Technical Papers

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) have serviced their tankers Santa Maria and Mistra Bay with Koseq and Ro- Clean Desmi oil recovery equipment including: Tarantula offshore skimmers, Ro-Boom 2000 offshore booms, Rigid Sweeping Arms with handling cranes and all Zone II diesel driven Power Packs. On top of this, the newly EMSA contracted tankers Salina Bay, Aktea, Mersey Fisher, Galway Fisher and Forth Fisher are to be equipped this Spring with the same as well.

This spring, Lamor Group Ltd and Swire Pacific Offshore Limited (SPO) formed a 50/50 Joint Venture (JV) to provide effective and contemporary emergency oil spill response solutions for the oil and gas sector. The joint venture allows Lamor and SPO the opportunity to unite their core expertise into a single bonded global enterprise that will provide the oil & gas sector with the most cost effective and contemporary solutions to oil spill preparedness and response available anywhere on the market.

Examination of several significant US oil spills over the last five years reveals a pattern: a series of reactionary legislation that may negatively impact marine commerce at a time when the industry, particularly our ports, can least afford the economic hardship. Do these additional regulations add meaningful environmental protection or have we reached a point of diminishing returns?

For modern port facilities, times are changing and so is the way of doing business. Concerns such as increasing safety and security, reducing operational expenditures and improving environmental practices are registering high on the list of business priorities.

Modern marine terminals face increasing demands for electric power. The emerging use of electric terminal tractors can only expand the current requirements for delivering shoreside vessel power and supplying power to operate electric yard cranes. At the same time, terminals face a public relations problem because they are seen as heavy consumers of energy that is drawn from polluting, nonrenewable sources. Although the consumption of electricity produces no emissions locally, it is well known that significant quantities of undesirable pollutants may be emitted at the generating site. Generating renewable power on-site at the port terminals can significantly reduce this off-site pollution, improve public opinion of the ports, and reduce the terminal’s energy expenses. Container terminals in sunny climates are particularly good candidates for on-site solar power generation.

In today’s world, seaport cranes have not only increased in volume at the ports, but have also increased in speed, acceleration and in the amount of constant use. The need for a machine that exhibits little downtime is mandatory. The workload for the RMG’s serving the CTA Terminal in Hamburg is enormous, causing continuous wear and tear on all of the components of cranes, especially to the cable found on these machines. Therefore, they demand that the cable used have a five-seven year working life, or 12,500 hours which is equal to approx. 160,000 KM on the crane drives.

EMS-Tech Inc. is extremely proud to celebrate its twentieth year of serving the international bulk material handling community. As an Engineering firm that has grown to a team of sixty, EMS-Tech is now positioning itself for an exciting further growth phase from its head office in Canada. With a mind for engineering excellence and an eye for talent, business owners Peter Sorensen and Brian Stafford, along with their EMS-Tech team, have consistently demonstrated strong commitments to engineering innovations, productivity and customer dedication. This strategy has served them well in developing a loyal and growing customer base with increasing global diversity.

Health and safety should be the cornerstone of all oil spill preparatory measures. The purpose of the report is to investigate the safety aspects of oil spills and their response, focusing on identifying the principal safety issues when an oil spill occurs, their degree of severity and the practical steps that can be taken to minimise the impact of the spill. It is recognised that safety is managed in many different ways around the world and no attempt is made to provide a ‘blue-print’ safety document.

Labour costs, in both developed and developing countries, seem continually on the rise. Traditionally, when evaluating the impact of process automation technology investments, like those involving OCR, RFID, and GPS automation solutions, considerable emphasis is placed on the ROI derived solely from labour force reductions. Many terminal operators, keen on reducing rising operating costs and reliance on unionised labour, may feel the pressure to prematurely begin these projects without clearly defining the real business value that’s achievable. One alternative is to look beyond basic ROI and labour reductions and focus first on how the technology solution benefits the core business of a terminal.

AICM and access control As a tour ist and commercial gateway to the country, the International Airport of Mexico City (AICM) plays a vital role in the development of Mexico’s economy, ensuring the prosperity and global accessibility of this burgeoning nation. The AICM is Latin America’s busiest airport, and one of the world’s 30 most active airports in terms of passengers, operations and cargo. Located six miles east of Mexico City, the airport is Mexico’s primary international and domestic hub, with direct flights to more than 300 worldwide destinations. The airport boasts an impressive array of modern facilities including restaurants, shops, hotel reservation desks, tourist information, ATMs, banks, foreign exchange, business facilities and a post office.

As technology progresses within the industry, safety is becoming an essential feature of building a new terminal and sustaining older terminals, which are now changing old bollards in favour of quick release hooks. Safety is crucial when constructing LNG terminals so all new terminals are now being equipped with quick release mooring hooks.

Recently, Port Technology International sat down with Mr Thilo Pfister, Managing Director of Sibre Brakes, a leading manufacturer and supplier of crane brakes, to discuss the latest model of crane brakes that have introduced to the market.