Fuel cells with hydrogen fuel have now been demonstrated in public transportation for over 15 years worldwide. During this time Ballard-powered fuel cell buses have clocked more than 300,000 hours while accumulating over 5 million kilometers. These public transport buses have been certified and homologated in the USA, Europe, Australia and China. While certification agencies such as TUV, CHP, NHTSA, and other local governing bodies have been involved with the approval process for ensuring safety of personnel and equipment, the components themselves have met stringent requirements of NFPA, NGV, SAE, ASME, ANSI and other governing organizations. This paper highlights the various standards and safety concepts used in the approval process of public transportation using fuel cell buses. Since marine ferries involve movement of personnel, it is recommended that many of the requirements used for public buses can be easily adapted for marine applications of fuel cells. Paper published with permission.

ASME has a project to meet industry needs for pressure vessel Code updates to address storage of high pressure hydrogen. This has resulted in updates to existing B&PV Code, new Code Cases, and new Code requirements. One of the tasks was to develop requirements for high pressure composite reinforced vessels with non-load sharing liners. Originally developed as a Code Case, the requirements have been approved as mandatory Appendix 8 of ASME Section X of the B&PV Code, to be published in July 2010. The allowed pressures of this new Code are from 0.7 MPa (3,000 psi) to 103.4 MPa (15,000 psi). Qualification testing addresses expected operating conditions. Inspection requirements are being developed in cooperation with NBIC. Pressure vessels are being developed that meet the new ASME requirements. Efforts will be made to include additional gases, including compressed natural gas, and additional operational requirements in future revisions. Paper published with permission.

Contaminants in marine wastewater facing current or near-future regulations can be broadly categorized to free oil & suspended solids, emulsified oil and dissolved solids, and biological organisms. The first category of contaminants has been treated by commercially available OWS systems. The second class of contaminants, emulsified oils and dissolved solids, has been effectively treated by UF membrane filtration and to a less extent by biological oxidation and surface modified filters. A survey of recent advances in physical and chemical demulsification technologies to enhance emulsified oil removal with reduced loads on membrane was conducted. The study also identified new applications for treatments of biological organisms in ballast water. Paper published with permission.

The need for more efficient and cost effective design of ship board equipment has never been greater. Pressure vessels on board ships can account for significant volume and weight and thus affect the overall performance of the vessel. Classically ship board pressure vessels have been designed to ASME Section VIII, Division 1. This code requires pressure vessels that are designed using a basic design by rule approach with a 3.5 to 1 design margin on specified minimum tensile strength. In recent years the ASME Standards Committee that is responsible for Section VIII has developed two design codes, Section VIII, Division 2 Alternative Rules for Construction of Pressure Vessels and Section VIII, Division 3 Alternative Rules for Construction of High Pressure Vessels. These pressure vessel design codes offer lower design margins, an improved design by rule approach for Division 2 and allow or require design by analysis based on the vessel operating conditions and environment such as cyclic service. Use of these codes can improve ship board vessel design by lowering the weight of vessels while providing a safe reliable pressure vessel. Paper published with permission.

In discussing the use of Natural Gas as a fuel for Marine use, there are two aspects that require examination, firstly, the gas handling, process and on land/vessel storage considerations, and secondly, the pressure vessels that will store the fuel. Paper published with permission.

Cold Iron: Receipt of shore power, along with other utilities such as potable water and steam, is part of the process of placing the engineering plant in a status known as “cold iron.” The term originates from the steamship era, when ship boilers and engines would go relatively cold after being secured. To bring a steam plant back online, supplying its own power after a “cold iron” period, would involve a substantial light-off, warm-up, and transition period compared to modern, fully automated plants. Onshore power supply (OPS, sometimes referred to as “cold ironing”) is a system of procedures and equipment that provides ships with a source of electrical power as an alternative to the ship’s service electrical power system. The primary benefit is that, since the ship no longer has main or auxiliary engines operating, the engine emissions are virtually eliminated in the port area. Many ports around the world are located near large populations, and engine emissions from ships unfortunately contribute to unwanted levels of nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, particulate matter, and even the “greenhouse gas” carbon dioxide. Onshore power supply achieves a better total emissions reduction result than ship-installed emissions equipment, because the engines are off-line. On the other hand, there are difficulties associated with high voltage, varying frequencies, safety and infrastructure costs that must be addressed in order to justify an onshore power supply installation. Paper published with permission.

Developed at the request of the US Department of Transportation, Section XII- Transport Tanks , of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code addresses rules for the construction and continued service of pressure vessels for the transportation of dangerous goods by road, air, rail, or water. The standard is intended to replace most of the vessel design rules and be referenced in the federal hazardous material regulations, Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). While the majority of the current rules focus on over-the-road transport, there are rules for portable tanks which can be used in marine applications for the transport of liquefied gases, and for ton tanks used for rail and barge shipping of chlorine and other compressed gases. Rules for non-cryogenic portable tanks are currently provided in Section VIII, Division 2, but will be moved into Section XII. These portable tank requirements should also replace the existing references to the outmoded 1989 edition of ASME Section VIII, Division 1 cited in Title 46 of the CFR. Paper published with permission.

To avoid making billion dollar mistakes, operators with discoveries in deepwater (∼3,000m) Gulf of Mexico (GoM) need dependable well performance, reservoir response and fluid data to guide full-field development decisions. Recognizing this need, the DeepStar consortium developed a conceptual design for an Early Production System (EPS) that will serve as a mobile well test system that is safe, environmentally friendly and cost-effective. The EPS is a dynamically positioned (DP) Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel with a bundled top tensioned riser having quick emergency disconnect capability. Both oil and gas are processed onboard and exported by shuttle tankers to local markets. Oil is stored and offloaded using standard FPSO techniques, while the gas is exported as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). This paper summarizes the technologies, regulatory acceptance, and business model that will make the DeepStar EPS a reality. Paper published with permission.

This discussion paper is based on a preliminary design and is not to be construed or interpreted as being a suitable basis for adoption as a final design for natural gas storage facilities or marine vessels. The gas storage concepts were developed as a basis for project budgeting, further design studies such as HAZID/HAZOP/FEMA, and for review/comment by Classification Societies and Regulatory Authorities as a precedent to further design development. The contents, comments and opinions contained herein are proprietary to Floating Pipeline Company Incorporated and TransCanada. Paper published with permission.

Current Status of Technology • 10 systems have received Type Approval certificates • 14 have received IMO final approval • a further 3 are expecting final approval at MEPC 60 • 8 others have basic approval • A further 7 may receive basic approval at MEPC 60 It is important to note that, not all systems are required to follow the IMO basic and final approval path to Type Approval as outlined in Procedure G9. If the system does not utilize an active substance as a biocide, a separate procedure for testing and verification according to Procedure G8 is undertaken. That said, it is expected that several systems are in the process of obtaining Type Approval in this manner as well, adding to those mentioned above. Paper published with permission.

This paper discusses the potential to use fuel cell technology for marine applications. The topics discussed include a definition of a fuel cell, the types of fuel cells and their applications, fuels currently used by various fuel cell designs, the status of supporting product safety standards, the existing model and design codes for the storage and piping of various fuels, the existing model and design codes for the dispensing of various fuels, and potential near term applications for powering marine vessels and other equipment. Paper published with permission.

Composite pressure vessels have been used for over 40 years in a variety of military, aerospace, marine, transportation, stationary, and vehicle applications. Codes, standards, and guidelines have been developed to address vessel performance in these high pressure applications by ASME and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). A risk or hazard identification analysis may be conducted during qualification and approval process. Prototype and qualification testing in these standards validate the design and anticipated operating conditions. Knowledge has been gained from qualification testing, field experience, and inspection that supports selection of materials and design configurations for marine and land based applications. Periodic inspection of vessels mitigates risk, particularly in terms of detecting environmental and mechanically induced damage before failure can occur. This paper was written jointly between ABS and Lincoln Composites through the certification process of Lincoln’s Titan™ project. This paper will outline qualification of technology and, testing requirements, as well as discuss the basis for hazard mitigation and material selection in the marine environment. Paper published with permission.

This paper presents a new ocean platform concept, the fully constrained platform (FCP). In a nut-shell, FCP is a fixed-in-place deepwater platform concept, which has the least amount of motion in harsh environment, compared to all other deepwater platforms currently in use. For an intermediate water depth, from 100 to 1,000 ft, the FCP concept could be competitive to existing designs. FCP is the core technology for a new class of marine structures, and has the potential to be used anywhere in world’s ocean for any purpose, which requires a support structure with minimum motions. Paper published with permission.

The paper provides background on how bilge water has changed over the years and how technology has enabled manufacturers to stay ahead of the curve by borrowing technological breakthroughs from other areas to the measurement of oil content in the marine environment. Light scattering provides today a universal and reliable method, able to measure the wide range of oils present in a wildly variable and unpredictable bilge water mixture. Bilge water regulations were put in place to reduce the potential of harm to the environment from oily bilge water discharges. Regulations require that instruments verify effluent quality continually during the discharge process, which precludes the adoption for shipboard use of standard laboratory style testing with the associated time delays to complete the analysis. Measuring oil content with the light scattering measuring instrument is a tried and tested means for compliant bilge water verification. State of the art instruments employ sophisticated light measuring systems and they use complex algorithms to convert the scattered light pattern values into oil content reading, thereby considering interference from other than oil suspended matter, they prevent harm to the environment from bilge water discharges. Paper published with permission.

The Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) that is part of a new Chapter 4 of MARPOL Annex 6 on Energy Efficiency Regulations is mandatory for new ships effective 1 January 2013. During the period from 2011 to the end of 2012, many of the major shipyards and shipping companies have voluntarily complied with the requirements of EEDI calculation and verification for their newbuilds. This paper outlines requirements of EEDI verification procedure and aspects of the verification method that are important to the calculation of EEDI reference speed from speed trials. This paper shows the outcome of the verification process that some new ships have gone through, the degree of compliance achieved and the experience gained in EEDI verification for three types of ships: tankers, bulk carriers and containerships. Sources of uncertainties associated with lack of complete information from sea trials are identified. Comparison of the attained and required EEDI for the three vessel types demonstrating the degree of compliance in Phases 0 and 1 are included. Paper published with permission.

Scenario based learning that places you in the various roles within the LNG bunkering process. Understand the knowledge requirements necessary to maximise safety in LNG bunkering operations. Discover how to assess the competency gap between crew, terminal personnel and port staff to mitigate the human element risks in LNG bunkering. Work together to utilize this analysis to determine training that builds upon existing skills, optimizes training times and harmonises with those involved in the operations. Paper published with permission.

DP operators are trained to be reactionary — to know what to do, how to do it, and when to do it — but understanding why certain actions are performed and the potential consequences is lacking. Further, the policies and procedures enacted at the management and regulatory levels fail to address many potential risks, further endangering personnel, the environment, assets, and operations. It is therefore an industry responsibility to monitor and develop the competencies of not only DP operational personnel, but also of shore side management at all levels, and to ensure the applicability of policies and procedures that affect DP operations. Paper published with permission.

Last decade has seen a spurt in autonomous technologies in military and civilian sectors. The search for oil and gas is moving into ever deeper waters, and the need for coastal surveillance and climatic monitoring, makes underwater autonomous assistance quite obvious for a developing nation like India with thousands of kilometres of coastline. Using such platforms in these endeavours provides an efficient way to keep human life out of harm’s way in hostile environments. The prototype developed has its navigation based on an internal IMU (Inertial Mass Unit) and the software is extensible to support DVL (Doppler Velocity Logger) based navigation. Near range object detection and path planning is achieved via Image Processing and using two surge and one heave thrusters the bot can operate in three degrees of freedom. The modular structure allows for the addition of extra sensors like pressure, temperature and manipulators like grippers and torpedoes. It has a Intel Atom processor, which runs the control algorithms for motion and required task completion. Paper published with permission.

This paper describes a risk-based approach for corrosion management of offshore floating structures. The objective of this approach is to reduce the risk of corrosion related failures, reduce the associated downtime, while improving the cost-effectiveness of corrosion inspection and maintenance. Corrosion is increasingly a significant challenge to the offshore industry and attributed to: an aging worldwide offshore fleet; assets being kept in operation for prolonged periods of time; units operating beyond their original “design basis”; and newer larger vessels in deeper, harsher environments with less opportunity for ship yard repair. Corrosion is particularly detrimental to the integrity of the unit, and if not managed properly will increase maintenance costs and downtime costs, possibly reducing the useful operational life of the unit. Although, there are several existing offshore corrosion design standards, experience still reveals a number of assets in poor and critical condition due to corrosion. Clearly there is a need for a holistic approach on corrosion management during the full operational life of the asset. The presented methodology is based on the principles of ISO 31000 (Risk Management - Principles and Guidelines) to provide a solid consistent framework for corrosion management. The risk-based corrosion management process for offshore structures described in this paper consists of five (5) basic steps: Pre Assessment; Screening and Risk Ranking; Detailed Examination; Remediation and Repair; and Life Cycle Management. Adopting the described risk based corrosion methodology will provide confidence to the operators and demonstrable evidence to key stakeholders that corrosion is being managed on their assets. It will account for life extension, reduce the risk of corrosion failure, and lower the cost of inspection and maintenance. Paper published with permission.

Liberator Engine Company, LLC designs, develops and produces alternative fuel engines for vehicles around the globe. The Company’s 6.0 Liter Liberator™ gaseous fuels engine will have the ability to operate on Compressed Natural Gas, Liquefied Natural Gas or Liquid Propane Gas: clean, domestic, economical fuels. The Liberator engine will target OEM on road vehicles, as well as off road applications. The Liberator engine is also an excellent choice for the repower of existing diesel vehicles. The 6.0L Liberator™ engine will serve as a replacement engine for vehicle currently operating on a Cummins 5.9L diesel engine or Mercedes diesel 6.0L engine. Paper published with permission.