Marine Vessels, Ship Registration, Charters, And Engines

Question 1

1. Registered owner

This is a document issued by the Flag State Administration containing the name of the person or organization owning the vessel legally. The registered owner maybe;

• Bank
• A group of people or a single person
• A group of companies or single company

1. Beneficial Owner

  The beneficial owner is the party controlling the vessel and the one who has used the vessel even if they are not owning it legally.

1. Legal owner

This is a person, company or group of individuals or company considered by the law to be owning a certain vessel for example in the legal owner is the majority holder.

1. Small ship

 This is a small vessel that carries freight or passengers and it has maritime flag for example Ensigns, Distinguishing marks, Rank flags and Pennants. Flag such as Ensign is flown when entering and leaving harbor ( Flag State Administration).

1. Gross Tonnage

       This is a nonlinear measure of ships overall internal volume and it is used in determining safety rules, port dues and registration fees (International Maritime Organization)

Ship Ownership and Registration

1. Bareboat/ demise charter

This is where the person hiring the vessel cater for the majority of managerial aspects of ships operation as highlighted in the bareboat charter agreement. It involves hiring the whole vessel for the agreed period of time. The responsibility of ensuring that the relevant insurance policies needed are fully covered but some parts such as technical maintenance and administration are not included as part of the agreement. (Ringbom, 2008, p. 195).

1. Time charter

A time charter is hiring of a vessel for a specific period of time, the management of ship is done by the owner while the charterer is responsible directs the vessel where to go after selecting ports, The ports charges, commission and the fuel the vessel consumes are paid for by the charterer.     

Calculation of ship risk profile

Total weight= 5

Eligibility to high risk= yes

Eligibility for low risk=No

Ship risk profile= High-risk ship

Full name for the RO= Biro Klasifikasi Indonesia

Calculation of block coefficient of non-propelled vessel is done as follows

Block efficient=

= 0.72227

Watertight simply means prevention of seawater from making their way into the ship such that of preventing the passage of water in any direction if the head of pressure were up to the freeboard deck.( Coastal State Administration)

1. Weathertight means that the structure or fitting will prevent the passage of water through the fittings or structure in an ordinary sea condition.

1. Circumstances  under which watertight doors will require to be approved

• To make sure there is no ventilation duct or any openings that might allow water into the ship.
• To make sure the audio and visual alarm is working in case the door is closed from the remote location.
• To make sure that the doors have a maximum threshold of 20mm without recess.
• To make sure the watertight have the same fire ratings.
• To check that the door is fixed with a mechanical locking device which prevents accidental opening of the door.

• If the door closes within a period of 90 seconds when using hand operation.
• If the door has a uniform rate of closure under power.
• If the door has an indicator lamps on the bridge panel
• If there are clear instructions on board on how to operate and make use of the doors
• If crew members are trained on how the doors are controlled.
• If the door is taking a short period of time to automatically and remotely close
• If the door has a designed pressure and maximum dimension
• If the door has the electro-hydraulic drive mounted on them.
• If the watertight vessel should be sealed using metal to metal and rubber seal.
• If the door is made of a welded steel construction.

The European Symbol pertain the labelling and marking of vessels with neither umbrella law involving all goods nor any central directory comprising information on marking and labelling requirements. It is not approved since new products directives may exceed the current national laws and regulations(Witt, 2007, p. 59).

1. A wheel mark can be defined as the marking of all marine equipment under European regulatory.

The reasons why wheel mark is preferred in classification society include;

• Products move freely in EU and other countries.
• Through MED, manufacturing cost is reduced
• Choice of conformity procedure.
• There is no need for certification or testing since USCG is allocated numbers for MED- acquiescent products.

Marine Equipment Directive (MED) is a legislation put on paper by the European countries to ensure the quality of marine equipment placed on board of the European Flagged Ships and this legislation entails the performance and testing standards which should be met by marine equipment placed on board by any EU ship as well as several counties outside EU region which are expected to automatically approve and accept products with MED. The marine equipment falling under International Convections developed by International Maritime Organization are covered by the directives (Serese, 2001, p. 130). These include;

• Marpol 1973: Pollution in marine
• SOLAS 1974: Radio gadgets/ navigation equipment/ life-saving appliances.

The annex provides to the Commission Implementing Regulation the requirements for construction design and performance, and also testing for marine equipment standards. The manufacturers producing equipment needs the approval of their products by a notified body so that they can comply with the Marine equipment directives (Witt, 2007, p. 65). One of the notified body in Marine Equipment Directives is the Lloyds Register which helps each stage of the process of certification. Such as;

• Rereading file for technical construction.
• Evaluating a quality control system
• Testing and inspection of a sample of the product.

Types of charters

           Acceptance of equipment for sale to the US without certification and testing was a mutual recognition agreement involving the European Community and the United States. The key changes introduced by the directives were;

1. Notifying a body dealing with the area of production control to come after the wheel mark
2. Presenting marking gadget having an electronic tag.

• The manufacture to appoint an authorized representative of at least one member state.

• To ensure that the manufacturer follows approved quality system in final product inspection and testing.
• To verify that the product is the same product that passed EC type examination.
• To ensure that examination carried out to confirm that the representative product complies with the provision of the international requirement.

1. People need life jackets when boarding vessels and the size of the life jackets should be of the correct size and condition to prevent accidents which may lead to loss of lives. If I am an independent surveyor and I noted that the life jackets used were not approved `by the relevant organizations the best thing I will do is

• I will provide expert opinions to be tendered in court on matters within their expertise.
• I will prepare a full report highlighting the number of life jackets that were not approved by the relevant body.
• I will educate them on the importance of having life jackets attaining the requirements by the present relevant body in charge(Trower, 2004, p. 55). An important thing needed to be put in place concerning the life jackets is;
• The life jacket should be certified by the EU.
• I will facilitate the regulatory approval process and impose the relevant charges in case the owner of the vessel is found guilty

1. If I was a statutory surveyor and I realized that the lifesaver being used was not approved by even a single body,

• I will impose penalties to the owners of the vessels in case life jackets are not presented to the people boarding the vessel(Williams, 1999, p. 78).
• I will report the owner of the vessel to the relevant authority concerned so that the owner of the vessel could face charges for not adhering to the law governing marine.
• I will demand certificate showing that PFDs tested by USCGs in a recognized laboratory.

1. Two- stroke diesel engine cycle

A marine two-stroke engine an internal combustion engine shares the same principles of operation. A power stroke generated each time there is a downward movement of the piston enables the two-stroke engine to move smoother, unlike the four-stroke engine. Through the help of scavenging system in the two-stroke diesel engine, fresh air is allowed to get in and to occupy the space left with the exhaust gases. Turbo-blower helps in pressurizing the air getting in which is driven out by the exhaust gases moving out and major bearings supports the crankshaft within the engine bedplates. Up and down movement of the crosshead is facilitated by mounting of A-frames on house guides and bedplates thus facilitating (council, 2000, p. 42).

The mentioned diesel engine is completed in a single revolution and two strokes of a piston and the main difference between this type of engine and the four-stroke diesel engine cycle are the power develop, such that single revolution in two-stroke diesel develops twice the power of a four-stroke engine of the same swept volume.

Compression Stroke- The piston covers the intake ports as it moves toward the top dead centre. The upper cylinder is sealed by the closure of the exhaust valve and the cylinder is tightly compressed as the piston continue moving upwards.

Power stroke - The compression comes to an end immediately the piston attains top dead centre. Injection of fuel takes place at this point and ignition of fuel takes place as a result of intense heat from compression. The piston moves downwards as a result of a push from the burning fuel which in turn makes the craft shaft gain power. This particular stroke comes to an end when the piston gets down to the point where the intake ports are uncovered. This point allows opening of the valves and beginning of scavenging.

Fig 1: showing a two-stroke diesel engine

1. More power is produced by this diesel engine compared to the four stroke
2. The mentioned engine is less costly

• They require less maintenance since the lack valves

1. The engine is small and compact in size hence easy to handle.

 Disadvantage of two-stroke diesel engine

1. This type of engine requires extensive cooling and lubrication

1. Four- stroke diesel engine cycle

The four-stroke gasoline engine is similar to the above-mentioned engine since they both follow an operating cycle comprising the intake, compression, power, and exhaust strokes. The exhaust and intake valves are also alike (Nicolson, 1994, p. 87). A four-stroke diesel machine also known as internal combustion engine and its power generation is divided into four parts namely, the exhaust stroke, suction stroke, expansion stroke and compression stroke.

Calculation of ship risk profile

In suction stroke, the piston moves Top Dead Centre of the cylinder to the Bottom Dead of the cylinder thus inlet valves opens simultaneously. The inlet valves allow the atmospheric pressure to inside the cylinder as a result of suction created. The inlet valve remains open until the piston reaches the Bottom Dead Centre.      

In compression stroke, the stroke begins just at the end of the suction stroke the Bottom Dead Centre and ends at TDC. Here, the piston compresses the air-fuel mixture in preparation for ignition during the power stroke. During this stage intake and exhaust valves are both closed.  (MacLean, 2002, p. 13).

In power stroke, fuel injection takes place at the end of compression stroke whereby the injector is used to supplies fuel into the cylinder having a high temperature which kindles the fuel to produce energy in form of pressure which assist to push down the piston (Hubbard, 2000, p. 199).                  

In exhaust stroke, the exhaust valves allow burnt gases to find out their way through the exhaust port and this happens as a result of the difference in pressure which is created by atmospheric pressure being lower than that of burnt gases. The exhaust valve closes only after exhaustion of burnt gases (Housley, 2008, p. 99).

The diagram below shows a four-stroke engine;        

Fig 2: showing four-stroke diesel engine (Engineers, 2012, p. 164)          

1. The four-stroke has more torque and it is reliable and quitter and that is why it is preferred by many people(Engineers, 2012, p. 88).
2. The mentioned diesel engine is durable, unlike the two-stroke engine. This is because the quicker it wears out depends on the number of times the engine goes around.

• The four-stroke diesel engine does not produce too much smoke compared to the two-stroke since the combustion chamber is separated by oiling system thus allowing only gasoline to burn in the engine, unlike two-stroke where it burns oil mixed with fuel(Dunham, 1974, p. 321).

1. The four-stroke engine is complicated since it consists of many parts hindering troubleshooting
2. The engine is expensive compared to the two-stroke since it needs repair regularly.

  There are various components that makes-up the marine diesel engine. They include;

1. Bedplate

This is the grounds in which the engine is built and it must be firm since it supports the rest of the engine and holds the crankshaft in position with transverse girder. (Davenport, 2006, p. 132).    

Fig 3: Showing a bedplate

1. Frame

         This is a part of engine which carries the load and it consists of

• Cylinder block which helps in supporting the engine heads, crankshaft and cylinder liners.(Briggs, 2004, p. 55)

Fig 4: Showing a frame

• Piston

A piston is a moving part of an engine designed to endure pressure from combustion. (Bloomster, 2010, p. 87). It is also used to transfer the expanding force of gases to mechanical rotation of crankshaft via a connecting rod.       

Fig 5: Showing a piston of an engine

1. Crosshead

          The joining of connecting rod to the piston rod is done by the crosshead pin and its side is used to mount crosshead pin. (Bentford, 2005, p. 67)             

Fig 6: Showing a crosshead

1. Crankshaft

This is one of the largest moving parts comprising series of cracks formed in a shaft. It assists in the conversion of piston reciprocating motion into rotating motion. (Bathe, 2008, p. 45)

Fig 7: Showing a crankshaft

References

Bathe, B. W., 2008. Ship Model: British small craft. s.l.: Wolters Kluwer.

Brentford, J. R., 2005. Small Craft Plans. s.l.: OLMA Media Group.

Bloomster, E. L., 2010. Sailing and small craft down the ages. s.l.:Informa.

Briggs, J., 2004. Target Detection by Marine Radar. s.l.: Oxford University press.

council, A. b., 2000. Safety standards for small craft. s.l.: Phoenix Publishing.

Davenport, J., 2006. Ecology of Transportation. s.l.:s.n.

Dunham, J. W., 1974. Small Craft Harbours. s.l.: Springer Science.

Engineers, A. C., 2012. Planning and Design guidelines for small craft. s.l.: Pearson.

Housley, S., 2008. Sailing made Easy and Comfort in small craft. s.l.: Wolters Kluwer.

Hubbard, R. K., 2000. The small craft American Practical Navigator. s.l.: Scholastic.

MacLean, D., 2002. Small craft electronic equipment and repair. s.l.: RELX Group.

Nicolson, I., 1994. Surveying Small Craft. s.l.: Pearson.

Redcross, A., 2006. Small craft safety. s.l.: Penguin Random House.

Ringbom, H., 2008. European Union Maritime Safety Policy and International law. s.l.: Pearson.

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Tom, R., 2004. Sma Craft- Steering Gear-Cable and PUlley System. s.l.: China South Publishing.

Trower, G., 2004. Yacht and Small Craft Construction. s.l.: Harper Collins.

Williams, T., 1999. EMC for system and installation. s.l.: Oxford University Press.

Witt, J.-A., 2007. Obligations and Control of Flag States. s.l.: Wiley.

Wortley, C., 2002. Ice Engineering Guide for Design and Construction of Small Craft. s.l.: Adventure Work Press.