Dembińska, Izabela
(Scientific Journals Maritime University of Szczecin, Zeszyty Naukowe Akademia Morska w Szczecinie,
)
Dear Readers,
We are living faster and more intense these days. This dictatorship of time is also visible in the world of
science. The lifetime of research results shortens progressively. Research problems are quickly becoming
out of date. It is not a destructive factor for researchers but a challenge they need to face. The only thing to
comprehend here is that research needs to be carried out quickly and flexibly. Obviously, it is not an easy task
as new trends and, consequently, new research problems appear more often as well.
We are glad to present to you a new issue of our journal, the Scientific Journals of the Maritime University
of Szczecin. This issue presents views, opinions and research results grounded in various research fields. We
grouped the submitted papers into the following themed sections: Civil Engineering and Transport, Material
and Mechanical Engineering, Information and Communication Technology, Sustainability Management.
The Civil Engineering and Transport section holds five articles. In the first one, the authors present
trends in building offshore wind turbines and characterise ships used for installation and maintenance of
wind turbines. The analysis is based on the assumption that safety of sailing on port waterways is the basic
limitation in building ports and terminals for handling ships used to build OWT and expanding their size.
The goal is to present a method of measuring port waterways for ships used for transporting and building
offshore wind turbines. The author of the second article claims that recent years brought about more intense
works on autonomous means of transportation, including sea ships. This review presents key features of the
construction and exploitation of autonomous ships. The analysis presented in the third article of this section
views hydrofoils as instruments to improve the hydrodynamic aspects of maritime equipment. The authors
simulated the movements of a 2D NACA0012 hydrofoil moving in the water close to its free surface, with
the optimiser based on the coupling with the net’s morphing used to maximise the lift-to-pull ratio. It was
observed that the shape of the optimised hydrofoil depends on the angle of attack, which triggered various
lift-to-resistance coefficients. This served as a basis for a general conclusion that the optimal angle of attack
for installing a hydrofoil on the ship’s hull is 5°. The next paper was inspired by the 400 m container ship called
Ever Given was grounded on the Suez Canal, blocking the busiest shipping lane – handling 12% of global sea
trade – for 6 days. That event enforced finding an alternative waterway for the Suez Canal, with a smaller risk
of being blocked and without the necessity of going around the entire African continent. Such routes joining
the Pacific and the Atlantic are found in the Arctic and the global warming make them increasingly accessible.
However, assessing their longevity requires a multifaceted analysis based on available professional navigation
publications, academic works and knowledge regarding polar sailing conditions. The paper discusses three
alternative lanes: the Northern Sea Route in the eastern part of the Arctic Ocean along the coast of the
6 Scientific Journals of the Maritime University of Szczecin 70 (142)
Russian Federation, the Northwest Passage through the western part of the Arctic, avoiding waters belonging
Greenland, Canada and the USA, and a route near the North Pole, known as the Transpolar Sea Route. The
analysis of those lanes clearly points to the Northern Sea Route as the only option currently viable. The
last paper in this section discusses the changeability of time series in Forward Freight Agreements on the
market of dry bulk cargo. Firstly, it determines the changeability and characteristics of unique time series
for prices in FFA. Next, it applies the ARIMA-GJRGARCH model for time-based charter within Capesize FFA
and particular one-month charter contracts for cruises, which creates long or short signals that help market
users in FFA-based trade or hedging. The aim of the research is to determine whether this method focused on
changeability is efficient in modelling FFA time series and whether it helps the market players in more precise
estimates regarding unstable days.
The Material and Mechanical Engineering section features one article. It proves that the assessment of
propulsion system failure in a ship triggers excessive costs and a decrease in the company’s prestige in the
maritime business. The employees of land/ship crew have to detect and minimise failures in ship propulsion
systems in advance to ensure the continuity of ship operation. The paper uses registered data on the failures
in four different ships. The failures were examined thoroughly as the ships have similar propulsion systems.
The investigation into the propulsion system and its subsystems shows that the ship’s main engine is the
most reliable. Furthermore, the most crucial elements were the main engine’s cylinders as subsystems. The
research is a valuable source of information not only for scientists, but also for experts and companies working
on the reliability, accessibility and maintenance of ships.
The Information and Communication Technology section features one paper. It notices that as a result of
the accessibility of mobile devices and common broadband access worldwide, the number of Internet users
is constantly growing and their awareness when it comes to the absorbed content is increasing with it. Many
service providers and operators focus on monitoring Quality of Network and Quality of Service parameters,
especially those affected by throughput and delays. However, for most end users, quality is viewed as
subjective Quality of Experience which is a mixture of several individual factors. The article presents QoN
assessment carried out under working conditions in real time on the university campus, with particular focus
on general efficiency of the mobile networks.
The Sustainability Management section presents a paper stating that the determination of dynamic areas
of searching for wreckage and/or movement of pollutions through the waters of the Szczecin Lagoon requires
most of all the knowledge and identification of hydrometeorological conditions in that area. For this reason,
the authors compared wind parameters from various sources at the meteorological stations located near the
Szczecin Lagoon. Wind speed and direction were obtained from Ueckermuende, I Brama Torowa (Szczecin
Maritime Office) and Kopice (anemometer of the Maritime University in Szczecinie). Analysing data on wind
direction was based on methods and tools of directional statistics.
I hope that the papers included in this issue will trigger broad interest and stimulate further reflections,
discussions and research.