International Journal of Innovative Research and Development

T. Kalyani , D. S. P. Vidyasagar , V. S. J. Srinivas

Abstract

Inland waterway transportation (IWT) is one of the oldest economically and environmentally sustainable modes of transportation for passengers and cargo. India has an estimated navigable length of 14,500 km of inland waterways, including river systems, canals, backwaters, creeks and tidal inlets, that can effectively support mechanized crafts. Besides this, country boats of various capacities also operate in various rivers and canals. In IWT sector, the environmental conditions, nature of operations, human error (crew and passengers) and lack of safety standards, etc., pose a number of risks to safety of passengers and vessels. Though this sector is economically viable, the rate of accidents are high and need to be focused to minimize the accidents. Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) is the scientific method that is being currently used for the analysis of maritime safety and for the formulation of related regulatory policies.

This paper discusses the methodologies involved in FSA, highlights the qualitative analysis in hazard identification and risk analysis process i.e., hazards that are identified during various operations in IWT sector and by using the expert judgment, these hazards are prioritized by the risk ranking matrix. Accident analysis of recent boat accidents that occurred at various locations of inland waters is presented by means of fault tree diagrams focusing the faults of the top event (capsize) as part of qualitative risk analysis. Further, it discusses the safety aspects related to the passenger transportation, highlighting the human errors and operational risks in IWT sector of India. This paper concludes by suggesting the measures to reduce the risk to the passengers and vessels related to various operational and environmental conditions.

 

Inland waterway transportation (IWT) is one of the oldest economically and environmentally sustainable modes of transportation for passengers and cargo. India has an estimated navigable length of 14,500 km of inland waterways, including river systems, canals, backwaters, creeks and tidal inlets, that can effectively support mechanized crafts. Besides this, country boats of various capacities also operate in various rivers and canals. In IWT sector, the environmental conditions, nature of operations, human error (crew and passengers) and lack of safety standards, etc., pose a number of risks to safety of passengers and vessels. Though this sector is economically viable, the rate of accidents are high and need to be focused to minimize the accidents. Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) is the scientific method that is being currently used for the analysis of maritime safety and for the formulation of related regulatory policies.

This paper discusses the methodologies involved in FSA, highlights the qualitative analysis in hazard identification and risk analysis process i.e., hazards that are identified during various operations in IWT sector and by using the expert judgment, these hazards are prioritized by the risk ranking matrix. Accident analysis of recent boat accidents that occurred at various locations of inland waters is presented by means of fault tree diagrams focusing the faults of the top event (capsize) as part of qualitative risk analysis. Further, it discusses the safety aspects related to the passenger transportation, highlighting the human errors and operational risks in IWT sector of India. This paper concludes by suggesting the measures to reduce the risk to the passengers and vessels related to various operational and environmental conditions.

 

Keywords

Inland waterway transportation, formal safety assessment, hazard identification, risk ranking matrix, expert judgment, risk analysis, fault tree diagrams

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U. S. Ramesh , T. Kalyani

Abstract

Energy seems to be the subject at the heart of many of the greatest issues and debates facing the world today. Global warming is a huge issue that promises to change the face of the planet in unimaginable and irreversible ways. This alone is considered as a major driving factor in development of energy efficient technologies for various purposes including marine transportation for sustainable development. The predominant source of power in a ship is the Diesel engine which has evolved as a highly efficient means of generating necessary power for propulsion and auxiliary uses However it is widely recognized that about 30% of the total energy converted in a Diesel engine is rejected in the exhaust gas. On large ships some of this heat is recovered partly using exhaust gas boilers. However on a majority of small ships or on large ships on short voyage durations, there is no or limited mechanism to recover this energy. The recently mandated energy efficiency design index (EEDI) has the provision to deduct the power produced from any energy saving device thereby giving credit to the design. While some of the energy saving devices being contemplated, use wind and solar power, it is being recognized that some of the energy from the engine exhaust gases and cooling water can still be tapped to generate power resulting in improved energy efficiency of the plant.
One of the ways of utilizing waste heat without conversion to steam is to use a Stirling engine. A Stirling engine requires only an external heat source (such as external combustion chamber or waste heat) for its operation. For marine use this engine could be utilized to generate some amount of power from the exhaust gas. This paper advocates the use of heat balance studies for improving the efficiency of the marine power plant. An estimation of the power which could be generated from a Stirling engine is presented based on estimation of the power which could be produced from the exhaust gas of a high speed (560 KW) propulsion engine and expected savings in fuel.

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