Marine engineering: Beyond our shores

Malta's strategic position at the centre of the Mediterranean has always meant that our long and illustrious history has been inextricably linked to the evolution of the maritime industry and to those sectors which depended on this industry. Our shores and harbours played a significant role in the economic, military and cultural history of the Mediterranean.

Although marine engineering is probably one of the oldest established fields of engineering locally, and Malta is considered to be a maritime nation, the Chamber of Engineers felt that the engineering profession could benefit through a sharper focus on the diverse engineering applications that constitute this sector.

Our initiative met with strong support and this is reflected in the wide variety of topics being presented at the conference.

Malta's history as a maritime nation provides the foundation for today's success stories in a number of areas in the maritime field.

Malta is today one of the leading countries for ship registration, our cruise liner terminal is possibly the most spectacular in the Mediterranean and a berthing place in our marinas is definitely sought after. Our coastline provides a number of natural ports that have always been one of the main features of our islands. We felt it fitting to commence the conference with a historical background of the Grand Harbour, which will be presented by a leading maritime historian, Joseph Muscat.

The Grand Harbour is one of the focal points of our islands' history. Even today, it is still an important hub in the islands' transportation and tourism industries. The Malta Maritime Authority has recently invested in a ports and coastal traffic management information system for state-of-the-art surveillance of our coastal waters. Captain Richard Gabriele will be presenting a feature on this system.

An innovative approach to the maximisation of Malta's maritime position is that taken by Marsec-XL. This is a marine software engineering cluster of excellence for the yachting sector. Marsec-XL has been set up locally with international support and the chief executive officer, Geir Fagerhus, will be updating the conference on the future of yachting business from this perspective.

Gorka Salsidua Urrueala will draw attention to the environmental advantages of the latest technology for energy saving in shipping through the use of technologically-advanced hull coatings. Although shipping is intrinsically an energy efficient mode of transport, the expanding fleet of the global shipping industry offers an excellent potential for fuel saving.

Dynamic positioning is the technology used to keep marine vessels in place where conventional methods such as anchors cannot be used. Daniel Endersby, from the Dynamic Positioning Centre, will be delivering a presentation on the technical solutions that are used by a dynamic positioning system to suit different applications and environment conditions.

Dominic Hudson from the School of Engineering Sciences at the University of Southampton is a lecturer in ship science degree programmes and has research interests in ship propulsion, sea-keeping and manoeuvring of high speed craft.

Dramatic improvements in craft performance in recent years have led to the human element becoming the limiting factor for high speed operation. Dr Hudson will highlight the analysis required when designing high speed craft from a human factor perspective.

It is quite fitting when one considers Malta's maritime status that the first Maltese EU Commissioner, Joe Borg, was entrusted with the responsibility for fisheries and maritime affairs. Dr Borg was appointed EU Commissioner in 2004 shortly after Malta's accession to the EU. He is responsible for the implementation of the new EU integrated maritime policy in Europe's three main maritime regions.

Another local speaker is Duncan Camilleri from the University of Malta. Dr Camilleri has followed research studies in welding technology and this forms the basis of modern shipbuilding methods. This presentation focuses on the latest techniques in the design and manufacturing processes for large thin-plate structures.

Since engineering in Malta and marine engineering in particular can be traced back several hundred years to the dockyard in the Grand Harbour, it is a common misconception to think that marine engineering in Malta is limited to the traditional ship repair role that is associated with Malta Drydocks.

The chief executive officer of Malta Shipyards will outline the developments that have taken place in the local ship repair industry and the diversification achieved in this sector.

Alistair Greig from the University College London will be presenting a study on perhaps a lesser known environmental effect of marine transportation. The transfer of ballast water on vessels from one port to another takes with it sediment and marine organisms.

This is today identified as one of the major contributors to the introduction of non indigenous species. This invasion has been recognised as a major threat to marine ecology and a problem of global importance.

Dr Greig's presentation outlines the technical background to a better understanding of this phenomenon and recommends better flushing practices proven to minimise this hazard.

Another environmentally related presentation will be delivered by the director of Rempec, Frederic Hebert. Rempec is the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea and, appropriately, this is based in Malta.

The Mediterranean is often cited as one of the world's seas with the highest risk of marine pollution and this presentation will outline the international and regional cooperation procedures for prevention and response to marine pollution.

The conference should provide a venue to identify the diverse technologies and developments that form part of the local and international marine engineering sector. The Chamber of Engineers is confident that the conference will continue to establish the fact that marine engineering in Malta is a vibrant industry with excellent potential for continued growth.

Ing. Abela is conference chairman and the treasurer of the Chamber of Engineers.