conditions be expected along coastlines it will be necessary to prevent the barge from settling on shore. The loaded lighter can be moved off the river bank easily by crane or by a small harbor tug. (source: GlobalSecurity.org)