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14 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • DECEMBER 2014 NEWS & ANALYSIS They said it ... “Larger ships: The carriers have forced ports around the world to react to their business model of building larger and larger vessels. Five years ago, 8,000 TEU vessels calling on ports in the U.S. was an un- common event. Today vessels of up to 14,000 TEU of capacity are calling on the U.S. West Coast. The JOC has reported that these large vessels regularly generate 5,000 container moves per vessel call, and sometimes as many as 8,000 to 10,000 container moves. This large volume places a severe strain on terminal resources ... In the U.S., ports are spending tens of billions of dollars upgrading their ports in anticipation of larger vessels. The larger ships have come onto the market quicker than the ports can react by way of construction and upgrading, thereby, signifi cantly exacer- bating port congestion by unloading ever larger volumes of containers.” U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Commissioner William P. Doyle statement regarding port congestion. “The most signifi cant impact of a lower oil price is an increase in oil demand. Lower prices may trigger stockpiling or have a more general posi- tive impact. A saving of $20 per barrel equates to savings for the U.S. of about $55 billion annually. Such an oil price decrease has the same effect on the overall economy as a tax reduction.” Herbjørn Hansson , Chairman & CEO Nordic American Tankers Ltd., in a letter to shareholders Photo: Gr eg T rauthwein “We’ve learned that LNG really isn’t Rocket Science. Yes it is a cryo- genic system; yes it is a high pressure system, but we know how to build those. It isn’t something that takes us out of our core strength as a shipbuilder.” Kevin Graney, VP and GM, NASCCO, discussing the progress on the world’s fi rst LNG-fuelled containerships being built for TOTE in San Diego. See story on page 24 Less than one year after announcing the formal- ization of their relationship, Cummins and Konrad Marine confi rm they have added 480 and 550 hp ratings to the diesel sterndrive packages they jointly offer. The 480 rating is approved for both leisure and commercial applications. The companies report that the new package performs favorably in terms of additional horsepower and torque. The 550 rating is currently intended for leisure ap- plications, with 875 ft. lbs. of torque. “These power ratings, coupled with the inher- ent advantages of diesel, start a very compelling conversation.” said Julie Heifner, Global Business Development Manager for Konrad Marine. Add to this, the exceptionally long life of this package; the fact that Konrad sterndrives can be rebuilt up to 7 times to full integrity vs. being replaced; and now you have a solution with an extremely low cost of ownership.” A variety of packages are available using one of six sterndrive models and nine varia- tions of the QSB 6.7L engine so installations can be optimized to meet the customer’s top priorities. For example, if effi ciently managing heavy loads is the goal, four dual prop models are available with car- rying capacities up to18,500 lbs. (8.4 metric tons) per drive. Offering the components from gauges to props in predefi ned, fully integrated packages sim- plifi es confi guring, ordering, installation, service and support, and ensures consistent and successful applications - and a single point of contact for the builder. “These packages offer signifi cant advantag- es for our customers in power, longevity, and cost of ownership,” says Geoff Conrad, Director of Marine Business for Cummins NW, USA. Cummins, Konrad Unveil Diesel Sterndrive Package MR #12 (10-17).indd 14 12/2/2014 3:02:18 PM
