Accomplishments in the development of advanced ship machinery 

 include the engineering design and economic evaluation of two 

 planetary transmission systems particularly applicable to use with 

 marine gas turbines. The midpoint has been reached in a 5-year 

 Government-industry program to develop a marine industrial gas 

 turbine having a reversing capability and able to use low-cost 

 Bunker-C fuel instead of the more refined fuels used in the standard 

 systems with reversing propellers. 



An engineering study of a new marine nuclear propulsion system 

 for commercial use, which includes considerations of economics, 

 safety, and public acceptance, is nearing completion, with the 

 expectation of a decision on feasibility by the end of FY 1975. 



Studies are underway in LNG transport development to identify 

 areas of possible technical risk, such as the effects of liquid slosh in 

 the tanks of LNG carriers. Test and evaluation programs are being 

 initiated at the National Maritime Research Center at Galveston, 

 Tex., to improve leak and crack detecting equipment. 



In the area of ship operations, programs are underway to increase 

 efficiency in the operation and management of global fleets. This 

 work includes the development of real-time satellite-aided maritime 

 communications systems; shipboard automation to improve the 

 performance of shipboard operations such as machinery operation, 

 ship maneuvering, cargo control, navigation, communication, and 

 ship administration; and an integrated advanced shipping 

 operations information system using satellite communications to aid 

 in effective cargo space use, documentation, and fleet management. 

 These developments in advanced ship operations are needed to keep 

 pace with change from the small-ship, labor-intensive industry of 

 the 1950's and 1960's to the large, expensive ships of the 1970's 

 requiring efficient fleet management, strong coordination with land 

 transportation systems, and modern terminal operations. 



During the past year a maritime coordination center was 

 established at the National Maritime Research Center at Kings 

 Point, N.Y., for the purpose of establishing the economic feasibility 

 of satellite communications and navigation for commercial vessels 

 at sea. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 

 satellites and nine commercial vessels are being used in the 

 experiments. The eventual goal of this project is to develop a global 

 fleet control system. 



Ground has been broken at the National Maritime Research Center 

 at Kings Point for the world's most advanced ship operations 

 simulator, the computer-aided operations research facility 

 (CAORF). This facility will investigate, through highly 

 sophisticated visual and aural simulation of ship operations, the 

 performance of innovative hardware and concepts and will facilitate 



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