Page 10: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 1998)

years. With its design orientation towards enhancing the man- machine interface, and as a tool for single watchstander bridge man- ning, the latest Decca-sourced addition to the Litton portfolio meets Det Norske Veritas require- ments for its Watch 1 notation.

Although the marketing effort has now begun in earnest, in the run- up to strategic stocking in world- wide locations, a number of orders have already been sealed this year for BridgeMaster applications on highly sophisticated chemtankers, cruise vessels and other ship types.

The series has been designed and engineered in such a way as to facilitate retrofit installations, thereby considerably raising mar- ket potential, while its compatibil- ity with previous BridgeMaster radars offers customers the possi- bility of updating existing systems progressively.

Checking double hull integrity

Although the knowledge base is increasing all the time, relatively little in-service data is available on the structural performance of large double-hull crude oil carriers. As yet, such vessels constitute a rela- tively new generation of ship type, effectively created by legislation, and for which there is an element of the unknown as regards long- term structural behavior. Double- shell construction still has its many detractors, although manda- tory requirements governing tanker design render arguments against such configurations futile insofar as the commercial world is concerned. In the meantime, a shipowner, builder and classifica- tion society have taken the initia- tive to measure loadings and stresses in actual service condi- tions, and the effects over a long period of time, as an investment in the future.

British Hunter, the last of a trio of 150,000-dwt crude carriers delivered by Samsung Heavy

Industries for operation with BP

Shipping, has been fitted by

Lloyd's Register with a dedicated system for continuously gathering data on structural loadings and hull stress. An additional tier was incorporated on the deck store to accommodate the measurement equipment. The society's ShipRight hull condition moni- toring procedure (HCM) was imple- mented on all three vessels of the class, so that the physical state of the struc- ture could be recorded for analy- sis, along with LR's machinery perfor- mance monitoring gear.

Full-scale mea- surements of the hull dynamics will be taken over a period of seven years. As well as contributing to the enhancement of various design assessment procedures, the pro- gram should increase the knowl- edge of the overall structural integrity and life durability of dou- ble-hull tankers.

A better understanding of the working of critical areas of the structure should also contribute to future hull inspection arrange-

The 298,000-dwt Eleo Maersk has the ES ShipRight notation, ments.

For the shipping company, such investigations should yield infor- mation that helps extend knowl- edge of the safe operational limits of the vessels, reducing the lifetime risks of structural damage and improving the planning of hull structure maintenance. The pro- gram also promises to provide both operator and shipbuilder with data that will bear upon future designs.

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Circle 286 on Reader Service Card