ABS has held a partnership with China’s Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group Co. Ltd. over the last couple of decades. As the shipping industry has increasingly focused on maximizing vessel production and efficiency through advanced technology, the partnership has strengthened its alliance through joint research projects and technical investigations to address China’s shipbuilding needs.
While ABS and the yard have been building on their partnership, increased ship operator activity in Greece and Turkey and continuing orders for new construction in China – some in Hudong shipyard itself – have increased the demand for training courses for superintendents and fleet operators.
Recently, a team of engineers and technical managers from Hudong accepted ABS’ invitation to travel to London and Greece to attend the ABS Academy’s training course on Shaft Alignment, instructed by ABS Marine Technology Principal Engineer Davor Sverko, and a course on Vibration, taught by ABS Manager for Marine Technology Chris Leontopoulos.
The shipyard engineers and owners’ superintendents in attendance were not only ABS clients but clients to one another as well. From the owners’ side, superintendents and technical directors from Ciner Denizcilik ship operators and INCE Shipping and Trading Company were among those who attended the training courses.
According to Leontopoulos, the training courses provided a forum for an interesting question and answer session and facilitated conversation and discussion, inviting diverse views based on unique experience. This open format provided excellent opportunities for information exchange and provided a three-party knowledge exchange, Leontopoulos says.
“We normally conduct specialized training courses for shipyard engineers, superintendents and technical managers from global shipping companies; however, it is rare to have all parties represented in the same room sharing unique perspectives for the same training course,” notes Lefteris Karaminas, ABS Europe Division Learning Center Manager.
During the recent training course on Vibration, attendees had the opportunity to use ABS’s rotor kit to perform unique vibration diagnostics experiments, simulating the vessels’ powertrain shafting systems.
The open dialogue of the classroom extended beyond the scope of the training course when the Academy arranged a dinner following the training with Turkish and Chinese students at a local seaside restaurant. The Hudong delegation also had the opportunity to visit the famous Athens Acropolis museum over the weekend stay.
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