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The acceptability of weld defects during line pipe manufacture and pipeline construction is governed by international codes and standards such as the DNV OS-F101 or API1104. These are universal standards applicable for a wide range of pipeline usage conditions however it is possible to establish more precise and often less conservative acceptance criteria using a Fitness-For-Service (FFS) approach through the application of procedures such as those of BS 7910. This paper describes the conventional assessment methodology and more advanced approaches to account for crack tip constraint dynamic loading due to VIV associated with free-spans. The paper highlights two cases as examples where the approaches have been applied for assessing the criticality of weld defects detected during pipeline construction and their impact on the reliability during service.

Navies strive to achieve a balance between safety and military capability thus ensuring that peacetime activities are undertaken at an acceptable level of risk. Increasingly the acceptable level of safety for navies is set as being equivalent to merchant ships under civil legislation. For assistance in this matter navies are now often turning to Classification Societies. Recognising that there is no naval body that is equivalent to IMO and that naval ships are not embraced by the work of IMO NATO nations established a Specialist Team on Naval Ship Safety and Classification. This Specialist Team has been tasked to develop a NSC (naval ship code) bench-marked against international shipping standards which will promote improved ship design and provide a greater consistency and transparency of safety standards for naval ships. The background to the formation of the group is outlined. The task that has been set is described. The methodology used in the development of the NSC is presented. The progress achieved to date is overviewed.

The crew of a naval vessel is divided into a number of teams that interact with each other via an established control hierarchy. As combat operations increase in complexity and tempo this system is likely to become overwhelmed by the amount of data that must be absorbed analysed and acted on. One solution is to automate some of the tasks such as fusing multi-sensor data converting the fused data into a situation awareness and planning an appropriate response. Both academic and practical work related to this solution is reviewed and the approach taken by Loral Librascope is highlighted. It is concluded that the technology and methodology exists for a nearly fully automated combat system.

Implementation of COCMP (California's Coastal Ocean Currents Monitoring Program) requires technical organisational and institutional milestones to provide products useful for managing coastal resources in a state with an 1800 km coastline. COCMP is the first large-scale integrated high-frequency radar system and as such a candidate component for the proposed national IOOS (Integrated Ocean Observing System). HF radar is an efficient and economically viable initial step in creation of an observing technology capable of providing a range of products. California is building the largest integrated HF radar system in the world and it must invent a number of solutions to address the needs of a large beach-going multi-cultural population whose sheer size places considerable stress on coastal ocean resources. A number of identifiable processes are required to bring observing technologies into a functional management framework. An integrating mechanism such as CalCOOS will facilitate management requirements in collaboration with the IOOS regional associations as they evolve and develop capacity.

Recommendations are made for the systematic development of technical specifications for a tanker-based floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Prior to the bid phase the owners must decide whether they wish to purchase or lease an FPSO whether to use a single contractor or several different ones and what role they wish to play in the project. These issues are addressed with an emphasis on project costs scheduling efficiency and liability. Specific considerations such as the selection of an export tanker FPSO storage requirements and the degree of crude oil conditioning required are highlighted. General conditions to consider include environmental design and classification and certification of the vessel. The pros and cons of converting an existing vessel or building a new one are considered in detail. Finally the choice of mooring system is briefly discussed.

A new dissolved oxygen sensor for marine application is presented. This was developed and first tests in the field were carried out. The sensor uses a mesoporous micro- electrode as the sensing element that has an inherently fast response and an increased resistivity to bio-fouling due to the properties of the electrode material mesoporous platinum. A cleaning cycle was introduced where the potential applied to the electrode was altered allowing the elimination of material build up at the electrode surface as well as the reconditioning of the electrode-surface thus minimising drift and the effect of bio-fouling. Mesoporous microdisc electrodes ranging between 10 and 50 um diameter have been tested. The sensor has been adapted to operate on a CTD system. Results of two test cruises are presented showing that although the general sensor performance is good further work has to be done to exploit the inherently fast response of the microelectrodes.

In recent years transport mode has shifted from land to sea mainly on the basis of environmental issues and the increased speed of ships and the requirement for high-speed vessels is therefore increasing. Niigata entered the market in the 1980s. Since the development of Niigata V16FX high-speed diesel engine in 1992 the V20FX high-speed diesel engine (covering an output range of 3000 - 4000 kW) has been developed to cope with the rising demand of bigger high-density engines. The 16V20FX achieved a world top-level mass to weight ratio of 3.15 kg-kW and an optimum design for high-speed vessels. Moreover this engine reduces lifecycle costs by having longer-life parts lower specific fuel consumption and lower lubricating oil consumption than conventional engines. Until now these engines have been operated without a problem. However the engine experiences many idle- and low-speed operation hours and it is also accelerated to high speed. The deterioration of smoke during low load

Traditionally monobore completion techniques have been able to provide operators with a high degree of flexibility for maintenance needs since the tubing imposes no restriction to any tool that may be deployed in the liner as sometimes happens when completions have tapered production strings. Unfortunately the traditional monobore completion advantages may not be realized until later in the life of the well. While maintenance is always important the general volatility of oil prices has forced the industry to target operational strategies that can also offer quicker returns on investment. Since the completion system discussed in this paper employs large-diameter production tubing it provides the maintenance benefits of a monobore system but with added advantages that a large flow area can provide. The increased flow area (1) allows the number of wells to produce a given reservoir to be reduced and (2) enables production rates to be increased which in turn reduces long-term operating expense since the reservoir can be depleted in a shorter period of time.

The Flemish soil remediation decree of April 1996 presented clean-up standards for soil pollution. These clean-up standards differentiate between five land-use categories. Soil clean-up standards for petroleum hydrocarbons were derived using the TPHCWG (total petroleum hydrocarbon criteria working group)- approach. Knowledge about the toxicity the physico-chemical properties the fate and transport of the different petroleum hydrocarbon fractions in the soil is of major importance. Cancer and non-cancer risks are considered separately using respectively an indicator- and fraction-approach. Soil clean- up standards were calculated according to the WHO procedure for deriving drinking water guidelines and were adjusted on a solubility basis if needed. Whole product soil and groundwater clean-up standards were developed for use in the exploratory site investigation whereas fraction-specific soil clean-up standards were derived for application in the descriptive site investigation and the site remediation. The modelling results served as the basis for a final proposal for clean-up standards for soil pollution.

Ultra Deep Water extends from 1000 m to 3000 m and beyond. Use of conventional steel or flexible pipes in these water depths will result in important tensile loads at the top due to proper weight. Composite materials made of high strength carbon fibres and a polymeric matrix used as tensile armours can contribute towards decreasing these tensions and increasing the tensile strength and pressure capacity of the pipe. The present paper gives an overview of the different phases of the development programme carried out to qualify this technology - tensile fatigue pressure cycling plus combined pressure and bending fatigue tests are being performed on flexible pipe prototypes.

Among the rising global concern for environmental issues strict regulation against atmospheric pollution is already being carried out on land and is likely to appear in future in the marine arena. Accordingly next generation ships are required to be more environmentally friendly. Gas turbine technology is promising because it offers the potential to significantly reduce NOx emissions compared with conventional diesel engines. However higher fuel consumption and higher component prices have prevented the shipbuilding industry from adopting this technology. The technology is limited to high-speed cruise ships and naval vessels where high power density is needed. In order to overcome this future marine gas turbines need not only to be more efficient themselves but also to enhance advantages combined with ships. A project aimed at developing a new gas turbine for next-generation marine propulsion called SGMT (super marine gas turbine)

A study was made on the further improvement of HAZ CTOD property. YP350 and YP420 steel plates which meet the above requirements have been developed. At the same time welding materials for these plates have also been developed. In this paper (Paper 1) the basic concept for the improvement of HAZ CTOD and development of YP350 steel are described.

The YP420MPa class steel plates for offshore structures in frigid sea areas such as Sakhalin were studied. Based on the IGF technology for enhancing HAZ toughness the chemical composition of and the manufacturing processes for these steel plates were optimized. Consequently the YP420MPa class TMCP steel plates have been developed having a 75mm thickness excellent HAZ toughness and good weldability. The welded joints of the steel plates which were welded with heat inputs of 1kJ/mm 5kJ/mm and 10kJ/mm have CTOD values higher than 0.25mm at -50C .

The next generation of ships will be developed on the basis of innovative new concepts in order to achieve specific performance objectives for each operation profile of the ship. Since it will be prohibitively expensive to quickly expand the design database through model studies there is strong motivation to develop simulation-based design (SBD) system. Present paper describes research at Osaka Prefecture University in primary components of SBD for ship hydrodynamics and fluid engineering. Most of the cited references concern validation of the methods before transition to industrial design field through application to geometrics and flows which are theoretically abd/or experimentally well understood and/or well known test cases in domestic and international research projects. In the following overviews are given for the authors' work and finally prognosis for future status will be addressed.

China's transportation needs are steadily growing in phase with the rest of its economy and the pressure on the rail transport system accompanies it. Rail transportation is not only economically attractive but also an environmentally friendly way of distributing large quantities of goods over long distances and the development of modern freight and passenger train locomotives must follow the steadily increasing requirements for higher power-to-weight ratios lower fuel consumption and lower exhaust emissions. The leading locomotive manufacturer in the north-China railroad region is DLoco (Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Works). The 240ZJ-series of DLoco is one of the most widely used rail traction engines in China and for export. It is a conventional V-engine design of 50 deg of 240 bore by 275 mm stroke further characterised by its welded construction and nodular cast iron crankshaft. Its rating in 1973 was 206 HP per cylinder. In 1987 a significantly up-graded 240ZJD version with 275 HP per cylinder was introduced the outcome of a successful development program between DLoco and Ricardo.

In 2001 MTU introduced to the market its 8200 kW four-stroke 20V 8000 M70 diesel engine for commercial marine applications. The series 8000 has since been installed in fast commercial ferries private yachts and military vessels. As a result of customer demand and the envisaged tightening of emission requirements the 20V 8000 M71 was further developed and its power output increased to 9100 kW. Development of the engine focused on low fuel consumption improved ease of maintenance a long service life and a wide performance map over the total speed range. Essential contributions to achieving these targets are provided by the Common-Rail fuel injection system with a rail pressure of 1800 bar known from the previous engine version as well as the proven concept of sequential turbocharging. As demonstrated in tests engine operation without black and white-smoke is ensured throughout the entire performance map. The power increase was made possible by further developing the single-stage supercharging and by a new combustion method.

This book provides a guide to the problems and solutions of communications and electronic systems for remote offshore oil and gas production platforms. The contributed articles cover project management, development of tropospheric scatter systems for offshore communications, potential satellite systems for the North Sea oil industry, computer based control and telecontrol systems for offshore oil and gas production platforms and pipelines, communications systems for the Ekofisk offshore oil field, Post Office communication developments for offshore oil and gas fields, a computer system for integrated offshore and onshore automation, and radiation induced ignition and detonation hazards associated with radio transmitters on offshore oil/gas platforms.

This is the third volume in the series 'Developments in Pressure Vessel Technology', reviewing fabrication techniques in the nuclear and non-nuclear pressure vessels. Topics that are dealt with include: ferritic steel plates, forgings, thick-joint welding, joining processes for tubes of high integrity applications and explosive welding. The need for consistent quality among similar welds and elimination of welding defects are discussed in relation to the control of welding processes. Emphasis is on the control of the fabrication processes that are an integral part of the overall quality control, which embraces factors such as materials quality, component and joint design, joint preparation and equipment details.

Oil spills pose a major water pollution problem and environmental risk. They may be controlled by containment and recovery systems. Some commercial systems recover and others contain. However recovery and containment equipment needs to work in conjunction to recover and contain simultaneously. In this study a floating mechanical device for simultaneous recovery and containment is described. The device called the SCR (simultaneous containment and recovery) device is based on the fusion of a cylindrical floating barrier and a rotating drum recoverer or adhesion skimmer. In contrast to other available devices this device makes use of the suctioned oil-water energy to turn the rotary mesh.

The fact that 50-90% of faults in marine diesel engines in the MO classification ship (unmanned ship) are detected by the crew implies that human hearing plays a crucial role in the diagnosis of the engine. This research aims to establish a new diagnosis system based on the acoustic signal of four-stroke marine diesel engines in order to assist or relieve the engineer's diagnosis efforts. The paper describes how to discriminate between exhaust valve gas leaking operations and normal operations. Distinctive signals in primary recorded sound waves are recognised by means of linear regression and multivariate analysis (discriminant analysis) of diesel engine combustion cycles. It may be possible through linear regression to distinguish differences in the patterns of primary waves between normal and fault operations of diesel engines.