Page 113: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 1997)

SHIP REPAIR TRENDS itand flooding of the foremost largo hold in all loading conditions ind be capable of floating and naintaining satisfactory equilibri- um The applicable regulations -equire that the transverse water- ;ight bulkhead between the two ?oremost cargo holds and the dou- ale bottom of the foremost cargo lold must have sufficient strength to withstand flooding of the fore- most cargo hold, taking into account the dynamic effects resulting from the presence of water in the ship's hold.

For bulkers that are 20 years or older, on July 1, 1999, covered ves- sels must comply with the stan- dards by the earlier of the vessel's first intermediate survey, or its special survey. For bulkers under 20 years of age, on July 1, 1999, each vessel must comply the latter of, the vessel's first special survey after July 1, 1999, or when the vessel reaches 15 years of age.

Bulk carriers with insufficient transverse bulkheads potentially have additional requirements to meet.

Compliance Costs

The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) estimates that 76 percent of ships covered by the anticipated regime will require strengthening of their

No. 1 bulkhead. The

International Association of Dry

Cargo Shipowners reports that compliance can generally be achieved by adding doubling strips to corrugated flanges or adding/reinforcing gusset or shredder plates.

The collective affect of the regu- lations translates to massive steel reinforcement work that results in decreased drydock supply in cer- tain sectors, especially for larger vessels. IACS estimates that ves- sels 50,000 dwt or less will require an average of 10 tons of steelwork; vessels between 50-80,000 dead- weight tons will require an aver- age of 12.5 tons of steelwork, and

Capsize vessels (over 80,000 tons) would require an average of 25 tons of steelwork.

The cost of compliance will vary, depending upon where the work is to be completed. Owners may elect other means to achieve the desired safety ends. For example, they could choose to per- manently reduce the ship's cargo carrying capacity, or they could

September, 1997 alter the ship's cargo carrying con- figurations.

However attractive these cost- saving alternatives may seem, they must be balanced against the vessel's decreased ability to earn additional freights and diminished capability to compete. A

Handysize vessel with limited cargo carrying capacity would likely find it difficult to compete against an identical Handysize ship sans restrictions.

Circle 298 on Reader Service Card

The Shipyards

A recent report from the

International Association of Dry

Cargo Shipowners (INTERCAR-

GO) indicates that most Far

Eastern shipyards have full order- books through the year 2000. 113 f 5 v ws

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