Container vessels Capacity and Stability

Using GetxoNaval program

In my post of October 12, 2012 I enclosed a reference to an aproximate calculation of capacity of container vessels that now I have included in a larger program, called GetxoNaval, made-up of a set of calculations relating to main aspects to be considered during the preliminary design of a merchant ship, i.e. the dimensioning stage. But the revised module corresponding to container vessels is far more complete than the one displayed in said blog post. It now includes stability calculation, static and dynamic, with corresponding curves.

Clicking on next link you will enter in GetxoNaval program, that at this moment includes following modules:

GETXONAVAL

1. Tonnage
2. Cruising ships
3. Stability cargo ship
4. Stability deck barge
5. Stability container carrier
6. Hull forms (coefficients)
7. Freeboard
8. Maneouverability
9. Lightship weight
10. Predimensioning
11. Powering
12. Cargo & tanks capacities
13. Help

Additional modules are expected to be added and all will be subject to continuous revision.

Launching of ship “EDT Hercules” 

in La Naval from Sestao (Spain)

Ship type PSV for shipowner EDT from Cyprus

On  23th  July “La Naval” from  Sestao performed the launching of the ship “EDT Hercules” for the Cyprian group EDT  and her delivery will be made in the next spring, although previously she will be preceded by the one of her twin ship, presently  in the fitting-out quay.

The launching was normal although with the rare arrangement of being launched by the bow, due to the forms of the ship that are very fine at  the stern which would make it difficult her launching by this end as  is normally made.

Dimensioning a merchant ship

 With the program GetxoNaval

GetxoNaval program  objective is to  allow making  quick, approximate calculations necessary to define the dimensions of a merchant ship. This program can be used basically in two different ways:

• To make an estimation of the main ship dimensions based on  its size, defined, for example, by deadweight, number of containers, volume  of cargo spaces etc.
• To make a calculation of different particulars (deadweight, speed etc.) of a ship whose  main dimensions are known, either  because they have been defined in the previous point, or for being a known ship but one or several of her capacities are unknown.

Clicking  following link you can access to the program GetxoNaval  hosted  in Google-Sites.

GetxoNaval

Preliminary dimensioning

Cargo ships

In my post of April 9, 2010, I presented a form to get a preliminary dimensioning of cargo ships once the user defined her type and a goal particular, deadweight, cargo volume or containers number, depending on the selected type. I have revised the form to be used and I present now its second edition.

To use this procedure click on following 

                                                   "CALCULATE"

Training Sail Vessels of Bilbao River

Speech from Juan José Alonso Verástegui

On last 6th March the Dr. Naval Architect D. Juan José Alonso Verástegui issued a presentation of subject theme in the "Maritime Museum Ría de Bilbao", within the acts to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

A full account of his presentation, together with my comments,  is to be found in my blog "Oteando desde Getxo", and a copy of his most important documents can be found hereafter.

Stability of deck barges and pontoons

In a previous post I included an approximate procedure to estimate the stability of cargo ships in the preliminary design stage, but a blog reader pointed out to me that it was not good enough for the special case of   deck barges and pontoons , which are artefacts carrying all load above the deck. Due to this so special condition these floaters (they are not conventional ships) have received a different stability consideration in the IMO  regulations and I have been preparing a specific procedure for estimation of their stability.

In the form that opens by clicking the following link, GetxoNaval ship dimensioning program is open and selecting the deck barges stability tag, the user is requested to input a few data of the barge / pontoon and he gets a suitable information about its stability in the specified loading condition. After the form a user guide is shown and a results interpretation.

Begin calculation

WindFlip: A barge to transport and position wind turbines

Innovative System from WindFlip AS

 Electric generation by wind turbines is increasing dramatically in Europe and other areas and placement of turbines at sea (offshore) is one of the booming posibilities due to the increased performance and environmental advantages that are got. However transport operations and placement of wind turbines at sea pose a significant cost and require the use of special vessels dedicated to these tasks.

 Recently, new ideas are being released to solve or ease these problems and one of the most recent is the use of special barges, towed, low cost, as the type called WindFlip.

 WindFlip is a simple barge which loads the complete wind turbine, is towed to its site at sea and there is ballasted and flipped by stern up to the vertical and then the turbine pedestal end is buried in its working position. WindFlip is unballasted then by injecting pressurized air in the tanks and proceeds returning to port. So simply said it seems easy, but I suppose it will be quite complicated, nevertheless it seems a bright idea and hopefully satisfactory.

This video briefly shows an outline of the operation, where nothing can be seen how to move the turbine from its location on shore up to its place on WindFlip, but I do not think it will be a big problem.

A typical WindFlip is about 100 m long and 30 m wide and such a barge could carry a complete wind turbine of 65 m and 15 MW  power.

WindFlip uses an old idea, the pivotting ship type named FLIP (Floating Instrument Platform), to solve a new problem. The FLIP is as old as 1962 and was used by the United States navy as an ocean research platform, providing to the involved scientists  a still and comfortable workstation, compared to that offered by a ship floating and moving among the waves. The Ship-Technology.com site describes and shows the ideas and reality of this ship.

Container vessels capacity

In the form that follows the cellular container vessel dimensions are input and her 20 ft TEUS capacity is estimated
This 2nd. edition fixing some errors and adding drawing of Containers in holds

Click to begin calculation

(updated on 21 Feb 2012)

"La Naval" shipyard of Sestao(Spain) launches the "Joseph Platou"

 "Fall-Pipe" type vessel for Jan de Nul

On August 3, 2012 "La Naval" shipyard, in Sestao (Spain), of the CNN group (Construcciones Navales del Norte =  Northen Shipbuilding) proceeded to launch this vessel for the Belgian shipowner Jan de Nul, a regular customer of this shipyard which has already delivered a twinship, "Simon Stevin", and several suction dredges, including the two largest in the world, in its class, "Cristobal Colón" and "Leiv Eiriksson". About these ships I already included posts  stressing their notability and the "La Naval" capacity to build such a high technology ships and competing worldwide with major shipbuilders .

The shipyard invited me to attend this launching, that I thanked especially in these times of shipbuilding drought , as evidenced by the absence of a keel laying after this launch, as was to be the norm in old good times when shipyards laid the keel of following ship waiting her turn in the queue of orders. I have news, unconfirmed, that "La Naval" will finish the construction of two medium-sized vessels begun in the late Seville shipyard, what will lead to an easing of shipyard situation in the absence of "serious" contracts, matched to its proven category and capacity. I hope that the "tax lease" system  resolves soon, after many months of stand-by, without which the shipyards in this country would have many difficulties to survive.

In this post about the "Simon Stevin", first ship of this series, I summarized the main features of this vessel whose dimensions are

Overall length (m)	191,50
Breadth (m)	40,00
Depth (m)	13,20
Draught loaded (m)	8,50
Deadweight (tonnes)	32.500
Speed (knots)	15,50
Crew	70
Propulsion
Azimuthal propellers	4 x 4.500 Kw
Retractable propellers	2 x 2.000 Kw
Electric generators	5 x 3.300 Kw

Delivery of "Joseph Platou" is scheduled for early next year.

I wish I had taken pictures and video of the launching from the other side of the river, but as I saw it from the guests platform visibility was very poor and I include here some photos of the event only as a recollection, nothing to be with quality.

Ship launching seen from the visitors platform