Page 37: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 15, 1981)

The RO-RO 81 Conference in

Hamburg that begins on June 30 will take place at a time when major new services are being im- plemented and planned on both deepsea and short-haul routes.

With routes such as Europe-East

Africa and Australia-Europe about to see the introduction of large RO/RO tonnage, four 35,- 000-dwt super RO/RO ships are being discussed for Saudi owner- ship on the U.S. Gulf-Middle East run. In the areas of short-haul services, conventional ferry op- eration is changing, with many owners now taking delivery of their first jumbo ferries. Outside the European arena, other new projects on short routes are be- ing developed, notably the recent announcement to create a major

RO/RO trailer link across the

Great Lakes.

Against this background of ac- tivity and commitment to the RO/

RO mode, the 5th International

Conference & Exhibition on Ma- rine Transport using Roll-on/Roll- off Methods will be devoted to commercial and technical issues that will have significant effects in the near- and long-term fu- tures. Conference discussions will be divided into six sessions spread over three days from June 30 to

July 2.

Following the pattern estab- lished at the previous meetings in the RO-RO series, the opening session will look at the opera- tional problems of the RO-RO lines — not the least being their relation with the membership of freight agreements. A keynote speaker in the first session will be Robert McMillen, president of

Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE) of Seattle, which oper- erates a RO/RO service between

Tacoma, Wash, and Anchorage,

Alaska.

The second session, on RO/RO ship types and designs, will fea- ture a combined owner/builder contribution from Leif Hoegh &

Company A/S of Oslo and the

Gdynia Shipyard in Poland. This paper will look at the owner's ex- perience with the third genera- tion of RO/RO carriers, which led to the new concept of the large combination currently be- ing built at the Gdynia yard.

The design session will also ex- amine one of the growth areas for deepsea RO/RO carriage, that of timber products. Here a paper from the Finnish Rauma Repola

Shipyard will study the handling of this commodity by RO/RO, and the most economical type of

RO/RO tonnage for future trad- ing.

A subject not previously ex- amined by the RO-RO Confer- ences is the passenger/vehicle ferry. A full session will be de- voted to this type of RO/RO op- eration and ship, including the emergence of the jumbo RO/RO ferry and the implications of their economics and their effects on ex- isting routes. A panel of leading ferry operators, including Sea- link UK, Anders Jahre, and two other major Scandinavian compa- nies, together with Compagnie

Nationale Algerienne de Naviga- tion (CNAN), will discuss some of the concepts and operational experiences of their fleets. This panel will be chaired by R.H.

Jacquinet of the MacGregor In- ternational Organisation.

The ferry panel discussion will be logically followed by a subject that today demands inclusion in the scope of the Conference, that is propulsion economics. The con- tinuing increase in bunker prices and operating costs has put new emphasis on machinery selection, arrangement, and maintenance, and developments in these areas related to ferries and RO/RO ships will be discussed by a panel of four major engine designers—

B&W Diesels A/S, M.A.N., S.E.-

M.T. Pielstick, and Stork-Werks- poor Diesel BV.

Since the previous RO-RO Con- ference in 1980, when shipowners and naval architects gave their views on the stability of RO/RO ships, much apprehension has been expressed on aspects of their design in the wake of recent ac- cidents. For this reason the 1981

Conference will look further into the issues raised and what reme- dies might be affected.

Recent criticism has perhaps been leveled unfairly at RO/RO

Adamson Butterly Ltd., U.K.

Autoliv Band AB, Sweden

Cargospeed Equipment Ltd.,U.K.

Consafe Group (JCE Container Safe AB),

Sweden

Conver Ingenieur-Technik GmbH, W. Ger- many

Fairplay International Shipping Weekly,

U.K.

Frederikshaven Vaerft AS, Denmark

Gefahrliche Ladung, W. Germany

Goteborg Bandvaveri, Sweden

Goteborg Truckservice, Sweden

Gothenburg Stevedoring, Sweden

Port of Gothenburg, Sweden

Hamburger Hafen-und Lagerhaus AG, W.

Germany

Hamberger Hafen Nachrichten, W. Ger- many

Inter Equipos Navales SA, Spain

Intering GmbH, W. Germany

International Lashing Systems, U.K.

Johansson Group, Sweden

Journal of Commerce, U.K.

Kalmar LMV, Sweden

LancerBoss Ltd., U.K.

Lansing Ltd., U.K.

Lloyd's List, U.K.

MacGregor International, U.K.

Marine Development (Glasgow), U.K.

Marine Engineering/Log, U.S.

MariTerm AB, Sweden types of tonnage, which has tend- ed to be singled out of the usual average of marine accidents and casualties. It is most timely that the Norwegian classification soci- ety Det norske Veritas will pre- sent a major study of RO/RO ac- cidents from 1965 to 1981 at the

Conference and discuss the find- ings. The study is part of a joint research project on the safety of

RO/RO vessels being undertaken in Norway with the participation of industry and government.

The final session will look at

RO/RO from the port's view, and here the attitude and experience of both developed and a develop- ing port will be presented. Speak- (continued on page 40)

Mattsson Group, Sweden

Middle East Cargo Services GmbH, W.

Germany

Moore's of Carnforth, U.K.

Navire Cargo Gear (SF), Finland

Nelson Bolzenschweiss-Technik GmbH,

W. Germany

Niedersachsisches Hafenamt Cuxhaven,

W. Germany

Werft Nobiskrug Gmbh, W. Germany

Ottawa Truck Division, U.K.

PLAN Marine AG, Switzerland

Schichau Unterweser AG, W. Germany

Schiff & Hafen, W. Germany

Oy Sisu-Auto AB, Finland

SpanSet Ltd., U.K.

Stokvis Container Handling, Netherlands

AB Svenska Flaktfabriken, Sweden

Swedish Shipping Gazette, Sweden

Swedish Trade Council, Sweden

Taglicher Hafenbericht, W. Germany

Transport Dienst, W. Germany

Triport Ferries (Management) Ltd., U.K. gte Gesellschaft fur Transport-und Erd- bewegungmaschinen mbH, W. Germ- any

TSS Sea Service AB, Sweden

Valmet Oy, Finland

Van Leer AB, Belgium

KG Velle Systems Gmbh, W. Germany

AB Volvo Penta, Sweden

Wartsila Turku Shipyards

RO-RO 81 EXHIBITOR LIST

PREVIEW

CONGRESS CENTRE-HAMBURG

June 15, 1981 39