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Ship Repair & Conversion (Continued from page 52) production is the most exciting part."

But that doesn't mean that Stewart was- n't provided with the daily challenges that she now faces on the waterfront while she was on the business side. In fact, Stewart cites her most challenging moments at NNS to date, occurred on that side.

From 1993-1995 when NNS was part of a holding conglomerate of companies owned by Tenneco, Stewart was in charge of consolidating the various companies' data systems into one singu- lar, seamless system that would function as a main data center for all employees from each company. Stewart and her IT team spent many nights and weekends (so that that a company-wide shutdown was not required) drawing up service agreements and reworking computer networks to accomplish the goal of pro- viding Tenneco's companies with one all-encompassing system for better ser- vice.

Since her current tenure began, Stew- art has managed notable contracts that the yard has been granted dealing with anything from the recent emergency azi- pod repair on Carnival's Paradise — to the eight-month overhaul of Navy cruis- er USS Gettysburg. The latter, which encompassed a workforce of 500 and included two months of prior planning, managed to beat its estimated delivery date by four days.

Training is also on Stewart's agenda, specifically for the newer breed of those entering the maritime industry. "Finding young people is going to be a difficult thing," she said. "With the advent of computers it's getting harder to find those who are going to want to work in the down and dirty business of ship repair."

As far as the future of the ship repair business is concerned, Stewart feels that an eventual era of consolidation within the industry is looming. With European and Asian yards luring customers with their lower prices, she feels that this, as well as price-competition is here to stay.

Regarding her time with NNS is a dif- ferent story however — Stewart is con- tinuing to work diligently to explore fur- ther options within ship repair. "In the foreseeable future I will continue to be involved with the ship repair business," she said. "But it's hard to say I wouldn't move to another area of the company within the next three years." — Regina P. Ciardiello

Stolt-Nielsen Goes Fleet-Wide

Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group has signed a major strategic agreement with SpecTec for the supply of advanced shipboard management sys- tems. Valued in excess of $2 million, the deal calls for SpecTec to supply its

AMOS maintenance system to Stolt's three operations offices, as well as onboard 75 vessels.

Stolt's decision was based upon the requirement for global centralization of vessel inventories and operational pro- cedures combined with analytical capa- bilities. The company plans to focus on advanced maintenance standards, inventory optimization, delivery logis- tics and contract purchasing.

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LR Discusses Derbyshire Loss

A recent issue of Lloyd's Register's (LR's) Classification News reports on key points that have since emerged dur- ing the Reopened Formal Investigation (RFI) into the loss of the LR-classed

OBO Derbyshire, which sank off the coast of Japan in 1980 during typhoon

Orchid. LR describes recommendations that have been outlined by the panel of experts serving the RFI in respect of green sea loadings in extreme seas.

Complete information can be found online at www.mv-derbyshire.org.uk 20,000-Ton Floating Drydock

At Flender Werft

A new floating drydock that allows future drydocking of vessels with a dwt of up to 20,000-tons is currently being constructed at Flender Werft in Liibeck.

The steel structure, which measures 722 x 148 ft. (220 x 45 m) has since com- menced; commissioning is scheduled by the end of February 2001. Upon completion, the dock will replace the shipyard's largest drydock for which there is already a buyer.

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October, 2000

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