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4 TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AD APPLICATION IN THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES This chapter presents an overview of technology development and application in the maritime industries in recent years and identifies the roles of industry and government in these endeavors. It addresses the forces that are driving developments, the key developments, the organizational infrastructure that produced the developments, and additional needs of the industry. The sources of information for this overview were background papers on the state of technology development and application in each of the four economic sectors being addressed--(l) shipbuilding, (2) ship operating, (3) marine terminal operations, and (4) inland waterway operations. The papers were developed by experts from each of the industry sectors (see Appendix B). The definition of technology development and application in those papers and in this interim report is broad, as has been explained. It encompasses development and commercial application of changes in hardware, operating methods, information systems, and management systems. This broad definition was adopted because it encompasses the types of engineering and operating advances that appear to be important in the maritime industries. The framework for this chapter is to examine, for each of the four industry sectors, the economic issues and driving forces in the sector, then to identify key technology accomplishments and their benefits, the infrastructure for accomplishment (i.e., how and by whom the work was conducted and implemented), and finally to assess remaining needs and opportunities. U. S. SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY A paucity of merchant shipbuilding and ship repair work is hastening a contraction of the U.S. shipbuilding industry. Even expanded Navy ship acquisition programs require less than the industry's capacity. Shipyard employment, with several exceptions, is down, and several yards have closed. Intense competition for a limited market has resulted. On a global scale, an increasing number of shipbuilders are chasing a decreasing volume of commercial shipbuilding work. In many instances, foreign 15
~6 governments are making available varied forms of direct and indirect subsidies, as well as liberal credit terms, which enable their shipbuilders to offer favorable prices. The United States is not of the same disposition. U.S. shipbuilders have not, in modern times, competed in the world market for many reasons. These reasons include disparities of costs of labor, lower productivity, unfavorable foreign exchange rates, stricter laws affecting employment and ship design, separation of design and production segments of the industry, and a lack of support by the U.S. government to the extent that other governments support their shipbuilding industries. Furthermore, the federal government has not provided direct subsidies for commercial ship construction since 1981. The scarcity of merchant ship work has made shipbuilding, conversion, and repair for the U.S. Navy increasingly important to American shipyards. To this end, a 600-ship Navy that includes 15 carrier battle groups, nuclear submarines, and greater amphibious assault capabilities will be reached by 1990. Most of the ship construction contracts to achieve that objective have been placed. The majority of this work is being undertaken in a handful of shipyards. Four shipbuilders employ approximately 70 percent of the total new construction work force. The industry has made significant advances in shipbuilding productivity through technology advancements and better management in the design, planning, and production processes, in part as a result of the competitive award of naval shipbuilding contracts with incentives to minimize cost. The MarAd R&D program facilitated the introduction and application of technology advances in U.S. shipyards. A Navy survey found that many defense contractors will modernize their facilities when contractual incentives and long-term market stability provide a viable base for business investment. Absent these conditions, naval shipbuilders will seek direct government funding for plant modernization. Since 1983, as a consequence of improved shipyard productivity and lower-than-estimated inflation, some shipyards have been able to deliver ships ahead of schedule and under budget. The casts of some naval ship construction programs have dropped by as much as 34 percent. These savings have been achieved through combinations of facilities improvements, changes in labor/management attitudes, production management systems, advances in construction techniques, and wider use of computer systems in design and production. The shipbuilders themselves have identified and created these opportunities for improved productivity; the necessary investments have come from the shipbuilders with contractual incentives from the Navy. During 1981, the Navy funded six top-down self-assessment surveys with leading shipbuilders to identify what technologies would improve naval shipbuilding productivity. Shipbuilders submitted technology proposals directed toward improved manufacturing techniques' processes, or machinery. The outcome of the survey revealed that the shipbuilders were extremely conservative in their approach to
17 technology development because barely 6 percent of the 160 technology proposals required production technologies whose feasibility had been proven only under laboratory conditions. The remaining 94 percent of technology proposals mainly called for technology transfer from other shipyards or industries, which could be implemented with minimum risk and delay. While conservatism with respect to introducing new production technologies in a shipyard environment was evident, considerable production gains have been achieved by the shipbuilders. Some have acted independently, responding to the incentives created by the naval Ship acquisition programs; some have obtained direct government funding of advances under the Manufacturing Technology Program of the U.S. Department of Defense; all have benefited from the collaborative National Shipbuilding Research Program. The National Shipbuilding Research Program is a cooperative venture between the shipbuilding industry and MarAd. It provides financing and management of research projects to improve the productivity of U.S. shipyards and their competitiveness in the world shipbuilding market. The program, initiated in 1971, is financed by both industry and government and provides for industry involvement in technical management and execution through involvement of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers' Ship Production Committee (SPC). The SPC collaborates with MarAd in the management of the program, especially to set program priorities, assign responsibilities for projects, provide technical direction, and assist in demonstrating program results. Panels of the SPC work to exchange technical information, identify new problems and recommend opportunities for R&D, oversee ongoing projects, and demonstrate completed work. The costs of research projects are shared by the lead shipyard and the government, often on a fifty-fifty basis. Two developments in shipbuilding technology have great potential and should be advanced by the Navy, shipbuilders, and suppliers. They are integration of engineering and production to support zone-oriented, modular ship construction and the use of computers in shipbuilding. Shipbuilders, suppliers, and the Navy are introducing computers in the three fundamental areas of their operations: design, manufacture, and production management. Yet, shipbuilders' systems are, in general, considerably behind the state of the art. Because the Navy is the major shipbuilding customer in the United States, it has the obligation to initiate industry-wide innovations that will lead to significant communication and productivity improvements, leaving selection and implementation of computer systems to the shipbuilders and suppliers themselves. The traditional, adversary relationship between management and labor hinders technology development and application in the shipbuilding industry. Personnel are the most important resource in the ship development and production process, yet until quite recently management and organized labor have shown little interest in working together as an integrated team. Important issues to be resolved in order to maximize efficiency of the shipbuilding process include
~8 work rule flexibility, cross-craft training and assignment, automation of the shipbuilding process, and employee involvement. The National Shipbuilding Research Program has recently initiated a Human Resources Innovation Program to address these important issues. In summary, technology developments in the shipbuilding industry focus on manufacturing and production improvements aimed at productivity gains and reduced costs. Considerable progress has been made in the last ~ years in reducing the labor hours in shipbuilding. Navy shipbuilding programs have been the primary drivers for these advances, which have been accomplished by the shipyards. The collaborative industry-government National Shipbuilding Research Program, administered by the MarAd, has served as a principal driving force to plan, organize, and manage this R&D. The program has facilitated technology transfer in this arena, and has funded supporting research and development. In view of its current role as the most direct beneficiary of improvements to the shipbuilding process, the U.S. Navy would benefit from having within its organization a central focus for collaborating with the shipbuilding industry and with the MarAd on developing and implementing process technology. A shipbuilding technology division was recently established at DTNSRDC, which could fill this role. U. S. SHIP OPERATING INDUSTRY As the largest international trading nation, the U.S. presents an immense market for U.S. and foreign ship operating companies . Most U.S.-flag operators have not been cost competitive, but this has not prevented vigorous participation by U.S. operators in the liner trades. This participation was made possible in the l950s, 1960s, and 1970s by the government's subsidy programs but increasingly in recent years by application of U.S.-developed container technology and intermodal systems. The U.S. shipping industry includes general cargo and bulk cargo segments. The general cargo sector includes several aggressive containership operators competing successfully for international cargo. The major East/West liner trade routes are served by modern, large to ultra-large container ships supported by foreign-flag feeder ships and an expanding U.S. and worldwide intermodal network operating under increasingly sophisticated control systems. The general cargo trade protected by the Jones Act is served mostly by older container ships operating in coastwise trade and to Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Alaska. The trade also supports a few highly competitive, modern coastwise integrated tug barge systems also operating to both Alaska and Puerto Rico. The U.S.-flag bulk carrier segment comprises mainly older vessels carrying petroleum, grain, and dry bulk cargoes in the cabotage and Jones Act restricted trades. Few U.S.-flag vessels are operating competitively in the international bulk trades. Most of the vessels operating in foreign trade are subsisting on government-aid cargoes. They are generally old by world standards and require freight rates
19 more than double the world scale, even after subsidy, because of high labor and other costs. Technology developments in the ship operating industry will be discussed in three areas: (1) containerization, (2) effective manning, and (3) management and control. Containerization . The transition to containers in liner shipping has transformed ship and port design and operations as well as the economics of ocean shipping. Rapid growth in containerization and intermodalism in the 1970s and 1980s was made possible by several key technology innovations. These included changes in ship configuration, cargo handling equipment, terminals, and rail cars as well as new marketing, operating, and management systems. The most modern containerships can carry in excess of 4,000 20-foot containers. They are powered by fuel-efficient, slow-speed diesel engines, and have hull forms that minimize resistance and reduce construction costs. Increasing use of automation and restructuring of shipboard work is allowing crew sizes to be reduced. Both rail and ocean carriers have caused the development and implementation of innovations such as · Lightweight, articulated rail cars designed to carry double-stacked containers. Automated information systems for processing and shipping data between carriers, shippers, terminals, and third parties. At ports and terminals, developments have been directed toward more rapid and efficient transfer of larger unit loads between ocean carriers and land carriers. The container revolution and the evolving intermodal transportation systems are the result not only of technology development; as, or more, important have been the creativity and willingness of managers to take major capital investment risks to gain a competitive advantage. Thus, developments were driven by commercial incentives to increase productivity of physical assets and human resources and "to be able to offer better service than competitors. There has been only modest industry-wide or cooperative research and development in this arena, nor has there been an infrastructure to lead such work. This is hardly surprising considering the highly competitive nature of the U.S. industry and the minimal history of cooperative research in the maritime industry. However, some collaboration motivated by necessity has occurred; examples include the standardization of container sizes and lift points. More recently, MarAd has sponsored a Cargo-Handling Cooperative Program (CHOP) modeled after the National Shipbuilding Research Program. Under the CHOP, U.S. liner operators, which also operate marine terminals, are investigating technologies needed by all, such as systems for automatic identification of containers. Significant
20 advances are being achieved through this cooperative industry- government program. Effect iVQ Manning At the present time, manning levels for new large oceangoing container ships and single-product tankers are generally in the 18- to 22-person range. Ten to fifteen years ago the manning levels for comparable vessels were in the 30 to 3S range. In some instances, the reductions have been achieved without significant planning; in other cases, there has been considerable joint experimentation and negotiation by management, labor, ship, and shore personnel. Manning changes require innovations in operating practices and hardware--engine, deck, bridge, food service, and other equipment--as well as fleet management practices. In reducing manning, it is also necessary to address human factors elements, such as the effects of isolation on worker performance and safety. Most of the effective manning advances to date were developed and applied first by foreign ship operators, often as the result of collaborative national programs. In addition to the technology development required for more effective manning, organizational changes are required based on work redesign. Work redesign refers to deliberate efforts to modify the organization of shipboard work. This might include structural changes such as new billets, new management practices, and revised union work rules. Research to identify the-educational and training needs of present-day and future seafarers is needed. One important work organization change has been that of intradepartmental flexibility in which individuals take on more responsibilities within their own departments, e.g., steward/cook, cook/baker, and electrician/reefer/junior engineer. Crew continuity, a potentially important manning innovation, is very difficult to achieve in the U.S. merchant marine because of the current surplus of labor. Unions attempt to spread diminishing job opportunities among their members. Hardware innovations enabling further manning reductions have largely proceeded from foreign shipyards, frequently in association with nationally funded R&D efforts. Shipyards and governments wishing to continue the export of merchant ships are quite aware of customer interest in smallest-crew vessels. As the level of manning drops into the mid-teens, a need develops for significant further technology innovation in hull and machinery maintenance. In-the U.S. ship operating industry, the advances in effective manning are being achieved primarily within individual steamship companies working with their unions. Engineering design organizations have provided guidance on the availability of supporting hardware. Also, MarAd has performed an important catalyst role through sponsoring technology transfer, and facilitating joint labor- management approaches to problem solving.
21 Ship Management and Handling A number of ship management functions have been partially or fully automated through use of computers and satellite communication systems with a resulting positive effect on ship management methods and organization. Ship routing systems were introduced based on satellite weather information, accurate position measures, and onboard and shore-based computer systems that could determine the optimum course and speed for a ship to minimize its fuel consumption while achieving its desired arrival time within acceptable levels of probability. Ship routing systems used various weather and ship progress forecasting techniques. The U.S. Navy has been the principal sponsor of this technology development. Other important technological developments have been in the area of ship condition management. This refers to implementation of an optimum strategy for fuel and water consumption as a result of monitoring the tanks, stores, and positions of cargo; and computing ship stability, trim, draft, list, bending moment, and shear in near-real time. Further reductions in manning and auto-pilots controlled by a computer routing/collision avoidance system are expected applications. Other technological changes will probably include remote cargo and ship condition management whereby preprogrammed cargo loading/discharge and ship condition changes are performed without shipboard crew involvement. Research and development in ship management systems has been performed by commercial equipment suppliers and research firms. MarAd has been a principal sponsor of research in this area through its Fleet Management Technology Program, which has funded research, testing, and implementation work on weather routing, collision avoidance, and other management systems. Many technological advances are fallouts from developments in other areas such as space research, satellite systems, communications research, and automated data base Systems . Interest developed in the early 1970s in the interaction between safety in ship operations and ship handling. This was the result of a number of collisions, rammings, and groundings involving tankers and also vessels striking bridges. The primary sponsors of research on the safety of ship handling were the U.S. Coast Guard and MarAd with guidance from the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME). There has been a continuing it&D-effort directed at prediction and improvement in ship handling and controllability. This effort is at a very low funding level after a peak in the mid-1970s. For commercial transportation application MarAd was the major source of funds although these now are minimal. In selected cases, the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have also funded work. The Navy has also supported some basic work in ship controllability which can be applied to commercial vessels. Industrial funding has been very limited.
22 Ship/waterway interface technology concerns the prediction of ship performance in a particular harbor, channel, or waterway, and the determination of the effects of changes in the waterway on safety or operating efficiency. The driving force behind R&D in this area is harbor/waterway development and maintenance projects. Small changes in channel and turning basin dimensions can have very major cost and environmental impacts. The primary sponsors of research have been MarAd, the Corps of Engineers, and the Coast Guard. S NAME Panel H-10 has continued to provide guidance. The major tool in this research is the real time, man in the loop, ship handling simulator, of which MarAd's Computer-aided Operations Research Facility is the most advanced in the U.S. Implementation of research in this area has been quite rapid. It has become a standard procedure to use simulators to evaluate alternatives in port and waterway design. Decisions affecting the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars for port and waterway construction have been made on the basis of simulator studies. The shipbuilding and operating side of the industry with few exceptions has made little investment in ship handling research. The most notable exception has been oil company sponsorship of research associated with tanker maneuvering in shallow water in the late 1970s. Fleet management is another area of opportunity. However, the barriers to more effective technology development for the ship operating industry include lack of economic incentives and a weak R&D inErastructura. In summary, technology developments in the ship operating industry focus on implementation of containerization and intermodal systems, effective manning, and ship management and handling. Containerization, which revolutionized the liner segment of the industry, was developed primarily by operators investing in capital intensive ships and cargo handling equipment spurred by market and profit potential. The next revolution may be in effective manning, with operators and labor trying to catch up with a competitive advantage already achieved by foreign operators. MarAd has played an important supporting role in effective manning technology transfer and facilitation' and in ship management computer systems development. U.S. MARINE TERMINAL INDUSTRY Every coastal metropolitan region of the United States centers on a commercial port. The hubs of ports are marine terminals, which are complex networks of receiving, storing, and transporting facilities for cargo carried by ships. At marine terminals, cargo i s transferred between deep sea vessels, feeder vessels, and inland transportation modes. Deregulation on both the land and ocean side has changed Ebb competitive balance substantially. Each element in the transport chain--ocean carriers, inland carriers, and seaport marine terminals--must now stand alone in the shipper's evaluation of least system cost. Furthermore, under the rapidly growing intermodal
23 systems that are developing in the deregulated operating environment, a single carrier may be responsible for the entire routing from origin to destination. Consequently, where past port routing decisions were made on the basis of tradition and legal precedent (under outdated shipping laws), current routines are made on the basis of cost and service performance. In summary, only marine terminals in those ports that recognize the need to improve productivity will survive the competition heightened by deregulation. Advances in seaport marine terminal technology as well as channel depth, labor-management relations, equipment and facilities, management techniques and computer systems can improve terminal productivity. These areas are discussed next for general cargo terminals as well as bulk cargo terminals. Channel Depth The 40. to 45-foot deep channels at the major ports are adequate for virtually all of the largest ships in service or being constructed for the transport of general cargo. The extensive need for landside container storage space, however, has led to relocation of container terminals away from traditional "downtown" shipping centers to outlying areas of ports, necessitating either development of new access channels or deepening of relatively shallow secondary channels. The advantages inherent in the use of large vessels will probably impose pressures for further improvement of the main channels at major ports including the widening of channels for wide--beamed ships. Channel improvements under today's regulatory environment require resolution of technical problems associated with dredging. Better methods for dredging and removal of dredged materials with minimal adverse environmental impacts need to be developed. The technical basis needs to be developed to increase the utilization of dredged materials and to view them as a resource, as opposed to their current status as a waste material that needs to be disposed of. At estuarial ports, where significant salinity intrusion may result from deepening of a channel, methods have to be developed to prevent contamination of water supply systems that have intakes in the estuary. A means for protecting timber piles exposed by dredging to attack by marine borers must also be devised. Solutions to such technical problems are being sought by the dredging industry and port development organizations. A major physical constraint to increasing the depth and width of many ships is the limitation of navigation locks in the Panama Canal, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and on inland rivers. The construction of a sea-level canal across the Isthmus of Panama or, alternatively, new locks for accommodating large bulk carriers will, even if adopted, require over a decade to complete. Alternatives to waterway deepening include the offshore construction of terminals either of man-made platforms or islands in deep water. Another alternative is to serve exceptionally deep-draft
24 vessels at a limited number of ports, each within a major region of the nation. The use of wide-beamed ships and draft-assistance devices also would avoid the need for channel deepening. Both of these concepts could, however, still necessitate some dredging work. The principal federal organizations concerned with marine transport and channel works are MarAd, the Coast Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Several of these organizations sponsor R&D in advancing marine transport and port development. MarAd issues planning criteria for U.S. port development and funds studies on port siting' operating, and financing. It also aids the planning of port facilities and shipping operations by compiling statistics of the nationts waterborne commerce, and updating inventories of port facilities and vessel fleets. One of MarAd's thrusts in technology is its computer-aided operations research facility (CAORF). Located at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at King's Point, New York, CAORF simulates navigation operations for the planning of waterways. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducts a major part of the research on the technical and environmental issues involved in channels, bank protection, and flood control works. The Corps' Waterways Experiment Station at Vicksburg, Mississippi including its Coastal Engineering Research Center is among the few laboratories engaged in the study of hydraulic and sediment regimes, and other phenomena affecting channel development and shore protection. The Corps also conducts research on improvement of dredging equipment and operations. The EPA and other government agencies have compiled a significant body of knowledge on ways to mitigate the adverse impacts of port and channel projects on the environment. State and municipal agencies, port authorities, and consulting engineers conduct studies oriented primarily to solving technical problems for specific port projects. University researchers also make valuable contributions to understanding the physical phenomena affecting coastal, port, and offshore works. The main barriers to waterway improvements are a lack of funds and the complicated and time-consuming procedures for approval of waterway projects. Labor-Management Relations The application of technology to the operations of the marine terminal industry has had and continues to have a profound impact on the use of longshore labor as well as on labor-management relations within the industry. The use of containers for packaging ship cargo, for example, has prompted significant productivity gains by reducing labor costs and more efficiently using capital assets such as oceangoing liner vessels . To a lesser extent, the introduction of bulk self-unloading vessels, the mechanization of special product carriers such as banana-carrying ships, and the development of other
25 labor-saving technology have all improved the labor productivity of the marine terminal industry. The application of computer technology to terminal management and information processing is also affecting the use and productivity of the work force. It is apparent that a major labor management challenge facing the marine terminal industry on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts arises from the lack of flexibility in the traditional work rules. The high costs of redundant workers in marine terminals makes this particularly inefficient. It is possible that increased application of technology in marine terminals on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts will be accompanied by the use of a nontraditional waterfront work force. Equipment and Facilities Land within ports is in increasing demand. More efficient use of this scarce commodity will be an important area for development in the future. In the area of marine container equipment and facilities, the major technological developments implemented since 1975 have been improvements in the efficiency of containerized transportation systems. With a few exceptions, notably intermodal operations and technology, there have been no major breakthroughs similar to those seen in the previous two decades. Some of the technological advancements in the area of containers include designs which are lighter, allow for safer and more trouble-free/maintenance-free operation, and prevent cargo damage. Most of these designs were developed in response to operating feedback of 10 to 15 years of operations with containers prior to 1975. A particularly beneficial development are containers designed to fit cargo and intermodal transportation requirements more efficiently. High cube containers, 45-foot containers, 24-ton/20-foot containers, and other designs provide economy of scale in the handling of specific cargo for certain trade routes. Many container terminals do not operate at anywhere near optimum capacity. This is because ports often have caused the development of new terminal facilities for other than economically rational reasons, such as the desire to promote civic image. The only rationalization of terminal usage occurs indirectly through the choice by ship operating companies of the public terminals that they will call at. The infrastructure supporting technological developments in marine terminal facilities and equipment is varied. Successful projects typically include a combination of government and private sector involvement. Projects completed most quickly and with the greatest impact, however, are sponsored and developed by a single company. A formidable barrier to innovation in marine terminal equipment and facilities is high R&D costs. These costs are typically too large for one company, port authority, or manufacturer to bear on its own. Millions of dollars of theoretical research, prototype work, evaluation, and analysis may be required to develop an automated piece of handling equipment, for example. Similarly, computer systems
26 development includes major operational impact analyses, hardware and software development, and careful implementation prior to use. Although the system may be cost-effective on paper over a period of time, the resource allocation may be too large for an individual termine1 operator or carrier to reasonably undertake on his own. The sophistication and complexity of some projects also often surpass the technological capabilities of any one group. Without sufficient return on investment, engineering developments that originate in the United States are likely to be applied initially overseas. Attempts to pool resources to surmount these problems have not been successful in the past. There are inherent difficulties in coordinating common or associated entities, such as port authorities, carriers, and manufacturers. Varying profit motives, proprietary notions, and difficulties in focusing a number of individuals on a common goal are typical stumbling blocks. Another barrier to innovation is the assumed resistance of labor to such change. Some organizations do not implement labor-saving improvements for this reason. In addition, many third-world nations have lobbied in international forums against change, particularly in the area of container development. They fear that once they enter into the fray of intermodal container operations with standard equipment and fixed port facilities, development of more efficient containers and automated ports will make their investments obsolete. The cost of buying, maintaining, and controlling ocean containers has resulted in renewed interest in break-bulk cargo handling. Highly automated systems for handling break-bulk cargoes have been developed in Europe and will be introduced into the U.S. in the near future. Computer Systems Great strides have been made over the last 20 years by us ing the computer as a management tool. Recently, for example, terminal operators have developed the capability to s imulate alternative eng ineer ing operations to discern optimum operas ing cone igurat i ons . On another front computer systems are being developed to facilitate the movement of freight documentation between brokers, customs officials, and the port authority. Management systems technology is available to accomplish major gains in terminal productivity, but the major elements--information networking on a grand scale and an electronic identif ication system for cargo containers--are outside the control of the terminal operator. Standardization and transmission of documents constitute major area of marine terminal operations awaiting consensus and development . The majority of companies involved in the operation of marine terminals do not perform R&D. Marine terminal operations frequently rely on external sources for ideas as well as input. A limited amount of cooperative development and testing is undertaken under the Cargo Handling Cooperative Program established by MarAd in partnership with liner companies.
27 Bulk Terminals Technical developments in bulk marine terminals have emphasized increases in speed, capacity, and automation. Considerable improvements have been made in speed and capacity of ship-based, self-unloading cargo handling systems; less dramatic advances have been seen in shore-based systems. Aided by advances in computer technology, bulk handling is increasingly automated. With the aid of programmable controllers, an operator not only can run an entire bulk handling plant but also diagnose malfunctions of any component and prescribe remedies without leaving his control room. The current profit squeeze in the marine terminals industry has limited application of new technology developments in the United States. Occasionally, new concepts and improvements of existing systems have been developed by engineering companies. The Technical University of Hanover in Germany as well as various manufacturing companies in Japan and Europe have been the main source of recent R&D achievements. A prime motivation for innovation during the past 5 years has been the growing need for improvement in efficiency and profit in the face of high interest rates and capital shortages. Historically, cargo handling equipment manufacturers undertook a large share of this responsibility, but with severely depressed margins these corporations have not been able to contribute as they had in the past. Much of the recent development work, consequently, has resulted from partnerships between users (such as steel and power companies and operators of facilities) and engineers. In summary, technology developments in the marine terminal industry focus on channel improvements, labor-management relations, equipment and facilities productivity improvements, and computer systems. Terminal developments have paralleled the container revolution in the liner industry. In the bulk industry, advances in speed and capacity of cargo handling have outstripped the ability of inland cargo systems to accommodate them. Only in the area of channel improvements is there a substantial, established R&D program because, historically, harbor development has been the responsibility of a federal agency--the Corps of Engineers, which has sponsored its own research for its own needs. U. S . INLAND WATERWAYS INI)13STRY The Mississippi River and its navigable tributaries are the heart of the commercial inland waterways system of the United States. Intracoastal waterways extend along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. In the West, the Columbia-Snake Waterway provides shallow draft navigation above Portland, Oregon to Lewiston, Idaho. The Great Lakes and the Tenn-Tom waterway round out the U.S. inland waterways. Nearly 35,000 vessels, primarily barges and towing vessels, operate in the
28 domestic coastal and inland water transportation system of the United states . The barge and towing industry carry more than 12 percent of the nation's total freight at 2 percent of the total freight bill. The major commodities carried, petroleum and petroleum products, coal, grains, and sand and gravel, can accept the slow delivery of barge movement because of the low cost. Historically, the U.S. government did not charge water carriers for the use of navigation facilities provided by the government. These facilities include locks, dams, and other improvements on the rivers, locks on the Great Lakes, and harbor improvements on the Great Lakes and on the coast. This policy has been changed. P.L. 9S-502 established a fuel tax on inland river carriers beginning at 4 cents a gallon in 1980 and increasing incrementally to 10 cents a gallon in 1985. Domestic water transportation was a growth industry for the quarter century preceding the decade of the 1970s. During that decade many national and global changes occurred to turn this industry into a mature one due to the construction of excess equipment in certain trades and due to a decrease in the demand for bulk commodities in other trades. The euphoria of the 1970s has turned into the depression of the 1980s. It is estimated that excess equipment amounts to about 30 percent over what is required and freight rates have plummeted to the levels of the early and mid-1970s. Other problems involve the infrastructure. Locks and dams on the rivers and the St. Lawrence Seaway are in need of replacement and repair. The industry has until recent years steadily improved its productivity. An important development in towboat design was the adoption of the Kort nozzle, which increases towing ability by directing the flow of water around the propeller. Most importantly, towboats operating on the Mississippi River have increased dramatically in size and power, and tow-handling capability has been improved by the installation of flanking rudders. Barges have also undergone a similar evolution resulting from early experiments. Steel barges, with streamlined rakes, lessened resistance so that horsepower requirements are from 45 to 60 percent below those of their more cumbersome predecessors. Barge types have been improved; weather-proof covered barges now protect cargoes and tank barges carry all manner of liquids. The barges are designed for minimum resistance in fleet operation. Breakthroughs in technology or inventions that would revolutionize the operation of river vessels are not expected in the near term. Most of the future advancements will probably be developed by other industries rather than through original development by the maritime industry. What can be realistically achieved lies in the area of incremental improvements, innovations, and refinements to what already exists. The major areas for opportunities for improving the operation of the vessel are the engine room, hull design, and materials; improved
29 maneuvering; personnel safety and health; training of personnel; and communications. Hul1 design and materials improvements result in small increases in speed and fuel savings. Variable pitch propellers and increased use of towboats and bow thrusters enhance fuel efficiency. More emphasis on training of personnel adds to efficiency and safety. Telemetry systems, which improve communications between the vessel and the home office, enable the office and vessel to be in constant contact, allowing the office to monitor the vessel's performance, location of equipment, and loading and discharging of cargo and to evaluate planned performance so that greater efficiencies can be achieved. The invention of a universal barge coupling, which could be retrofitted at reasonable cost and be simple and safe to operate, would be a breakthrough in speeding fleet make-up and turnaround time. Opportunities for increasing lock capacity exist. Lock controls could be centralized and automated. Closed circuit television cameras could expedite lockages because a person would not have to walk from one end of the lock to the other to make sure everything was in order. Separate facilities could be constructed to take care of recreational boat traffic. Impact barriers could be installed to protect gates. Double gate systems could be installed as an alternative to having two chambers. If one gate is damaged, the other would be operable without having to shut the chamber down. Replaceable fenders, energy absorbers, or rolling fenders could be installed on lock walls to prevent damage. Waiting areas could be provided near lock gates. More responsive and flexible scheduling procedures could be established and priority given to faster locking tows. The cost of locks and dams may be reduced as new construction techniques are developed such as precasting various elements of a lock structure and/or precasting entire segments of locks and assembling them by using post tensioning and prestressing methods. Technological advances in the design of locks and dams over the past several decades have improved safety, service time, and maintenance requirements. Additional savings in this area as a result of research and development should result in improvements which will offset any increase in construction costs. Physical modeling for waterway systems is an expensive undertaking. More effort needs to be directed at developing mathematical models for portions of the system. Finally, ongoing research needs to be continued to extend the navigation season in the colder areas. New technologies include lock- wall heating elements, especially for locks being rehabilitated, air curtains at lock entrances, ice control by booms and other structures, coating for lock walls and gates, and protection for floating mooring bitts. The inland waterways industry lacks organized information on which to base management decisions. During the last 10 years MarAd, through its Cooperative Industry Research Program, has funded most of the research studies conducted in the industry. Since the projects
30 usually have the participation of industry, MarAd's programs have been guided toward commercially viable goals. Major areas of research include maintenance and repair, advanced ship systems, market analysis, ship board automation, navigation and Communications, cargo handling, energy conservation, and fleet management. Maintenance and repair projects evaluated underwater cleaning and inspection techniques as a method of extending the period between dry dockings. Research on marine coatings and preventive maintenance has produced better rust inhibitors and anti-fouling bottom paints. Example projects included the Vessel Vital Signs Monitoring System study which evaluated the need to obtain, transmit, and analyze vessel equipment performance data to produce decision-oriented management information to aid the maintenance department. Another project is for better communications for the western rivers and the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway. A prototype system tested in 1985 resulted in a successful vessel to shore communication. The entire system will be capable of handling voice and data communications. The foregoing areas of technology development and application represent a high risk if a single company attempted the work alone. However, with initial funding by MarAd and cost sharing by the private companies involved, this research was possible. In summary, technology developments in the inland waterways sector of the maritime industry have resulted in dramatic increases in transportation productivity through vessel and barge design and operating systems. However, the current depression and overcapacity in the industry have dried up incentives and investment for further improvements. Consequently, research and development is now limited to MarAd-funded study projects and Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard projects aimed at improving the physical infrastructure. The development needs of the industry include improved management, information, and communications systems. Also, the industry needs a technical capacity for participating in developing intermodal systems.
