Tanker Shipping & Trade I June/July 2011 I 33www.tankershipping.com

NEVA EXHIBITION & CONFERENCE FOR SHIPPING, SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE ENERGY,

FOR SHIPPING, SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE ENERGY, PORTS & OCEANOGRAHIBITION & CONFERENCE FOR SHIPPING, SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE ENERGY, PORTS &

NFERENCE FOR SHIP-

& CONFERENCE FOR SHIPPING, SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE ENERGY, PORTS & OCEANOG

FERENCE FOR SHIPPING, SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE ENERGY, PORTS & OCNEVA EXHIBITION & CONFERENCE FOR SHIPPING, SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE ENERGY,

FOR SHIPPING, SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE ENERGY, PORTS & OCEANOGRAHIBITION & CONFERENCE FOR SHIPPING, SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE ENERGY, PORTS &

NFERENCE FOR SHIP-

& CONFERENCE FOR SHIPPING, SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE ENERGY, PORTS & OCEANOG

FERENCE FOR SHIPPING, SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE ENERGY, PORTS & OCNEVA EXHIBITION & CONFERENCE FOR SHIPPING, SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE ENERGY,

FOR SHIPPING, SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE ENERGY, PORTS & OCEANOGRAHIBITION & CONFERENCE FOR SHIPPING, SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE ENERGY, PORTS &

NFERENCE FOR SHIP-

& CONFERENCE FOR SHIPPING, SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE ENERGY, PORTS & OCEANOG

TWENTY YEARS DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSSIAN COMMERCIAL

MARITIME INDUSTRIES

TWENTY YEARS DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSSIAN COMMERCIAL

MARITIME INDUSTRIES

NEVA 2011ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA, 20 - 23 SEPTEMBER 2011

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Contact Dolphin Exhibitions: Tel: +44 1449 741801 • Fax: +44 1449 741628 E-mail: info@dolphin-exhibitions.co.uk • Web: www.transtec-neva.com

THE 11TH NEVA EXHIBITION & CONFERENCE FOR SHIPPING, SHIPBUILDING, OFFSHORE ENERGY, PORTS & OCEANOGRAPHY

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NEVA2011_AD-210x297.indd 1 17/6/10 09:10:46

The first live installation of MarFlex’s NQZR

all-in-one electric cargo pump package will

be on a product carrier in 2012.

Following strong interest, the pump was

initially being targeted at the inland barge

market. The change in direction means it is now

undergoing modification for application in the

MR sector, a segment the MarFlex group has been

supplying for 15 years.

While the components for a product tanker

remain the same, the size of the unit is being

scaled up and the in-house mechanical research

and development team is working on incorporating

temperature and pressure sensors inside the

pump. All of the trials and testing of the pump

are undertaken at the MarFlex plant prior to

installation, which means that a fully operational

system can be supplied direct to the vessel.

“We changed our focus from inland to seagoing

tankers because the NQZR provides a level of

functionality that is not needed on inland trades,”

explains MarFlex owner, Paul van Beveren. “On

inland barges you generally don’t have frequency

converters, which are pretty central to the MarFlex

NQZR concept. Secondly, from a communications

point of view, inland barges having a limited trading

profile, such as north west Europe, which means it is

very easy to contact the vessel using a conventional

mobile phone. NQZR can be monitored and

maintained via satellite. In short, the system is too

advanced and too expensive for inland needs.”

Mr van Beveren says that yards continue to

respond positively to NQZR. Typically, when a cargo

system is ordered one company will deliver the

pump and others will deliver the various monitoring

systems. “We believe an integrated package is both

logical and safer, and offers the benefits of predictive

maintenance. For shipyards our package means

that they deal with only one turnkey supplier.”

In discussions with owners, one of the recurring

questions according to MarFlex electrical and

instrumentation engineer, Kees de Visser van Hoorn,

is whether the company can supply conventional

sensors as part of the package, for example rigid

air bubbling or mechanical sensors instead of the

MarFlex smart sensors.

“This is possible. As far as possible we put in

remote input/output stations for communication

with other parts of the system. Also we have a

staged system, in line with class rules. This means

that there is always one point of operation, whether

global, local or remote control. When people ask

‘what can I supply’, I can respond: ‘what do you

want?!’ According to their wishes and class rules

we adapt it to the NQZR-concept.”

Another segment showing strong interest in

the system is offshore. “On an FPSO, for example,

the pumps, operational cycles are more intense

than when on a seagoing tanker. During scheduled

maintenance, the idea of being able to look at

one complete unit is appealing from a time and

efficiency point of view.”

MarFlex will start work on developing two new

cargo pumps for this market later this year, with

a view to a commercial launch in summer 2012.

Features of the new pumps will include higher

capacities and higher pressures, and they will also

incorporate seawater lifting pumps. TST

Following the launch of its new all-in-one electric cargo pump package last year, Dutch company MarFlex is preparing a complete system for a trial installation on a MR product tanker

deepwell cargo pumps

MarFlex to trial NQZR electric pump package on MR tanker

NQZR undergoing assessment on the MarFlex test stand

Briefing: the MarFlex NQZR pumpThe MarFlex NQZR pump system incorporates

all the elements required for cargo monitoring

and measurement, such as temperatures,

pressures and level gauges.

Monitoring is made possible via two multi

core cables which attach the NQZR touch

screen to an on deck junction box. From

this one centralised point all field cables

connect to the measuring equipment. The

sensors for cargo temperature and tank

pressure are already integrated in the pump

itself but all sensors are connected to the

explosion-proof junction box. From there tank

and process data pass through the barrier

cabinets and converter cabinets to the NQZR

touch screen.

Using a cargo overview window set up in

the cargo control room, it is possible to start

one of the deepwell pumps and simultaneously

monitor the cargo temperature. The ballast

overview screen works in essentially the same

way, handling a ship’s ballast pumps.

Both on board and on shore, NQZR allows

for real time monitoring in a web browser via a

secured connection. A text message or e-mail

can also be sent to onshore recipients. In this

way crew and owner can quickly diagnose the

situation. After any performance degradation,

MarFlex can predict failure moments and plan

maintenance to prevent maintenance stops.