for all you boat people

In the spirit of the tour dubai series, it's time for a few engineering escapades. Martin Oliver, the company's Middle East Manager, has been keen to ensure that Tophi and I have been taken to see some of the marine engineering feats undertaken in this fine country.

Recently, Martin, Tophi, and I made way for the Dubai office of the American Bureau of Shipping. We met the office's Chief Engineer and Principal Surveyor-- two very nice gentlemen. They offered us additional contacts at other companies that would be willing to show us new offshore platform construction. After hearing about what's happening for ABS out here, we quickly moved on to the day's main attraction: Dubai Maritime City.

Most developments in Dubai revolve around some central theme that makes each development "(theme) City." There's Festival City, Media City, Internet City, Ice City... er, that one was canceled..., and the list continues. Dubai Maritime City is a revolutionary concept. Combine the grit of sandblasting and dry docking with the glamor of cosmopolitan living, and you get an idea that makes dollar signs flash in front of Dubai World.

Behold the conceptual rendering of Dubai Maritime City. The shipyard is conveniently upwind of the beautiful apartment towers.

When ground broke several years ago, Dubai was riding a flash flood of growth. Two years ago the flood waters (aka economy) receded, and the municipality, through its multiple shell companies, was left holding the (empty) bag. Construction on the DMC's commercial and residential precincts slowed while Dubai World continued scraping away at the shipyard.

Construction of the two Synchrolift tables is seen in the foreground.

When we visited DMC, cameras were not allowed, so I don't have any present-day pictures. The Synchrolift tables are both operating, and we had the opportunity to see a 2780-tonne Saudi offshore diving support vessel undock. The yard has two Synchro-lift tables: one 6000-tonne and one 3000-tonne. The 6000-tonne lift can accommodate vessels 130 m long with a 35 m beam. 

At present, 49 vessels are berthed or docked at the DMC. The operations manager and dock master have a goal of serving 100 vessels on the same day.

The DMC is conveniently located directly on the Gulf. Unlike its predecessor, ships need not time their arrivals and departures with the openings of the Dubai Creek floating bridge. This may be the best feature about the new facility.

Time will only tell if the Dubai Maritime City will live up to its lofty conceptual render. I do think that Synchrolift tables are a fascinating way to conduct a docking. There are definite space advantages to being able to lift a vessel, roll it to a dry berth, and continue docking other vessels. What does the greater maritime community think? (Shout out to WebbieNews readers!!)

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Posted in: dubai,dubai maritime city,engineering escapades,tour series,work photos

haida: now served with working engines

It's been a while since Haida has stretched her sea legs -- 10+ years. While sea trials may still be in the (very) distant future, the engineers gave a preview this week of what's waiting to roar to life.

M.Y. Haida has been moored in Port Khalid, Sharjah during an extensive overhaul and refit for the last several years.

Haida is powered by two Enterprise medium-speed diesel engines that produce about 1000 hp each. She's been reported to reach almost 19 knots, but sea trial data from 1947 report a speed of 16.7 knots at max engine RPM. Over the last year, the refit support team has been working to locate replacement head gaskets for the Enterprise engines. As you can imagine, it's not easy getting parts for an engine built in the early 1940s. After searching around the United States, the engineering team in Sharjah decided to fabricate the head gaskets. With a little (read: quite a bit) of love and care, the engineers put the Enterprise engines back online.

The three-bladed, 65" propellers await the command of the reinstated air control system.

Port astern, starboard ahead.

This picture was taken while the port engine was going astern. In these early quayside tests, the engines are only going 150-200 RPM. 

This is the engine control station that has been temporarily installed as a bridge wing station. Control air signals from this stand travel down to the engine room.

The Enterprise engines have been modified to accept the control air signal. This eliminates the need for a telegraph; however, the engines can still be controlled from the engine room.

More quayside tests will be necessary before the engines will be ready to go to sea. In the mean time, work continues on restoring the interior and updating the vessel's systems. 

If you squint, you can make out the puffs of smoke coming from the funnel. Haida will celebrate her 64th birthday this year.

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Posted in: Enterprise,haida,haida photos,work photos

January 28, 2009: haida rises

For someone who has only been working with Haida for three weeks, Thursday was surprisingly emotional for me. Docking a vessel, even one that has not moved under its own power for more than 10 years, is like putting a person in a medically induced coma for an operation. The graving dock is the admitting room. As Haida slowly rose out of the water, she painfully parted with the water that held her, gave life to her engines, and let her glide freely around the world. As her weight transferred to the steel railway carriage and chock blocks, the soft plea to stop the lift could faintly be heard. And as the last drops of water ran down the keel and fell to the lift's deck, Haida knew that she wouldn't likely feel the Dubai Creek for many months.

Haida glides into the synchrolift with the assistance of the towing ropes.

The synchrolift gradually brings Haida out of the water.

It was done; she was ready to be transferred to her operating room, a berth just meters away from the synchrolift that admitted her to Al Jadaf. The nurses, men in blue coveralls emblazoned with a Goltens "G," quickly moved in to prep for surgery. They immediately attended to her underwater plating that was in dire need of scraping. In some places the marine growth was almost three inches thick. Tiny microcosms of barnacles, coral, and crabs had taken refuge everywhere on the hull. Scrape by scrape the growth fell to the ground. Scott rescued three tiny crabs from a giant chunk that fell intact. "You three are the chosen ones," he said as he picked up another crab. "Well, you four are the chosen ones. You (might) live to see another day in the Creek."

The men from the Goltens Ship Repair quickly tackle scraping and washing the underwater portion of the hull.

After scraping the bow stem, this chunk of coral fell onto the steel railway carriage. It is larger than my hand.

When the nurses finished a section of scraping, more men would come behind to pressure wash the hull to remove the remaining debris. Everyone worked very quickly to scrape and bathe Haida before the growth dried out.

The sun set on Haida ending her first day out of the water in 10 years. The shipyard noise softened to a dull roar. Over the next 60 days and beyond, Haida will undergo countless procedures: steel renewal, sea chest installations, the addition of underwater lighting, and others. The most involved operation will be the removal of the existing stabilizing fins and the installation of four new fins. Time will tell what other tasks might be added to her schedule.

For now, it seems the work day grows longer as doctors and nurses scurry to put Haida back into her prime condition.

The Cayman ensign flies stiffly in Thursday's strong winds.

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Posted in: al jadaf,haida,haida photos,work photos

January 17, 2010: a new week

Happy Sunday, America! (Although, I definitely want to acknowledge Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom -- go international readers!) While Americans enjoyed the final 24 hours of the weekend, those of us working in the Arab world started a new work week.

Things have been pretty quiet around the office the past few days. Scott has been making trips during the day to Al Jadaf. He avoids the morning rush hour by leaving Sharjah after 10:00 am. I have sat through both Los Angeles and New York rush hours, but Dubai is. the. worst. The average commute between Sharjah and Dubai is under 20 kilometers (12.4 mi), but the average commute time is over 60 minutes. Workers could easily walk to work faster than riding in a car! (Wait - there aren't sidewalks between Sharjah and Dubai. Better think twice about going pedestrian.) To make matters worse, Dubai city planners (an oxymoron) neglected to allot space for parking. So after commuting over an hour, workers spend additional time trying to find a place to leave their cars. Whoops!

While Scott has been away, I've been working on schematics of the yacht's critical systems (freshwater, seawater, fuel oil, lube oil, etc.) I have also taken the opportunity to tour the Anchor Handling Towing Supply Vessels and Offshore Supply Vessels that are part of my employer's fleet. (George would like me to point out that uninformed individuals frequently say "Anchor Handling Tug" rather than "Anchor Handling Towing Supply Vessel." Consider yourself now informed by a man with over 30 years of experience in the offshore industry.)

Saturday, this dhow rafted with a break bulk cargo ship. I think that this makes an interesting comparison of the ancient and the modern ways of transporting goods by break bulk. I hope to visit the Sharjah Maritime Museum soon to learn more about the dhows. They're really fascinating considering how long they have been around and how little (that is, no) engineering or science goes into crafting them.

Tomorrow I will be making a trip to Al Jadaf to trace some of the systems. Captain Scott called it a day to "get all grubby." I haven't decided if I'm going to take my camera or not.

I've started uploading other pictures to my Picasa site. Using Blogger was a good idea; all of the Google products connect seamlessly. You can view the pictures that didn't make it to the blog by going to http://picasaweb.google.com/hkdixon11.

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Posted in: al jadaf,dubai,work photos

January 15, 2010: the office

Friday is the holy day for Muslims. As a result, the Arabic weekend is different from the American weekend. Friday and Saturday are considered the weekend here in Sharjah instead of Saturday and Sunday. My employer and most businesses are closed on Friday and usually open half a day on Saturday.

While the offshore base is closed on Fridays, Captain Scott and the Haida team are hard at work. Friday is a great time to get work accomplished in the Port because it is practically void of other workers. While Haida is in drydock, Fridays will be a time of renewal and cleaning in preparation for the coming week's tasks. (How's that for a holy day?)

Today, Scott and I went into the Sharjah office to do some drawings and reports. While I worked on a misting system arrangement, Scott took George over to Al Jadaf to check on Haida and the watch crew. I took advantage of the quiet office to take some pictures.

The front door to the M/Y Haida project office. This was the offshore company's first office in Sharjah before moving next door.

I acquired the old project manager's office. Copies of Haida's plans from the 1940s are kept in the chart cabinet on the left.

It wouldn't be the Arabian Gulf without oil platforms. These rigs are at Port Khalid for repair. The closest rig was towed all the way from

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Posted in: haida,oil platforms,work photos

January 14, 2010: Al Jadaf

Wake up, America! Let's see some real shipbuilding and repair.

That was my first thought when we drove into Al Jadaf yesterday. Al Jadaf is aptly called the World's Shipyard, and while a lot of "world's (superlative here)" titles are UAE hyperbole, this facility is beyond impressive. The yard has two synchro-lift tables and a side transfer line that enables multiple ships to be blocked up at a time. Photography is not allowed in the shipyard, but some pictures of Haida and an Arabic dhow may appear in this entry later today. (Edit: The dhow now appears beleow. The Haida pictures from today weren't all that interesting.)

A dhow undergoing extensive refitting. These things are built to last.

The work ethic of the laborers is truly inspiring. They work. All day. In the strong, Arabian sun. Take only a few breaks. No complaining. They have a sense of pride in their work. /soapbox

Haida arrived at Al Jadaf in the Dubai Creek Wednesday afternoon. We're waiting in line to get hauled out. As I've mentioned before, the yacht has not been out of the water for 10 years now. (The naval architects and mariners reading the blog just twitched a little bit with me.) It's a steel vessel. Normally, we're concerned more with performance-affecting marine growth, but when she comes out tomorrow (or the next day... or sometime soon) the first priority will be conducting ultrasonic testing of the hull plating. There will be wastage, and hopefully it will not exceed the ABS requirements.

Work is proceeding well. I have work trips planned for Abu Dhabi to meet with ABS surveyors for one of the offshore supply vessels, a meeting with some of the local marine engineers, time spent at Goltens at Al Jadaf working with their engineers for the Haida project, and probably several other ventures that I don't even know about yet.

Who said this job was just photocopying and scanning?

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Posted in: al jadaf,dhow,work photos

January 13, 2010: haida

My work with the Haida (HI-duh) project is both interesting and slightly sad. The yacht was beautiful in its day. Haida was built for Major Max Fleischmann in 1946. At the time, it was the largest pleasure yacht ever built, with an overall length of 168 feet. Major Fleischmann built 22 yachts over his lifetime; Haida was "America's Oustanding Seagoing Diesel Yacht."

The owner of the offshore company acquired Haida in 1999 from Malaysia. The vessel was towed to the Arabian Gulf and Port Khalid in Sharjah. Since her acquisition, a lengthy restoration and retrofitting project has progressed, albeit slowly. The yacht's captain has overseen the work for the last 10 years. He has been instrumental in maintaining the aesthetics and beauty of the vessel. The project team has been open to many questions, but one topic is strictly off-limits: the timeline. The captain said today that two years ago he thought he was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Today, he doesn't see the light anymore.

That's a pretty big statement considering that Haida left Port Khalid today for a drydock in Dubai. She was beautiful even under tow and in her mothballed state. This will be the first time Haida has been grounded since she was acquired 10 years ago. You can expect her bottom to be in a disgraceful state -- 10 years of warm, Arabian Gulf waters will have cultured marine growth and corrosion like no other. I'll be going on location to photograph the docking.

In the meantime, here are two pictures of Haida leaving Port Khalid this morning. The first picture was right in front of the berth. The second picture (now my desktop wallpaper - I'll be emailing it to a marine engineering professor this evening, too) was taken through the manmade rift-raft (edit: rip rap) that protects the port from erosion.

The tow is set for Haida near her berth in Port Khalid.

Haida through the rip rap as she leaves Port Khalid for Dubai.

I hope to take more pictures tomorrow of the port and the offshore supply vessels. Aside from the opportunity to take these pictures, I've also been working on schematics of the HVAC system's chilled water circuit. It appears that a lot of my job will be redrawing the old prints into AutoCAD for updating and submitting to ABS.

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Posted in: haida,haida photos,work photos