Volume 19 Number 4 November 2015 Early Morning at ASC in Adelaide
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THE AUSTRALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECT Volume 19 Number 4 November 2015 Early morning at ASC in Adelaide. NUSHIP Hobart (alongside), the first of the RAN’s air-warfare destroyers, is now about 88% complete. Her combat system will be powered-up shortly and she will begin sea trials next year. The second AWD, Brisbane, can be seen under the crane in the background (Photo courtesy AWD Alliance) THE AUSTRALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECT Journal of The Royal Institution of Naval Architects (Australian Division) Volume 19 Number 4 November 2015 Cover Photo: CONTENTS HMAS Canberra off the north Queensland 2 From the Division President coast in August with five MRH 90 aircraft on 2 Editorial deck and her four Landing Craft deployed (RAN photograph) 3 Letters to the Editor 4 News from the Sections The Australian Naval Architect is published four times per year. All correspondence and advertising copy should be 14 Coming Events sent to: 16 Classification Society News The Editor The Australian Naval Architect 19 General News c/o RINA 30 The Profession PO Box No. 462 Jamison Centre, ACT 2614 32 From the Crows Nest AUSTRALIA email: [email protected] 36 Extending the Range of a Conventional The deadline for the next edition of The Australian Na- Submarine by Autonomous Covert val Architect (Vol. 20 No. 1, February 2016) is Friday Refuelling when on Patrol — Martin Renilson 29 January 2016. Articles and reports published in The Australian Naval 39 Education News Architect reflect the views of the individuals who prepared 47 Industry News them and, unless indicated expressly in the text, do not neces- sarily represent the views of the Institution. The Institution, 50 Vale its officers and members make no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or 50 Membership correctness of information in articles or reports and accept 52 The Internet no responsibility for any loss, damage or other liability arising from any use of this publication or the information 53 Naval Architects on the Move which it contains. 55 From the Archives The Australian Naval Architect ISSN 1441-0125 © Royal Institution of Naval Architects 2015 Editor in Chief: John Jeremy AM RINA Australian Division Technical Editor: Phil Helmore on the Print Post Approved PP 606811/00009 World Wide Web Printed by B E E Printmail Telephone (02) 9437 6917 www.rina.org.uk/aust November 2015 1 little else has been done to ensure that a tragedy such as that From the Division President which befell N’Gluka cannot be repeated. There are many areas in which naval architects work, Secondly there is the problem of technical competence of although many of us specialise in such major areas as the design of recreational craft. Most members in Fremantle commercial shipping, recreational craft, naval vessels and will be aware that a 40 m luxury private yacht, a catamaran, offshore oil and gas. was recently completed for a successful businessman, but Commercial shipping has been on the agenda of the any naval architect passing by can clearly see that there is Australian Division Council for a long time and we have one obvious design issue — the freeboard under the wet been involved in many of its aspects, particularly in deck (the bottom of the structure joining the two hulls providing practical advice to legislators and assisting with together) is extremely small. Articles in the local paper and the formulation of government policy (such as the USL stories around the waterfront suggest that the boat is many Code and the NSCV). This year the Division Council has tonnes overweight and perhaps the designer, who is not a been monitoring and commenting on proposed changes to member of RINA and, I understand, may not have a naval the Single National Jurisdiction and on the legislation for architecture degree, did not appreciate that a low freeboard accreditation of surveyors. We would like to do more, but on a catamaran would cause the boat to slam and to be very volunteers willing to put in the necessary hours to coordinate uncomfortable in waves — not a desirable feature for a the work are always hard to find. luxury yacht. Many of our members work in the naval arena and the Some years ago, a similar 40 m luxury catamaran was Division has been particularly busy over the past two months also built in Fremantle and suffered from exactly the same in responding to an invitation to make a submission to the problem. The ship’s speed was several knots short of the Senate Inquiry into the current workforce levels and skills contract speed and the craft slammed in waves. amongst members of the engineering profession who are This raises many questions in my mind. Why would a employed by the Department of Defence or in defence- different designer some years later be ignorant of the related businesses. Details are provided in the Secretary’s previous vessel, particularly as it was built in the same column of this edition of The ANA. We have also been invited town? Why would a successful businessman agree to have to appear before the Senate Inquiry on 17 November to make a luxury yacht designed by a person without at least RINA a verbal presentation and to respond to questions. membership or other recognisable qualification? Was it Much to my satisfaction, the offshore oil and gas industry really built without a contract, as stated in the local press, has been employing many of our members, particularly in and reliance placed on a verbal agreement and a handshake? Western Australia. The WA Section earlier this year had If the stories are true, there is a risk that such action puts our a RINA stand at the Australian Oil and Gas Exhibition, profession into disrepute. supported by the Division Council. The success of this A solution to this question of technical competence in venture encouraged the section to run a separate stream recreational boat design is for RINA to raise its profile in the associated AOG Conference next year covering the in Australia, to the point where any person, wealthy or technical aspects of naval architecture, as well as having a otherwise, who wishes to have a boat built, of any size, stand at the exhibition. This event will join the list of official automatically looks for a designer with qualifications, such RINA-organised Conferences and Exhibitions for 2016. as RINA or IEAust membership and appropriate professional The fourth major area I identified above, recreational craft, registration such as with the Engineering Council. How this presents a dilemma. Whilst there are several members might be achieved is not obvious, and I would welcome any making a living in this area, there are many more in the suggestions. sector who are not RINA members, because the recreational In summary, thanks to the hard work of our sections, our boating industry is, in essence, unregulated. Anyone can technical meetings across the country continue to cover design and build a recreational craft regardless of their every aspect of engineering where naval architecture skills qualifications, and that creates two problems for us as a are involved, including, but not limited to, the above four profession. Firstly a problem of safety. It is twenty-five years which I mentioned above. Long may this continue. since the tragic loss of five young children when N’Gluka Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas (yes, it’s almost here) capsized in Port Stevens, caused by overloading. The only and a Happy New Year. safety improvement which we have made since then is to Tony Armstrong fix a piece of aluminium near the transom, the Australian Builders Plate, which certifies the maximum number of persons which the craft can carry, the maximum amount of Editorial power for which the craft is designed, a stated amount of The Pacific 2015 International Maritime Conference, held buoyancy, the manufacturer, and the name of the competent in Sydney on 6 to 8 October, was a great success. There person who takes technical responsibility for the craft’s were 339 delegates registered from Australia, Denmark, design, but there is no requirement to investigate the actual Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, stability characteristics and nothing else that I can think of Japan, Malaysia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, in terms of inherent safety features. A RINA member would Singapore, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United probably qualify as a competent person, but there is no States. The success of the conference was made possible by legal requirement for such qualifications. Of course, there the efforts of the volunteers from the organising institutions are some operational safety features such as lifejackets, but who, over the preceding 18 months or so, put so much The Australian Naval Architect 2 effort into organising the programme, and the financial event totalled 14 979. The major participation by the Royal support of the sponsors. Of course, the IMC’s partner, Australian Navy helped to attract a record number of 51 Maritime Australia Limited, organisers of the Pacific 2015 foreign delegations, many at Chief of Navy level. One might International Maritime Exposition, made it all possible. say that the event was heavy with brass! This year’s event was held at the temporary Sydney Without doubt, Pacific 2015 was an outstanding networking exhibition facilities at Glebe Island — in effect a large opportunity for everyone present and, for professional air-conditioned tent beside a wharf. As this centre does not engineers and naval architects, an excellent opportunity for have conference facilities, the IMC, the RAN Sea Power continuing professional development. It is a pity that more Conference and the sixteen other conferences and symposia RINA members from around Australia were not present — during Pacific 2015 were held in very simple facilities set attendance at the International Maritime Conference was up in a display hall with some inevitable problems of noise.