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From Two Comes One A rather remarkable repair oper- ation has taken place in South Korea's Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD), Ulsan, showing the type of innovative projects undertaken in the repair industry. Spanish shipowner Empressa Nacional Elcano de la Marine Mercante SA, Madrid, has taken two of its cape- size ships into the yard, with only one coming out again for future service. The ships involved are the 173,187-dwt bulk carrier Castillo de la Luz and the 130,187-dwt tanker Castillo de Montearagon, both of which have the same prin- cipal particulars. The yard has taken the forebody of the bulk carrier and the aft sec- tion of the tanker (engine room and accommodation), and joined the two sections together to form a new bulk carrier. The new ship will be named Castillo de Belmonte. Meanwhile, the two "redundant" sections have also been joined for a voyage to the scrap yard. However unusual it may seem, the history of the two ships illus- trates that this type of operation has been performed before. Both ships were originally built as con- ventional tankers by Spain's Empressa Nacional Bazan, El Ferrol, during the mid-1970s. During 1984, a new after section 24 Circle 282 on Reader Service Card Shipbuilding at MSE, which will soon implement a Synchrolift system. was built by the same Spanish shipyard for the Castillo de Montearagon replacing the ship's original engine room and accom- modation. Then, in 1987, a new forward section was placed on the Castillo de la Luz, changing her role to a bulk carrier. At the same time, the boilers for the main propulsion plant onboard the Castillo de la Luz were changed to coal-fired. All of this work was car- ried out by the Bazan shipyard. It is the two 1980s-built sections that have been joined to form Castillo de Belmonte. SPD Technologies and Groupe Schneider Reach Agreement SPD Technologies, Inc. has entered into a license and technol- ogy assistance agreement with Group Schneider of France, which will support SPDs current develop- ment of a new line of air circuit breakers specially designed for U.S. Military-specific applications. SPD's planned line of "next gen- eration" Military-specific air cir- cuit breakers will utilize Group Schneider's Masterpact low-volt- age circuit breaker technology and will meet U.S. Navy specifications, including shock, vibration, inter- ruption and thermal require- ments. The technical agreement between the two companies fur- ther provides for SPD to manufac- ture the advanced new product line for Groupe Schneider's use and sale in European and other international markets where U.S. Military-specific products are required. SPD Technologies is a worldwide leader in the design, engineering, manufacture and ser- vicing of innovative shock-hard- ened circuit breakers and switchgear. SPD's subsidiary com- panies include PacOrd, a ship- board repair and overhaul compa- ny and Henschel, a manufacturer of automation and control systems. Groupe Schneider is involved in electrical control and automation products and services, marketing three primary brands of equip- ment: Merlins Gerin; Square D; and Telemecanique. The Modicon line of programmable controllers is also available through Groupe Schneider. For more information on SPD Circle 3 on Reader Service Card Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
