Ships use alot of equipment that generates heat, a condition-changing effect which not only impacts surrounding environment but seafarer health directly. Despite awareness and prevention measures placed by the vessel safety officers, seafarers still suffer from health issues either due to carelessness or lack of control on incidents. Firstly, thermal/heat risks associate with extreme ambient […]
A barge is a vessel that is not exactly known for stability issues therefore possible problems that are fatal to your marine operations may be ignored and thus take their toll on your barge. A barge will mostly show its problems up-front if they are serious or present; however, it will be too late to […]
Ballast fluid is used to maintain a ship’s stability during voyage, especially when cargo is absent from the hold. Ballasting and de-ballasting operations are fairly common, mostly in ports, cargo transfers and ballast exchanges. Ship stability is therefore, at stake here as the ship’s weight changes at a relatively fast rate and thus may result […]
We have encounter this term all the time in our professional and daily lives; completing basic tasks and bigger projects where there is always a code of conduct or a rule set. However, either due to company policy/requirements or occasional confusion or misguidance among employees there exist a set of rules, standard procedures and codes […]
Naval architects have been busy with vessel conversions due to requirement of eco-friendly shipping; designing new means of doing so with special attention to use of electronics or other means of bypassing requirements of traditional fuels with potentially harmful emissions and higher operating costs. Starting from the engine, the part that requires and undergoes the most […]
The availability of drinking water is a constant issue in the work environment, especially seafaring where it is occasionally compromised therefore leading to negative results such as illness. However, sometimes the supply is not the issue and instead the issue is its maintenance and means of distribution across the ship or port ecosystem; presenting our […]
A ship’s propeller is an important moving part whose efficiency determines its speed and meeting of deadlines and maintenance of schedules. Whether its by flawed design or by over-use, propellers suffer from certain problems which affect the marine operations negatively. Firstly, the common propeller problems should be mentioned since knowing more about them is essential […]
You may have encountered the term “bunker” in a general discussion; however, the relation and context is usually military installations or personal safety during extreme conditions. Bunkering, for the maritime context, is a term describing a process of supplying fuel to ships for own usage; found in ports. Another relevant term/acronym is BAF or Bunker […]
The modern world has embraced the integration of digital technology into our everyday life where storage of important data is mostly done via digital mediums such as hard-drives on PCs and USB sticks. However, like physical media the digital analogue can also be lost and corrupted therefore rendering it useless; demanding special precautions and alternate […]
For the uninitiated, a shipping agency or agent is a designated organisation or person whose responsibility is to handle cargo and other shipments; protecting general interests of customers at ports and harbours; on behalf of ship owners and operators. Some tasks done by a shipping agency include ensuring the berthing of incoming ships, collecting freights […]
