Information Technology in the Maritime Industry Past, Present and Future

2017 IEEE 7th International Advance Computing Conference

Information Technology In The Maritime Industry Past, Present And Future: Focus On Lng Carriers Olugbenga A. Bankole

Habib Ullah Khan (Corresponding author)

The University of Liverpool Liverpool, UK. e-mail: [email protected]

College of Business and Economics Qatar University, Doha, Qatar e-mails: [email protected]

V. V. Madhavi Lalitha Indian Institute of Health Management Research, Jaipur, India e-mails: [email protected]

Anjaneyulu Jinugu Universitat Oberta De Catalunya, Spain e-mails: [email protected] enmeshed in the Charter of the United Nations [21] and in accordance with the principles of international law, each state has the sovereign right to exploit its own resources in accordance with its own environmental and developmental policies [22].

Abstract— The maritime industry represents one of the oldest industries known to man. From time immemorial human beings have been navigating the water ways as a transport medium for trade, leisure, basic transport and a myriad of other things including war between nations over territorial rights. The water ways also present dynamics in international relations as well with countries vying for the control of water locked mineral resources. The interest of nations in who controls the water ways and the resources therein also play a critical role in conflict and high politics amongst nations [1]. The impact of Information Technology on organisations that provide services to the maritime sector is also brought under review with the aim of identifying the criticality of IT as a strategic business tool in positioning the organization for growth in the chosen market place, achieving reduction in the cost of doing business as well as criticality for survival as an organization is taken into consideration. Literature review and information gathering constitute the bulk of data for this research. Surveys were used to collate responses from industry practitioners. The responses were analysed and relevant details ascertained.

The Kyoto Protocol equally highlights the fact that nations are required to reduce production of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases in order to reduce damage to the global environment [19]. One of the globally accepted means of reducing damaging emissions is the use of more environmentally friendly fuels of which Natural Gas is one. Natural gas is not a new energy source, in fact the formation of the gas dates back into millions of years. But until recent history methods of obtaining, transporting and bringing the gas to use were not developed hence the resource was not harnessed for use and its benefits were not appreciated. The extraction and use of natural gas by the Han dynasty (200 b.c.e.) in China represents one of the earliest known to man [17]. Identifying natural gas as a good source of energy was the first step in a long chain. As obtains with other products and services there needs to be a means of getting products from the point of production (source) to the point of use or application (destination). Due to the gaseous nature of this product, storage and transportation in an economical way presented a huge challenge to the players in the industry.

The results of the survey and studies conducted clearly established the fact that Information Technology infrastructure is critical to the sustenance of the LNG shipping industry. Ensuring retention of seafarers who are key human resources to an shipping organization is seen to heavily depend on the provision of reliable IT infrastructure. Keywords- Technology Adoption, Maritime Industry

I.

II.

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is produced as a result of cooling natural gas (primarily me-thane) below its boiling point, -162° C (-259° F) and storing the resulting liquid in double-walled cryogenic containers at or slightly above atmospheric pressure ( Liquefied natural gas (LNG) 2013.

INTRODUCTION

The United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) can be used to show the significance of climate change as an issue along with the political interplay involved when addressing this issue comes to fore. Whilst on the one hand ad-mitting the fact that human activities have led to a substantial increase in the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases which will ultimately result in additional warming of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere, subsequently having an adverse effect on the natural ecosystem and humankind as a whole, which can be seen as a negative impact on human existence; the same document is also quick to mention that the member States of the UN as 978-1-5090-1560-3/17 $31.00 © 2017 IEEE DOI 10.1109/IACC.2017.148

LITERATURE REVIEW

Figure 1: Typical Natural Gas Composition source Center for Energy Economics

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Figure 3 Growth in LNG Demand

Based on the realization of the immense benefit inherent in LNG, the demand for the commodity began to soar. As indicated in the above figure, there was a demand surge of almost 200 million tonnes over a 30 year period. To accommodate the volume of gas to be transported and the geographic distance to be covered, the use of cargo ships presented the most beneficial option.

Figure 2 : Typical LNG Composition source Center for Energy Economics

As a new field of cargo transport there were no purpose built LNG carriers suitable for the transportation of LNG. In the industry it was important to consider a safe way of transporting the gas given its highly flammable nature. This represents the first techno-logical feat for the transportation of this flammable cargo. In 1957 a US cargo vessel, Normati, used extensively for cargo transport during the sec-ond world war was converted into a 5,000m3 LNG tanker and renamed ‘Methane Pioneer’ thus becoming the first oceangoing LNG vessel [20]. Following up on the success of the Methane Pioneer, one of the leading oil companies, Shell, commissioned the construction of two purpose-built LNG carriers in the United Kingdom, the Methane Princess built at the Vickers Armstrong shipyard and the Methane Progress built by Harland and Wolff, both UK shipbuilding organisations.

The ability to produce and store natural gas largely addressed the economic transportation challenge. Because the liquefaction process reduces the volume of natural gas by 1/600, more gas capacity is able to be stored and thus transported in an economically viable method. Figure 2 Liquefied natural gas storage tank Malabo, Eq Gui. Falcanary

Figure 4 M.V. Methane Pioneer source Peter G. Noble

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losses to be incurred for idle time. This also affects the work environment of the sea-farers on board. Lifestyle behaviors of seafarers are significantly different from those of other land-based occupations. Seafaring is often considered to be a risky occupation in comparison to shorebased jobs due to the hazardous nature of the work terrain [6].

Figure 5 Methane Progress and Methane Princess source (c) Michel Devos

It has been said that ‘The man who goes to sea is a man in despair’ [2] this apt saying captures the intricacies of the field of seafaring as a profession characterized by high suicide rates, physical and psychosocial health problems due in no small measure to the nature and organization of their work environment. What role does / can IT play in the life of a seafarer on board an LNG carrier. This will encompass the official and private life of the seafarer whilst on board. Whilst Methane Pioneer had a tonnage of 4,830 m3, Methane Princess which is the sec-ond LNG carrier and the first purpose built LNG carrier and Methane Progress had a tonnage of 24,607 m3 which is about six times the capacity of the first vessel .

Due to the nature of the work environment of a seafarer it qualifies as an isolated work environment. As humans are a relational being, working in an isolated environment does have an impact on our work pattern. Having a crew of between 30 – 45 people on board a vessel with no physical interaction to the outside world for a month or over at a stretch or with just a couple of hours of shore experience over a three – six month period does have an impact on the working relationship of individuals.

At an estimated building cost of over $12 billion and with a processing capacity for over 5.3 million tonnes per annum of liquids, Royal Dutch Shell PLC is constructing the world’s largest floating facility, ‘Prelude’, which is an LNG processing plant. This is indic-ative of the advancement in technology and economic importance of LNG to the world market. When completed in 2017 the ‘Prelude’ will also be the world’s first floating lique-fied natural gas (FLNG) project. (www.shell.com 2014).

Such isolated work environments can be likened to space shuttles, polar expeditions by a team and the likes of such. To bring this into context, the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) classifies long-duration missions to the International Space Station (ISS) as missions that generally last from 3 to 6 months. Part of the NASA requirements for individuals intending to undergo missions of this duration include a very arduous training that takes approximately 2 to 3 years (nasa.gov 2014). Considering the fact that NASA is a well-established institution of repute and such focus is given to long-duration missions it is a bit surprising that such consideration is not made of seafarers for whom such duty tours are considered basic.

Work environment: The work environment has a big impact on the living condition of any individual. Leaving home on a daily basis after spending some time with the family and returning later in the evening to the family is the normal work life pattern for a lot of people. Even for those whose work involves a lot of commuting, spending time with the family on a regular oc-currence is more often than not a given instance. For seafarers this is not always the case.

Studies have revealed that working in isolated environments for a long period have a psychological impact on the individuals concerned and this always needs to be taken into consideration. Some of the findings of the study indicate the greater need from individuals to associate with other personnel but with less intimacy and at the same time the inverse situation applies where personnel want others to establish close relationships with them but with a low level of interaction. For example having a crew of 40 personnel on board all coming from different nationalities and age demographics but in a majorly masculine environment, there is that need to be accepted by your peers whilst still maintaining your individualism. Considering the fact that you are likely to be stuck with the same group of people for a 6 month period, it takes a lot of resources to maintain the relationships considering social, cultural and official divides.

The nature of work for seafarers means being on board a sea going vessel for a long period of time at a stretch. Normally sea time for an LNG seafarer ranges from three to six months on board at a stretch. Unlike commercial cargo vessels that have course to spend a long time in port whilst undergoing cargo loading and unloading formalities the same does not apply with seafarers on an LNG carrier who more often than not spend about 24 hours at the loading and unloading terminal at any given time. This equally affects the time available to go on shore for seafarers on board the vessel, this time is normally referred to as shore leave and is maximum of a couple of hours during the time the vessel is at berth. In light of this development it is normal for a seafarer on an LNG Vessel to spend just a couple of hours on shore out of a six month duty tour. With charter rates of about $90,000 a day [13] the need to keep the vessels in operation significantly affects the affordable idle time for each vessel considering the

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Working in a confined organisation work system also has an impact on individual repre-sentations and social behaviours that transcends the workplace and is evident even when back at the shore environment for a seafarer; this is influenced by the imposition of special work and life regimes based on the nature of the environment [16]. On a typical vessel the fact is that you live on board the vessel every single day you are at work. You are not obliged to take public transport to work so you cannot be delayed by traffic or family issues. You wake up and report at your duty station as ex-pected. It is a routine that does not change as long as you are on board. Nothing, absolutely nothing changes this routine. This builds a regimen of expectation on the part of the seafarer that he sometimes expects to meet when ashore and not going through his seafarer responsibilities. It sometimes comes as a shock when things do not work ac-cording to the routine one is used to on board. The tendency of considering such as an anomaly and reacting as such is prevalent and sometimes this expectation or fixation with a routine causes friction in relationships when not on board. Adapting to shore life and accepting that there is another way of doing things causes a social imbalance for the seafarer and whoever he or she is interacting with. Note: Research is still in progress.

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