QUESTION
ASSIGNMENT 1: CURRENT ISSUES IN MARINE
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
Weighting 25%
You have been invited to present a paper at the AMC Virtual Maritime
Conference which is being held on 30 April – 4 May 2012. Your paper must reach
Norman Lawrence by Wednesday 25 April 2012 at the very latest. Ideally it should be
received before the deadline.
The conference theme, Current Issues in Marine Machinery Systems, was chosen to facilitate
discussions and interaction between Maritime Engineers. Although the Conference’s emphasis
is on the main theme, paper proposals on all aspects of maritime engineering systems design are
welcome (provided they are based on the topics of modules 2-12). The topic chosen must be of
interest and of relevance to the profession at large and contemporary in nature. It should be
thoroughly researched.
Suggested topics for conference papers include, but are not restricted to, the following:
Oil/water separators, current practice and regulations
Fires systems
Use of composite pipes (and/or valves) onboard ships
Engine room fires
A review of corrosion and its control in ships
Marine fouling of sea water systems
A review of logistic support issues for fleet maintenance.
Application of reliability centered maintenance to fleet vessels (surface or submarine).
Review of trends in ballast water management for merchant shipping.
Can DC power be eliminated from conventional submarines?
Case study (topic by agreement)
Other Topics by Agreement
Notes to authors
The topic chosen should raise questions about marine machinery design that can serve as a
focus for class discussions. You should submit at least two questions that your study raises
along with your paper submission. Part of your assessment relates to the questions you raise
and how you respond in the conference discussion.
AUTHOR’S GUIDE TO PAPER SUBMISSION
Please adhere to these guidelines as it will ensure that your paper is displayed to its best
potential in the AMC Virtual Maritime Conference.
Submission Requirements
All papers must be submitted in Microsoft Word format. Please do not use Macintosh
specific formats.
Papers should be a maximum length of 5/6 pages.
Your paper and two questions should be submitted via the Assignments tool as attachments.
All papers are to be submitted in the English language.
Paper Size and Margins
A4 size with 2.5 cm margins on all four sides. All text justified.
Fonts
All body text should be in Times New Roman, 12 point font, one column.
Title
The title should be in 18 point Times New Roman, bold and centred across the top of the page, it
should be concise but descriptive with a maximum length of 20 words.
Abstract
Maximum of 200 words.
Introduction
This should provide an overview of the issue and its significance to the maritime engineering
profession.
Body of the report
Provides a description, analysis and evaluation of the key facets of the issue.
Conclusion
Summary of your investigations.
Author’s Biography
A short separate biography is required at the end of your paper.
Conference
All papers will be displayed on the MyLO website from 27
th
April. During the week of the
conference students will be expected to actively engage in the conference through the online
discussion forum. Further details about that engagement will be released closer to the event.
References
Make sure all sources of information (including online resources) used are correctly referenced
using the Harvard Author Date System.
Balance of assessment
The paper and submitted questions constitute 18% of the marks allocated; 7% allocated to your
online discussion involvement.
Assessment criteria
The submission will be assessed with regards to content (breadth, depth & accuracy) and
presentation.
Quality of research
Quality of analysis and evaluation of the issue chosen
Logical structure and flow of ideas, overall clarity of writing and conformance to
appropriate referencing standards and paper format as specified above
Quality of participation and leadership in online discussion.
Unless an extension has been agreed in advance, your paper must be submitted by the due date
which is: Wednesday, 25 April, 11.00pm at the very latest.
SOLUTION
Introduction
The whole world is run by the sources of energy, which runs the industries, the transportation networks, and the household. Basically, even after such advancements in science we are dependent on the conventional sources of energy. There have been so many wars in the world, only to procure the supremacy over the sources of energy. The solar energy, the nuclear energy, the hydro power, the energy from the wind, bio-fuels and many other such non-conventional sources have reduced the burden of the petroleum products, but still most of the energy requirements are fulfilled by the petroleum products only.
The seas and the oceans occupy more than the three quarters of the space on the earth. Even, this has been increasing constantly because of the erosion of the land adjacent to the water bodies and water from the melting glaciers, snow caps around the Polar Regions. In such a scenario the importance of the marine engineering has increased by bound and folds. Not only this, the seas have provided us with abundant marine food.
The petroleum products are found in abundance in the regions where there are the sedimentary rocks, under which the fossils have been buried from the thousands of years. These fossils get converted into the invaluable petroleum oils and gases. For tapping out these resources from the down the earth, in the continental areas require that the layers of strong rocks be cut and drilled. This increases the cost of fetching the oil and gases from the continental areas very costly. In comparison to that the excavation or the extraction oil from abundant coastlines adjoining the seas quite easy and cost effective. Even there is no cost of human rehabilitation or the chances of any mishaps endangering the fellow humans.
However, spilling of the oil and other petroleum products has caused a lot of danger to the lives of the sea species, added to this the corrosion of the sea vessels, the changes in the biodiversity due to the construction and the human endeavors into the realm of the seas.
These things have increased the importance of the standard practices and regular experiments in the marine engineering.
So, let us now start with the discussion of the causes that are leading to the pollution in the sea water and the standard practices required to avoid them. Even, we would be discussing how to solve the situation in a best possible way to reduce the effects of the accidents caused by us humans.
Oil/Water Separation
The oil separation is the mechanism of separating oil and water by the help marine machinery which is spilled into the marine water due to the releases from the stations built in the sea for the extraction of the oil and the ships carrying oil and passengers. Many times it may happen that there is a leakage in the tankers carried by the large sea vessels or due some attack on the sea vessels by the pirates, and many such accidents of similar categories.
When oil is spilled in the sea waters, have mostly the volatile compounds which vaporize from the surface. The oil however forms a thin layer on the sea water and covers a large part of the sea water. The spread area of the oil is very large which cause the sea animals difficulties in their movements, search of food, suffocation and skin related problems. Even the volatile substances which evaporate may be toxic; they may combine with the sea compounds to form chemicals which may prove fatal to them.
The oil/water separator is the devices which use the various physical as well as chemical methods to remove oil from the water and even the solid wastes suspended into it. There are many systems which pass the infected water through a storm sewer or sanitary sewer system. There are methods like separation with the gravity, using filter systems, coagulation etc. The oil is lighter compared to water, or we can say that the density of oil is lesser than water so, the separation by gravity works to filter out oil from the sea water. There many chemical method also but their side-effects cannot be neglected.
The pipelines carrying oil should be cleaned frequently. The blockages present in the pipes may cause loss of flow and which may lead to the accidental leakages from the pipelines. Thus the paraffin, greases, rust iron which may sit in the path of the oil should be cleaned with help of cleaning solution if crude oil is not present in the pipe, or if the crude oil is passed through them the petro-wastes may dissolve back in the oil.
There are cases in which the semi-emulsified mixtures of crude-oil, water and solid wastes collectively called as sludge are thrown in water without taking enough permission to release them in water. These wastes sometimes carry large amount of solid wastes, which are toxic to the water bodies. This requires that the affected water be treated a number of times and mechanically coagulated and filtered to reduces the level of dangers rendered by the sludge to a satisfactory level.
The tanks, tankers and tank cars are the biggest challenges to the pollution done by the oil. The paraffin waxes, the solid wastes, soil and the sand which get accumulated in these tanks. As a result these cause great threat to the water if not cleaned properly and disposed. The petroleum wastes like waxes and hydrocarbons can be removed by a solution of crude oil itself as the hydrocarbons are great solvents themselves. While the soil and the sand need the physical method like centrifugation and sedimentation with added catalysts to separate them.
Turning the petroleum wastes into composts, using them as land filling materials and utilizing them as materials in construction purposes would encourage the oil extracting companies to earn profits from the utilization of the carbon wastes instead of dumping them into the sea water. The fertilizers and composts are the one field where the waste hydrocarbons can be utilized. The paraffin waxes can be used in providing lights to the household. The coal tars and the other solid wastes can be used to a used in construction of roads and bridges.
Marine Pollution regulations
The MARPOL ,which stands for the marine pollution is the most important marine convention which maintains the regulations to prevent the accidental as well as the operational pollution of the sea waters. In the convention of 1973,the organization had laid six annexes , to which all the ships and tankers must follow in the international waters.
The convention ruled that the ships should not discharge oil in the region 50-miles from the coastlines. The ships should not discharge oil more than 60 liters per mile of the journey travelled. The convention declared that the maximum of oil discharged by the Ballast Voyage should not exceed 1/30k of the cargo carried by the ship. It was directed in the 1973 convention, on that Ballast Voyage the ship taking the fresh Ballast Water, after a few days of there departure from the coast, the oil being light floats on the top and the water could be decanted .The water used in cleaning the tanks should be pumped into the slop tanks, where again the oil could be cleared from the top. This system was called as ” LOT”, after Load on TOP. Another improvement was made in the next convention. It was felt that since the hydrocarbons and paraffin are more soluble in the crude oil, the convention ruled the Crude Oil Washing (COW) should be preferred.
In 1978, the convention ruled that there should a 20,000 dwt space between the ballast tankers (SBT), in all the new ships in order to avoid the accidental damage to the tanks and there-by any leakages. It was further ruled that in certain specific areas no oil discharges could be made and arrangements should be made in order that to avoid the same.
In order to check the accidental pollution the convention recognized the need for the oil tankers to be built with double hulls. The ships were asked to keep space in excess to the cargo so that the sludge and the other wastes could be dumped on the ship.
The Strict Adherence to IMO and ISM
The oily water separators used by the industry should strictly comply to the guidelines laid down by IMO (International Marine Organization). The coastal authorities should also monitor the practices followed by the oil tankers, in order that the pollution could be checked to low. All those found guilty of bypassing the laws enacted , in order to make financial gain should be heavily punished.
The MORPOL regulated that the oil tankers should maintain correct records in the ORB (Oil record Book ).The crew members of the ship should be provided the training in the regulations laid down by the MORPOL. Routine check-ups and audits should be made into the possible harm to the sea waters. The chief of the ship, the chief engineer should look into the proper maintenance of ORB.
The Regulations of USA and China-PRC
In September 2009,The peoples republic of China has laid down its own regulations on the maintenance of the territorial as well as the sea waters. These include wide scale regulations pertaining to the permissions regarding offloading of the wastes, carrying toxic wastes to the coastal areas, discharge of oil and sludge in to water, penalties related to non compliance of the standards laid by IMO .
The USA court of justice found the Ship manager of KRITON guilty of maintaining false information on the ORB related to the discharge of waste in the international waters. The MOROPL guarantees safety any member of the crew to bring the culprits of providing falsified information.
Sea as Non-Conventional Energy Sources
As stated earlier, Sea is the source of energy. Not only they provide us the petroleum for the energy, they are also source of the renewable energy. There is immense potential hidden in the sea tides, waves, sea currents having different ranges of temperature. The sea waters rise
to great heights during the tides which can be used to keep water stored and releasing them slowly to generate electricity. The sea currents in the lower levels of the sea have large temperature differences which can be again materialized as useful power sources.
Conclusion
The sea bodies the sources of energy, conventional and non-conventional, and also a source lot of home and construction materials. They are also the sources of great sea food. So, it is in our interests to reduce the contamination of the sea. There is the high necessity of improving the marine practices.
References
1. IJME Online 2012,The International journal of maritime engineering (IJME)
2. Muller Associates ,Waste Oil: Reclaiming Technology, Utilization and Disposal
3. The Vigilant Marine Systems. Viewed on 21st april 2012 < http://vigilantmarine.com/oilxorb-erc-bestpractices-bilges.html>
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