A Royal Household Warrant has been granted to All Leisure Holidays Ltd, owners of the Andrew Weir managed vessel Hebridean Princess.

Daniel Taylor from Andrew Weir Yacht Management commented “we are delighted with this news and pass our congratulations to the ship’s crew and shore staff at Hebridean Island Cruises and All Leisure Group. As Andrew Weir have been the technical managers for the vessel since 2006, we are pleased that our contributions have assisted in making the award of the Royal Warrant happen”

The vessel operates under the company’s SMS and ISPS system. In additional, Andrew Weir provide technical services, including the supervision and planning of the yearly refit period as well as purchasing and maintenance management.

Royal Warrants are a mark of recognition to individuals or companies who have supplied goods or services for at least five years to HM The Queen, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh or HRH the Prince of Wales.

The personal warrant holder, All Leisure Executive Chairman Roger Allard said: “This is a great compliment to the ship’s company and all the staff ashore. I think I am right in saying that this is the first time a Royal Warrant has been awarded to a shipping company and I am sure that all sister companies within the All Leisure Group will be proud to receive this news.
The company can now display the relevant Royal Arms and “By Appointment” on their products, premises, stationery and advertising.

Andrew Weir Yacht Management have pleasure in announcing that they will once again be organising the transportation of yachts and arranging berths for the competitors of the 2012 Governor’s Cup.

The Governor’s Cup is a one-way handicap race between Cape Town and St. Helena held every two years, which is open to yachts of any size. The race begins in Cape Town on Saturday 22nd December and while being a chase across the South Atlantic, the accent is on fun and camaraderie and once the destination has been reached, the competitors can enjoy an experience-filled stay on this rugged and beautiful island.

Some yachts choose to continue their cruise to other destinations but the beauty of this race is that the rest of the sailors have a choice – either sail back to the Cape or return reclining in the comfort of a deckchair sipping cocktails on board the affordable, yet luxurious 7000 ton passenger/cargo ship, the RMS St. Helena.

“Andrew Weir is the only shipping company who can arrange transport for yachts to and from St Helena itself, which can be arranged in both our London and Cape Town offices. Our Cape Town office manager Claude Amman skippered the winning entry in the 2006 Governor’s Cup, which was made up of crew members from the RMS St Helena. So we have direct experience of the race itself!” commented Daniel Taylor of Andrew Weir Yacht Management.

Entries ranged from serious racing boats to cruising boats crewed by families and friends.

What makes the race unique is that families and supporters of the sailors can enjoy a trip to the island on the RMS St Helena, meet up with the contestants, have a fascinating holiday and then all return home on the RMS St. Helena – with the yacht on board as well!

Those passengers lucky enough to be return on the RMS St.Helena will experience a nautical Christmas on board the ship with The RMS is due back in Cape Town on Wednesday 16th January 2013.

For further information on the RMS St Helena, please visit their website: www.rms-st-helena.com

With subjects as diverse as, Global economic outlook-Euro zone versus the world, The new shipping order and how shipping companies and shipping banks have to adjust to stay ahead to Public or private in a market downturn this, one day event, has become one of the most important ship finance forums today.

Andrew Weir Yacht Managements “Managing Director””, Stephen Corkhill will be part of the discussion panel entitled “Public or private in a market downturn” and will be discussing issues including:

• Transparency may not be the best route in a down market?
• Funding options and investment strategies?
• Is going public likely to be a viable option for private companies over the next year?
• Is London a viable home for a listed shipping company?

“I am delighted to be part of this forum and looking forward to discussing various key issues that are prevalent in today’s shipping industry” said Corkhill.

Stephen began his maritime career in 1972 when he joined P&O Containers as an engineering cadet. After working his way through all engineering ranks he joined Andrew Weir in 1997 as fleet manager. Today he is MD of Andrew Weir Yacht Management and a member of the Lloyd’s Register and Bureau Veritas technical and insurance committees.

Marine Money International hosts the industry’s most important ship finance forums. Whether held in New York, London, Athens, Singapore, Oslo or anywhere else in the world where the formation of capital for shipping is taking place, Their conferences are the most educational, and offer the best networking opportunities available in the industry.

Lloyd’s Register Product Specialist Baothang San and Senior Surveyor Joseph Morelos look at power sources of the future.

Fuel cell technology has been proposed as an efficient and clean alternative to a ship’s internal combustion engine. While promising to revolutionize marine power generation in the longer term, the relative immaturity of the technology currently makes it unsuitable for the provision of power on large seagoing vessels.

However this is not necessarily the case for niche markets such as yachts. Development, primarily in the automotive industry, has delivered commercially viable fuel cell generators with very competitive power density in the 50KWe to 300kWe range. Trials on low temperature fuel cell technologies, such as Proton Membrane Exchange (PME) fuel cells, have demonstrated a capability of up to 300 kWe, and power densities of 1.6 kW/l (or 0.94 kW/kg) which could be sufficient to propel a small cruising yacht or to provide auxiliary power for yachts up to 50-60 metres long.

If we look forward 10 years, commercially viable fuel cell products can be expected to generate megawatt-strength power… For vessels which spend significant operating time in port or coastal areas, fuel cell power will be available for providing auxiliary services for most types of yacht.

Environmentally, fuel cell technology is arguably one of the best ways to achieve a sustainable form of marine power. The ability to convert chemical energy into electricity without combustion enables fuel cells to reach a very high electrical efficiency potentially. Additionally, depending on the type of fuel being used, the exhaust from fuel cell generators is much cleaner than that from combustion engines and, when the fuel is hydrogen, emission-free. This feature will favor the tendency for yachts to operate inshore and in demanding emission control areas.

As well as high efficiency and low emissions, demanding yacht owners might also be attracted by factors like low noise and vibration. Fuel cells are both quiet and vibration-free as they are essentially solid state with few moving parts – a real asset that allows passengers to appreciate the beauty of their surroundings. The fuel cell’s direct current output also allows for easy integration with other environmentally friendly power generation options such as solar panels and battery systems.

There are several alternatives to hydrogen-powered fuel and fuel cells. One example is methanol and methane. Lloyd’s Register has recently proved the feasibility of using these two as fuel for fuel cells. The bunkering prices for methanol and methane are also very competitive compared with diesel fuel in some ports in the Nordic area.

Another member of the clean fuel family is LNG. A growing number of commercial ship-owners are seriously considering switching to comply with Emission Control Areas (ECAs) and the capping of sulfur limits on fuel oils by 2015 and also to lower their consumption costs. Using LNG might appeal to yacht owners as vessels often operate in environmentally sensitive areas.
Using LNG as fuel would mean drastically reduced emissions, less engine maintenance and cleaner machinery space and yachts would need smaller sludge tanks and fuel oil auxiliary systems. However bunkering could be difficult both internally and externally.

There are currently no bunkering facilities for yachts and they would need specially tailored facilities to cope with their different sizes and capacities. Vessels would also need their own onboard bunkering arrangements. Specially adapted fuel tanks would need to be fitted which could pose space problems and the tanks would have to be separated from the accommodation areas.

Though the prospects for yachts powered by LNG will partly depend on the yacht industry’s perception of the safety issues associated with LNG, the development of LNG-powered passenger ships such as Viking Line’s giant ferry, due for delivery in 2013, will help the industry scale down the technology for yachts.

Keeping the noise down

It is the comfort of a quiet, smoothly-performing vessel that today’s yacht owners and their onboard guests really want. Advanced design features, cutting-edge gadgetry and glamorous interiors all add to the sheer pleasure and luxury of life aboard a yacht. However all this can be spoilt by a noisy or unstable vessel. Lars Lauridsen, Marine Business Manager of Lloyd’s Register ODS, explains.

“Stringent attention must be paid to noise and vibration control on yachts. Quiet propellers and thrusters and efficient elastic-mounted systems are key priorities for today’s yacht designers, yacht builders and owners” he says.

One of the neatest ways to achieve this is to apply Lloyd’s Register’s Provisional Rules for Passenger and Crew Accommodation Comfort (PCAC). “The PCAC rules give owners and yacht builders a template for achieving acceptable noise and vibration levels in all areas including a yacht’s corridors and open decks. In fact the specified maximum noise and vibration levels for yacht owners are a great deal lower than the IMO recommended noise level requirements” he says.

Another safeguard for owners and shipyards is to appoint a noise and vibration specialist to oversee the installation of the engines and supporting machinery during new build yacht projects, says the Lloyd’s Register consultant.

Zero tolerance

More and more owners and shipyards are adopting a zero tolerance approach to noise with a blanket ban on all types of noise whether from heating, ventilating and air-conditioning units (HVAC), rowdy individuals, pure tones or intermittent machinery.

• Detailed specifications and plans are produced for sound insulation between cabins and to help deaden the impact of noise from people walking in the corridors or doing fitness exercises on deck.
• Comprehensive test programmes are often included in building specifications, and potential cabin noise is sometimes tested in an acoustic laboratory before the cabins are installed. For machinery equipment, a factory acceptance test (FAT) covers the measurement of sound levels and the isolation properties of resilient mounts – if applicable.
• Similar test programmes are typically applied post-installation and at the original sea trial to validate and confirm the actual sound insulation properties as well as noise and vibration levels throughout the vessel.

Here are two tables of noise-reduction sources and measures:

2011 saw the first of a collaboration between one of the leading Superyacht Titles, Superyacht Business and Andrew Weir.

The State of the Industry Review 2011 was held in central London on Thursday, 15th September attracted more than 80 industry delegates and sparked a number of lively debates.
 Co-hosted by Superyacht Business and Andrew Weir Yacht Management, the event opened with Blohm Voss’s sales manager, Isabelle Huet, giving an incisive presentation on the future of the refit sector. The audience of Superyacht experts and wealth management specialists then opened up some animated exchanges with the next two speakers — Mark Feltham, executive director of superyachts at Willis Insurance and Jim Barclay of Lloyd’s Register.

Mark Feltham was cross-examined about insurance clauses imposed by yards and Jim Barclay was questioned thoroughly about the ways in which new Port State Control regulations will affect all areas of Superyacht management.

The final presentation from the Superyacht Business legal columnist Justin Turner, head of Superyacht practice at London law firm Curtis Davis Garrard, brought proceedings to a conclusion after which delegates enjoyed wine and food on the terrace of IPC Media’s HQ building overlooking the River Thames and City of London. The event was hailed a success and we are now working on several dates and subject matter for 2012.

As the year moved forward, at a pace, Andrew Weir Yacht Management decided to sponsor The Captains Hideout at this Year’s Monaco Yacht Show. With bags packed and branded goodies at the ready the staff headed off to this famous yacht show. The aim was to get the company in front of Captains and senior crew during the 4 days of the Hideout. Whilst within the show pre-arranged meetings took place with owners and their representatives. As a result of this Andrew Weir Yacht Management concluded a number of business deals, which we will reveal in the next newsletter.

“We attended Monaco in 2010 and found that the industry knew very little of our extensive history, however at Monaco this year, after a major marketing and PR campaign, Captains and Owners are coming to us for advise on all their issues with yacht management” said Steve Corkhill (MD) “We very much look forward to Monaco in 2012″ added Corkhill.

As a part of the package of services offered with Andrew Weir’s involvement with the RMS St. Helena, supply of bunkers was recently arranged for the call of the explorer cruise ship National Geographic Explorer to St. Helena Island in the South Atlantic. Working in partnership with local agents Solomon & Co, MDO fuel was supplied to the vessel by barge while she was anchored off Jamestown.

Yacht owners and Captains are beginning to venture further afield in search of new destinations and places to visit, especially with a well-documented increase in piracy along certain, more well established superyacht routes. Andrew Weir Yacht Management is able to advise and provide local contacts for yachts wishing to visit St. Helena and Ascension Islands. In addition, AWYM is an ATOL registered agent, able to book seats on RAF flights from RAF Brize Norton to Wideawake Airfield on Ascension.

Working at sea is one of the most challenging jobs in the UK, and the time spent offshore means it can be a problem getting treatment for the work-related injuries many experience. This has prompted the Seamen’s Hospital Society (SHS) to fund free physiotherapy for merchant navy ratings across the country.

SHS is promoting easy-to-access physiotherapy treatment for serving merchant navy ratings and superyacht crew who are UK residents and have served more than 3 years consecutive service. This follows the success of several pilot projects set up by SHS to promote physiotherapy services to fishermen in Newlyn, Kilkeel, Brixham and Peterhead.

Peter Coulson, SHS General Secretary, explained: “The original pilot for fishermen in Newlyn highlighted that by raising awareness of the benefits of physiotherapy treatment, and making a service accessible, we can improve the health and wellbeing of those working at sea. Physiotherapy has already helped more than 100 Newlyn fishermen and we now want to help merchant seafarers as well.”

The new physiotherapy service is being run by Connect Physical Health on behalf of the Seamen’s Hospital Society. All merchant navy ratings and superyacht crew need to do is ring 0191 247 5000 and arrange to speak to a chartered physiotherapist. Any treatment required will be provided locally.

Merchant seafarers and superyacht crew can experience considerable physical problems doing their work. A recent questionnaire found that 20% of merchant seafarers reported a recent back or neck injury and an additional 13% had suffered a back or neck injury that was bad enough to prevent them from working SHS Health Development Manager, Sally Hampshire, said: “Because seafarers spend so much time at sea it’s difficult for them to get help from the usual sources in normal working hours. That’s why the Society is funding private physiotherapy for merchant seafarers; it’s fast, flexible and responsive to their needs.”

SHS is working in partnership with the Unions and employers to publicise the scheme to all UK merchant navy ratings. Together they hope to raise awareness of the health needs of seafarers across the country, and show that physiotherapy treatment can help them at work and in their everyday lives. RMT National Secretary Steve Todd said: “This is a positive move which is very much welcomed by RMT. It will lessen the financial loss for seafarers and enable them to get back to sea quicker than would have been the case without access to these specialist services”.

For further information contact Sally Hampshire on 020 8858 3696.

Entitled “Building on an historic success,” Steve Corkhill talks to Michael Verdon of Superyacht Business.

From understanding the market place to managing suppliers it is an invaluable read and a true insight into the world of yacht management, enjoy!

Click here to download the full feature (pdf)