INNOVATION May-June 2017

Sea to Sky Branch Tour Introduces Members to North Shore Geology Dr. Mahmoud Mahmoud, P.Eng., FEC, Brooke Clements, P.Geo.  

On September 24, 2016, more than 20 professional engineers and geoscientists and others took part in the Sea to Sky Branch–organized Tour and Introduction to the Geology of the North Shore, led by Lindsay Bottomer, P.Geo., FGC. Bottomer has travelled the world exploring for base metals and gold and has long been a dedicated APEGBC volunteer. The seven-hour field trip included stops at Pilot House in Caulfield, the Cypress Mountain lookout point, Capilano River Regional Park, and the Cleveland Dam. Among the tour’s highlights, we viewed an amphibolite outcrop at Pilot House. The amphibolite, at 135 million years old, is the oldest-known rock in the Vancouver area. The same outcrop also

the basin continues to receive sediments deposited in river deltas. When we hiked along the Capilano River Valley, near the Cleveland Dam, we saw evidence that the valley was filled by a glacial lake 40,000 years ago. The evidence took the form of lake sediments, the age of which has been determined by analyzing the pollen trapped within them. We were shown thin layers of sediment—called varves—that represent annual sediment deposition. Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the tour, and was happy for the day spent on this professional development activity, which can be tracked under the “formal” category within APEGBC’s CPD reporting and recording guidelines. ship storage are developing in concert with the design process. BC Ferries Corporation’s Director of Engineering Services Greg Peterson provided an overview of the feasablity evaluation and decision making process to choose LNG. He then discussed the new LNG ferries going into service, the mid-life refit of the Spirit Class ferries, and the training that is required for employees at all levels because of the use of LNG fuel on ferries. With 27 years at BC Ferries, Greg’s experience includes maintenance and engineering projects, technical investigations, environment management, and regulatory regimes. Calum McClure, P.Eng., who has more than 15 years of experience working on LNG projects and served with Teekay Corporation—which owns the world’s second-largest independently owned LNG fleets— reviewed transportation, storage vessels, safe handling and training for LNG-fuel handling for gas release and fire suppression in Canada. v

contains 30-million-year-old volcanic rocks—covering 100 million years of geologic time in one outcrop—as well as igneous dykes and a fault. Bottomer explained that the rocks were once buried 12 kilometres below the surface, and he showed us how geologists interpret rocks to determine age relationships. A keen participant spotted epidotes—lime-green minerals— embedded in cavities within the granitic rock. At the Cypress Mountain lookout point, we reviewed the geologic history of the Vancouver area. We learned that the Georgia Basin was formed about 65 million years ago, when it began filling with sediments that turned to sandstone and conglomerate, and that attended the joint presentation. The presenters comprised experts on LNG ship design, construction, and fleet handling. Tony Vollmers, P.Eng., is Vard Marine Inc.’s lead mechanical engineer for the Canadian polar icebreaker project, the Royal Canadian Navy Arctic and offshore patrol vessel concept design, the US Coast Guard offshore patrol cutter project, and the current Chilean icebreaker design. He is also involved in the Société des traversiers du Québec ’s 94-metre ferries being built by Davie, Harvey Gulf ’s LNG platform supply vessel, Seaspan’s dual-fuel trailer ferry, and the ongoing BC Ferries Spirit Class LNG conversion. Tony introduced the symposium attendees to the latest information about using LNG in ferry fuel systems, including existing safety assessments and integration of onshore and shipboard system requirements. He also outlined how standards for on-deck refueling and in-

Symposium Explores Canadian Ship Design for Dual-Fueled LNG Ferries John Morgan, P.Eng., FEC On March 16, APEGBC’s Sea to Sky

Branch and the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers’ Pacific Northwest division presented a symposium on Canadian ship design for dual-fueled liquid natural gas (LNG)– propulsion ferries. Eighty members

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