Australian Maritime College

The deployment of energy storage systems (ESSs) is a significant avenue for maximising the energy efficiency of a distribution network, and overall network performance can be enhanced by their optimal placement, sizing, and operation. An optimally sized and placed ESS can facilitate peak energy demand fulfilment, enhance the benefits from the integration of renewables and distributed energy sources, aid power quality management, and reduce distribution network expansion costs. This paper provides an overview of optimal ESS placement, sizing, and operation. It considers a range of grid scenarios, targeted performance objectives, applied strategies, ESS types, and advantages and limitations of the proposed systems and approaches. While batteries are widely used as ESSs in various applications, the detailed comparative analysis of ESS technical characteristics suggests that flywheel energy storage (FES) also warrants consideration in some distribution network scenarios. This research provides recommendations for related requirements or procedures, appropriate ESS selection, smart ESS charging and discharging, ESS sizing, placement and operation, and power quality issues. Furthermore, this study identifies future research opportunities in relation to challenges for optimal ESS placement planning, development and implementation issues, optimisation techniques, social impacts, and energy security.

Much recent attention has been focused on juvenile fish and invertebrate habitat use, particularly defining and identifying marine nurseries. The most significant advancement in this area has been the development of a standardized framework for assessing the relative importance of juvenile habitats and classifying the most productive as nurseries. Within this framework, a marine nursery is defined as a juvenile habitat for a particular species that contributes a greater than average number of individuals to the adult population on a per-unit-area basis, as compared to other habitats used by juveniles. While the nursery definition and framework provides a powerful approach to identifying habitats for conservation and restoration efforts, it can omit habitats that have a small per-unit-area contribution to adult populations, but may be essential for sustaining adult populations. Here we build on the nursery concept by developing a framework for evaluating juvenile habitats based on their overall contribution to adult populations, and introduce the concept of Effective Juvenile Habitat (EJH) to refer to habitats that make a greater than average overall contribution to adult populations. Inter-Research 2006.

At sea, the electrical power system of a ship can be considered as an islanded microgrid. When connected to shore power at berth, the same power system acts as a grid connected microgrid or an extension of the grid. Therefore, ship microgrids show some resemblance to terrestrial microgrids. Nevertheless, due to the presence of large dynamic loads, such as electric propulsion loads, keeping the voltage and frequency within a permissible range and ensuring the continuity of supply are more challenging in ship microgrids. Moreover, with the growing demand for emission reductions and fuel efficiency improvements, alternative energy sources and energy storage technologies are becoming popular in ship microgrids. In this context, the integration of multiple energy sources and storage systems in ship microgrids requires an efficient power management system (PMS). These challenging environments and trends demand advanced control and power management solutions that are customized for ship microgrids. This paper presents a review on recent developments of control technologies and power management strategies proposed for AC ship microgrids.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the approaches that are undertaken while applying exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in maritime journals to attain a factor solution that fulfils the criteria of EFA, achieves the research objectives and makes interpretation easy. To achieve the aim of this paper, published articles across maritime journals will be examined to discuss the use of EFA. This will be followed by an example of EFA using an empirical data set to emphasise the approaches that can be undertaken to make appropriate decisions as to whether to retain or drop an item from the analysis to attain an interpretable factor solution. The results of this study demonstrate that majority of maritime studies employing EFA retain a factor solution based on the researchers’ subjective judgement. However, the researchers do not provide sufficient information to allow readers to evaluate the analysis. The majority of the reviewed papers failed to provide important information related to EFA explaining how the final factor structure has been acquired. Furthermore, some papers have failed to justify their decisions, for example, for deleting an item or retaining factors with single measured variable. The first contribution of this study is the analysis of how studies carried out in the maritime sector have been applying EFA in their studies. The second contribution of this study is to provide future researchers aiming to use EFA in their studies for the first time an example of a complete EFA process, explaining different steps that can be undertaken while carrying out EFA.

Similar to nearshore systems in temperate latitudes, the nursery paradigm for tropical back-reef systems is that they provide a habitat for juveniles of species that subsequently make ontogenetic shifts to adult populations on coral reefs (we refer to this as the nursery function of back-reef systems). Nevertheless, we lack a full understanding of the importance of the nursery function of back-reef systems to the maintenance of coral reef fishes and invertebrate populations; the few studies that have examined the nursery function of multiple habitats indicate that the relationship between juvenile production in back-reef habitats and their subsequent contribution to adult populations on reefs remain poorly understood. In this synopsis we (1) synthesize current knowledge of life history, ecological and habitat influences on juvenile distribution patterns and nursery function within back-reef systems; (2) outline a research strategy for assessing the nursery function of various habitat types in back-reef systems; and (3) discuss management recommendations, particularly in regard to how improved knowledge of the nursery function of back-reef systems can be used in fisheries and ecosystem management, including habitat conservation and restoration decisions. The research strategy builds on research recommendations for assessing the nursery function of temperate habitats and includes 4 levels of research: (1) building conceptual models to guide research and management; (2) identifying juvenile habitat use patterns; (3) measuring connectivity of juvenile and adult populations between habitats; and (4) examining ecological processes that may influence patterns assessed in Level 2 and Level 3 research. Research and modeling output from Levels 1 to 4 will provide an improved ecological understanding of the degree and importance of interconnections between coral reef and adjacent back-reef systems, and will provide information to managers that will facilitate wise decisions pertaining to habitat conservation, habitat restoration, and ecosystem-based management, and the maintenance of sustainable fisheries. Inter-Research 2006.

In today’s complex and ever-changing world, concerns about the lack of enough data have been replaced by concerns about too much data for supply chain management (SCM). The volume of data generated from all parts of the supply chain has changed the nature of SCM analysis. By increasing the volume of data, the efficiency and effectiveness of the traditional methods have decreased. Limitations of these methods in analyzing and interpreting a large amount of data have led scholars to generate some methods that have high capability to analyze and interpret big data. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to identify the applications of machine learning (ML) in SCM as one of the most well-known artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. By developing a conceptual framework, this paper identifies the contributions of ML techniques in selecting and segmenting suppliers, predicting supply chain risks, and estimating demand and sales, production, inventory management, transportation and distribution, sustainable development (SD), and circular economy (CE). Finally, the implications of the study on the main limitations and challenges are discussed, and then managerial insights and future research directions are given.

Abstract We analyzed 69 publications on the impacts of introduced seaweeds. The predominant impacts were changed competitive relationships in the recipient habitat, indicated by high abundances of invaders, resultant space monopolization, and reduced abundances/biomass of native macrophytes. Changes in biodiversity, effects on fish and invertebrate fauna, toxic effects on other biota, and habitat change were also identified. The mechanisms underlying the manifestation of impacts are uncertain and inferences about common patterns were hampered because impact studies were available for only a few introduced seaweeds, covered only a fraction of their introduced distribution and generally were conducted over short time scales. There was no information about evolutionary effects or changes of ecosystem processes. Knowledge of socio-economic impacts of invasive seaweeds is poor. We collated costs associated with control/eradication activities and for national spending on marine biosecurity in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Prevention of impacts is the driving force for costly surveillance, eradication and control programs. Until we are able to understand, predict and measure impacts of introduced seaweeds, the management of species incursions needs to remain focused on early detection, rapid response and control to reduce the likelihood of negative impact effects.

Pancreatic cancer is associated with a high incidence of venous thromboembolism. Neutrophils have been shown to contribute to thrombosis in part by releasing neutrophil extracellular traps (NET). A recent study showed that increased plasma levels of the NET biomarker, citrullinated histone H3 (H3Cit), are associated with venous thromboembolism in patients with pancreatic and lung cancer but not in those with other types of cancer, including breast cancer. In this study, we examined the contribution of neutrophils and NET to venous thrombosis in nude mice bearing human pancreatic tumors. We found that tumor-bearing mice had increased circulating neutrophil counts and levels of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, neutrophil elastase, H3Cit and cell-free DNA compared with controls. In addition, thrombi from tumor-bearing mice contained increased levels of the neutrophil marker Ly6G, as well as higher levels of H3Cit and cell-free DNA. Thrombi from tumor-bearing mice also had denser fibrin with thinner fibers consistent with increased thrombin generation. Importantly, either neutrophil depletion or administration of DNase I reduced the thrombus size in tumor-bearing but not in control mice. Our results, together with clinical data, suggest that neutrophils and NET contribute to venous thrombosis in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Humans have relied on coastal resources for centuries. However, current growth in population and increased accessibility of coastal resources through technology have resulted in overcrowded and often conflicted spaces. The recent global move towards development of national blue economy strategies further highlights the increased focus on coastal resources to address a broad range of blue growth industries. The need to manage sustainable development and future exploitation of both over-utilised and emergent coastal resources is both a political and environmental complexity. To address this complexity, we draw on the perspectives of a multi-disciplinary team, utilising two in depth exemplary case studies in New Zealand and within the Myanmar Delta Landscape, to showcase barriers, pathways and actions that facilitate a move from Business as Usual (BAU) to a future aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN International Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030. We provide key recommendations to guide interest groups, and nations globally, towards sustainable utilisation, conservation and preservation of their marine environments in a fair and equitable way, and in collaboration with those who directly rely upon coastal ecosystems. We envision a sustainable future driven by conflict mitigation and resolution, where:(i)Change is motivated and facilitated(ii)Coastal ecosystems are co-managed by multiple reliant groups(iii)Networks that maintain and enhance biodiversity are implemented(iv)Decision-making is equitable and based on ecosystem services(v)Knowledge of the marine realm is strengthened-'mapping the ocean of life'(vi)The interests of diverse user groups are balanced with a fair distribution of benefits.

Skin-friction results are presented for fouling-release (FR) hull coatings in the unexposed, clean condition and after dynamic exposure to diatomaceous biofilms for 3 and 6 months. The experiments were conducted in a fully developed turbulent channel flow facility spanning a wide Reynolds number range. The results show that the clean FR coatings tested were hydraulically smooth over much of the Reynolds number range. Biofilms, however, resulted in an increase in skin-friction of up to 70%. The roughness functions for the biofilm-covered surfaces did not display universal behavior, but instead varied with the percentage coverage by the biofilm. The effect of the biofilm was observed to scale with its mean thickness and the square root of the percentage coverage. A new effective roughness length scale (keff) for biofilms based on these parameters is proposed. Boundary layer similarity-law scaling is used to predict the impact of these biofilms on the required shaft power for a mid-sized naval surface combatant at cruising speed. The increase in power is estimated to be between 1.5% and 10.1% depending on the biofilm thickness and percentage coverage.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to extend knowledge on service quality and how it is defined and thus, managed, in the context of maritime transport by proposing and testing a new conceptual model of service quality. Design/methodology/approach The study used a sample of 197 shipping companies, port operators and freight forwarders/logistics service providers, employing the triangulation of both mail survey and in‐depth interview techniques. A total of 120 usable questionnaires were returned and 25 interviews conducted. Data were analysed using the SPSS 13.0 software and thematic analysis technique. Findings It was found that service quality in maritime transport is a six‐dimensional construct consisting of resources, outcomes, process, management, image, and social responsibility (ROPMIS), with each dimension measured by a number of explaining factors making up a total of 24 factors. Findings also revealed that factors involving the outcomes and process of service provision, as well as the management factors, which all focus on satisfying the customers, received high ranking. They also emphasised process and management‐related factors which involve the centre of all quality systems: the human element. Research limitations/implications As this is the first stage of a more comprehensive study, the model was tested only with service providers, and this is the major limitation. Future research direction is desired, e.g. conducting the study using the same instruments on customers and compare the gaps with this research. Originality/value The major contribution of this study is to fully operationalise service quality as a six‐dimensional construct in the context of maritime transport, and findings on the ranking of dimensions/factors involved in the model. Although this is the first model of service quality in maritime transport with specific quality factors, its generic dimensions could be generalised to other service sectors as well. The research also has great managerial implications as managers across maritime transport companies can use the tool to develop questionnaire for customer satisfaction survey, thus facilitating a universal benchmarking approach across the industry.

BACKGROUND: Maintenance operations on-board ships are highly demanding. Maintenance operations are intensive activities requiring high man-machine interactions in challenging and evolving conditions. The evolving conditions are weather conditions, workplace temperature, ship motion, noise and vibration, and workload and stress. For example, extreme weather condition affects seafarers' performance, increasing the chances of error, and, consequently, can cause injuries or fatalities to personnel. An effective human error probability model is required to better manage maintenance on-board ships. The developed model would assist in developing and maintaining effective risk management protocols. Thus, the objective of this study is to develop a human error probability model considering various internal and external factors affecting seafarers' performance. METHODS: The human error probability model is developed using probability theory applied to Bayesian network. The model is tested using the data received through the developed questionnaire survey of >200 experienced seafarers with >5 years of experience. The model developed in this study is used to find out the reliability of human performance on particular maintenance activities. RESULTS: The developed methodology is tested on the maintenance of marine engine's cooling water pump for engine department and anchor windlass for deck department. In the considered case studies, human error probabilities are estimated in various scenarios and the results are compared between the scenarios and the different seafarer categories. The results of the case studies for both departments are also compared. CONCLUSION: The developed model is effective in assessing human error probabilities. These probabilities would get dynamically updated as and when new information is available on changes in either internal (i.e., training, experience, and fatigue) or external (i.e., environmental and operational conditions such as weather conditions, workplace temperature, ship motion, noise and vibration, and workload and stress) factors.

Ship microgrids have recently received increased attention, mainly due to the extensive use of power electronically interfaced loads and sources. Characteristics of these microgrids are similar to islanded terrestrial microgrids, except the presence of highly dynamic large loads, such as propulsion loads. The presence of such loads and sources with power-electronic converter interfaces lead to severe power quality issues in ship microgrids. Generally, these issues can be classified as voltage variations, frequency variations and waveform distortions which are commonly referred to as harmonic distortions. Amongst the solutions identified, energy storage is considered to be the most promising technology for mitigating voltage and/or frequency deviations. Passive filtering is the commonly used technology for reducing harmonic distortions, which requires bulky capacitors and inductors. Active filtering is emerging as an alternative, which could be realised even within the same interfacing converter of the energy storage system. The aim of this paper is to investigate recent developments in these areas and provide readers with a critical review on power quality issues, energy storage technologies and strategies that could be used to improve the power quality in ship microgrids. Moreover, a brief introduction to ship power system architectures is also presented in the paper.

Using water column temperature records collected since 1968, we analyzed the impacts of climate change on thermal properties, stability intensity, length of stratification, and deep mixing dynamics of Lake Tahoe using a modified stability index (SI). This new SI is easier to produce and is a more informative measure of deep lake stability than commonly used stability indices. The annual average SI increased at 16.62 kg/m2/decade although the summer (May–October) average SI increased at a higher rate (25.42 kg/m2/decade) during the period 1968–2014. This resulted in the lengthening of the stratification season by approximately 24 d. We simulated the lake thermal structure over a future 100 yr period using a lake hydrodynamic model driven by statistically downscaled outputs of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Model (GFDL) for two different green house gas emission scenarios (the A2 in which greenhouse-gas emissions increase rapidly throughout the 21st Century, and the B1 in which emissions slow and then level off by the late 21st Century). The results suggest a continuation and intensification of the already observed trends. The length of stratification duration and the annual average lake stability are projected to increase by 38 d and 12 d and 30.25 kg/m2/decade and 8.66 kg/m2/decade, respectively for GFDLA2 and GFDLB1, respectively during 2014–2098. The consequences of this change bear the hallmarks of climate change induced lake warming and possible exacerbation of existing water quality, quantity and ecosystem changes. The developed methodology could be extended and applied to other lakes as a tool to predict changes in stratification and mixing dynamics.

Research in the design and development of fully autonomous and unmanned merchant vessels has revealed positive results and expected benefits that support their likely implementation on the high seas in the near future. The benefits mainly derive from the removal of the human element which may reduce associated errors; and provide financial savings on crew salaries and omission of crew accommodation. However, even though the technical concepts for unmanned vessel operation are well established, studies on human interaction with the systems are not as prevalent. This paper highlights the regulatory, legal, safety, human/technology interface and societal concerns posed to the operation of unmanned vessels. This paper argues that the belief in complete reliability and trustworthiness of fully automated ships is unrealistic, and in doing so, questions its commercial viability. This paper concludes that the maritime and seafaring industry require further evidence of the validation of the technology before the long-term effects of fully automated vessels can be equated.

Standard data envelopment analysis (DEA) tends to be sensitive to the number of variables of a chosen sample, and it is unable to account for their random nature. Standard DEA can exhibit statistical inconsistency, biased results, and an arguable inference process. Thus, in this study, an efficiency evaluation method is used to overcome these limitations, especially since no studies of port efficiency have addressed this issue. This study applies bootstrapped DEA to a sample of the 43 largest Vietnamese ports and compares the results with those from stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and standard DEA. The results show that while the efficiency scores obtained from the three methods provide useful and consistent measures of the ports’ efficiency, they differ significantly. Furthermore, while the efficiency scores produced by bootstrapped DEA are consistent, unbiased, and not sensitive to the sample size, standard DEA and SFA yield efficiency scores that are much larger than bootstrapped DEA. In addition, bootstrapped DEA provides the confidence intervals for efficiency scores and allows for hypothesis tests of port performance.

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are unmanned marine robots that have been used for a broad range of oceanographic missions. They are programmed to perform at various levels of autonomy, including autonomous behaviours and intelligent behaviours. Adaptive sampling is one class of intelligent behaviour that allows the vehicle to autonomously make decisions during a mission in response to environment changes and vehicle state changes. Having a closed-loop control architecture, an AUV can perceive the environment, interpret the data and take follow-up measures. Thus, the mission plan can be modified, sampling criteria can be adjusted, and target features can be traced. This paper presents an overview of existing adaptive sampling techniques. Included are adaptive mission uses and underlying methods for perception, interpretation and reaction to underwater phenomena in AUV operations. The potential for future research in adaptive missions is discussed.

The concepts of intermodal logistics and distribution networks have made integration of the inland freight distribution system essential for an efficient container seaport system. Inland components, such as dry ports, which exist within the seaport system, have become important in shaping the performance and competitive strategies of container seaports. Owing to the importance of interdependence between dry ports and container seaports, this paper aims to investigate the impact of dry port operations on container seaport competitiveness. It conducted an empirical study in Malaysia through 120 online surveys to key stakeholders of dry ports, including freight forwarders, shippers, seaports, rail operator, shipping lines, and haulers. The data collected were analysed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The results from EFA show that Malaysian dry port operations have impacts on seaport competitiveness. These include enhancing seaport performance, increasing service variations for seaports, improving seaport-hinterland proximity, increasing seaport trade volume, and enhancing seaport capacity.

Abstract Erosion of natural river banks by boat‐generated waves is an increasingly serious problem on the navigable reaches of many rivers, particularly on the middle and estuarine reaches. An experiment designed to link bank erosion rates with easily measured wave characteristics, conducted on the scenic lower Gordon River in Tasmania, provides information useful for river management. Within a boat‐generated wave train a number of characteristics were measured and most showed a high correlation with measured rates of bank retreat. Maximum wave height within the train is the simplest measure and is associated with a major threshold in erosive energy on unconsolidated sandy alluvium at wave heights of 30 to 35 cm. At maximum wave heights above 35 cm all but the most resistant bank sediments erode. Reducing maximum wave heights to < 30 cm by limiting boat speeds, and reducing the frequency of boat passages, caused a dramatic decline in bank erosion along the river.

Behavioural interactions between ecosystem engineers may strongly influence community structure. We tested whether an invasive ecosystem engineer, the alga Caulerpa taxifolia, indirectly facilitated community diversity by modifying the behaviour of a native ecosystem engineer, the clam Anadara trapezia, in southeastern Australia. In this study, clams in Caulerpa-invaded sediments partially unburied themselves, extending >30% of their shell surface above the sediment, providing rare, hard substrata for colonization. Consequently, clams in Caulerpa had significantly higher diversity and abundance of epibiota compared with clams in unvegetated sediments. To isolate the role of clam burial depth from direct habitat influences or differential predation by habitat, we manipulated clam burial depth, predator exposure and habitat (Caulerpa or unvegetated) in an orthogonal experiment. Burial depth overwhelmingly influenced epibiont species richness and abundance, resulting in a behaviourally mediated facilitation cascade. That Caulerpa controls epibiont communities by altering Anadara burial depths illustrates that even subtle behavioural responses of one ecosystem engineer to another can drive extensive community-wide facilitation.