Oldendorff Centenary Book - Flipbook - Page 212
The ultimate
goal and the
success of
automation
will have to
be measured
against the
economical
results
achieved.
“Marine engine automation can be
defined as monitoring of equipment
and its control and regulation at
every operational condition through
automated devices which, if suitably
connected with the various sections
of the engine plant, automatically
initiate corrective action. The
ultimate goal and the success of
automation will have to be measured
against the economical results
achieved. Automation may increase
safety in operation but investments
made have to be reasonably
counterbalanced by cost reductions
through cuts in the labour force.”
The impact of wages tended to
increase in those years, and that
was not confined to transport by
sea, rail or road but extended to the
generation of raw materials and to
production processes. Management
in high-wage regions such as the
United States and Central Europe
NORA HUGO
STINNES/HUGO (3)
1962-1969
mv HUGO OLDENDORFF (3)
ex-NORA HUGO STINNES
took a long and hard look at ways
and means to reduce staff and,
thereby, the wage element in overall
production costs. The answer was
rationalisation, and that could take
many forms. Alternatives available
included larger manufacturing units
served by an identical labour force
or through partially automating
production by wholly or partly
replacing manual work or monitoring
functions with machines or
equipment. Actual developments
were a great deal more diverse than
described here with a broad brush
but the opportunities offered by
automation were wholly applicable
to the ocean transportation of bulk
commodities, the core of Egon
Oldendorff’s ship-owning operations
from the very beginning.
Delivered by Lübecker FlenderWerke on 3 March 1963, having
successfully completed sea trials
in the North Sea, 30,500 tdw bulk
carrier HENNING OLDENDORFF of
just under 20,000 GRT was at once
the yard’s largest newbuilding so
far, the flag ship of the Oldendorff
fleet and the largest ship in the
Lübeck register. Her nine holds, odd
numbers short, even numbers long,
had a total capacity of 1.5 million
cu ft. Bulkheads and structural
members were dimensioned to
permit carrying full capacity loads
of ores and similar low-volume
heavy cargoes in every second hold,
namely in Nos. 1, 3, 5 and 7. The nine
hatches were given single-pull type
MacGregor steel covers activated
by two 12-tonne dual-purpose hatch
cover and mooring winches. Ballast
capacity approximated 21,500 tonnes.
Egon Oldendorff took delivery of
CHRISTOFFER OLDENDORFF four
months later, that being the fourth
of a series of which numbers two
and three were built for other
clients. She was the first German
merchant ship to be equipped with
remote engine room control, very
much in line with cost reduction
strategies discussed above.
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