Maritime Blogs

A floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit is a floating vessel used by the offshore industry for the processing of hydrocarbons and for storage of oil. An FPSO vessel is designed to receive hydrocarbons produced from nearby platforms or subsea template, process them, and store oil until it can be offloaded onto a tanker or transported through a pipeline. FPSOs are preferred in frontier offshore regions as they are easy to install, and do not require a local pipeline infrastructure to export oil. FPSOs can be a conversion of an oil tanker or can be a vessel built specially for the application. A vessel used only to store oil (without processing it) is referred to as a floating storage and offloading vessel (FSO).

How it works:

A new bulk cargo carrier ship, designed by Japan-based industrial machinery manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), uses the company's Mitsubishi air lubrication system (MALS) and an efficient hull form and enhanced propulsion system to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 25%.

As the first commercial application of the new design, MHI will provide its conceptual design and green technologies for three grain carriers to be built for Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADMC), of the US, the company announced.

"The new bulk carrier design adopts the company's proprietary MALS, which reduces frictional resistance between the vessel hull and seawater by using air bubbles produced by blowers at the bottom of the vessel, along with a high-efficiency hull form and an enhanced propulsion system to enable reductions in CO2 emissions by about 25%, compared with conventional bulk carriers.

Bow Shape

A double hull ship is a type of a ship that has two levels or layers of hulls – the outer layer and the inner layer. 

The double hulls are an important requirement in ships, especially oil tankers. The reasons why they are important, the benefits of having double hull tankers and the disadvantages are explained in details in the article.

The system of the double hulls works in such a way that on the sides and the bottom of the ship, there are two layers with empty space between these layers. Because of the two layers of hulls, any loss to the ship’s cargo while accidents occur, are highly minimized. If one layer is damaged due to collision or similar accident, the second layer acts as a back-up and prevents ingress of seawater into the ship. Also, the loss of the cargo is restricted only to a certain portion of the double-hulled the ship, unlike the single-hulled varieties. 

If your vessel is involved in a maritime accident, then be aware that there are international guidelines in place to ensure that you are treated fairly if an investigation is carried out and/or if you are detained by a State following the accident. 

Know Your Rights!
Seafarers’ rights is a complex area since your rights can exist at different levels and they can be overlapping and sometimes conflict. 
Therefore if you have a legal problem, you will need to seek advice from your union and from a lawyer who will discuss your specific situation. 
This information is general advice only. 

Sources of Seafarers’ Rights: