Editorial:

Maritime technology in progress

In this year’s edition of the Scandinavian Yearbook of Maritime Technology we will meet authors from many disciplines within the Shipping Community.
Hans Bernhoff and Mats Leijon from Uppsala University write about wave energy converted to electricity while Miles Buckhurst from Jotun Coatings compares Pure Epoxies to Epoxy Mastics.

Pål G. Bergan and Kåre Bakken from Det Norske Veritas ask, together with Oddvar Slettevold from Aker Yards, if steel and light weight concrete sandwich construction may represent new opportunities for shipbuilders and ship owners. Will concrete ships once again be a revolution in shipbuilding?

Michael Leer-Andersen from SSPA Sweden AB tells about Computational Fluid Dynamics, which is a numerical simulation of the flow around ships. Peter Ottosson, from the same company, describes the simulation program Seaman and means that cargo lashing is a delicate matter.

The ballast water problem is one of the greatest threats to the worlds oceans. Lena Sundquist from Alfa Laval and Carl Tullstedt from Benrad AB present the two companies’ Ballast Water Treatment system, that has been tested onboard a vessel for more than a year.

One way to solve the ballast water problem is to build ships that do not need any ballast. Anders Germundsson, Gothia Marine AB and Martin Holmgren, Chalmers, give us an idea of what a ballast-free tanker will look like.

Barend Thijssen, Wärtsilä Corporation, thinks that the new generation LNG carriers is reaching levels where dual-fuel-electric machinery is the most suitable choice compared to a single steam turbine.

Marine, in Holland, has by numerical analysis and model tests, investigated a ships behaviour in parametric rolling. Marc Levadou writes about Extreme roll events in head seas.

What is happening when a helicopter is landing on a ship or hovering above the winching area? Dr. Holger Koss, at Force Technology in Denmark, presents an investigation of maritime helicopter operations.

Atmospheric oil mist detection will be mandatory in the future and Harvey J. Walker, Quality Monitoring Instruments Ltd., writes about oil mist monitoring in the atmosphere.

A new software application from Aveva, former Tribon Solutions, supports a way of creating an initial surface definition and then continuously refining it to match the requirements of the advancing design stages. Tim Smith and Ian Applegarth guides us to a Speedy approach to a new hullform surface generation.

The Sandwich Plate System comprises two metal plates bonded to a continuos elastomer core which form a much stiffer and stronger system than a single stiffened metal plate. Denis Welch and Howard MacKenzie Wilson, from Intelligent Engineering, mean that the Sandwich Plate System is a stepchange in ship repair and construction.

Last, but certainly not least, Captain Lars Brödje, Telemar Scandinavia, writes about Pure broadband, Hybrid solutions and the installation of the latest version of the VSAT on board MT “Bro Atland”.

The maritime technology has continuously developed since the beginning of trade and shipping. For hundreds of years new ideas, discoveries and, not infrequently, controversial thoughts have improved ships as well as harbours, cargo systems, communication and the technique.

Not least has the crew’s role and situation in international shipping changed and developed in parallel with the rapid development in all areas.

Even though a large part of the maritime production has been, and constantly is, moving to other parts of the world, major developments and technical initiatives still have their origin in the traditional shipping nations in Northern Europe.

What you read here and today will be history in the near future. That is progress. But don’t worry! For two decades the Scandinavian Yearbook of Maritime Technology has followed the maritime development and we intend to continue to do so.

Robert Hermansson – Editor