Ship and fleet operating efficiencies are multifaceted and interdependent. As such, efficiency management must involve an integrated solution that extends across the entire operation of the fleet. No single metric can be used to indicate success or failure of improving overall efficiency. Rather, a comparative analysis of multiple metrics is required. Furthermore, to be viable, efficiency management must accommodate operating priorities, goals, and constraints. Technology to save fuel and reduce carbon footprint is only useful if critical mission objectives are also met. Most ships can reduce fuel consumption simply by slowing down, albeit at the expense of increased passage duration. Tactical objectives that require fast transit times or reliable just-in-time arrival may justify the associated increase in fuel consumption. Ship operators fulfilling those objectives must look for ways other than slow steaming to improve energy efficiency, including, for example, deployment optimization, smart voyage planning, and onboard energy management. Other key metrics associated with operating efficiency include health and safety of crew and cargo, ship life cycle costs, and unscheduled time in port. Through strategic application of multiple efficiency management tools, these costs may be maintained or reduced while supporting the operational objectives and constraints of ship, fleet, and operator. All of these aspects of ship and fleet operating efficiency may be quantitatively compared to previous baselines using objective benchmarking methodologies.
Moored buoys have long served national interests, but incur high development, construction, installation, and maintenance costs. Buoys which drift off-location can pose hazards to mariners, and in coastal waters may cause environmental damage. Moreover, retrieval, repair and replacement of drifting buoys may be delayed when data would be most useful. Such gaps in coastal buoy data can pose a threat to national security by reducing maritime domain awareness. The concept of self-positioning buoys has been advanced to reduce installation cost by eliminating mooring hardware. We here describe technology for operation of reduced cost self-positioning buoys which can be used in coastal or oceanic waters. The ASC SCOUT model is based on a selfpropelled, GPS-positioned, autonomous surface craft that can be pre-programmed, autonomous, or directed in real time. Each vessel can communicate wirelessly with deployment vessels and other similar buoys directly or via satellite. Engineering options for short or longer term power requirements are considered, in addition to future options for improved energy delivery systems. Methods of reducing buoy drift and positionmaintaining energy requirements for self-locating buoys are also discussed, based on the potential of incorporating traditional maritime solutions to these problems. We here include discussion of the advanced Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) communications draft protocol which offers improved wireless communication capabilities underwater, to adjacent vessels, and to satellites. DTN is particularly adapted for noisy or loss-prone environments, thus it improves reliability. In addition to existing buoy communication via commercial satellites, a growing network of small satellites known as PICOSATs can be readily adapted to provide low-cost communications nodes for buoys. Coordination with planned vessel Automated Identification Systems (AIS) and International Maritime Organization standards for buoy and vessel notification systems are reviewed and the legal framework for deployment of autonomous surface vessels is considered.
An underwater remotely operated vehicle was designed to enter a solution-mined cavern in the Clovelly salt dome in southern Louisiana to survey the condition of its interior, take core samples, and restore its structural integrity using a new gel technology. Preliminary experiments were conducted to determine the operating environment inside the cavern. The resulting vehicle system was deployed inside the cavern, and completed the first phase of operations, including survey, sample collection, and distribution of gel.
The Galileo spacecraft has sent back tantalizing image data hinting at a vast ocean beneath a thick ice crust on Europa, one of Jupiter's moons which is about the size of our moon. NASA plans to establish definitively whether this ocean exists with the Europa Orbiter mission to be launched in 2003. Should the Europa ocean be a reality, and this looks quite likely, it will mean that another planet besides Earth has an old, deep, salty ocean; the consequences of such an ocean are profound, and there are good reasons to be prepared to take the next step, an in-situ examination of this ocean. A deep subsurface in-situ study of another planetary body has never been attempted, and the challenges are considerable. In this paper we address the technology to be developed to be ready for this exciting mission, and we seek to initiate the exchanges needed between the marine technology and space exploration communities.
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