Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering

Under the US Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, the Tacoma Fire Department received $750,000 to refit the city's fireboat Commencement. Art Anderson Associates teamed with BMT Nigel Gee of the United Kingdom to provide engineering design and consultation for the renovation and refit of the vessel.

The first phase of the project involved a comprehensive trade-off study that examined and balanced the needs and specifications of the Tacoma Fire Department and the budgetary constraints of the DHS grant. Art Anderson Associates examined the operational and financial practicality of proposed upgrades and modifications and will provide recommendations to the department.

Art Anderson Associates provided structural; propulsion; pumping, hydraulic and electrical system; and command and control modification engineering and design. Included with this design package was a detailed cost estimate and construction schedule. Art Anderson Associates also served as the Fire Department's representative in the bid and construction phase, negotiating between the owner and contractor, resolving engineering problems and maintaining weight control data.

The Commencement is one of two fireboats operating in the Tacoma Fire Department. The vessel was built in 1982 by Vosper Hovermarine as a multipurpose fiberglass surface effect ship (SES). The vessel has two 445bhp marine diesel engines powering two 19-inch propellers and a 285bhp marine diesel engine that provides power to six 24-inch aluminum alloy fans, which, when engaged, maintain an air cushion beneath the vessel. This cushion allows the Commencement to achieve speeds of up to 30 knots and maintain a stable ride in choppy seas. Since 1983, the vessel has provided fire suppression, search and rescue, evacuation, hazardous materials response and emergency medical service for the city. The Commencement's service area includes the Port of Tacoma, the sixth-largest container port in the United States.

Art Anderson Associates has been under contract with Washington State Ferries (WSF) since November of 2003 to provide engineering support services for design and construction in the installation of homeland security systems at 15 terminals and aboard 20 vessels in the WSF ferry system.  The scope of services includes project management support, system design, installation estimates, construction support, negotiations with contractors for change orders, acceptance testing, trouble shooting and resolution of vendor and system deficiencies, coordination with both vessel and terminal engineering staffs, negotiations for consolidated electronics spaces, and as-built drawings for integrated access control and video monitoring systems.  Throughout the course of the contract, Art Anderson Associates has worked closely with the security system installers, vendors, software provider and the WSF security, marine operations, maintenance, information technology, vessel and terminal engineering staff members.

Art Anderson Associates' tasks include:

• Development of the system engineering design, drawings and specifications for bid packages on both vessels and terminals
• Planning and arrangements for surveillance cameras to monitor vehicle and walk-on passenger holding areas and loading/offloading locations, intrusion alarms on restricted doors and integration with video monitoring and electronic access systems
• Integration of video surveillance and access control system with the existing WSDOT network

A primary challenge of this project is ensuring full interoperability between the new security systems and WSF's existing infrastructure. The new security systems feature camera video surveillance, intrusion alarms, access control systems and all supporting equipment and software, all of which are required to seamlessly interact with the existing WSF and WSDOT systems.

Art Anderson Associates participated in the development of the requirements for and evaluation of the security system software vendors. Expandable, open architecture and non-proprietary elements were important considerations, as was event-driven software to reduce monitoring requirements and speed the retrieval of significant data. Throughout the course of the project, Art Anderson Associates has developed an unparalleled understanding of WSF's vessel and terminal security systems and their integration with the broader WSF infrastructure.

Art Anderson Associates has served the nation's largest ferry operator, Washington State Ferries, on ten contracts spanning more than 28 years. Our decades of experience and multiple awards for on-call naval architecture and marine engineering are a testament to the depth of knowledge and understanding we have of auto/passenger ferry vessels.

Recent tasks on our on-call contracts include designing heat recovery systems for the Issaquah class ferries, drawing development for the M/V Chelan's fire fighting piping systems, electrical engineering support for the crew endurance lighting project and mechanical/electrical support for various tasks at WSF's offices.

Previous work for WSF includes development of trim and stability booklets for various vessels, propulsion control system replacement for the Evergreen State class, renovations to the M/V Hyak, and electrical engineering support for the Jumbo Mark II class.  WSF continues to rely on Art Anderson Associates to provide high-value naval architectural and marine engineering services for its fleet.

Art Anderson Associates designed a new class of 49-foot buoy boats (BUSL) for the US Coast Guard. This included design development, weight control, hull, propulsion, mechanical, electrical, outfitting and human factors. The contract was for the prime contractor to build two of these new BUSLs. This design was then used by the USCG yard in Baltimore to build approximately thirty more vessels.

We provided complete detail design drawings including the development of 75 detailed working drawings with supporting calculations for all aspects of the design. Deliverables included:

• Propulsion Calcs
• Propeller Calcs
• Lines & Offsets
• Jigs & Fixtures
• Preliminary Electrical Load Analysis
• HVAC Calcs
• Machinery Arrangement
• Hull & Foundation Structural Calcs
• Arrangements & Profiles
• Hull Fittings & Outfitting Arrgt.
• Painting, Deck Covering & Insulation
• Hydrostatics & Stability Curves
• Label Plates

The project also involved providing multi-disciplined naval architecture and marine engineering services for the engineering overview of actual construction; the development of testing procedures and witnessing of tests and trials; the development and implementation of an intensive weight control plan and program; and an inclining experiment and stability report. Two vessels were built at the shipyard in Bellingham, Washington and another 24 have been built at the U.S. Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, with the last production BUSL delivered in June 2001.