[seadog] Double hull tanker isn't the cure-all
- From: "Tom Blanchard" <tomblanchard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "SEADOG" <seadog@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 13:03:42 -0500
The following is from an editorial in the Shipping Times, an online version
of a paper in Asia. Its amazing that this seems like news to an industry
that has been building double hulls for years.... Be Safe, Tom
I happen to believe that a double hull configuration is no panacea.
On the one hand, you have the cargo pushing hard to get out of the tank and
into the void spaces while on the other hand, you have the hydrostatic
pressure of the sea also trying to get in from the outside.
Between these two enormous pressures you have frames and webs, longitudinals
and other strength members trying to keep the two sides apart.
This battle takes places in a damp and enclosed area which half the time
carries highly corrosive sea water, which is rarely entered in the five
years between special surveys and whose coatings are difficult to apply and
demanding to inspect.
Added to this is the changing hydrostatic pessures occurring in a seaway
which causes a bellows effect on the shell plating and the frames.
I think that when the first generation of double-hull tankers come up for
their second special survey, which is from now onwards, there are some nasty
shocks coming.
Andrew Lansdale,
Lansdale & Sons Ltd,
UK
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