Page 46: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2004)

The Workboat Annual

Fire Prevention: "Rising" to the Occasion

Earlier this year, the USNS

Impeccable and the USNS Stockham recognized the need to make repairs and enhancements on many of the ships' multi-cable penetrations.

Reminded about the importance of fire prevention, the ships were looking for a solution that could reliably protect the vessels against the passage of fire, gas and water.

In particular, the USNS Stockham needed the work done immediately in order to avoid a late departure on its next voyage.

Milcom Systems, a marine contractor specializing in C4I, HVAC and LAN installations, was tasked with perform- ing a sizable portion the work.

During a dry docking period of the

USNS Impeccable, it was determined that eight cable transits running toward the antenna dome needed to be rein- stalled.

Because of a series of educational product demonstrations by W&O

Supply, a maritime supplier of pipe, valves, fittings and electrical products,

Milcom was aware of the range of product options for this type of repair and determined the optimal product was the RISE multi-cable system.

Specifically designed for marine and offshore installations and with all major

Classification Society approvals, the

RISE system can be used to seal multi- cable penetrations or pipe penetrations.

RISE consists of two different compo- nents: rubber insert sleeves and a sili- cone-based fire resistant and water repellent sealant. Manufactured by

CSD Sealing Systems, when RISE is exposed to heat, the rubber sleeves expand five to ten times their original volume, creating a strong rubber mass within the penetration. The sealant, which is applied to both sides of the penetration, also cures to a rubber-like mass that withstands tremendous pres- sures, enabling it to achieve its gas and watertight ratings. Milcom selected the

RISE system for several reasons. "First and foremost, I'm confident that RISE offers the best fire-stop protection on the market, which prevents fires from spreading and limits damage on a ves- sel," said John Pugliese, a project man- ager at Milcom. "In addition, some of the clear advantages that we've experi- enced are that installing the RISE sys- tem is much quicker, easier and more flexible than any of the block systems currently available."

Working on the eight transits,

Milcom's installation on the USNS

Impeccable was completed in three to four hours, saving time and money. Just as importantly, the Coast Guard inspec- tors were impressed with the fire pre- vention system.

A few months later, while the USNS

Impeccable was in dry dock, an addi- tional 200 transits were sealed using the

RISE system, saving thousands of dol- lars from the short installation period.

In early August 2004. the Military

Sealift Command once again called upon Milcom to upgrade three transits while the USNS Stockham was tem- porarily docked in Norfolk, Va.

With only two days to perform the work, the cargo ship was heading to

Guam with supplies for troops deployed in the Persian Gulf.

Obviously, the repairs needed to be performed within an extremely tight timeframe.

On this occasion, Milcom used the

RISE system and realized a labor sav- ings of nearly 66 percent in comparison with traditional block methods. The repairs were completed in less than three hours. Again, as a result of the short installation time, the USNS

Stockham was able to sail on time and meet its mission requirements.

Circle 12 on Reader Service Card

Pressure Transmitter Receives

ABS Approval

The Siemens Process Instrumentation Group of

Siemens Energy & Automation has received a

Certificate of Type Approval from ABS for the

SITRANS P, DSIII Series pressure transmitter. The

SITRANS P DSIII pressure transmitter incorporates software that provides diagnostic capabilities and sim- ulation functionality. Its diagnostic capabilities include the following benefits: high- or low-signal limit alarms; peak value registers that store the maximum and minimum values for pressure, sensor temperature, and electronics temperature; and two programmable "watchdog" timers that alert the operator when user-set maintenance and calibration times occur. Local con- figuration of all operational parameters can be made using magnetic pushbuttons on the instrument, elimi- nating the need for programming devices such as hand- held communicator or laptop computers with configu- ration software. The transmitter's simulation capabili- ties provide for a complete signal simulation, from the input through to the output. A single technician can test the entire signal loop. The SITRANS DSIII transmit- ter is available for measuring pressure, absolute pres- sure, differential pressure, flow or level. It can be spec- ified with a number of different exotic metal process diaphragms for use in aggressive process materials.

The two-wire device provides a standard 4-20 mA out- put signal that is proportional to the input pressure.

G.R.Bowler, Inc. is a Siemens Energy & Automation,

Inc. Solutions Provider.

Circle 7 on Reader Service Card

New Ratings For QSM11 and QSC8.3

Cummins MerCruiser Diesel announced new com- mercial engine application ratings for the Quantum

Series QSM11 at 300 hp (220 kW), 355 hp (261 kW), 405 hp (298 kW) and 455 hp (336 kW) respectively.

Additionally, commercial engine application ratings of 490 hp (361 kW) for the QSC8.3 diesel engine were released.

These full-authority electronic system engines are

EPA Tier 2 and IMO emissions compliant. Available with the keel cooling option, Cummins MerCruiser

Diesel engineers have configured the engines with a wet exhaust system and created new smaller-frame waste gated turbochargers to provide more air into each of the cylinders.

Circle 23 on Reader Service Card

Saab Transpondertech Debuts

GPS Option on AIS

Saab TransponderTech introduced a new type- approved GPS as an integrated part of the R4 ship AIS transponder system.

Gunnar Mangs, business director for mobile sys- tems, said, "This fully compliant GPS receiver is intended to provide a fully qualified backup to the

SOLAS class ship's main DGPS, and adds GPS navi- gation functionality to the AIS transponder. It will also become an excellent complete combined AIS and GPS solution for many non-SOLAS applications."

The GPS receiver is embedded inside the R4 transponder. It provides the necessary GPS outputs to the AIS, and also provides navigation functions on the

R4 display unit.

The unit is fully compliant with IMO and IEC speci- fications for shipboard GPS, including RAIM (Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring). An external IALA DGPS beacon receiver can be connect- ed as an option. Existing Saab R4 AIS installations can be retrofitted with the new transponder module con- taining the new GPS receiver and a software upgrade.

Circle 42 on Reader Service Card 48 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News