Page 50: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2004)

Tobin to Head Homeland Security

Activities at Thales

Thales North America said that Frank

T. Tobin Jr., formerly Senior Vice

President of Spectrum Solutions Group, has joined the company's Business

Development team in the newly created position of Vice President. Homeland

Security.

Rolls-Royce MT30 Completes DNV

Type Test

The Rolls-Royce MT30 marine gas turbine engine has completed the DNV (Det Norske Veritas) Type Test required to certify the engine at 36MW to DNV's rules for classification of High Speed,

Light Craft and Naval Surface Vessels.

This test was completed on schedule and represents a significant milestone in the certification sequence of the MT30.

Circle 14 on Reader Service Card

New Oil Spill Prevention Specified for 14 Ships

JLMD Ecologic Group signed its first three orders for a total of 14 ships - eight to be delivered to companies based in the Persian Gulf and six to be delivered to a French company. Other potential orders are awaiting confirmation from ship owners and oil companies that own ships. The confirmed orders for a total of 14 ships have come from Qatar

Navigation (two new ships), Qatar

Shipping (six new ships), and Jet's

Cargo Bulk, a French company estab- lished in Greece (six ships, with five new units and one retrofit unit). JLMD

Ecologic Group has started the market- ing and manufacturing of the JLMD

System and is actively seeking financial and/or manufacturing partners world- wide.

Circle 29 on Reader Service Card

Captain Di'az-Monclus New

Chairman of IMO Council

The IMO Council, at its 91st session on December 5, 2003, elected Captain

Luis Di'az-Monclus from Venezuela as

Chairman. The Vice-Chairman, Mr.

Johan Franson from Sweden was re- elected. Captain Di'az-Monclus is

Managing Director. Control of Shipping & Search and Rescue (SAR).

Venezuelan Maritime Authority, and has a long association with IMO.

Kelvin Hughes Develops

Black Box Radar

Kelvin Hughes developed a new Black

Box radar that combines performance with the functionality of a full 50 target

ARPA (Automatic Radar Plotting Aid) system. Based on the Nucleus product range, the Black Box radar is a state-of- the-art Xband radar, incorporating the full ARPA functionality usually found only on much larger installations.

Circle 31 on Reader Service Card

Kongsberg Opens

New Orleans Office

Kongsberg Maritime has opened a

Customer Support Office in New

Orleans. The 6,500 sq. ft. building was officially opened on 27/11/03 and hous- es a parts warehouse, office space for service engineers and an equipment test lab. The new office is located close to

New Orleans International Airport at:

Kongsberg Maritime. James Business Park, 125 James Drive West . Suite 110 St. Rose,

La. 70087. Tel:504 712 2799, Email: [email protected]

Aker Finnvards Building

Birka Paradise

The cruise vessel to be delivered in autumn 2004 for Birka Line had its keel laid at Aker Finnyards in Rauma. The vessel will be named Birka Paradise.

The new vessel 177 m long and 28 m wide comprising eleven decks, five of which are dedicated to passenger accommodation: there are cabins and suites for in all 1,800 passengers. The hull form is optimized to avoid wave forming and bottom suction in the sensi- tive archipelago environment the vessel will be sailing in.

Propeller Contract Awarded

Public Works and Government

Services Canada (PWGSC) awarded a multi-year contract for the manufacture and supply of propeller blades for the

Canadian Patrol Frigates (CPF) to

Dominis Engineering Ltd. of Ottawa.

Bristol to Oversee Two Newbuilds

Construction is progressing for the new Subchapter K passenger ferry ves- sels, M/V Isleno at Blount Boats, Inc. and M/V Caribefia at VT Halter Marine.

Bristol Harbor Marine Design (BHMD) is serving as a liaison for the Puerto Rico

Ports Authority (PRPA), providing con- struction oversight for the vessels serv- icing the Fajardo-Vieques-Culebra Ferry

Line. On July 15th, 2003, BBI signed a contract with the PRPA to construct a 155-ft. cargo/passenger ferry similar to a previous design by the yard. The con- struction of this vessel will be similar to the M/V Cayo Norte, built by Blount

Marine in 1995. Four MTU

DD12V2000 engines coupled to 2.9:1

Twin Disc 5202 gears will provide 3,220 bhp. Two 40kw Northern Lights genera- tors will supply ships service power. The vessel will be equipped with four bronze

Rolls Royce 48-in. FP four-blade pro- pellers. Although the original plans were intended to build to U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Subchapter T regulations, they have been modified by BBI to meet

Subchapter K regulations for cargo/ferry service. The vessel is scheduled for delivery March 2004.

On May 12, 2003, VTHMI, a sub- sidiary of Vision Technologies Systems

Inc., signed a contract with the PRPA to

Prime Mover Controls Inc.

Tel: 604-433-4644

Fax: 604-433-5570 www.pmc-controls.com standard For Marine Propulsion Controls

That Deliver Maximum Performance

Without Compromise.

Circle 271 on Reader Service Card

USCG Seeks Ballast Water

Treatment Testing Participants

The U.S. Coast Guard announced the beginning of a program aimed at facilitating the installation of experimental shipboard ballast water treatment systems. Foreign and domestic vessel own- ers that participate in the program may be granted equivalencies to U.S. ballast water regulations for participating vessels. The Shipboard Technology Evaluation Program (STEP) is one of sever- al Coast Guard initiatives aimed at reducing the introduction of nonindigenous species (NIS) to

U.S. waters through ballast water. The impacts of NIS on our environment, food supply, econo- my, health and overall biodiversity of our waterways are significant and increasing. "This is one of the many things we are doing to protect our waters," said Capt. Dave Scott, chief of the Coast Guard's Office of Operating and Environmental Standards. "Our environmental pro- tection programs, like our security patrols and rescue missions, are all aimed at keeping our waters safe and available for public use and enjoyment."

Later this year, Coast Guard regulations will require that ships coming from outside U.S. waters take steps to eliminate NIS from their ballast water, and future regulations may outline specific

NIS ballast water discharge standards. Currently, the predominant method of reducing the num- ber of NIS in ballast water is conducting a mid-ocean exchange, a procedure that not all ships can safely or reasonably conduct. This new program is intended to facilitate the research and development of shipboard ballast water treatment systems, creating more options for vessel owners seeking alternatives to ballast water exchange. Through the STEP, the Coast Guard will grant conditional equivalencies for accepted vessels, as an incentive for vessel owners to par- ticipate in shipboard evaluations of prototype treatment systems that might not meet discharge standards mandated by future regulations. The STEP is available to all vessels subject to the

Coast Guard's Ballast Water Management regulations, 46 CFR 151 Subparts C and D.

More information on the Coast Guard's ballast water program and STEP application packages are available at: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/mso/mso4/bwm/step.htm.

Potential applicants should contact the Coast Guard Environmental Standards Division (G-MSO-4) staff at 202-267-2716 or [email protected] prior to submission, to dis- cuss the criteria for acceptance, application process and documentation requirements.

Applications for STEP may be submitted beginning April 1, 2004. 50 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News