Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Ocean Freight Interests and Others in Supply Chain are Ignorant of Port Engineering Requirements

New Course Designed to Optimise Maintenance of Maritime Assets
Shipping News Feature

US – All those in a supply chain which includes an element of shipping by water, particularly ocean freight, blithely assume that standards at docks and shipyards will be maintained, without ever considering the depth of experience and the punishing workload needed to ensure the status quo is maintained. Now an Arlington, Virginia based company with branches throughout the East Coast and in Hawaii has devised a unique training programme to assist Port Engineers (PEs) with maximising investments in the repair and sustainment of their maritime assets, which may include a vast range of vessels and complex machinery.

BMT Designers & Planners, Inc. (D&P), an operating company of BMT Group Ltd, the international design, engineering and risk management consultancy, has many years’ experience of working in port environments and in particular, with different types of ship lifts, industrial facilities and on-going ship repair. With the complex management of ship repair constantly changing, PEs are tasked with understanding many challenging requirements. These include surface preparation and preservation, dry-dock evolutions and safety, propulsion system alignment, welding processes and procedures, non-destructive testing, inspections, general shipyard safety and more.

BMT says it is well placed to deliver the three week training programme, which consists of three one week, stand-alone modules and is the first of its kind to cover a range of tailored subjects to support operator, engineering, contracting and shipyard organisations. The course looks at everything from the preparation for a maintenance period, engineering administration, through to the fundamentals of project management and beyond. Course delegate Paul Virgintino from Vane Line Bunkering Inc. gave his personal endorsement, saying:

“I would recommend this training for all Port Engineers and anyone involved in maintenance planning. Practical exercises reinforced concepts of training and the training instructors were expert in topics taught and encouraged student participation.”

Since 1953, D&P has been providing technical and managerial consultancy services to government agencies and commercial clients. The company specialises in Ship Acquisition & Engineering, Advanced & Strategic Technologies, and Risk & Environmental consulting whilst D&P marine and ashore services include ship and offshore support vessel design and engineering; programme management; US and international safety and environmental policy and compliance analysis, financial analysis; contaminated land characterisation, assessment and remediation; and technology research and development.