Page 53: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 1992)

General view of the Gdynia Shipyard, one of the most modern shipyards in Europe.

Restructured Polish Shipyards

Offer Modern Facilities,

Cost-Effective Services

For the last 40 years, Polish ship- yards have been active in the con- struction and repair of large ocean- going ships. Due to the political climate in Poland during this pe- riod, their products have been con- fined mostly to Europe and what was the Soviet Union.

Now, however, due to the Soli- darity movement in the 1980s, and the events in Eastern Europe in the last two years, Polish yards are ex- panding their marketing efforts out- side their normal customer base, according to Mark Pancer, a U.S. representative for the yards. Polish shipyards are undergoing restruc- turing, privatization, and invest- ment programs, as well as expand- ing their facilities in order to attract new business. "The political environment is to- tally different," said Marian

Zakrzewski, vice president of mar- keting for Gdansk Shipyard, a lead- ing Polish shipbuilder. "In the past, the yard operation was subjected to a government controlled manage- ment system. Today, the yard man- ages itself, and we have the freedom to make decisions regarding mar- keting, contract negotiations, money management and investment strat- egy. The end result is that we have become a more efficient organiza- tion, which in turn has made us more competitive," Mr. Zakrzewski stated.

The yard, which specializes in high-tech vessels, recently delivered the third in a series of four 1,500-

TEU containerships for Polish

Oceans Lines. Current construc- tion includes two multipurpose cargo vessels for delivery in 1993-94. Ad- ditionally, French owner Societe

Naval et Commerciale Delmas-

Vieljeuxhas ordered two 2,280-TEU container vessels for delivery in 1993-94, as well as an order from

Finnlines Group Oy AB for four RO/

ROs.

At Szczecin Shipyard "Warski," which operates two production cen- ters, the company's main yard has six longitudinal slipways for con- structing vessels up to 35,000 dwt.

Szczecin will shortly complete the rebuilding of its slipways, which will accommodate ships up to 230 meters

February, 1992 in length or Panamax size ships.

The Gdynia Shipyard, which has constructed over 500 ships since

World War II, is currently in a part- nership with the Polish Treasury, the first step in the process of privatization. The yard is also un- dergoing internal restructuring in order to increase efficiency.

A new floating dock with a lifting capacity of 15,000 tons was recently added to the Szczecin Ship Repair

Yard"Gryfia." According to Tomasz

Gadomski, the managing director for the facility, this will enable

Gryfia to drydock ships up to 40,000 dwt and 216 meters in length.

GSY, the Gdansk Ship Repair

Yard, near the entrance to the Port of Gdansk, has major clients from the U. S., Europe and the Mediterra- nean area. Employing over 3,000 workers and an additional 1,000 on- site subcontractors, GSY performs the full spectrum of repairs, from routine overhauls to special conver- sions.

The maximum length GSY can accommodate is 260 meters. Its floating drydocks have lifting ca- pacities from 2,200 to 55,000 tons.

Last year, the shipyard built a new repair shop, a fitting-out berth, and a 33,000-ton lifting capacity floating dock.

GSY is currently converting a refrigerated vessel into a banana carrier, requiring 300 tons of steel replacement and multiple modifi- cations.

On the ship training side, the

Polish maritime academies of

Szczecin and Gdynia play an impor- tant role in preparing future cap- tains and chief officers for Polish and foreign shipping companies.

At the Szczecin academy, which offers courses in navigation, ma- chinery, and sea port administra- tion, there are about 1,100 students.

The Gdynia Academy has additional telecommunication and electrical departments.

For free literature fully detailing the ship construction and repair ser- vices of Polish Shipyards,

Circle 95 on Reader Service Card

Garlock V&IP Develops

New Material To Prevent

Fouling By Zebra Mussel

Garlock Valves and Industrial

Plastics (V&IP), a unit of Coltec In- dustries, has developed Z-GARD, a material that prevents zebra mus- sels from fouling the intakes of power plants and drinking water facilities.

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are tiny mollusks that form huge colonies and clog water intake pipes, valves and trash gates.

They have caused extensive dam- age and have had to be removed mechanically, a costly and time-con- suming process. Zebra mussels range across the Great Lakes and east to the Hudson River.

The spread of zebra mussels to

North America is a classic example of how a foreign organism unchecked by natural predators can multiply and wreak havoc.

The zebra mussel is a freshwater mollusk native to the Caspian Sea and Ural River in Russia. First discovered in 1796, the mollusk apparently traveled to North Ameri- can waters in the ballast of a ship during 1986. Apparently, it was discharged into Lake St. Clair, be- tween Lake Huron and Lake Erie, and rapidly spread into all of the

Great Lakes and adjoining water- ways. The mollusks encrust the hulls and engines of boats and wa- ter distribution structures situated in the water.

Z-GARD is created by adding cer- tain molluscicidal chemicals to ul- tra-high molecular weight polyeth- ylene (UHMWPE), a product well known in the power industry for its outstanding abrasion resistance and relative chemical inertness.

Garlock V&IP, based in Camden,

N.J., manufactures and markets polytetrafluoroethylene-lined and

UHMWPE-lined butterfly and plug valves and components.

For free literature on Z-GARD from Garlock V&IP,

Circle 61 on Reader Service Card

HHI Set To Build

Three Tankers

For Saudi Aramco

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI),

South Korea's largest shipbuilding company, has disclosed that letters of intent recently signed with Saudi

Aramco for the construction of three 280,000-dwt tankers will shortly be confirmed.

Delivery is scheduled for late 1993 or early 1994, and the yard is confi- dent the new vessels will be built at

HHI's Ulsan facility.

The three vessels are part of a six- ship deal which will form part of

Saudi Aramco's future newbuilding program. In addition to these ves- sels, ULCCs of up to 350,000 dwt are also planned.

A letter of intent for the building of the remaining three VLCCs has already been placed with Odense

Shipyard in Denmark.

Hyundai's VLCC order book has also received a boost following the confirmation that Seatankers in

Limassol, the Cyprus-based man- agement arm of Norwegian ship- owner John Fredriksen, has con- firmed an order for another VLCC of the same design as the Saudi Aramco vessels, for delivery in the second quarter of 1993.

The confirmation of the

Seatankers order has led to specula- tion in the VLCC building market that, contrary to some schools of thought, VLCC building will con- tinue to rise for several years more.

For free literature on the facili- ties and capabilities of HHI,

Circle 62 on Reader Service Card

Westinghouse To Become

Service Provider Of AMSCs

Mobile Satellite Services

American Mobile Satellite Cor- poration (AMSC) recently an- nounced that Westinghouse Elec- tric Corporation Electronic Systems

Group has signed a Memorandum of

Understanding under which

Westinghouse will become an au- thorized service provider of AMSC's mobile satellite services.

Westinghouse will initiate mar- ket development for end user appli- cations for use through AMSC's mobile satellite system. As a future authorized service provider,

Westinghouse will serve as a dis- tributor of AMSC services to vari- ous industries requiring mobile sat- ellite communications.

American Mobile Satellite Cor- poration is licensed by the FCC to operate a full service mobile satel- lite system for the U.S., including

Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the

Virgin Islands and 200 miles of coastal territorial waters. AMSC's shareholders include companies who have had major influence on the communications industry and con- tinue to advance the world of com- munications through innovative technology: Hughes Communica- tions, Inc., McCaw Cellular Com- munications, Inc., and Mtel.

Propeller Fans Bulletin

Offered By Aerovent

Aerovent, Inc. of Piqua, Ohio, now offers a new brochure detailing its complete line of propeller fans with

Macheta Airfoil Design.

Available in sizes from 9 inches through 96 inches with flow capaci- ties from 500 cfm to 131,000 cfm,

Aerovent propeller fans are designed to handle a wide range of industrial and marine air-moving applications.

General information on fan ac- cessories, specifications, dimensions and performance data for all propel- ler fan models are described in Bul- letin 167. For free copies from

Aerovent,

Circle 85 on Reader Service Card 53