Not long ago super-yachts were measuring 30 m and by the end of the 1980s boats beyond 50 m were considered by the industry as mega-yachts. Today we are talking about giga-yachts exceeding this mark by three times – e.g. the recently launched M/Y »Eclipse« with almost 170 m length.
Parallel with the growth in size a great number of complex influences have accompanied this development, from socio-economic conditions[ds_preview], styling trends and safety construction standards, to environmental standards, manufacturing technology & processes and materials technology. This will probably continue in the future with a similar tendency, it will, however, certainly also be fuelled by environmental and alternative energy sources aspects.
The complex demands of future standards of the yacht industry will have to be closely observed, particularly when taking into account the consensus reached at the most recent meeting of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 86) – »that classification rules will meet goal-based requirements as stipulated by the IMO«. According to Lloyd’s Register classification society these standards are broad, overarching safety, environmental, and / or security goals that vessels are required to achieve during their lifecycle. They are clear, demonstrable, verifiable, long standing, implement able and achievable goals, irrespective of vessel design and technology and are specific enough in order not to be open to differing interpretation. Goal Based Standards give both yacht designers and builders the flexibility needed to continually propose innovative concepts and designs. Especially the environmental idea will continue to drive new technical and innovative designs in the future. As already widely discussed in the commercial vessels’ community the green issues have meantime moved to the yacht-industry, too. This will include extended efforts to go into the development of hull form design, and light weight materials, by using advanced composites both in primary structure, superstructure, as well as propulsion train components, and in the long run this will move further towards recyclable and recycled plastics.
With an appropriate pre-engineering, it will be possible to give these materials certain acoustic and vibration properties, or will allow for electrical equipment such as lighting and sensory functions to be incorporated into the structure at the time of lay-up or manufacturing, providing a broader palette of opportunity for creative design. Class societies are preparing to re-write their rules with respect to hull construction in composite materials.
Furthermore, as far as fuel efficiencies and emissions are concerned, the focus will increasingly be set on alternative means of propulsion and power generation. That includes the use of modern bio-energy and other alternative sources of energy. Aside from diesel electric arrangements like High Torque Power Drive (HTP), a lot of research efforts have been going into superconducting motors, and other technologies aimed to utilize wind, water and solar power. Solar cells integrated into bridge and atrium glass panels as on the »Celebrity Solstice« are already in use, and will continue to see innovations in glass laminates. Associations and Societies are announcing new rules and regulations, in order to protect life and the environment, facilitate the introduction of these technologies and the developments needed to help ensure that the industry can respond to these challenges. Yacht clients are demanding and will be even more so in the future – combining the trends for more comfort, higher speeds, less fuel consumption, lighter materials, aesthetics and innovative technology in general, will all shape the future of yacht design and construction.
Lloyds’ Register e.g. with a membership all across the yacht industry has developed an agreed approach to yacht issues, which has allowed the Group to generate, evaluate and implement ideas aimed at sustaining and expanding the yachting sector. Calling on its vast pool of know how, both technical and commercial, it has established itself as the leading community for collaboration, networking and sharing knowledge and made the class society the provider of choice for the yacht building and operating industries. One recent result for the Focus Group concerned fire safety requirements under Lloyd’s Registers’ Special Service Craft Rules. It became clear that its Rules were out of line with the industry norm being adopted by the major Flag Administrations and it was decided to harmonise these requirements as far as possible. Proposed amendments to the Rules arising from Focus Group discussions led to the issue of a Marine Technology Notice which came into force in August 2009, and which now permits the acceptance of an alternative standard, through the Large Commercial Yacht Code (LY2 Code), in lieu of compliance with the relevant SSC Rules. This change now allows clients to simplify the design process whereby they can design the fire arrangements to one standard provided this is acceptable to Lloyd’s Register. Where fire plans have been appraised, approved and verified by the yacht’s Flag Administration in compliance with a standard acceptable to Lloyd’s Register, it will be sufficient to provide Lloyds Register with a copy of the appropriate Flag Certification.
Networking and sharing knowledge
It will also allow ship designers and builders to refer to a single safety requirements for a new construction project. Given this change, Lloyd’s Register recommends that the regulatory regime for a yacht be agreed at an early stage by all stakeholders. For other clients who require additional fire safety measures, the Yacht Focus Group is considering and studying the creation of an additional »F« class notation, giving our clients the opportunity to adopt additional fire safety requirements which are not addressed in the LY2, as amended, or in other sets of standard rules. A similar approach is currently being applied in regard to stability requirements, as contained in the SSC Rules, thanks to the support and cooperation of the Lloyd’s Register stability experts. The Yacht Focus Group is also undergoing a process to add to our rules an additional service area restriction, which falls between G2 and G3 notations, and will be similar to the short range notation adopted by various Flag Administrations. Such a notation will mostly affect yachts under 500, restricted to operating in forecast or actual weather conditions to a maximum Beaufort Force 4, and within 60 nautical miles of a safe haven, which can be extended on specified routes up to 90 nautical miles from a safe haven as appropriate. Each member, in his area of expertise is looking at the different aspects, such as fire, stability, scantlings and so on in order to verify and address the implications and devise fixes to cope with them. In addition, through the Yacht Focus Group, and in co-operation with the marine consultancy industry, shipbuilders and various academic institutions with experience in composite materials Lloyd’s Register is looking at reviewing and possibly revising the SSC rules for composite materials in respect of design pressures, ultimate strength and safety factors. Last, but not least, the Yacht Focus Group, in conjunction with Lloyd’s Register’s Marine Knowledge Management Team, has started developing a specific yacht technical database, which aims to create a central data base for capturing, storing and distributing technical queries and answers, and Rule interpretations. This massive and important project, will allow Lloyd’s Register’s client facing offices, design support offices and on-site surveyors to have an immediate access of any technical query that may arise, enhancing our consistency across the industry improving the flow of knowledge and enabling knowledge transfer globally.
Seafarers’ »bill of rights« on mega-yachts
»The new Maritime Labour Convention could be implemented as early as the 4th quarter of 2011, but it still remains ›ill-defined‹ as to how it will affect the yachting industry«, writes Captain Stephen Chalk, Senior Marine ILO Specialist. The International Labour Organisation’s Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006) has been enacted to protect the working conditions of seafarers regardless of their nationality, or the flag that their vessel flies. Often referred to as the seafarers’ »bill of rights«, and the »fourth pillar of maritime legislation«, after SOLAS, Marpol and STCW, it addresses minimum requirements for all seafarers regardless of their nationality and the flag that their vessel flies, including minimum requirements to work on a ship, conditions of employment, accommodation, recreational facilities, food and catering, health protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection. But what distinguishes this new convention from existing ILO conventions is the powerful control and enforcement mechanisms it will put in place and the formal process of inspection and certification of ships to ensure compliance. That means, once in force, any ship may be detained on a non-compliance of a maritime labour related issue, for example the non- or incorrect payment of wages. The convention will come in to force twelvemonths after the date on which 30 ILO Member States, representing 33 % of the total world’s gross tonnage of ships have ratified it. To date the second part of the criteria has been met with 43 % of the world’s gross tonnage having signed up to it. Once the convention has been implemented, Port State control will inspect against the mandatory parts of the Convention (Part A) and will use this as their inspection process on ships, even on ships from countries that have not ratified this convention.
The certification requirement applies to ships of 500 grt or over, engaged in international voyages and 500 grt or over, flying the flag of a member state and operating from a port, in another country. For vessels below 500 grt or ships operating on a domestic trade will not require certification but will still be required to be inspected against the requirements of this Convention. However, the Convention is ill defined when it comes to how it will affect the yachting industry as competent authorities will have their own interpretation on how it should be applied. Article II § 4 states »the Convention applies to all ships, whether publicly or privately owned, ordinarily engaged in commercial activities«. But the word »ordinarily« is not defined in the Convention or by the ILO and is to be left to the competent authorites to define. Lloyd’s Register considers a mega-yacht to be a ship type and would therefore require a DMLC part 1. We expect this to be a special DLMC part 1 from the competent authority highlighting specific national regulations and laws for the vessel type, plus any exemptions. There are indications from one competent authority that the MLC 2006 will only apply to mega yachts of 24 m length or more; however we may see other interpolations on this. Lloyds Register’s understanding of the MLC 2006 is that ships under 200 grt will still need to be inspected, including those on domestic trade, if they fall under the definition of a ship.
However, the MLC 2006 allows some flexibility to competent authorities in applying certain aspects of the code to vessels such as mega yachts that might fall under this category.
1. Article II of the convention allows the competent authority the option not to apply certain details of the Code of the MLC 2006 to a ship, or particular categories of ships such as mega yachts, so long as there are national laws or regulations or collective bargaining agreements, or other measures in place, which address relevant provisions of the code being exempted. The paragraph also goes on to say that such a position can only be taken by the competent authority to vessels of less than 200grt not engaged in international trade. This does not indicate that such vessels are exempt from inspection, it just allows a common sense application of the MLC 2006 as far as practicable on such vessels noting that the inspection will be against the foresaid national laws, regulations and not the convention requirements in some areas.
2. The requirements for accommodation, construction and equipment listed in Title 3 of the convention will only apply to new builds after the Convention has been implemented. For existing ships will be inspected against the Accommodation Regulations C92 or C133 applicable to the Member State. The Convention recognises the difficulties of meeting some of the requirements under accommodation construction for vessels and equipment for vessels under 200 grt and therefore will allow certain exemptions in such areas such as: air conditioning; wash basins in cabins; laundry facilities; sleeping room floor areas.
In both cases above, the competent authorities must consult with the social partners – ship-owners and seafarer’s organisations – for any exemptions that are requested, on the understanding that no exemption can be allowed to compromise the health and safety of the seafarer. However, all other parts of the convention will apply. Lloyd’s Register has the expertise to offer a wide range of services in helping clients in implementing the new Maritime Labour Convention 2006, by offering training courses, gap analysis tailored to the client’s requirements and advice.
Noise and vibration prevent from relaxing
Noise and vibration do not only spoil the comfort of passenger, they might jeopardise the safety of those on board. Coast Guard studies have consistently found that noise and vibration are major factors in crew fatigue often resulting in maritime accidents attributed to »personnel error«. However, noise and vibration from machinery can be controlled and the sooner owners and designers address potential problems (preferable at the design stage) the better and more cost effective the result. For 30 years, Lloyd’s Register ODS has worked on some of the world’s biggest and most extravagant yachts, specialising in noise and vibration reduction. This specialised consultancy service draws on experience of successfully applying noise and vibration reduction approaches developed for cruise ships on super and mega yachts. Striving for excellence, yacht owners expect an even higher level of acoustical comfort than that enjoyed on cruise ships. However, as yachts are much smaller, the demand for compact design challenges designers and builders. Powerful high-speed, engines are located close to accommodation areas, potentially causing great disturbance to passengers in form of vibrating walls and floors.
An engine inevitably generates a great deal of noise and vibration, but unless spending time in the engine room is a particular pleasure to the yacht owner, it is not the big issue. Noise and vibrations transmitted to other parts of the ship on the other hand is considered one of the major concerns in yacht building.
Attaching the engine to the deck through a resilient mount, typically rubber pads or steel springs, is a standard measure to prevent structural vibrations from transmitting to the hull of the ship. In order for the elastic mountings to work properly they must be of a satisfactory quality and accurately adjusted to the engine. If they are too hard, they will transmit the vibration and if they are too soft, they will not support the weight of the engine.
Assuming that the resilient mounts are functioning correctly, they now work as a buffer decoupling the engine vibrations from the structure. Then why might the owner still experience noise and vibration? The vibration may be isolated from the hull but the engine is still shaking up and down, back and forth. These vibrations will travel through any available structure, no matter how small.
Even though the engine is properly and resiliently mounted, vibrations propagate through any available structure such as the exhaust pipe. Isolating them requires at least a resiliently mounted exhaust pipe. Other connections such as lubrication and fuel piping will equally transmit noise and vibrations if not replaced by flexible fittings.
Structural noise and vibration can also spread via the shaft through to the gearbox, where, unless resiliently mounted, they propagate to the hull.
It is possible to create silent yachts but it is not an easy task. Designing and installing yacht engines by the book is of no avail, unless all possible noise transmitters are taken into consideration. The list is long, but money invested in careful design is money well spent. It is much cheaper and easier to take preventative actions rather than fixing the problems as they arise.
The total cost of a comprehensive noise study with reliable, accurate predictions rarely comes close to the price of filling the fuel tank. It will, however, save owners vast amounts of time and money, not to mention frustration and embarrassment of having to fix the problem later on.
Lloyd’s Register / GF
