SHIPS OF THE WORLD

STENA VISION

Vessel type: Crude Oil Tanker
Gross tonnage: 163,761 tons
Summer DWT: 312,679 tons
Length: 333 m
Beam: 70 m
Draught: 10 m

FAMOUS OIL TANKER SHIPWRECKS

1967 Torrey Canyon UK - 119,000 tonnes

1978 Amoco Cadiz Brittany - 220,000 tonnes
1979 Atlantic Empress Tobago - 160,000 tonnes
1983 Braer Shetland Isles - 85,000 tonnes

1989 Exxon Valdez Alaska - 38,800 tonnes
1996 Sea Empress Wales - 72,000 tonnes
2002 Prestige North-west Spain - 42,000 tonnes

TI CLASS SUPERTANKER

The TI Class of ships are the four largest double-hulled supertankers in the world and are, as of 2010, the largest ocean going ships currently in service. The previous largest ship, the single hulled supertanker Seawise Giant, was scrapped in 2010. The class comprises the ships TI Africa, TI Asia, TI Europe and TI Oceania, where the "TI" refers to the VLCC Tanker Pool operator Tankers International L.L.C. The class were the first ULCCs (Ultra-large crude carriers) to be built for 25 years.

All four oil tankers were constructed for shipping company Hellespont by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in Okpo, South Korea in 2002/3. The class was originally named the Hellespont Alhambra, Hellespont Fairfax, Hellespont Metropolis and Hellespont Tara. In 2004 the class was jointly purchased. Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) purchased Hellespont Fairfax and Hellespont Tara, renaming them TI Oceania and TI Africa respectively flagged for the Marshall Islands. Euronav NV, a Belgian shipowner, purchased Hellespont Alhambra and Hellespont Metropolis and renamed them TI Asia and TI Europe respectively flagged Belgium. The class possess a relatively high service speed (16.5 knots laden, 17.5 knots in ballast), which increases their earning capacity. The steel scantlings are greater than the class minimum.

These ships are wider than the new Panama Canal locks and will be unable to pass through when the new locks open.
The coatings in the ballast tanks are protected by two features, a full time double-scrubbing system supplying drier inert gas to the ballast tanks, and also by the white painted upper hull reflecting the sun’s energy. The inert gas system also increases safety. Keeping down the cargo temperatures also minimizes hydrocarbon emissions.

Hellespont Fairfax was the subject of an episode of The Discovery Channel's television show Superships, episode "Launching a Leviathan–Hellespont Fairfax".

Conversion

In 2009 and 2010, TI Asia and TI Africa met the same fate as the former Knock Nevis and were converted into sophisticated FSO vessels. The extensive conversions were carried out by Euronav and OSG at Dubai Dockyards. The FSO Asia and FSO Africa were placed in the Al Shaheen oilfield offshore Qatar in January and August 2010 respectively.

Tanker in high seas

Ship in a storm

EXXON VALDEZ MARCH 24 1989

The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels (41,000 to 119,000 m3) of crude oil. It is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused environmental disasters. The Valdez spill was the largest ever in U.S. waters until the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in terms of volume released. However, Prince William Sound's remote location, accessible only by helicopter, plane, and boat, made government and industry response efforts difficult and severely taxed existing plans for response. The region is a habitat for salmon, sea otters, seals and seabirds. The oil, originally extracted at the Prudhoe Bay oil field, eventually covered 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of coastline, and 11,000 square miles (28,000 km2) of ocean. Then Exxon CEO, Lawrence G. Rawl, shaped the company's response.

According to official reports, the ship was carrying approximately 55 million US gallons (210,000 m3) of oil, of which about 11 to 32 million US gallons (42,000 to 120,000 m3) were spilled into the Prince William Sound. A figure of 11 million US gallons (42,000 m3) was a commonly accepted estimate of the spill's volume and has been used by the State of Alaska's Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and environmental groups such as Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. Some groups, such as Defenders of Wildlife, dispute the official estimates, maintaining that the volume of the spill, which was calculated by subtracting the volume of material removed from the vessel's tanks after the spill from the volume of the original cargo, has been underreported. Alternative calculations, based on the assumption that the official reports underestimated how much seawater had been forced into the damaged tanks, placed the total at 25 to 32 million US gallons (95,000 to 120,000 m3).

BISMARCK

Bismarck was the first of two Bismarck-class battleships built for the German Kriegsmarine. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the unification of Germany in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched two and a half years later in February 1939. Work was completed in August 1940, when she was commissioned into the German fleet. Bismarck and her sister ship Tirpitz were the largest battleships ever built by Germany, and two of the largest built by any European power.

In the course of the warship's eight-month career under its sole commanding officer, Capt. Ernst Lindemann, Bismarck conducted only one offensive operation, in May 1941, codenamed Rheinübung. The ship, along with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, was to break into the Atlantic Ocean and raid Allied shipping from North America to Great Britain. The two ships were detected several times off Scandinavia, however, and British naval units were deployed to block their route. At the Battle of Denmark Strait, Bismarck engaged and destroyed the battlecruiser HMS Hood, the pride of the Royal Navy, and forced the battleship HMS Prince of Wales to retreat; Bismarck herself was hit three times and suffered an oil leak from a ruptured tank.

The destruction of Hood spurred a relentless pursuit by the Royal Navy involving dozens of warships. Two days later, while heading for the relative safety of occupied France, Bismarck was attacked by Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal; one hit was scored that rendered the battleship's steering gear inoperable. In her final battle the following morning, Bismarck was neutralised by a sustained bombardment from a British fleet, was scuttled by her crew, and sank with heavy loss of life. Most experts agree that the battle damage would have caused her to sink eventually. In June 1989, Robert Ballard located the wreck, which has since been surveyed by several more expeditions.

LINKS

ASV - Unmanned Systems

BAE Systems -

Baltic Ace - cargo vessel collision

Bluebird Marine Limited

CHARC - Lockheed Martin concept vessel

ClassNK - Japanese ship classification society

Costa Concordia - accident pictures and salvage operation

Electric Boats

Exxon Valdez - Oil tanker disaster, Alaska

Ghost - Juliet Marine

Harland & Wolff -

Hawkes - Minisubs

International Maritime Organization

Mine Hunters, mine sweepers -

National Oceanographic Center - Southampton, UK

Pearly Miss 13' aluminum sports boat

Protector - Raphael Armaments drone boat

Ship Owners Trust - International Cargo

Ship salvage

Solar powered and solar assisted ships

Technology Strategy Board - Autonomous Navigation

Torrey Canyon - Oil tanker disaster, Bligh Reef

Vosper Thornycroft -

Solarnavigator is designed to carry the Scorpion anti pirate weapon. A fleet of such autonomous vessels could be the basis of an international peacekeeping, and/or emergency rescue force.

The navigation system that is being developed for SolarNavigator could have prevented the sinking of the Costa Concordia. This might be of interest to fleet operators.

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