To Lay-Up Or Not To Lay Up: Imarest's Ship Lay-Up Conference To Look At The Options

Created on 08 April 2009 by host
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Shipping has suffered a sudden and dramatic fall in freight rates as the global recession deepens, forcing owners to consider ways to cut costs, or just survive. It is reported that nine percent of the world's container fleet is now idle. One of the options is to lay-up vessels. There are arguments for and against. What are the alternatives facing the industry?

These are amongst the urgent topics that will be discussed and debated at the Ship Lay-Up Conference being held by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) at their headquarters in Coleman Street in the City of London on 6-7 May 2009.

"This new event in our calendar of events will be a very practical, topical and highly interactive two-day conference for ship owners, operators and managers exploring ship lay-up covering why, where and how to do it," explains the IMarEST's Chief Executive, Keith Read CBE. "Just a matter of days ago, Lloyd's List stated that: 'Lay-up has already been identified by a number of companies as a business growth area to which they can relatively easily adapt in their existing business model.' We certainly live in challenging and interesting times, and look forward to robust and informative debate in a month's time."

Chaired by Michael Grey HonFIMarEST, former Editor of Lloyd's List, the conference will assess the economic arguments for hot or cold lay-up, helping owners and ship operators to understand the benefits and disadvantages of both options, as well as looking at the alternatives.

"Owners need to be aware that it is imperative that ships are laid up correctly otherwise they can experience problems on reactivation for the remainder of their working lives," explains Keith Read. "By reviewing and outlining the overall major factors involved in ship lay-ups we are aiming to provide expert and critical guidance to assist owners."

Conference topics over the two days will include: The economic arguments for and against lay-up and the alternatives; The pros and cons of slow steaming; Storage - an idle ship earning money; Disposal - the last resort?; Hot or cold - which option to choose; How environment affects the choice of where; Security issues; How to lay-up; P&I attitude - what is expected of members; Class - this is what you need to do; Reactivation - getting back to sea.

Recent naval experience will come under the conference spotlight in the form of a topical case history; and the conference will also incorporate a debate 'Options for owners'; an operators' forum 'Where to lay up'; and a manufacturers' round table.

"It is going to be a packed couple of days that will incorporate useful networking opportunities," says Keith Read. "As an international membership body and learned society for marine engineers it is very much part of our remit to educate and inform in this way. The conference is designed to ensure our delegates leave with realistic information, particularly by means of interactive case histories all designed to help their understanding of the theories outlined during a critical time for our industry."

A flavour of the event - Hot or cold lay-up?
The first decision for all ship owners to make when considering lay-up is whether or not to opt for a hot or cold lay-up. Ships that are laid up hot will have a small crew aboard and minimum of machinery operating. A hot lay-up is used to deactivate a vessel for a limited number of weeks. Reactivating a ship from a hot lay-up can be comparatively quick. The advantages are that by having a small crew onboard the vessel, periodically carrying out maintenance regimes, the machinery, electrical and electronic systems are kept within a tolerable state of readiness. Another advantage of having the crew aboard is that fire, security and other safety concerns can be allayed.

A cold lay-up will require the vessel being moved to a secure location and shutting down all systems. Machinery and systems on board will be secured and a specialized lay-up crew employed. Cold lay-ups can save more money but their disadvantage is that the vessel is out of service for at least a few months. Reactivation could take weeks. The main advantage of cold lay-up is that it gives maximum cost savings over a long period of time. There can be some significant disadvantages - including machinery degradation, so owners need to consider options carefully before proceeding. Modern vessels have an incredible amount of sophisticated computer and electronic equipment on board and the industry has no real experience of how these complex systems will start up and reboot after an extended period of inactivity. Reactivation can be problematic and need considerable supervision.

"IMarEST's two-day conference is an essential event both for ship owners and managers who need an understanding of the critical factors involved in all aspects of ship lay-up and of the latest techniques," says Keith Read. "I commend it to you, and look forward to seeing you there."

Further information, including registration at the early bird rate and discounts for members of the IMarEST and for IMarEST Marine Partners, is available at www.imarest.org and from the Events Department at the IMarEST, 80 Coleman Street, London EC2R 5BJ. Tel: +44 (0)20 7382 2600 [or a direct dial number?]; Fax: +44 (0)20 7382 2670; email: events@imarest.org

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