Maritime Reporter, August, 2005

<BODY> <div> August 2005 37 By David Tinsley, technical editor Following divestment by IHC Caland, the companies now merged into IHC Holland Merwede have scored a succes- sion of contracts under new ownership, ensuring shipbuilding continuity at the home yards in Sliedrecht, Kinderdijk and Hardinxveld-Giessendam and play- ing to Dutch strengths in special-pur- pose tonnage. While dredge construc- tion and technology remains central to IHC Holland Merwede's endeavors, the strategy of reinforcing the business in other areas of high value, complex ves- sels is clear from orders for an open-top container feedership and a sophisticated pipelay and offshore work vessel. The 1,700-TEU boxship is to be turned out at Kinderdijk for progressive, northern Dutch shipowner Wagenborg Shipping, evidently convinced of the cargo handling benefits promised by a hatchcoverless configuration. The design is also distinguished by an envi- sioned service speed of 21-knots, and by the nomination of a twin-engine, single- screw propulsion layout, which provides one of the opening references for the 46F medium-speed diesel developed by Wärtsilä Corporation and employing common-rail fuel injection. Scheduled to be commissioned into the intra-European shortsea traffic as early as mid 2006, the ice-classed con- tainer carrier will be equipped with two six-cylinder examples of the Wärtsilä 46F, each producing a maximum 7,500 kW. The drive will be through a com- bining reduction gearbox to a single controllable pitch propeller, incorporat- ing a compact E-type hub for improved hydrodynamic performance. The arrangements are intended to enable the ship to be run on just one or both engines in accordance with scheduling requirements at any point in the operat- ing profile, to the benefit of overall fuel economy. IHC Holland Merwede's subsequent order for a 12,340-dwt reeled rigid pipelaying and offshore construction vessel is to be fulfilled by the subsidiary Merwede Shipyard. The design and build project is a testament to the latter's design and system integration capabili- ties, and carries a comparatively early delivery stipulation, notwithstanding the complexity of the vessel, in the second quarter of 2007. Overall project cost is in the range of $180-million to $200- million, based on fixed prices from the Merwede yard and the pipelay equip- ment supplier Huisman Itrec. Contractual owner Subsea 7, part of the SIEM Group, is among the world's leading subsea engineering firms, with a presence in all the main offshore mar- kets. It controls more than 100 ROVs (remote-operated vehicles) and four pipeline construction facilities as well as a fleet of specialized vessels. The 515 ft. (157 m) newbuild from the Netherlands will have a full dynamic positioning capability, and will incorpo- rate a full-width ROV hangar, one 400- ton offshore crane and two other deck cranes, pipelay reels and at least 650-sq. m. of open deck area. The Merwede-built ship has been specified with a 6.6-kV integrated elec- tric power generation system, and propulsion will be by way of three elec- tric motor-driven fixed pitch propellers in azimuthing nozzles aft. Two retractable, azimuthing thrusters will be fitted in the forward part of the vessel, as will a transverse tunnel thruster. The work intake since the creation of IHC Holland Merwede, in which the shareholders are the company's manage- ment and employees, Rabobank Group division Rabo Private Equity, and the Indofin Group, has also included two trailing suction hopper dredges, six stan- dard cutter suction dredges of the ubiq- uitous Beaver series, and two custom- built cutter dredges. The two 5,400-cu. m. 'trailers' have been booked by DEME (Dredging, Environmental and Marine Engineering) and will be sisters to the Pallieter, earlier built for the Belgian contractor. The first of the new pair is to be handed over by the Sliedrecht yard next year. A New Era for the Catamaran Incat Australia's belief and trust in the Wave Piercing Catamaran concept has found expression in progressively larger vessels offering higher payloads at speeds over 35-knots. A decade and a half has elapsed since the first car-carry- ing wave piercer, 74-m in length, sailed from the company's yard in Tasmania. There has been consistent development in ship size and capacity, and the tally of deliveries into commercial or military service is now approaching the 40 mark. The 112-m Evolution One12 cat now under construction, for delivery to Incat USA as a 'SeaFrame' base vessel, has taken the technology to a new level of refinement and capability. The Australian company is ready to contract what will be its largest and fastest car The New York City Department of Transportation’s Staten Island Ferry Division seeks candidates for the following positions: DECKHANDS: Salary $37,342. Operate gates, gangplanks, aprons and bridges; handle lines; assist passengers; clean vessels; act as a lookout; operate fire- fighting equipment; participate in fire and lifeboat drills; QUALIFICATIONS: 2 years of full-time satisfactory experience as a deckhand acquired within the last 10 years. MATES: Salary $42,978. Responsibilities include Deckhand assignments and instructions; oversees embarking and disembarkment of passengers; partici- pates in fire, lifeboat and emergency drills; assumes responsibility for the safe- ty and care of floating property of the Department of Transportation; prepares accident reports, maintains records and makes reports as necessary; performs related duties. QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates must possess a valid U.S. Coast Guard license as Inland Mate of Steam and Motor Vessels of any Gross Tons, or higher, with an endorsement as Radar Observer and three years experience as deckhand. License must be kept for duration of employment. REQUIREMENTS: Subject to background investigation, medical and drug screening. City residency required within 90 days of appointment. Excellent benefits package. Forward resume to: Josephine O’Connell NYC Dept. of Transportation Personnel Division 40 Worth Street, Room 801 New York, NY 10013 or E-mail to joconnell@dot.nyc.gov EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER STATEN ISLAND FERRY OPERATIONS DECKHANDS & MATES NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Circle 263 on Reader Service Card Circle 262 on Reader Service Card Investment in Design Dutch Industrial Will MR AUGUST 2005 #5 (33-40).qxd 8/4/2005 9:00 PM Page 37 </div> <span id="lblContents"></span> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.digitalwavepublishing.com/" title="Digital Magazine">Digital Wave Publishing</a> </BODY>