b'when somebody would enter the marine inspection program, theyWe are very fortunateFOGHORN FOCUS would go to a course in Yorktown. They would be there for a cou-ple months, learning all the basics. COVID helped force us along this path, but essentially, weve revitalized the training program tothat whoever cameinclude a wider variety of different types of training, ranging from introductory training for our apprentice marine inspectors to ad- before us and worked on vanced and specialized courses that support our leaders, our chief of inspections, and our more senior inspectors that are leading and training our junior inspectors. When our new inspectors come in,our regulation put whatthey start under what we call our AMI systems training where theyre given generic training that covers all the common systems that weI would consider veryfind onboard vessels. That includes everything from fuel oil systems to ballast water systems, bilge systems, steering systems, generator propulsion, and several engineering systems, in addition to lifesav- powerful equivalenceing and firefighting systems. Thats the baseline foundation we give every inspector. Our new inspectors generally arent the ones thatauthority consideration in are going to be dealing with emerging technology. As the emerging technologies become more and more common, we are developing ad-vanced training on specific topics. We already have two online train- our existing regulations. ing courses. One course is for LNG (liquefied natural gas) fuels and one course is on lithium-ion technology for lithium-ion batteries. In addition to that, as technologies become more common our MIPSAs are creating job aides. We have three levels of inspectors: we have our apprentice marine inspectors, theyre the ones just learning it; wethem up to speed on the most pressing and emerging topics. There have our journeymen; then we have our advanced marine inspectors.are opportunities there where we can also address and work on these At the journeymen level, we have resident courses to address and keepemerging fuels and these new systems. In addition to that, we have NCOEs, National Centers of Expertise, such as the liquefied gas carrier NCOE. However they recognize there are a lot of emerging technologies and every year they hold a seminar engaging with industry and sharing information on new fuel systems and emerging trends. That doesnt necessarily incorporate every single fuel system or fuel type, but thats an example of many of the ongoing DOCK TO DOCKtraining initiatives that we have in place to train our work force. Going back to your root question, no, were not training every inspec-EFFICIENCY tor to be able to inspect a hydrogen-powered vessel right now. As these fuel systems become more and more common, we will continue to integrate that into our baseline training. Are there new or additional safety concerns that need to be con-sidered with the latest propulsion systems and fuels?Cost: Indeed, there absolutely are. I think the big issue right now in many of these fuels that were seeing, Ill touch on lithium-ion batter-ies separately, is that theyre low flashpoint fuels. There are increased flammability considerations that we need to take into account. That brings up several design elements that need to be considered such as space configuration, tank placement, piping arrangement, bunkering designs, structural fire protection, firefighting systems, gas alarms, and shut down requirements. Another concern, one which you never had to think about with diesel, is the relationship between the fuel and electrical equipment on board. Hazardous location identification and then making sure that the electrical equipment on board does not pres-ent a flammability source for the fuel is key. Thats not at all common with diesel. As we work with the passenger industry, this awareness of hazardous locations and the associated electrical requirement becomes Our waterjets representa major issue. With respect to lithium-ion batteries, the primary con-the pinnacle of all-round operational efficiency, agilecern has to do with advanced power management to prevent thermal manoeuvrability, for swiftrunaway. In many cases, batteries are greatthere are not a lot of turnarounds, and durability.www.hamiltonjet.comFOGHORN 18'