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CHANGZHOU, PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA: China is about to become the new world shipyard power. In the next few years, it will assume South Korea’s number 1 position. HOERBIGER is a worldwide leading manufacturer of explosion relief valves for diesel ship engines. In order to take part in the growth of the maritime shipping industry in Asia, HOERBIGER built its own explosion relief valve plant in Changzhou, allowing the company to work more closely with the Chinese shipbuilding industry. (Page 14)

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THE DRAGON HAS

LEARNED TO SWIM …Rust-red steel—not scrap, but carefully cut rectangular sections—fi lls the docks along the banks of the Huangpu River. Further along, the steel takes shape; segments of ships can be identifi ed, bulbous bows, stem sections, parts of bulkheads and decks. All these components are waiting to be assembled. Where oceangoing freighters are built from the individual sections, glowing steel sprays from the welders’ tools. The shipyard smells of ozone, scorched air and iron slag. Constantly in motion, the overhead cranes with their ear-piercing safety alarms mark the pulse of shipyard activity. TEXT: Marcus Franken · PHOTOS: Papu Pramod Mondhe

HOERBIGER Valves (Changzhou) Co., Ltd.www.hoerbiger.com

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C hina’s shipbuilding industry blos-

soms in the heart of Shanghai,

about six miles from the ultramod-

ern Pudong financial center. Steel

plates are transformed into ocean-

going giants. It is not unusual for shipowners

from Europe, the USA, Japan, and China to place

large orders of up to ten ships of a single type.

Series Production for a Global Market

While one ship is docked in the Huangpu River

receiving final fit and finish, the gantry cranes

lay the stern of the sister ship. Meanwhile, the

components of the midship of a third vessel are

joined. Each individual segment would dwarf a

four-story building.

The electrical and hydraulic lines required for

operation have already been installed into the

double-walled side sections. Piping for liquid

management in the ship has likewise been pro-

vided. On several steel hulls the openings for the

future portholes can be seen. The shipbuilder’s

art consists of the ability to produce the massive

segments so exactly that each piece fits into the

next, despite the tendency of steel to bend and

buckle under the heat produced by cutting and

welding.

Week by Week a new seagoing Ship

At the shipyard that we are visiting, four sister

ships are being built at the same time. Individu-

al ship components are strewn about for the last

vessel. For the layman, it is inconceivable how a

seaworthy ship could be constructed from

coarse metal plates. It is deceptive: each week

the workers celebrate the completion of a ship

with fireworks and exploding firecrackers as the

ship is launched.

In one of the shipyards in Shanghai, a shipown-

er takes us to a ship being built for him. The ves-

sel awaits a sea trial. On the steel gangway we

meet men coming on board to perform the final

construction tasks. The funnels have to be

painted again, the entire interior fittings for the

crew are missing as well as various electrical mo-

tors and other technical equipment. The freight-

er’s loading cranes are also not installed yet.

“The ship will carry heavy cargo,” the shipowner

explains. The cargo holds will carry everything

that is too large or heavy for a container, such as

crane parts and container bridges, turbines,

wind power systems, and even rolling stock.

Engine Technology from Europe—

Safety from China

The sound of work shoes echoes in the hull; the

scent of oil fills the nose; the constant whirring

of ventilators and pumps is in the air. Four steep

stairways below the deck is the massive diesel

drive. The MAN engine is the size of a small

house; the exhaust line is comparable to an in-

dustrial chimney. Bearing the Augsburg type

plate of the MAN production site, the engine

produces almost 10,000 kW or 13,600 horse-

power. The ship diesel engines produced there

are equipped with HOERBIGER pressure relief

valves, as is this engine.

The HOERBIGER relief valves, which contribute

to preventing damage resulting from an oil mist

explosion in the engine crankcase, were pro-

duced at the HOERBIGER Ventilwerke GmbH &

Co. KG in Vienna, Austria. Soon European man-

ufacturers will increasingly produce marine

engines for the world market under license in

China. In order to supply them as well as local

manufacturers on site, HOERBIGER Valves

(Changzhou) Co., Ltd. was established. Europe-

an safety engineering—made in China.

The huge engine extends across several levels in the ship’s hull.

HOERBIGER relief valves in the lower area help to prevent damage

resulting from oil mist explosions. The new production plant in

Changzhou allows HOERBIGER to supply local engine manufacturers.

The engine is the size of a small house;

the exhaust line is comparable to

an industrial chimney.

The giant oceangoing vessels are assembled piece

by piece in the shipyard. The massive segments are

produced so that each part is a perfect fit to the next.

Huge cranes move the respective components into

the correct position.

Experts of the inspection company Germanischer

Lloyd examine one of the HOERBIGER relief valves

installed in the engines (picture below).

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By 2015 the World’s largest Shipyard: China’s

Shipbuilding Industry continues to grow

When Shanghai tourists sail down the Huangpu

in their tour boats, passing the heavy goods and

container terminals and the small white light-

house where the Huangpu empties into the

Yangtze, they can see the giant shipyards of

Changxing Island on the other river bank. The

heavy red overhead cranes display the CSSC lo-

go of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation.

At this site, the shipbuilding facility of the CSSC

is two and a half miles long and almost a mile

wide. In 2005, the entire grounds of the ship-

yard were still undeveloped acreage and farm-

land. Today container ships capable of bearing

more than 8,000 containers are built here. Next

to the hulls, the laborers moving in large groups

to the cafeterias resemble ants.

CSSC intends to grow further—all the way to the

tip of Changxing Island: in a few years, blazing

welding equipment will take the place of blossom-

ing mandarin orange plantations and small houses

lying between the fields. The old shipyards in the

center of Shanghai have long been too small. The

population of Changxing has moved away to make

room for shipyard expansion.

The ambitions of the CSSC are emblematic of

the aspirations of the Chinese shipbuilding in-

dustry as a whole. With 60 subsidiaries and

more than 100,000 laborers and other employ-

ees the state-owned enterprise, founded in

1999, seeks to be the largest shipbuilder in the

world by 2015. By then, it plans to produce an

annual capacity of 14 million deadweight tons;

this means that CSSC alone would commission

two heavy cargo ships per day.

In the future, gas-powered and dual-fuel engines will gain in importance in

the maritime field because their combustion is more environmentally

friendly in comparison with conventional diesel engines. Many of these en-

gine concepts already meet the International Maritime Organization’s IMO

Tier III emissions regulations scheduled to take effect in 2016. The neces-

sary safety on board is provided, amongst others, by HOERBIGER relief

valves.

PART OF

Shipyards are considered a key segment of heavy industry. Both South

Korea and China have massively expanded their capacities with state sub-

sidies. The People’s Republic continues to be the owner of the CSSC as well

as other shipyards.

Due to low labor costs compared to other markets worldwide, today ships

for mass transport are only built in Asia. Europe, with a world market share

reduced to 5 percent, primarily builds special-purpose and cruise ships;

engineering services, however, are provided worldwide.

In January 2011, the China Daily newspaper announced that during the

first half of 2010, Chinese shipbuilders for the first time overtook the previ-

ous market leader South Korea in the number of incoming orders. All mar-

ket watchers expect that in a few years China will also surpass South Korea

in the cargo capacity of ships built.

PART HOERBIGER Explosion Protection Valves

In the fifties, there was tremendous hazard potential on ships from oil mist

explosions. Explosions in engine crankcases resulted in equipment failure,

disabling the ships. The number of marine accidents rose and ships were

frequently lost due to the severe consequences of these explosions. An ad-

equate solution that would prevent these devastating catastrophes was

needed for engine manufacturers, shipyards, shipping companies, and in-

surance companies.

HOERBIGER Ventilwerke in Vienna recognized the need. Its engineers

managed to develop a relief valve for marine diesel engines which signifi-

cantly mitigated the consequences of oil mist explosions. As a result, en-

gine failures that were due to oil mist explosions were prevented.

Explosion protection in ship engines remains the largest field of application

of HOERBIGER’s relief valves. HOERBIGER is a global market leader in this

segment. In 2009, HOERBIGER established HOERBIGER Valves (Chang-

zhou) Co., Ltd, a new site for the manufacture of relief valves for ship engines.

Ship engines today primarily use the EVO and EVS type series certified by

the IACS (International Association of Classification Societies). They reliably

meet the relevant UR M9 and M66 regulations.

Explosion Protection for Intake and Exhaust PipesA new interesting application for HOERBIGER relief valves is the protection

from gas explosions in intake and exhaust pipes of gas-powered and dual- fuel

engines. At present, the EVT and EVM series relief valves developed for these

applications are employed both in stationary systems and in marine use.

HOERBIGER Valves (Changzhou) Co.,

Ltd. started production in 2009. The

new location in Changzhou manufac-

tures relief valves for marine engines.

These include the IACS-certified EVO

and EVS series.