TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN CHANGE THE FUTURE OF SHIPBUILDING

Advancement in technology is key to the development of any industry. The shipbuilding industry is no exception. In fact, shipbuilding is changing at a rapid rate taking advantage of highly advanced technologies which aim to solve the issues such as environmental pollution, rising fuel costs, etc.

Riding high on R&D activities, the shipping industry has developed some potentially revolutionary technologies. Mentioned below are seven important technologies which might help to change the future of shipbuilding.

1. 3D Printing technology. The 3D printing technology makes it possible to construct real objects from virtual 3-D objects. This process is carried out by cutting virtual object in 2-D slices and printing the real one slice by slice. Currently, this technology is being used in industries to produce scientific equipment, small structures and models for various applications. Further developments in this process can lead the industry to use this technique to build complex geometries of ship like bulbous bow easily. The Economist claims using this technology to be the “Third Industrial Revolution“.

2. Shipbuilding robotics. Recent trends suggest that the shipbuilding industry is recognizing robotics as a driver of efficiency along with a method to prevent workers from doing dangerous tasks such as welding. The shortage of skilled labour is also one of the reasons to look upon robotics. Robots can carry out welding, blasting, painting, heavy lifting and other tasks in shipyards.

3. Ballast free ship design. The concept has potential to mitigate the problem of ballast water disposal which causes discharge of non-native species and creates several ecological problems. The design has network of longitudinal pipes from bow to stern in ship’s hull causing constant flow of local sea water which prevents transfer of contaminated water or water of one ecosystem to other. Though this technology is in experimental and developmental stage, if it is successfully tested, then ballast free design is definitely going to be the future of shipbuilding.

4. LNG fueled engines. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) surge in popularity as an alternate fuel for ships is visible these days because of its environmental friendliness. That is why, the market of LNG fueled ship engines is emerging and its prospects are high as well.

5. Solar & wind powered ships. Imagine the situation when we will have finished all our reservoir of oil and gas; really horrible! Sailing ships, once used in past, are definitely not going to return but shipbuilding industry is trying hard to develop technologies to utilise renewable sources of energy (i.e. wind & sun) to run the ships considering today’s challenges. Recently, many technologies have come which support the big ships to reduce fuel consumption by utilizing solar panels or rigid sails. A developed device named Energy Sail will help the ships to extract power from wind and sun so as to reduce fuel costs and emission of greenhouse gases. It is exclusively designed for shipping and can be fitted to wide variety of vessels from oil carrier to patrol ships.

6. Buckypaper.  Buckypaperis a thin sheet made up of carbon nanotubes (CNT). Each CNT is 50,000 times thinner than human hair. Comparing with the conventional shipbuilding material (i.e. steel), buckypaper is 1/10^th the weight of steel but potentially 500 times stronger in strength and 2 times harder than diamond when its sheets are compiled to form a composite. The vessel built from this lighter material would require less fuel, hence increasing energy efficiency. It is corrosion resistant and flame retardant which could prevent fire on ships.

7. Integrated Electric Propulsion. The integrated electric propulsion technology is an arrangement wherein gas turbines or diesel generators or both generate three-phase electricity which can be used to power electric motors which turns propellers or water jets. The system uses electric transmission instead of mechanical transmission which eliminates the need for clutches and reduces or eliminates the use of gearboxes. Some of the advantages of using this technology are freedom of placement of engine, less noisy ships, reduction in weight and volume etc.

The above mentioned are some of the most famous and talked about technologies will be used in shipbuilding processes in future.

3.5 What international maritime organizations do you know? Read the texts to learn more.