Greening the Research Fleet Workshop Presenters

Updated on: January 5, 2012

The following presentations will be included in the agenda of the Greening the Research Fleet Workshop. Additional presentation titles and descriptions will be posted as received.

Radiated Noise of Research Vessels, Christopher Barber, ARL Penn State

A review of ship radiated noise mechanisms and the impact of ship noise on external environments and shipboard systems will be provided. Existing and proposed standards for research vessel radiated noise, options for measuring and monitoring ship radiated noise, considerations for reducing the radiated noise of existing vessels and new designs will be discussed.

Commercial shipping initiatives in energy efficiency and environmental compliance. Robert Bowers, Maersk Line, Limited

Outline the current "state of the art" in energy reduction and air emissions compliance in the commercial shipping industry. Highlight recent successes in technology and operational practices. Look at regulatory pressures in years ahead and discuss options for meeting new regulatory standards. Discuss LNG as an option for marine fuel, discuss pros and cons.

Greening the European research vessel fleet, Cattrijsse, A & Rogers, R., Flanders Marine Institute & National Oceanography Centre

The shipping industry and merchant ship operators are progressing in reducing the polluting influence of their vessels and operations. The European research fleet is ageing and the RV community desires to catch up with the market evolution and initiate a movement towards a greener fleet. The EC project EuroFleets' therefore contains a work package that develops best practice and guidelines for improving the environmental impact of both existing and future vessels and their science operations at sea. This presentation will inform on the project's approach, the current status, results achieved and ongoing efforts. The project is currently collating firsthand experience on the implementation of techniques or the adoption of operational schemes that are believed or known to be environment friendly.

Green Workshop Introduction and The UNOLS Fleet, Bruce Corliss, Duke University

SuPort: Integrating Sustainability into Ports, Craig Covil, Arup

The Benefits and Challenges of Bio-fuels and Bio-lubricants in Marine Applications, Dennis Donahue, NOAA-GLERL

NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab has adopted the use of B100 Biodiesel, bio-lubricants and plant best management practices advance ship based environmental initiatives. This 10-year project has expanded to include other agencies, private and commercial vessel operators. The presentation will include an overview of plant engineering, operational considerations, emissions and logistics from a vessel manager's perspective. Recent fleet conversions will be used as case studies for trial methodology and performance validation for operators considering the use of B100, blended bio-fuels or 2nd generation biodiesel.'

Sustainability and Building a "Green Culture" in the Marine Transportation Industry, Deborah Franco, Harley Marine Services, Inc

The presentation will emphasize Harley Marine Services industry leading, efforts and award winning initiatives to drive stewardship and promote resource management throughout the Harley Marine family of companies. Harley Marine has major ship assist and bunker fuel transportation companies located throughout the United States. The presentation will highlight the company's, comprehensive Environmental Management System (EMS), the latest efforts in ocean going green tug design and environmental initiatives on board vessels and shore side. The Environmental Management System is one component of our wide-ranging environmental program. Harley Marine is committed to environmental stewardship and the Harley Marine EMS is evidence of that innovative commitment.'

Vessel Energy Management, What It Is and Common Areas for Energy Improvement, Michael Gaffney, Alaris Companies

The presentation is on vessel energy management and lessons learned from previous vessel energy assessments. It will cover three main topics: how to establish a baseline of energy consumption, cost, and emissions, how to develop energy conservation measures (ECMs) with examples of common ECMs, and how to develop a Shipboard Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP). The SEEMP is a regulation that was recently passed this past July by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). It applies to all vessels over 400 GT worldwide and comes into force on 1 January 2013.

Lifecycle Analysis, Jay Golden, Duke University

Green Research: The Derek M. Baylis Survey of the Northern San Andreas Fault, C. Goldfinger, W. Wakefield, E. Clarke, C. Romsos, J. Beeson, T. Wylie, D. Robinson, Oregon State University; NOAA; Wylie Design Group; Sealife Conservation

In September-October 2010, we conducted a research cruise aboard the cat ketch R/V Derek M. Baylis. The Baylis is a carbon-fiber auxiliary sailing vessel designed for coastal research. We equipped the vessel with multibeam sonar and a high-resolution mini-sparker seismic reflection system and collected a grid of 58 seismic profiles at 1 km spacing across the fault, and a multibeam bathymetry grid of the fault and environs. The scientific goals were met on time and under budget. One of the original goals of this project was to try to track, and if possible reduce the overall carbon footprint of the project. We tracked fuel usage for all vessels, cars, airplanes, etc. that were used in the mission. Some things are very clear from this tracking. First, the use of a more efficient vessel as the primary survey vessel had a big impact on the bottom line in terms of both cost and carbon footprint. Although the Derek Baylis is an auxiliary sailing vessel, as we expected, sails were used only about 15% of the time as a primary means of propulsion. This was because of lack of wind, or unfavorable wind direction much of the time. Sails were almost always up however as they serve to reduce rolling of the vessel even in very light or no wind. The main efficiency of the Baylis is through the vessels hull design. Simply put, it is long, narrow and very light. The 65' vessel weighs only 35,000 lbs due to balsa core/carbon fiber construction. Its hull shape is an evolution of racing yachts, and is very easily driven through the water. The 100 hp Yanmar turbo diesel can drive the vessel at 9-10 knots using less than 2 gph of diesel. At survey speeds averaging 7 knots for multibeam and 4.5 knots for seismic surveys, the average usage was 1.6 gph, a startlingly low figure. The bottom line for the green vessel? It was faster, quieter, collected better quality data, and was less costly. For a given line item in our budget, use of this vessel was directly responsible for extending a 7-day survey to a 21-day survey, most of the cost difference being fuel. '

Foss Hybrid Tugs, Susan Hayman And Paul Jamer, Foss Maritime Company and AKA Group

The presentation will provide details on the world’s first hybrid tug, Foss Maritime's Carolyn Dorothy. Discussion topics include rationale for building the tug, the hybrid propulsion system and environmental and cost benefits. The presentation will also include a discussion of the world's second hybrid tug and the first tug retrofitted with the hybrid propulsion system. This tug, Campbell Foss, was delivered to Foss' Southern California fleet in December 2011 and is a sister vessel to the Carolyn Dorothy. Both vessels were built at Foss' shipyard in Rainier, Oregon and are owned and operated by Foss Maritime Company.'

SNAME Marine Vessel Environmental Performance Method, Timothy S. Leach, Glosten Associates, SNAME

MVeP is being developed to provide vessel owners, operators, designers, ports, and other governing bodies with a standard methodology to assess the relative impacts of environmental practices. Thirty-five discrete marine vessel environmental impacts have been identified. MVeP will provide a Performance Assessment Guide, based on objective technical information, for each of these impacts. These Guides will be provided a method to quantify and reduce the environmental impact over a vessels life cycle.

Next Generation Research Vessel: Balancing Performance with Zero Footprint Objectives, Timothy S. Leach, Glosten Associates, SNAME

Oceanography under sail: what can be learned from the Tara Ocean, Lee Karp-Boss (on behalf of the Tara Oceans consortium), University of Maine

Tara is a 36 m French schooner that has accomplished several successful research expeditions including an Arctic drift (for approx. 2 years). On its current mission, Tara circumnavigates the world oceans to conduct a global-scale study on planktonic ecosystems. The boat is well equipped with traditional oceanographic sampling gear (e.g., CTD-rosette, plankton nets) as well as state-of-the art imaging and flow-through systems. Small autonomous vehicles such as gliders have been successfully deployed during its current mission. Tara is managed by "Tara Expeditions", a non-profit association that provides samples and data to the scientific community world-wide. In addition to advancing scientific knowledge, Tara serves as a platform for interactions between scientists, journalists, artists and educators, with the goal of raising public awareness of impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems. Leading by example, several practices have been taken in attempts to make it a more environmentally sustainable boat. These will be discussed along with the strengths and challenges of conducting state-of-the-art research under sail.

Lessons learned from greening cruise vessels, Jamie Sweeting, Royal Carribbean

Engineering challenges for a green ship conversion, Matthias Teichrieb, Tactical Marine Solutions Ltd.

This presentation explores the challenges of incorporating a proton exchange membrane fuel cell and lithium ion battery bank with diesel generators in an electric propulsion system. The hybrid propulsion system is part of the conversion of a former Canadian Coast Guard ship into a coastal research ship. The ships mission profile is to be both a customizable test bed for green power technologies and also to provide a platform for ocean research on changing ecosystems, marine resources of coastal British Columbia and continental shelf as well as slope dynamics. Presentation given by Matthias Teichrieb, Operations Manager, Tactical Marine Solutions Ltd.'

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