Page 112: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2016)

TECH FILE: NEW PRODUCTS

The two main construction projects in the to 240 m and also enhance turning space for

Marseille harbor area of French port Marseille the latest generation vessels. Last year Mar-

Fos are nearing completion following a decisive seille (excluding Fos) handled more than 170 stage in works costing almost $72 that will ca- vessels over 300 m long and, in particular, is

Marseille ter for mega-ships by enlarging the Passe Nord now braced for regular calls from cruise ships port entrance and recommissioning the No.10 exceeding 360 m such as Harmony of the Seas.

drydock. The drydock has been ? ooded for the Renovation of Drydock 10, third largest in the

Mega-ship Initiatives ? rst time since work started in January 2014 to world after Lisbon and Dubai at 465 x 85 m, enable ? otation of a new 9,100 ton dock gate was mainly inspired by the growing world ? eet and three 4,500 ton caissons – under construc- of mega-cruise ships – 65% of which operate tion there since March – that will form the re- in the Mediterranean – but will also provide a modeled ends of sea walls guarding the harbor minimal-deviation repair and maintenance op- entrance. In total almost 23,000 tons of concrete tion for giant container, gas and bulk carriers as was used. Twelve meter tall caissons will be well as offshore platforms. The drydock was towed to the Passe Nord site in a phase lasting built in 1975 as a supertanker facility but was until October, when a? oat construction taking mothballed in 2000 after the market shifted them to a height of 22m is due to end. The 15-m east. The $35 recommissioning initiative in- diameter, 30-m long units will then be sunk on cludes overhaul of the pumps and electrical net- to platforms 18 m below sea level and injected work in addition to the new gate, which will be with up to 10,000 tons of concrete, with project moored on site for ? tting out and testing when completion scheduled by the year-end. the dock is handed over to operator Chantier

The works will enlarge the entrance from 190 Naval Marseille (CNM) in September.

Real-Time Shipbuilder VR Module “Shipbuilder VR allows the real-time publication of project management data, technical data and logistical data in 3D on smartphones, tablets and PCs,” said Shipbuilder director Geert

Schouten. “This enables users to retrieve all the information relevant to spaces within a vessel and visualize them as if they were actually on board. Shipbuilder VR offers a highly attractive form of information management and we expect that this new type of accessible, integrated information provision will become the standard in our industry.”

Shipbuilder VR is designed to provide major bene? ts for yards and operators alike. “Ship- builder VR enables mechanics to study the space in which they will be working and immedi- ately see which materials they will need for construction or maintenance work before they go to the yard,” Schouten says. “They can also view the drawings which belong to the space they are virtually observing and examine other available information. This saves a lot of time and money because they can set out well prepared and will always have the latest correct information at hand.”

Shipping operators also have bene? ts when the yard where their vessel is being built or main- tained is using Shipbuilder VR. “They can see in real time and in virtual reality whether the planned work, materials and components exactly match their wishes,” Schouten said. “And all this takes place in a live environment before construction has even started. Moreover, the opera- tors can use Shipbuilder VR to follow the project’s progress live on remote. The advantages are so signi? cant that this functionality is expected to become a requirement in the near future.

Shipping operators will have a strong preference for yards which use Shipbuilder VR.”

E: [email protected] 112 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • AUGUST 2016

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