Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Annual Review
This report gives a summary of the major developments achieved in marine engineering technology in Japan
and abroad in 1998 prepared by the Editors Committee of MESJ based on the manuscripts written by the chairmen
and members of the research committees.
Each section gives an objective summary of researches, indicates the data showing the present technical level
and improvements in production and performance of marine equipments, and introduces new products worthy of
special attention.
In writing these articles, the authors specially intended to make only a very brief statement concerning advances
in the field of fundamental engineering, to make reference as much as possible to the previously published journals
of the related societies for research papers and technical informations, and to restrict the introduction of individual
products and achievements only to the most representative ones.
The authors express their deep gratitude to the companies for providing them with informations required in
compiling this summary.
Contents:
1.General, 2. Diesel Engines, 3. Steam Turbines, 4. Gas Turbines and Turbochargers, 5. Boilers, 6. Shafting
System, 7. Auxiliary Machinery and Outfitting works, 8. Deck Machinery, 9. Fuels and Lubricating Oils, 10. Nuclear
Ships, 11. Automatic Control, 12. Electronics Technology, 13. Electrical Equipment and System, 14. Ocean
Engineering Machinery and Offshore Structures
Table 2.1-2 All Diesel Engines in the World (1997) Table 2.1-4 Medium Speed Engines in the World
(1997)
Table 2.1-3 Low Speed Engines in the World (1997) 2,590,819 kW (3,523,514 PS), showing increase by
6.1% compared with 2,442,760 kW (3,322,154 PS) in
1997.
Especially, it is noticed that the number of the very
large engines of an output over 22,059 kW (30,000 PS)
increased to 12 units with the total output of 530,925
kW (722,058 PS) in 1998, which corresponds to about
ten times of 1 unit with the output 53,285 kW (72,468
PS) in 1997.
The rest of 4 ships are equipped with the steam
turbine, and their total output of 85,895 kW (116,817
PS) increased by 26,795 kW (36,441 PS) of 1 ship.
easy maintenance and higher reliability with the Table 2.4.4-1 Principal Particulars of 6DK-36 Type
compact engine, the various novel designs were Engine
adopted including tin-aluminum alloy main bear-
ings and twin staybolts for compaction, and the
high-top land piston, CPR (Controlled Pressure
Relief) ring and deep cylinder cover for higher
reliability. At the same time, the number of cylin-
der-cover tightening bolts were reduced from 16
to 8, and the holding-down bolts were moved to
the outside of the bed-plate for easy maintenance.
(2) Annual results of manufacture
2-cycle engine 42 sets 518,720 PS
4-cycle engine 5 sets 32,220 PS
Total 47 sets 550,940 PS
Photo 2.4.4-1 General View of 6DK-36 Type Photo 2.4.4-2 General View of 5DK-26 Type
Engine Engine
Table 2.4.4-2 Principal Particulars of 5DK-26 Type 2.4.5 Diesel United, Ltd.
Engine (1) Development of new model
In order to respond to the demand of higher output
from the market of RTA48T engine, which is in
satisfactory operation as a main engine for the
small or medium type bulk carrier and tanker, the
first model of RTA48T-B engine, of which output
was increased by 7% and of which speed was
raised by 3%, was completed in October 1998.
After the verification test on the reliability and
various performances were carried out, the engine
was delivered to the customer.
And furthermore, it is confirmed that the NOx
emission of this engine clears IMOs regulation at
the standard specification. This engine, 7RTA48T-
B (Rated Power: 12,450 PS at 114 rpm, B.M.E.P:
l9bar), was mounted as a main engine on the
Panamax type bulk carrier built by Oshima ship-
building Co., Ltd.
can be served for the generator engine in regular The principles on the development of RTA48T-B
service all over the world. type engine are as follows:
2) 5DK-26 type diesel engine 1) Power up of RTA48T-type engine in response to a
The 5DK-26 type engine with 5 cylinders was market demand
developed based on 6DK-26 to fulfill the engine 2) Pursuit of total economy
line-up, and its general view and principal particu- 3) Establishment of high reliability
lars are indicated in Photo 2.4.4-2 and Table 2.4.4- Table 2.4.5-1 indicates the principal particulars of
2 respectively. This engine was developed for DU-Sulzer RTA48T- B type engine and Fig. 2.4.5-
auxiliary engines (generator ) as the target, and its 1 shows the section of the engine.
rated power is from 1,000 to 1,200 kWe at 720/750 (2) Annual results of manufacture
min-1. Number of engines 52 sets
3) Acquisition of verification for NOx emission Total horse power 996,950 PS
The company obtained the statement of compli-
ance for engine air pollution prevention issued by
Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, which certifies that DK-20
series engines comply with technical code on
control of NOx emission adopted at IMO. In the Table 2.4.5-1 Principal Particulars of DU-
certification testing, the 6DK-20 type engine was SULZER RTA48T/RTA48T-B Type
selected as the parent engine. Engines
This application of the engine family concept
provides that all engines of DK-20 series, of which
rated power cover 400-1,280kW with 3, 5, 6 and 8
cylinders, comply with the approval requirements.
Following DK-20 engine, the company intends to
obtain the certification with DK-26, DK-28 and
DK-36 type engines in the engine family concept.
(2) Annual results of manufacture
Main Auxiliary Sum
engine engine total
Number (sets) 53 428 481
Output (PS) 129,100 426,100 555,200
Output (kW) 95,000 313,400 408,400
(Note: Engines are not less than l00 PS.)
model of MAN B&W Holeby L16/24 type en- manufacture ZP-10 and ZP-09 type Z-pellers as
gines, which have many experiences of highly new ZP series.
reliable operation in marine generating use with In order to apply to the lower output range (550
HFO (heavy fuel oil) all over the world. kW-960 kW) than that of ZP-21 and ZP-31 type
The engine can be efficiently operated at 1200rpm (960 kW-1,545 kW), these Z-pellers were de-
on lowgrade fuel up to a viscosity of 700cSt signed to be compact and light taking account of an
@50C. The built-in type auxiliary equipment is onboard arrangement. Table 2.4.6-3 and Fig 2.4.6-
mounted on the front of the engine, which leads to 1 indicate the principal particulars and the outline
the pipe-less structure, and the installation on the drawing of ZP-10 respectively.
anti-vibration supports is adopted in the standard 4) Lubricating Oil Refiner LUBCLIN
way. The company contracted with Sumimoto Scien-
Table 2.4.6-2 and Photo 2.4.6-2 indicate the prin- tific Institute Co., Ltd. for manufacturing and
cipal particulars of L16/24 series engines and the selling the Sumimoto type lubricating oil refiner
general view of 6L16/24 engine respectively. which has many experiences with high perfor-
3) ZP-10 and ZP-09 type Z-pellers mance and high reliability, and after adding the
Following ZP-21 and ZP31 type Z-Pellers with partial design change the refiner was produced as
many experiences, the company has begun to one made by Niigata.
This refiner is composed of centrifuge, laminated
Table 2.4.6-3 Principal Particulars of Z paper filter, etc., so that the handling is easy with
Type Propellers few troubles. And the disposal of sludge and a
foreign substance is also easy, since they are
discharged as solid matter after removal of liquid
phase. Table 2.4.6-4 and Photo 2.4.6-3 indicate the
principal particulars and the general view of
LUBCLIN respectively.
(2) Annual results of manufacture
Main engine 128 sets 201,822kW (274,402PS)
Auxiliary engine 60sets 39,309kW (53,446PS)
Turbocharger 273 sets -----
Elastic coupling 151 sets -----
Z type propulsion system 41 sets -----
Water-Jet proulsion system 2 sets -----
2.4.9 Hitachi Zosen Corporation Fig. 2.4.9-1 indicates the new structure of piston
(1) Development of new model crown compared with the current one.
The series engines of 12K90MC type were pro- (2) Annual results of manufacture
duced from last year on, and the test of reduction Total number of engines 52 sets
in thermal load of piston and the test of new fuel Total horse power 976,000 PS
valves coping with emission were carried out.
As a result, the new design of combustion chamber 2.4.10 Makita Corporation
was established, that is, in order to extend the (1) Development of new model
penetration of fuel sprays and lower the tempera- Though there was no development of new model,
ture around the piston top land, the structure of the NOx reduction test was carried out on the low-
piston crown was altered from the traditional deep speed 4-cycle L31M engine (cylinder diameter :
bowl type to the camel back type. 310 mm, stroke : 600 mm, mean effective pressure
: 2.03 MPa, number of cylinders : 6, engine speed
: 320 rpm, output : 1,471 kW).
In 1996, the combination tests of injection timing
retard and high compression ratio were carried
out, aiming at reducing NOx without adding the
special equipment to the engine. As a result, NOx
reduction by 25% was achieve with no penalty in
fuel consumption.
In 1997, the pre-injection type fuel injection sys-
tem was developed in partnership with Japanese
Marine Equipment Association as an undertaking
supported by Japan Foundation, aiming at realiz-
ing the ideal combustion at constant pressure for
more reduction of NOx.
In 1998, the pre-injection type fuel injection sys-
tem developed in the previous year was tested
continuously. As a result, the ideal combustion at
Fig. 2.4.9-1 Comparison of Piston Structures constant pressure was realized and NOx reduction
2.4.11 Matsui Iron Works Co., Ltd. Tamano Works of the company in June, 1998.
(1) Development of new model Photo 2.4.12-1 and Fig. 2.4.12-1 indicate the gen-
The MA33GSC type engine was developed. Table eral view and the section of the engine respec-
2.4.11-1 and Fig. 2.4.11-1 indicate the principal tively. This engine was mounted as a main engine
particulars and the section of this engine respec- on the container ship built by Minami-Nippon
tively. This engine was developed as main engines Shipbuilding Co., Ltd..
of fishing boats, cargo ships and tankers, aiming at Continuously, the first model of S46MC-C type
high durability, higher economy(lower fuel con- engine in the company, the 7S46MC-C engine
sumption), easy maintenance and low cost. (cylinder bore: 460mm, piston stroke: 1,923 mm,
(2) Annual results of manufacture mean effective pressure: l9bar, number of cylin-
Total number of engines l4 sets ders: 7, output: 9,l70 kW (12,495 PS) and engine
Total horse power 15,800 PS speed: 129 rpm) , which is the smallest size in the
S-MC-C series, was completed in July, 1998. The
2.4.12 Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. section of the engine is also indicated in Fig.
(1) Development of new model 2.4.12-1.
The light and compact super loge-stroke 6S50MC- This engine was mounted as a main engine on the
C type engine, which was the first engine of S- refrigerator ship built by Usuki Shipyard Co., Ltd..
MC-C series in the world, was completed in April, (2) Annual results of manufacture
1997. Following this engine, the first model of 1) Marine diesel engines (over 100 PS)
S60MC-C type engine in the world, the 8S60MC- Low-speed 112 sets 1,251,480 kW
C engine (cylinder bore: 600mm, piston stroke: diesel engines (1,702,895 PS)
2,400 mm, mean effective pressure: l9bar, number Medium-speed 2 sets 15,000 kW
of cylinders: 8, output: 18,040 kW (24,560 PS) and diesel engines (20,400 PS)
engine speed: 108 rpm), which is one size larger
than the S50MC-C type engine, was completed at
S46MC-C S60MC-C
output was realized, and the superior combustion Table 2.4.14-2 Principal Particulars of 6NY16 (A)
performance in the range from the low speed to the Type Engines
high speed was obtained by employing the high
pressure ratio supercharger with a waste gate, the
large-capacity inter-cooler and the high-pressure
injection fuel pump.
Table 2.4.14-1 and Photo 2.4.14-1 indicate the
principal particulars and the general view of the
engine respectively.
2) 6NY-16 (A) type engines
In order to expand the application of the engine
developed in 1996 for marine generating use, the
6NY-16 (A) type engines were developed as small
and lightweight main engines characterized by
low fuel consumption, low air pollution and high
output.
Table 2.4.14-2 and Fig. 2.4.14-1 indicate the prin-
cipal particulars and the section of the engine
respectively.
101mm150mm
Maine engine 1,185 573,075
Auxiliary engine 229 60,818
151mm
Maine engine 234 293,420
Auxiliary engine 1,046 860,186
3. Steam Turbines orders for the turbines in the highly competitive world
of shipbuilding, the marine machinery manufacturers
3.1 Main Turbine (for LNGCs) will, however, have to make efforts for the cut in cost
Both Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI) and in order to reserve orders for their products.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) turned out MHIs manufacturing track record. shows the to-
more main turbines in 1998 than in 1997. tal amount of products in 1998 is as high as in 1997. But
These main turbines were manufactured mostly more and more steam turbines for new ships con-
for installation in LNGCs built in South Korea under its structed in South Korea in the future will be manufac-
LNG project. In the aftermath of the economic crisis of tured by HHI under the technical cooperation with
South Korea in 1997, however, the LNG project came MHI. Actually, 10 turbines have been already made
to a standstill. This situation forced the Korean ship- under such a cooperation. This tendency implies that
builders involved in the project to cancel or defer the less and less of these machines will be manufactured by
other new orders for LNGC main turbines. Conse- MHI henceforth in Japan.
quently, KHI and MHI received thereafter no orders for
main turbines. Table 1 1996-1998 manufacturing track records (as
The domestic environment of main turbine busi- factory-completed)
ness is also bleak. In 1998, only few orders were Mfrs Shinko KHI MHI
received for main turbines in connection with LNGCs
Year 96 97 98 96 97 98 96 97 98
built in Japan.
On the other hand, in the wake of a main turbine MT 0 1 3 4 4 8
technical cooperation initiated between Hyundai Heavy GT 2 4 5 10 15 24
Industries Co, Ltd. (HHI) of South Korea and MHI, the COPT 183 176 350 31 38 21
first production unit of main turbine manufactured by
HHI has already been in service on board an HHI-built Others 8 2
ship. Under such a technical cooperation, it is expected MT: Main turbine
that more and more main turbines will be manufactured GT: Generator turbine
in South Korea for the installation in ships built there. COPT: Cargo oil pump turbine
[Takashi AKITA]
Fig. 5.1 Boiler Production by Annual Report of
5. Boilers Marine Industrial Statistics
5.1 General
The number of production of boilers for marine
use has been on the gradual decrease with the peak in
1990, but in 1995, the number of production was
increased by approximately 30 compared with that in
1994, and the brakes were once put on the decrease.
Thereafter, the number of production shows the level-
off trend, and in 1997, the total number of production
again shows the trend of increase.
In 1998 fiscal year, 437 boilers were produced,
which was about 92% to that in 1997 fiscal year.
In the technological aspect, researches and devel-
opments have been continuously achieved in energy
saving, labor saving, low-grade fuel, waste oil disposal, Fig. 5.2 Boiler Production by Annual Report of
exclusive and mixed combustion of gas/heavy oil in- Marine Industrial Statistics
cluding the gas fired auxiliary boiler, and countermea-
sures for the air pollution by NOx, SOx, etc., and the
necessity for the researches and developments is inten- while in 1995, the number of production was increased
sified from the viewpoint of the global environment by approximately 30 compared with that in 1994, once
protection. putting the brakes on the decrease. Thereafter, the
In particular, in 1998 fiscal year, a variety of number of production has shown the level-off condi-
discussions have been made focusing on the counter- tion, and in 1997, the total number of production shows
measures for low quality and degradation in fuel oil for the trend of increase again.
marine use, and the review of the international stan- Fig. 5.2 shows the weight of production to the
dards on the fuel oil for marine use to meet the actual number of production of boilers by the kind, and the
condition, including the field of the system for the weight statistics shows the trend that the boilers have
marine engines, and the field of the shipbuilding, the been increased in size since 1997 fiscal year.
manufacture engines and equipment, the manufacture
of fuel oil, the treatment of fuel oil, and ship operation. 5.3 Major Trend
5.3.1 Main Boiler
5.2 Number of Production For the main boilers of LNG carriers in 1998 fiscal
Fig. 5.1 and Fig. 5.2 show the production of boilers year, 8 sets of boilers of 68T/H for Korean industry, 2
for marine use during 11 years since 1988 which are sets of 46T/H boilers and 2 sets of 21T/H boilers for
summarized in Statistics of Products in Marine Indus- Japanese industry were manufactured by MHI, and
try by the Ministry of Transport. similar to 1997, 4 sets of 54T/H boilers were manufac-
Fig. 5.1 shows the member of production of boil- tured by MES, and 8 sets of 68T/H boilers were manu-
ers by the kind, and the total number of production of factured by KHI, totaling 24 sets of boilers, which is a
boilers for marine use (main boilers + auxiliary boilers) relatively large number of production of main boilers.
has been on the gradual decrease with the peak in 1990, MHT received orders of 2 sets of 60T/H.
6. Shafting System
In 1998, every companies have applied shafting
device of traditional design in many cases, which might
be resulted by the effect of economic depression and
low ships price.
Under this condition, Propeller and Shafting Com-
mittee of MESJ has made presentation at the regular
session in spring about the most recent trend of shafting
device, saving energy, environment, high-speed trend,
labor saving at the work site with a title of New
Technology of Shafting.
Regarding the latest trend of shafting device,
NIPPON KAIJI KYOKAI has introduced the changes
Fig. 5.6 Production and Orders Received of Ex- of trend in shafting device based on the individual
haust Gas Economizer in 1998 Fiscal Year system with data of new built ships registered during
1985 and 1997.
For saving energy, Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy
1998, the orders received after the summer, 1998 has Industries Co., Ltd. made a report and introduction
been on the decline. about the sailing result and a special feature of Contra-
Small exhaust gas economizers for general use as rotating Propeller including the system of individual
many as those in 1997 fiscal year were manufactured company. In addition, Nakashima Propeller Co., Ltd.
due to the increase in demand of tankers, but the made a report and introduction about the design system
capacity is in the trend of miniaturization. and outline of High Efficiency Propeller. Regarding the
environment, individual company of Kobelco Marine
[Masayoshi UMEDA] Engineering Co., Ltd., Japan Maine Technologies Ltd.,
Eagle Industry Niigata Co., Ltd. and Blohm & Voss
Japan Ltd. made introduction about measures for envi-
ronmental conservation and accessories plus new prod-
ucts for improvement of its reliability. tion of the clutch incorporated, in order to obtain very
Also, Kobelco Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. in- fine maneuvering of the ship.
troduced the latest trend of stern tube sealing device. Kamome Propeller Co., Ltd. manufactured CPP
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. introduced a generali- incorporated with reduction gears (Fig 6.2) for 11,000
zation about water jet propulsive system and the latest GT R0/R0 Cargo Ship. The particulars are listed in the
result of research about inlet duct which gives consid- below;
erable effect for its performance in relation with the Lpp x B x D : 150 m x 24 m x 15.8 m
trend of high speed. Main engine : Diesel engine
In addition, Nippon Yakin Kogyo Co., Ltd. intro- 21,600 PS x 430 rpm
duced special feature for strength, anticorrosion and the Propeller : 4 blades x 5,400 mm
cost about stainless steel shafts which have many Controllable Pitch Propeller
deliveries as shafting device of high speed ships. Maneuvering System
Regarding labor saving at the work site, Harada : Individual control and Joystick
Corporation introduced the installation method of stern control
tube bearing by synthetic resin improving working In this system, the oil for reduction gears and CPP
efficiency instead of traditional force fit of stern tube can be used in common and it is possible to unify the
bearing. control of oil by making oil distribution box of CPP is
As for the topic, Hitachi Zosen Corporation con- assembled in reduction gears. By this, sump tank and
structed a special work boat equipped with Electric gravity tank for the both systems can be used in com-
Propulsion System (Fig 6.1). The ship was delivered in mon and the reduction of tank and the number of piping
FEB 1998 and engaged in special operation such as lines are possible at the same time.
laying work of submarine cable. Furthermore, servo cylinder can be simplified and
The particulars are listed in the below; installation will be easy as oil distribution box is as-
Lpp x B x D : About 62 m x l6.5 m x 7.5 m sembled in reduction gears.
Propulsive Electric
: Squirrel-cage induction motor Reference:
Motor : 1400 kW x 750 rpm x 2 sets
Propeller : CPP Type 360 rotating propeller 1) 60th MESJ Proceedings of Technical Paper (MAY
Maneuvering System 98)
: Individual control and DPS con-
trol (Automatic maneuvering and
Joystick Control)
Electric power source for propulsion motor of this
ship is given by four (4) exclusive use generators for
thruster. As the frequency of electric power source is
changeable by controlling the speed of diesel engine for
power generators, which results in the availability of
speed control of propulsion motor, the reduction of
power consumption for running at low load and the
decrease of noise in the water can be realized.
Furthermore, it is possible to operate the propeller
running at very slow speed by using the slipping func- Fig. 6.1 CPP Type 360 Rotationg Propeller
this method they have made the noise reduction typed the noise of the structure. These results are gotten from
pump. The level of its noise is about 3.5 dB smaller than both the calculation simulated by the above mentioned
the current model. Fig. 7.2 shows the swash plate type model and the experiment.
axial piston pump of the subject of the study. As mentioned above, they have developed the
They group the noise sources into two classes. One analyzing method of the exiting force due to pressure in
is generated by the hydraulic causes of a cavitation, a the pump cylinder and its characteristics of the vibra-
pulsating pressure and so on. Another is generated by tion propagation, and they applied this method to the
the mechanical causes of an unbalanced rotor, poor current model, and they confirmed that the redesign of
mounting of a base or piping, and so on. They consider a pump casing brought to the pump reducing its noise.
the change of the pressure in the pump cylinder and the
propagation of vibration, and make the model of the 7.3 Development of Energy Saving Device for Ships
generation mechanism of the pump noise shown in Fig. IHI-L.V.Fin3)
7.3. As a result, the following things were clear. The Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.
additional volume (dead space) of the cylinder im- has developed the IHI-L.V.Fin (Low Viscous resis-
proves the frequency characteristics of the exiting force tance Fin) which provides a simple and cost-effective
due to pressure in it. On the propagation of vibration, mean of propulsion energy saving. Fig. 7.4 shows a
the additional lib on the pump casing is able to reduce sketch of the IHI-L.V.Fin. As shown in this figure, the
L.V.Fin consists of a pair of flat triangular fins mounted
on the stern upstream of the propeller, and it can be
welded simply. Model experiments have proved that
the Fin smoothed the water flow around the stern of a
ship effectively, recovered the pressure on the surface
of a ship hull and consequently reduced viscous resis-
tance. Thus fins performance is influenced by its
dimension and position. It was optimized through the
model experiments and the CFD (Computational Fluid
Dynamics) method. As a result, it was clearly that the
power saving obtained with the L.V.Fin was 2 to 3
percent for a full ship. About 20 ships have already been
mounted with L.V.Fin. They have been put under an
obligation of the energy saving.
Fig. 7.2 Swash plate type axial piston pump
7.4 Development of Dynamic Simulator for Ab-
sorption Refrigerator4)
Recently, absorption refrigerators have attracted
much attention in the section of a large capacity refrig-
erator because they do not use FRON as the refrigerant.
However, an absorption refrigerator consists of many
heat exchangers and contains a lot of solution and
refrigerant. Therefore, it has a large heat capacity and
takes a long time to start, stop and change the cooling
Fig. 7.3 Generation mechanism of pump noise Fig. 7.4 Sketch of IHI-L.V.Fin
(high temperature) cylinder and a driving mechanism perature refrigerator to a refrigerator for home use.
for the pistons in the cylinders. The working fluid is the This Ultra-Low Temperature Stirling Refrigera-
helium of a non condensing gas. When each the piston tion Unit STU-30K, which is produced at this time,
moves, the working fluid repeats the following changes; operates by AC 3200V of the electric power source.
isothermal compression (heat rejection), isovolumetric The cold head temperature is from -180C to -50C.
cooling, isothermal expansion (heat absorption) and The maximum refrigerating capacity is only 500W.
isovolumetric heating. When the working fluid is chang- This unit is a small typed refrigerator. If the unit scales
ing at isothermal expansion, it absorbs heat from the up and has a large capacity in future, it will become to
outside on the heat absorber shown as the cold head in apply to the ships. It will attract a great deal of attention
Fig. 7.7. On the other hand, when it is changing at as the very high efficient refrigerator because the coef-
isothermal compression, it rejects heat to the outside on ficient of performance of the reverse Stirling cycle is
the heat rejecter. This cooler operates as the refrigerator almost the same as one of the reverse Carnot cycle.
which works in the reverse Stirling cycle. The regen-
erator exchanges heat between the low temperature References
side and the high temperature side with keeping both
temperatures at the isovolumetric change. This Stirling 1) Ishikawajima-Harima Engineering Review, Vol.
cooler can work in wide temperatures ranging from 38 No. 2 (1998) pp. 135
-260C of the ultra-low temperature to the room tem- 2) Mitsubishi Juko Giho, Vol. 35 No. 3 (1998.5) pp.
perature in the field of refrigeration. It is low vibration 182
and low noise. As its refrigerating capacity can change 3) Ishikawajima-Harima Engineering Review, Vol.
proportionally to the pressure of the refrigerant gas 38 No. 6 (1998) pp. 392
filled in it, this cooler can be applied to a wide range and 4) Mitsubishi Juko Giho, Vol. 35 No. 2 (1998.3) pp.
multiple-use cooling system from an ultra-low tem- 120
5) Mitsubishi Juko Giho, Vol. 35 No. 2 (1998.3) pp.
88
6) Refrigeration, vol. 73 No. 846 (1998.4) pp. 64
7) SekiyaKomatubaraKawanishi, The 2nd Sympo-
sium on Stirling Cycle, No. 98-19, (l998.10) pp.
129
[Nobukazu SHIMADA]
8. Deck Machinery
In the section of deck machinery in 1998, only the
following development of the container crane was
carried out. The further detail is described as follows.
to move it automatically with surveying the magnets RTG has the stairs from the ground to the operating
laid under the ground by the magnetic sensors. Using room to keep the operators very comfortable.
this system, The RTG can move straight within 30 As mentioned above, the RTG is operator-friendly,
mm meandering without the influence of the weather has the long-life and high controllability. It will con-
and the surface condition of a road. The RTG adopts the tribute to the construction of the automatic terminal
Vector-Inverter system instead of the previous Thyrister- system that will advance in labor-saving and automa-
Leonard system as the velocity control, gets the smooth tion in future.
positive and negative acceleration performance and the
responsibility. In addition, the RTG has the rolling, References
small rotating and sliding system of the cargo hanging
gear. This system can remember the three operating 1) Kawasaki Technical Review Vol. 137(1998.4) pp.
positions of the RTG. The operation board mounts 114.
switches efficiently, and is compact and simple. The
Fig. 8.1 General configuration of the Rubber Tired Transfer Crane (RTG)
[Nobukazu SHIMADA]
9. Fuels and Lubricating Oils Concerning the price, the upper limit of the pro-
duction in OPEC was substantially increased by 2.47
9.1 Fuels million barrel after four years at the regular No. 103
9.1.1 Trend of Oil Demand1)2) OPEC General Assembly held in November, 1997, and
In 1998, the demands of oil went no further than amended to 27.50 million barrel/day. Triggered by this
74.30 million BD (Table 9.1) which was increased by
0.8% compared with that in the previous year due to the
Table 9.1 IEA World Oil Demand
currency crisis in Asian areas which have supported the
world business and the effect by the warm winter over
the world. The quantity of the crude oil production in
the world in 1998 was increased by 3.0% compared
with that in the previous year, and was increased in the
Middle East, the Central/South America and the North
America, decreased in Western Europe, and leveled off
in other areas. (Table 9.2) There is a trend that the
dependency on the Middle East is gradually increased.
Table 9.2 Transition of Worlds Crude Oil Table 9.3 Demand Results of Domestic Bond Heavy
Production Oil (1998)
With reference to CIMAC, the CIMAC fuel oil Federation, 1998, August No. 74
standards are amended by 3 sub groups (waste oil 6) Journal of the M.E.S.J., 33-5, 317-352 (1998)
mixing problem, fuel oil standard value at the engine 7) Tsukamoto, et al., Journal of the M.E.S.J., 33-4,
inlet, CIMAC fuel oil standard) established on Heavy 306 (1998)
Fuel5). 8) Journal of the M.E.S.J., 33-6, 413-424 (1998)
In Japan, the standard for the marine fuel oil was 9) Takase, et al., Journal of the M.E.S.J., 33-4, 306
discussed at the Working Group on ISO/JIS examina- (1998)
tion for marine fuel oil so as to incorporate ISO 8217 10) Takase, et al., Journal of the M.E.S.J., 33-3, 226
into JIS, but no unanimous agreement was reached (1998)
between neutral agencies, shipping companies, equip- 11) CONCAWE heavy fuel oils product dossier No.
ment manufacturers, and producers, and the incorpora- 98/109
tion into JIS was abandoned. For this purpose, a Work 12) Shipp World Shipbuild, 199-4146, 37 (1998)
Group on Marine Fuel (first held in August, 1998) was
newly established as an organization to summarize the [Chikanobu CHINO]
Japanese draft on the amendment of the ISO Standards.
In the reference published in 1998, a special issue 9.2 Present Situation and Trends in Marine Engine
on the NOx regulation from the exhaust gas was given, Lubricants
including interesting articles on the result of measure- 9.2.1 Lubricating Oils for Crosshead Engines
ment of the exhaust gas from actual ships and the small (1) Cylinder Oil
scale denitrizing system on board actual ships6). The The recent cylinder oils are SEA50 and BN70
exhaust characteristic of particulate is also reported7). grade and their performances are being improved
As the technical materials on the fuel oil handling in line with the increases in engine loading and the
equipment, selection and the use of the fuel oil purifier, degradation of the combustion property of the fuel
and the processing capacity of the fuel oil pre-process- oil. The cylinder oil development is greatly depen-
ing system are reported8). dent on the engine development and the trend in
Concerning the relationship with the fuel oil, the quality of the fuel oil, and one of the major devel-
combustion residue of the diesel engine for marine use, opmental areas on cylinder oils is the improve-
the effect of the size and the fuel kind of the diesel ment of the anti-wear performance. The wear of
engine on the exhaust gas emission, and the effect of the the cylinder liner and the piston ring is the mixture
composition of the fuel oil on the combustion charac- of the corrosive wear and the adhesive wear, and
teristic8),9),10). The material in which the safety in han- the current developmental works focus on the
dling the fuel oil is systematically summarized is pub- protection for the adhesive wear. The factors to
lished from CONCAWE11). Concerning the problems impact on the adhesive wear include the oil film
on waste oil, the mixture of plastic is reported12). thickness, the wear protection properties of the
In addition, lectures are actively held on the ma- cylinder oil, metallurgy, and the condition of the
rine fuel oil, and the fuel and the reliability of engines, metal surface. Contribution by lubricans to reduce
the environment, the manufacturing method, and the wear-down is to maintain the optimum oil film
trend of amendment of the standards were discussed at thickness even at the high temperature of cylinder
the Lectures sponsored by the Japan Internal Combus- liners, and to improve the wear protection capabil-
tion Engine Federation, and reported and published in ity. The oil film thickness is greatly influenced by
Papers on Lectures, and Reports on CIMAC. the characteristic of the base oil. Single-cut highly
viscous mineral base oils with good thermal stabil-
References ity at high temperature may be employed, so that
the optimum oil film thickness can be maintained
1) Monthly Oil Report 44-2 (1999), Petroleum Asso- in the high temperature range. This is reflected in
ciation of Japan that the viscosity of recent cylinder oils at 100C
2) Monly Report on Energy Trend, Products, Supply have become higher. On the ohter hand, from the
and Demand, 1998, No. 1-12, Report by the viewpoint of the boundary lubrication between
Ministers secretariat of International Trade and cylinder liner and piston rings, there is a cylinder
Industry. oil with anti-wear additive which is active even in
3) Report by the Japan Internal Combustion Engine the high temperature range and the oil contributes
Federation, 1999, January No. 75 to the reduction of the weardown.
4) Shiode, Journal of the M.E.S.J., 33-6, 387 (1998) It is said that the degree of generation of the
5) Report on The Japan Internal Combustion Engine corrosive wear is reduced as the output and tem-
perature of the modern engines are higher, but 1997,8 QUALITY LIMITS OF SYSTEM OIL IN
there are some reports that the corrosive wear USE.
occurred at a lower part of the cylinder liner. Such
a corrosive wear is practically coped with by the 9.2.2 Lubricating Oils for Trunk Engines
increase of liner temperature and/or increase of the Recently, troubles have been caused by unburnt
cylinder oil feed rate. It is confirmed by the com- low-quality fuel contamiating the engine oil in large-
pany to which the author belongs that the cylinder size and middle-speed trunk engines. A large amount of
oil of 80BN containing a certain anti-wear addi- black sludge is generated in the crank case (Fig. 9.2),
tive is effective in reducing the corrosion wear. and deposits in the purifier for the lubricating oil are
(Fig. 9.1) increased. Also the fuel oil mixed in the engine oil
(2) System Oils degrades the performance of the lubricating oil. Mod-
The system oil of BN5-6 is generally used in ern trunk piston engine oils with improvesd detergency
Japan, but in Europe, there are some owners who and dispersancy provide excellent compatibility with
prefer the system oil of BN10-12. The positioning the low-quality fuel oil, containing high levels of
of high BN system oils may be different among asphaltenes, and (Fig. 9.3). The overall effect is to keep
engine manufacturers and lubricant suppliers but the internals of engines clean. The determination of the
the system oil of BN8-12 is listed in Table 3 of quantity of the urburnt fuel in the lubricating oil is
CIMAC Number 15, 1997, 4.7 Selection Criteria difficult through the regular analysis methods. As for
for System Lubricants for the selection. It is nec- the analysis method, there are a RFD (Residual Fuel
essary to make sufficient consultaion with the Detection) method by Mobil and the report by Shell2).
engine manufacturer and the lubricant supplier in In Europe, the problem of the liner lacquering still
selecting the system oil. occurs with high-output engines (fishing boats) where
The increase in both viscosity of the used oil MGO (Marine Gas Oil) is used. It seems that the quality
and BN is an issue that has been a growing problem of European MGO (low sulfur content, high aromatic
over the last 20 years thus the monitoring of oil content, low-combustion property), the engine model
condition of the system oil in use is important. The and the engine load pattern combine to create poor
condition of the system oil in use should be regu- combustion conditions. The quality of the lubricating
larly sampled and comprehensively evaluated, tak- oils involved do have an impact on lacquer formation
ing into consideration other properties of the sys- and this is recognised by European engine builders.
tem oil in use. What must be recognized is that Their approval listings reflect their service experience
attention has to be paid not to the absolute values with high and low quality lubricants. High perfor-
of the test results, but to the chronological trend mance engine oils with improved quality have been
and sudden change of the results. A modern analy-
sis service needs to ofter a comprehensive range of
testing including that by infrared ray spectros-
copy1). More reaserch work in this area to link
engine problems directly to analysis results is
needed.
In the quality control of the system oil in use,
the control standards are available at each engine
manufacturer and each lubricant supplier and a
good reference is included in CIMAC Number 15, Fig. 9.2 Crank case where black sludge is deposited
(3,000 hrs)
Fig. 9.1 Effect of BN and liner temperature on cor- Fig. 9.3 Crank case using lubricating oil of improved
rosion wear quality (6,000 hrs)
developed as one of the solution of the problem, but X). These reactors are intended for installation onboard
based on the data of the company to which the author an ice-breaking observation ship and a deep-sea scien-
belongs, it is confirmed that the fuel additive is useful tific research ship, respectively, which are both ex-
to solve the problem in a short time. Furthermore, as pected to be constructed soon. Conceptual designs have
one of the recent trends in the USA and Europe, some already been established for MRX and DRX, and
ship owners use full synthetic or semi-synthetic lubri- development is proceeding in parallel for element tech-
cating oil for high-speed diesel engines, to save overall nology, such as fundamental testing of passive safety
running cost. The use of the semi-synthetic lubricating technology, and element equipment, such as a control
oil will be further evaluated from the viewpoint of the rod drive device to be built into the reactor contain-
cost and resource savings. ment. Consideration has been given to how to advance
design and studies on the engineering level, including
References demonstrations to establish the concept, acquisition of
the thermal hydrostatic data necessary for developing a
1) F. Hirata, H. Watanuma, Y. Shima, H. Miyano detailed design, and demonstration of the reliability of
Journal of M.E.S.J. Vol. 33, No. 6 (1998) new concepts and of reactor operational and mainte-
2) O. Hanashima, N. Kagiwata, N. Kitamura Journal nance performance.
of M.E.S.J. Vol. 33, No. 6 (1998) In parallel with design studies, it is necessary to
solve technical problems related to practical applica-
[Shigehisa YURA] tion. Efforts in that direction have included develop-
ment of a control rod drive device to be built into the
10. Nuclear Ships reactor containment, basic studies of passive safety
technology, a study of water immersion technology for
10.1 Research and Development by Japan Atomic marine reactors, development of integral reactor com-
Energy Research Institute (JAERI)1) ponents, a study of sophisticated shielding design tech-
10.1.1 Nuclear-powered Ship Mutsu nology, development of a sophisticated automation
The nuclear-powered ship Mutsu completed its system for the marine reactor plant, and development of
planned experiments in 1995 and was then overhauled a highburnup core.
in the Sekinehama mooring port, in accordance with the As described later, examination of the concept of
Basic Plan for Studies Necessary for Research and the marine reactor called SCR (Submersible Compact
Development of Nuclear Ships by JAERI, approved by Reactor) began in 1998, based on the conceptual design
the prime minister and the minister of transport on 31 of the DRX. The SCR will be installed on an undersea-
March 1985. After the overhaul, the Mutsus hull was navigating observation ship in the 600-meter class,
reborn as the worlds largest oceanographic observa- which will be most useful and realistic for current ocean
tion ship, the Mirai, under the Japan Marine Science research. The DRX was designed for a deep-sea sta-
and Technology Center (JAMSTEC). Sekinehama, the tionary research ship of the 6000-meter class, which
port used for the Mutsu, is also the home port of the would move only vertically. No investigation has been
Mirai. A maintenance station to service the oceano- conducted on the problems of three-dimensional opera-
graphic observation buoys to be mounted on board the tion and of the possibility of collision in the sea. The
Mirai and a building for processing and analysis of following design policies have thus been added to the
observation data have been constructed there. design concepts employed in the DRX, such as an
integrated PWR, reactor vessel with internal control
10.1.2 Studies for Improvement of Marine Reac- drive unit, water-filled containment, and decay heat
tors removal system by natural circulation:
Together with research and development using the 1) Employment of a decay heat removal system that
Mutsu, JAERI has performed advanced research and can remove heat in any direction of the hull when
development for improved marine reactors, aimed at submerged, and
realization of future marine reactors. 2) Separate housing of the secondary system, such as
Marine reactor requirements for output, load con- a turbogenerator.
ditions, and automated operation differ depending on The SCR is composed of a primary cooling sys-
the kind on ship on which the reactor is to be used. tem, Emergency Decay-heat Removal System (EDRS),
Research and development has been performed for two Pressure Reduction and Make-up System (PRMS),
kinds of improved marine reactors: a large marine power generation equipment, steam equipment, and
reactor, designated MRX (Marine Reactor X), and a feed water and condensing water equipment. About
deep-sea reactor, designated DRX (Deep-sea Reactor 470 days of operation will be possible with constant
heat output 1250 kWt, although the equivalent diam- Table 10.1 Principal Items of the SCR
eter and effective height of the SCR core are small,
being 450 mm and 420 mm, respectively. Primary
cooling water is naturally circulated in the reactor and
maintains a certain design flow rate under conditions of
up to 30-degree inclination. The SCR conceptual de-
sign, conceptual system, and principal components are
shown in Figs. 10.1 and 10.2, and Table 10.1, respec-
tively.
was quantitatively shown that there is no suitable tor, a secondary non-stationary thermal hydrostatic
power source other than a nuclear-powered engine to analysis code was developed in order to simulate the
meet the power demand. From these reasons, an under- effect of flow fluctuations derived from the ship motion
sea-navigating observation ship, with SCRs installed on the capacity for removing decay heat from the core.
and capable of navigating in the Arctic Ocean as the In the field of the radiation shielding, the performance
main survey area, in the sub-Arctic sea area, and under of high-performance shielding material was evaluated,
stormy conditions, has been in the process of design as was safe transportation of returned radioactive wastes;
and investigation. This selection would be reasonable a high-performance liquid shielding material was de-
so that it will be easy to obtain general comprehension veloped, and a ceramic-type, multi-function shielding
of the need in relation to global environmental prob- material was then developed. In addition, the effect of
lems that are focused on problems on a whole earth vertical motion on the natural-circulation cooling sys-
scale that need to be solved in the near future. A tem was studied, and studies were implemented on
conceptual image of the undersea-navigating observa- utilization technology of the human integral function to
tion ship with SCR installed (displacement weight of the reactor plant and an autonomous, decentralized
500 tons) is shown in Fig. 10.3. cooperative function monitoring system.
10.2 Research and Development by Ship Research 10.3 Research and Development by Other Insti-
Institute2) tutes
Following related work in 1997, a project titled Tokyo University of Mercantile Marine completed
Studies related to the application of the system reli- a study of flashing and condensation of high-pressure
ability analysis method GO-FLOW aimed at estab- saturated water within the water-filled containment, as
lishing element technology for reliability analysis of generated in a small loss-of-coolant accident of the
the reactor facility to begin with the marine reactor. A DRX and SCR (joint study with SRI)3), and a study of
reactor accident sequence identification function was the flashing hammer phenomenon caused when high-
examined, and an accident propagation simulator was pressure saturated water contacts cold water (joint
developed. In Studies on improvement of reliability of study with JAERI)4). Kobe University of Mercantile
power supply facilities of a nuclear-powered ship, Marine successively completed studies on the thermal
extraction of the self-sequence, which is a problem in now phenomenon of the passive safety system of a
evaluating safety, was developed for a fire in which marine reactor (joint study with Kyoto University), and
measures to avoid simultaneous failures are considered on dynamic characteristics and control of a marine
to be insufficient. In Studies on numerical simulation reactor.
of the thermal hydrostatic behavior of a marine reac-
(3) Finished work quality control system were carried out, and the Report on the Survey of CE
The ship is equipped with total 10 auto-read depth Marking was prepared in December, 1998.
meters in the longitudinal direction and in the Among the EU directives, the EMC directive on
right-to-left direction of the Tremie pipes, and the electromagnetic compatibility is required to com-
total 2 draft meters at the stem and the stern. The pletely come into force on and after January 1, 1996,
ground height is obtained by the mean draft of the and applicable to electronic and electric equipment
ship hull, the tide level and the auto-read measure- intended for Europe, but there is difference in interpre-
ment values, and the finished work quality is tation concerning the marine structure intended for
constantly displayed on the execution control Europe depending on whether the structure on which
monitor together with the ground shape before the equipment is mounted is of fixed type or of mobile
and after the sand spraying. The tide level is type, and it is necessary to obtain the confirmation from
automatically inputted from the RTK-GPS (Z each government.
value), or the values from the tidal station, etc., is The standards on EMC has been stringent mainly
manually inputted. in developed countries, and it can be emphasized that
(4) Earth and sand discharge system the environmental consideration on the electronics
Eight pairs of the discharge gates and oscillation technology is further requested in future.
feeders are provided on a lower part of the hopper, Furuno Electric Co., Ltd. established a new com-
and the oscillation feeders can control the quantity pany to give the inspection service on the electromag-
of sand to be discharged by changing the fre- netic compatibility that the electronic equipment out-
quency. The opening of the discharge gates, the puts any unnecessary electromagnetic waves, and that
frequency of the oscillation feeders, and the ship the equipment is malfunctioned when subjected to the
speed can be remotely set from the operators seat. electromagnetic waves, and the new company started
Every oscillation feeder is equipped with the sand its service since March, 1998.
quantity detector, detects and records the quantity
of the discharged sand, and outputs the detected 12.2 INTRANET
and recorded values as the execution records. The system in which various kinds of on-board
information is comprehensively controlled by the on-
Reference board network, and transmitted to the shore side through
the satellite communication aiming at the safety and
1) WORK VESSEL No. 236 March 1998 efficiency of the ship operation, has been put into
2) WORK VESSEL No. 240 November 1998 practical use.
3) WORK VESSEL No. 241 January 1999 Uzushio Electric Co., Ltd. announced the ship-
shore INTRANET at SEA EXHIBITION 98 held in
[Isao YOSHIDA] Yokohama in March, 1998. The system can achieve the
communication of the voice, the image and the data
12. Electronics Technology between the ships and the shore stations through the
satellite link.
12.1 EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility Direc- Concerning the outline of the system, the Internet
tive) (89/336/EEC91/236/EEC92/31/EEC93/ is used, the server is installed on board the ship, each
68/EEC) equipment is connected through the Internet to con-
In the midst of the promotion to unify the common struct the in-board INTRANET, and the information
market by the European Union, the European Commit- communication between the shore (the shipping com-
tee has proceeded the establishment of the unified pany) and the INTRANET is achieved through the
standards for the purpose of removing technical ob- International Maritime Satellite Organization
stacles on the safety of industrial products. The techni- (INMARSAT).
cal obstacles include the safety standards on the com- The system was completed by developing the
modities, the shop standards, and the policy on the gate-way function capable of bridging the MiTS net-
consumer protection from defective commodities, and work and the data to UMS-50.
the directives (EC Directives) on the product safety
have been issued one after another so as to remove such 12.3 Other Systems
obstacles, and free distribution of the products is Nishishiba Electric Co., Ltd. developed the stabi-
achieved in the EU area, and at the same time, the lization control added automatic voltage regulator, and
common safety of the products themselves is requested. the system was mounted on the Ferry engaged in the
In the M. E. S. J., the surveys on the CE marking Japan Sea route.
When the bow thruster motor is operated together 13.2 Revision of JIS marine cables
with the exclusive generator on the 1:1 basis, the The electric cables for ships of the JIS (Japan
voltage may be fluctuated due to the pulsation of the Industrial Standards) which are based on the standard
load under the heavy sea conditions, etc., and the safety IEC600092-3 have been used for a long time to the ship
may be insufficient. electrical installations. As the IEC standards have been
To cope with this problem, the automatic voltage recently revised and established as new standards of
regulator was developed, which is not adversely af- IEC60092-300 series. Accordingly the JIS for the ma-
fected by the sea conditions by adding the stabilization rine cables have been changed completely in accor-
control of the field current of the generator. dance with the standards IEC60092-300 series. The
main revised items are as follows;
[Yoshinobu SANPEI] (1) Two standards for the fire protection are estab-
lished in accordance with the standard IEC60332-
13. Electric Equipment and System 1 on the fire resistant and IEC60332-3 Category A
on the frame retardant.
There is scarcely any remarkable developments or (2) The nominal section 1.25 mm2 of conductor size
new products on the technology of the ship electrical which was the original size of the JIS cables has
installations in 1998, since the new type of ship has not been abolished and the minimum conductor size
appeared although many ordinary type ships have been becomes 1.5 mm2. This unification of conductor
built. size has settled the difference from the classifica-
It is noted as a general tendency that the revision tion societies rules.
works of the rules and standards become lively in the The practical ship application of the new JIS
ship related fields for the preparation against the 2lth cables will be about 1 year later.
century. The computer Year 2000 problem and the
podded electric propulsion system whose installations
are on the increase in Europe are also noted as topics in
1998.
Table 13.1 Reference list of ABB Azipod units 13.4 Computer Year 2000 Problem
supplied and on order (June, 1998) All concerned with the computer Year 2000 prob-
lem have much trouble. Although it has been initially
emphasized to find out the problem equipment and
systems onboard ship by the investigation for the Year
2000 compliance, it is reported that the problem of
embedded microchip could not detected by the conven-
tional compliance test. So the priority of Year 2000
problem in 1998 moves to the risk management such as
making up contingency plans which are required in
case equipment failure occurs despite all efforts to
detect and remedy non compliance.
It is expected under computerization of equipment
and devices onboard ship that the problem concerned
software such as Year 2000 problem will occur repeat-
edly in future. Therefore a drastic countermeasure for
these problem is required and it is necessary to establish
such a standard of application software as General
principles for the development and use of program-
mable electronic systems in marine applications (pub-
lication in 2001) under development within the lEC and
the ISO.
13.3 Standardization in the field of information
and communication References
The many information technology equipment and
systems are installed onboard ships due to making up 1) The ABB company: Catalogs of Azipod
the information society. Information technology has 2) Schiff & Haffen issued in October, 1998
gone through a rapid evolution with the microprocessor Note: Azipod is a registered trademark of ABB.
and computer such as PC becoming the standard hard-
ware of choice for most applications, so the standards [Yasunori HARA]
for the hardware established in the past become not to
cover their full potential. Under these circumstances 14. Ocean Engineering Machinery
there are currently several international standards for and Offshore Structures
the application software under development within the
ISO. Although their origins have deep relation to the 14.1 Offshore Oil Field Development
electric and electronic devices. The standards are not Because the offshore oil fields at deep sea are now
limited for the electric technology field. on the profitable base, the FPSO (Floating Production
The information technology systems which link to Storage Off-loading Vessel) are now actively con-
shore system via the communication satellite appears structed. In Japan, one FPSO is now under construction
and will spread in future, therefore it is noted that the by Hitachi Zosen Corp. One semi-submersible rig of
development of international standards for the applica- the fifth generation is now under construction by Hitachi
tion software in future will require of not only informa- Zosen Corp.. Existing rigs are actively remodeled or
tion technology but also communication technology modernized.
including hardware.
The following items are under development work 14.2 Offshore Energy Development
in 1998. The demonstrative test of the offshore floating
Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data unit for wave energy absorption Mighty Whale has
(STEP) been continued since last year.
Standard Guide for Implementation of a Fleet The Ministry of International Trade and Industry
Management System Network (FMSN) has a plan to develope the technology to pump up deep
Standard Guide for a Ship Safety Records ocean water for 5 years since 1999 fiscal year in order
Standard Guide for a Ship Operation Logs to assist the industrial utilization of it. Cooling system
making use of the low temperature stability of it will be
one of utility.
14.3 Ocean Organic Resources Development aiming at the verification of the functions requested for
The operation of the demonstrative unit of the the application of the airport through the demonstrative
density current generator was started by Marino Forum test. Thus, the air port model of 1000 m in length and 60
21 in Gokasho Bay of Mie Prefecture. The unit pumps m in width, which is larger than that in the first term,
up the bottom water which is poor in oxygen concentra- will be constructed by the fall of this year, and the
tion, eutrophic and low in temperature by an electric demonstrative test such as the landing/taking-off of air-
impeller, and mixes it with the surface layer water crafts will be actually carried out making use of this
which is high in oxygen concentration and high in model, and further, the simulation program will be
temperature to diffuse the mixed water which is appro- developed.
priately eutrophic and appropriate in oxygen concen- The construction results by private companies
tration far away to improve the water quality in an include the break water, the floating pier, and the
extensive range. Because the mixed water (density fishery reef.
current) of the medium density is naturally diffused
between the surface layer water and the bottom water, 14.5 Ocean Observation
the small power is also characteristic. Various methods A large survey ship SHOYO owned by the
of utilization of the deep water will be proposed in Maritime Safety Agency was constructed by Mitsui
future. Engineering & Shipbuilding. The ship is equipped with
the high-tech equipment including the sonars which are
14.4 Ocean Space Utilization available among 8 ones in the world and capable of
The second-term research on the super-large float- precisely observing the fluctuated geography due to the
ing marine structure (Mega Float) was started. The landslide and the fault of the deep sea bottom, and the
research is achieved for three years from 1998 to 2000, ship is expected to contribute to the survey and research
of the precise oceanographic geology. Plan (ODP). Contribution to the study of the global
The research on the deep-sea drilling technology fluctuation and the search of the undersea life and
development (OD21 Project) has been promoted under resources (gas hydrate, etc.) is expected.
the leadership of the Science and Technology Agency
and the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center. [Takaaki MIZOKOSHI]
This is because many needs for the scientific drilling
are distributed over the waters of at least 2500 m in
water depth, and the large depth drilling technology is
expected under the International Deep-sea Drilling