SMM '84 International Ship, Machinery, and Marine Technology Trade Fair

Hamburg, West Germany September 25-29 At the 11th International Ship, Machinery, and Marine Technology Trade Fair (SMM '84) to be held at the Hamburg Exhibition Center in West Germany September 25-29, more than 500 exhibitors from 24 countries will be filling some 45,000 square meters (484,000 square feet) of exhibition space in 11 halls with all the latest developments in ships, marine and offshore technology, and ships' equipment. This exhibition in Hamburg has regularly welcomed participants from all the European shipbuilding nations, as well as a host of leading maritime enterprises from overseas. This year, in addition to the individual company stands, national joint displays will be mounted by Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, East Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, and South Korea.

SMM is organized every two years by Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH, along with the Association of German Marine Engineers (VDSI) and the German Shipbuilding Industry Association.

Sponsors include Germanischer Lloyd, the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, the Shipbuilding and Offshore Suppliers Section of the German Machinery and Plant-Makers' Association (VDMA), and the Marine Technology Trade Association (WIM).

Exhibition highlights at SMM '84 will include propulsion units for oceangoing ships, machinery and equipment from the field of marine technology, construction of offshore drilling units, monitoring and control technology for ship operations, steering and maneuvering systems, navigation and communications equipment, and much more.

The last International Ship, Machinery, and Marine Technology Exhibition was held in Hamburg in 1982. It was visited by a total of more than 30,000 specialists from 41 countries. About 85 percent of those visitors considered SMM '82 to have been of great significance as a multi-lateral marketplace for the industries concerned. Nine out of 10 exhibitors said that SMM '82 had "come up to" or "exceeded" their expectations. Furthermore, 1982 exhibitors emphasized the fact that there had been a great increase in the number of overseas visitors compared with the 1980 exhibition.

Construction of special-purpose vessels and vehicles will be another highlight of SMM '84. Building of standard type vessels has for years been largely the preserve of low-wage shipbuilding nations.

German shipbuilders have reacted to this development by coming up with vessels of a highly sophisticated technical standard. Ships of this kind will be among the exhibits.

The exhibition will include views of passenger ships built at the Meyer Shipyard in Papenburg, where at present four such vessels are under construction for the Republic of Indonesia. Recently, a contract was signed to build a 35,000-gt cruise liner for Home Lines, the largest vessel ever ordered from this yard. The Meyer yard has also earned a worldwide reputation in another specialized field—conversion of bulk carriers to cattle ships.

Although much smaller, one new development being shown for the first time at SMM '84 is just as sophisticated from a technical point of view. The Hilgers Shipyard in Rheinbrohl will be presenting floating units on a standard container basis driven by hydrojet propulsion. They can be fitted out in a variety of ways to serve as an ambulance, laboratory, or firefighting unit.

Marine technology is now well out of the experimental stage, and the challenges it faces are continually requiring new and better solutions.

Deep sea diving equipment is the field in which Dragerwerke in Lubeck specializes.

This company will be presenting a range of pressure chambers and diving equipment.

Particular interest is likely to be focused on a free-fall lifeboat with a built-in pressure chamber that enables divers who have been working at depth to escape from production platforms without getting the dreaded bends.

Monitoring underwater constructions, pipelines, and cables has become especially important in the offshore field. Bornhoft GmbH of Kiel will be coming to SMM '84 with a particularly wide range of monitoring systems and sampling equipment.

M.A.N.-B&W Diesel GmbH of Augsburg/Nurnberg will be exhibiting: original parts and models of the new L 58/64 engine with output of 1,650 bhp per cylinder, with extremely low fuel consumption; cutaway model of the NR 20 radial- flow turbocharger; a complete Alpha 6L 23/30 propulsion system, including an Alpha-tronic remote control console; a three-phase alternator set with the 8L 28/32 engine; and a cutaway model from the two-stroke engine program.

Krupp Atlas Elektronic of Bremen will be showing a complete range of navigational and other marine aids for all seagoing applications.

Exhibited for the first time in public is the newly developed modular navigation and command system—a total bridge integration concept designed for both standard and purpose-built vessels. Also re- ceiving its first public showing is the Atlas 8600 ARPA, one of four new, advanced rasterscan radars that are said to be the first to offer continuous true daylight viewing on a 16-inch screen, resulting in a quality of presentation superior to a conventional TV picture.

The Marine Engineering Division of J.M. Voith GmbH of Heidenheim will exhibit models and charts depicting the activities of the division, with particular attention being drawn to the various fields of application for Voith marine propulsion systems. Specialized personnel will be available at the Voith stand to give information and answer questions.

This year the SMM stand of Schottel International, represented by Schottel-Werft, Josef Becker GmbH & Company KG of Spay/Rhine, and Schottel-Hamburg, will be devoted to working and still models demonstrating the application of the wide range of the company's propulsion equipment.

The further-developed and improved Schottel Masterpilot steering system, and a scaled-down plexiglass model of a Cone-Jet type SKJ 175 will be shown. The outdoor exhibit between Halls 6 and 7 will be a Schottel workboat equipped with two Pump-Jet units type SPJ 32.

Volvo Penta Deutschland GmbH will share a stand with Volvo Penta Gothenburg and the Volvo Hydraulic Division. Among the diesel engines on display will be the 408-bhp TAMD121, the 300-bhp TAMD70, and 272-bhp TMD100, and the 250-bhp TAMD60. An inboard-outboard drive will also be shown, as well as the 28-bhp 2003 auxiliary engine.

C. Plath GmbH of Hamburg will exhibit an extended compass range.

In addition to the NAVIGAT VII and VIII gyrocompasses introduced four years ago, the company will exhibit its new NAVIGAT IX, a compact and versatile gryocompass/ autopilot combination. The new unit is said to meet many specific requirements put forward by users. In addition, Plath's complete range of sophisticated navigation and automation equipment will be available for inspection.

August G. Koch, Maschinenfabrik of Kiel will exhibit its extensive line of AKO filters that are used worldwide in the shipping industry.

AKO single and double filters, as well as semi-automatics and fully automatic self-cleaning filters, are suitable for filtration of fuel oils, lube oils, cooling water, and drinking water aboard ships.

This year Koch will introduce its AKO-Filtramat RW860, which is used as an indicator for the control of the centrifuging of fuel oil.

IBAK (Helmut Hunger GmbH & Company KG) of Kiel will be exhibiting a new generation of marine searchlights, type SH300, SH350, and SH400. These are incandescent lamp searchlights that have been greatly improved over their predecessors by the use of high-quality glass reflectors and halogen lamps. Their ranges have been increased by 10-15 percent, and the life of the lamp is several times longer than it was previously.

An IBAK long-range xenon searchlight of the proven series X360 will also be shown.

AB Hagglund & Soner of Swe- den, a member of the ASEA Group, will introduce a new electro-hydraulic, slewing container crane offering considerable advantages over existing models. The new Type L crane, while a development of the successful Type G, embodies a number of radical changes in machinery arrangement and configuration to meet a 2,400-mmdiameter limitation of the crane housing and slewing ring without sacrificing vital Hagglunds features.

This new crane, available in lifting capacities from 20 to 60 tons and outreach up to 105 feet, is sure to attract wide attention at the Hamburg show.

The main exhibit on the stand of SWDiesel (Stork-Werkspoor Diesel bv of Amsterdam) will be a 6- cylinder SW280 engine. This engine burns heavy fuel at 1,000 rpm, and is designed to meet all the demands of the present and future markets. Since its introduction two years ago, the SW280 has been well received in international maritime circles and a large number of orders have been re- ceived for use as main propulsion units, auxiliary power supply on board oceangoing ships, and for land-based applications.

International Congress The SMM '84 International Congress planned for September 26- 27 to accompany the exhibition will have for its theme "Research, Technology, and Industry as Reflected in the Trade Fair." Two days of lectures and discussions are being organized by the Association of German Marine Engineers, represented by its Hamburg branch. The main topics to be covered in the Congress papers are the developments in ships' engines and heavy fuel oil operations, together with offshore technology.

The Congress has been planned with two target groups in mind— the operational technicians on the one hand, and manufacturers and research institutes on the other.

The intention of the Congress is to provide a fruitful exchange of information and ideas between the field of research and the manufacturing industry. Experts from the target groups mentioned are becoming increasingly aware of the need for more efficient operational systems in order to stay competitive.

Heavy oil operations, a topic that will be dealt with in a number of papers and from a variety of viewpoints at the Congress, are still presenting a range of new problems long after the successful introduction of this kind of operation.

There is the challenge of developing a fuel oil that can be used for operating the auxiliary engines as well as the main engines, with only one fuel on board. A further requirement is that equally good operating conditions exist for long-term operations at both full power and low power.

Even though it would appear that it is now technically possible to produce unmanned vessels, the aims of those involved in increasing the degree of automation on board ships are not exclusively directed towards any further reduction in the size of the crew. The SMM '84 Congress will present ample evidence that the priorities in the automation process have to be threefold: relieving the crew of everyday routine controls; arriving at a more accurate and quicker diagnosis and elimination of defects; and, as a result of all this, achieving a state of trouble-free engine operation.

The other main theme of the Congress is offshore technology.

This is hardly surprising, as the extreme weather conditions and very heavy seas that often prevail in the northern latitutes give exploration and production platforms and other offshore installations an unusually heavy pounding.

This represents a stiff challenge not only to those involved in their construction but also to the authorities concerned with their supervision and inspection, the maintenance firms, and especially the divers who have to carry out the repair work.

One of the papers to be presented at the Congress will be concerned with GUSI, the new GKSS Underwater Simulator System, which has now successfully completed its trials. At simulated depths of up to 300 meters (984 feet), repair work including welding can be carried out. The experience gained under such simulated conditions can go a long way towards insuring that the actual work is then completed without any delays or hitches.

CONFERENCE PROGRAM Wednesday, September 26 Chairman—Werner Schottelndreyer, Verand Deutscher Reeder, Hamburg.

9:30 am—Welcome by directors of the Association of Marine Engineers of Hamburg, organizer of the Conference.

9:40 am—"Is German Merchant Shipping Still Competitive from a Ship Operational Point of View?" by Kurt Dohmel, Deutsche Shell Tanker Reederei.

10:00 am—"New Developments in the Treatment of Poor Quality Fuels with High Densities," by F.J. Loddenkemper, Westfalia Separator.

10:30 am—"Exhaust Turbochargers for Use with Heavy Oil," by R. Muller, BBC.

11:00 am—Discussion and coffee break.

11:30 am—"Future-Oriented Automation Concept for Modern Sea Vessels," by Volker Brand, Siemens AG.

12:15 pm—Luncheon.

Afternoon Session Chairman— Prof. Horst Rulfs, Technische Universitat Hamburg.

1:30 pm—"Economic Ship Propulsion with Four-Stroke Engines," by H.R. Lembcke and Fritz Gogarten, MaK Maschinenbau GmbH.

2:00 pm—"Crosshead Engines with Small Cylinder Bore for Combustion of Inferior Quality Heavy Oils," by Ernst Schaad, Sulzer Brothers.

2:30 pm—"Development Trends for Diesel Engine Bearings Subject to Danger of Corrosion and Wear," by Ulrich Engel, BWH Braunschweig (Braunschweiger Huttenwerke GmbH).

3:00 pm—Discussion.

Thursday, September 27 Morning Session Chairman—O. Rohl, Germanischer Lloyd, Hamburg.

9:30 am—"Problems in Monitoring Offshore Installations," by Bernhard Richter, Germanischer Lloyd.

9:45 am—"Deep-Water Technology Related to the Troll Field Development," by Bjorn S. Weibye, Norske Hydro.

10:15 am—"Diver Assistance Vehicle for Inspection and Maintenance Duties," by W. Ohm, AEG Schiffbau.

10:45 am—Discussion and coffee break.

11:15 am—"Semi Server—the Economic Solution for Making Underwater Building Elements Accessible," by Gerd Elbel, Blohm + Voss AG.

11:45 am—Discussion.

12 noon—Luncheon.

Afternoon Session Chairman—H. Wilckens, Thyssen Nordseewerke.

1:30 pm—"Preservation of Oceanological Structures in a Wet Environment," by B. Donker, GKSS Rorschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH.

2:00 pm—"Coatings for Corrosion Control on Fixed Offshore Platforms," by A.C. Fletcher, International Farbenwerke GmbH.

2:30 pm—"The GKSS Underwater Simulator—a Research and Development Instrument for Underwater Maintenance and Repair Tasks," by Prof. H.C. Schafstall and B. Szelagowski.

3:00 pm—Film Show: State of Development in Underwater Welding Techniques and First Experiences from Dives of up to 300 Meters (984 Feet).

3:15 pm—Discussion.