We are off to a flying start in 2012. The company strategy to expand into the Japanese market has already resulted in no less than four capital projects being offered for possible adoption in Japan.

Further to the presentation of tsunami escape structures to consultants and government departments in Tokyo in September 2011, we are now seeking to make contact with shipyards who possess solid commercial acumen in order that they might benefit from the latest fuel saving technology developed by Maricuda.

These energy saving projects are aimed directly at fuel efficient propulsion and how economic power conversion can be most effectively achieved by large ocean going cargo ships such as tankers, bulk carriers and container vessels.

Maricuda has designed these systems primarily for new build vessels but they can equally be retro-fitted to existing vessels by tailoring the design cases to suit the particular vessel while at sea and completing the structural modifications once in dry dock as part of a pre-planned maintenance programme.

Possible the most significant project in terms of immediate impact on daily life is our tidal energy generator, capable of producing 7MW of usable power from a 1.5knot tidal flow. At these rates approximately 142 units would generate electrical power equivalent to a single nuclear reactor.

The tidal generator has recently been successfully modeled to demonstrate the operating principles at the core of the design and is now locked into the patenting process.

So why trade with Japan, why not our own country, why not Europe which is on our doorstep while Japan is almost 6000 miles away.

Look at the facts. From 1963 to 1980 the percentage of world production of dry cargo and tankers produced by Japanese yards went from 36% to 47%. In the same period the equivalent figures for UK product went from 17.5% to 3.3%. If you are a marine innovation company with ship related technology, where are you most likely to sell it?

Japan is geographically situated in a high tsunami risk area and also has the means to manufacture tsunami resistant structures. It would be totally illogical to offer a large structural shelter to a country that wasn’t at risk or didn’t have the engineering resources to manufacture the structures.

Finally our tidal energy generator design is capable of providing a near constant supply of cheap, clean electricity. With earthquakes and tsunamis representing a daily threat to the integrity of nuclear installations, tidal energy is the only serious alternative in a seismically active area.

Thus the answer to ‘why trade with Japan’ is plain and simple. Maricuda sells technology. We generate new ideas which we then sell to the highest bidder. Japan currently has a need for our products; add to the above a willingness to do business and embrace new ideas and the choice becomes much less difficult to make.

David Aitken MSc

Managing Director

Maricuda

First the Atlantic Challenge. With the UK economy on its knees, the funding for this project is currently being sought from a number of foreign sources. The new technology, which will enable this boat to make the fastest Atlantic crossing ever is too important for Maricuda to ignore, thus the hunt for a sponsor goes on. However, Maricuda is about much more than just an attempt to win the Blue Riband of the Atlantic.

In the last few weeks Maricuda has taken on two new directors so we are now four. Go to www.maricuda.co.uk/maricuda/maricuda-directors to see who’s who. When I first formed Maricuda in 2009 I thought that we would just be making a range of unique manual bilge pumps and a folding anchor. The reality is, we now have over thirty products in various stages of completion and in the coming months we will be selling these products in a variety of different ways in order to create our revenue.

Production Director Mark Cox will be manufacturing the Aquarion MP-160 in its now improved form along with the Stowaway folding anchor and the Triton anchor, which has recently undergone extra development to meet the demands of the rapidly expanding RHIB market. These products will be quickly followed by a smaller version of the Aquarion to be more compatible with the needs of the leisure boat market. There is also a brand new pump currently approaching the end of its development phase which will employ the same operating characteristics as the Aquarion but will fill the space for a highly reliable manual bilge pump which is light and compact to fit smaller craft. There are also a number of Maricuda designed products sat on the shelf waiting to be manufactured externally under the Maricuda brand.

Commercial Director Martin Spooner is presently sourcing specialist companies within the marine industry who would benefit from adopting our designs either to supplement their present range or to introduce a completely new direction to their business. Martin’s extensive business acumen is invaluable in this difficult and demanding role as no two businesses are completely alike and every deal is custom made to suit individual requirements. Ultimately Maricuda will benefit from the sale of these designs by receiving royalty payments of the products manufactured under licence.

Apart from all of the above, Maricuda has a growing number of capital projects in its portfolio. These include the tsunami escape structure which subsequent to a recent visit to Tokyo, is currently being assessed by a leading engineering company in Japan for possible adoption in high risk areas; a revolutionary tidal power generator which size for size is several times more efficient than its closest rival and a deep mine escape system which would have enabled the Chilean miners to have been sitting in their local within an hour of the incident. There are several other products in this group but probably the most relevant to the present global economic nightmare are those relating to the efficiency of ocean going cargo ships. Maricuda has two significant designs, which will have a direct effect on the economy of world trade by making international sea transport more cost-effective.

The reason that we haven’t broadcast our ongoing development work is because we have to maintain client and product confidentiality in order to protect our ideas before taking them to market. Products that Maricuda are currently involved with are notoriously slow to evolve and have to be carefully managed until profits are returned. So the answer is, we have been busy, we are still busy and we are getting busier. Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year to all our friends and supporters.

David Aitken MSc

Managing Director of Maricuda .

Maricuda Ltd is a new marine design and technology company based in Dorset and Hampshire with a naval architect-designed portfolio of marine concepts ready to launch and recently showcased at the International Seawork Exhibition in Southampton.

If you could avoid airports and power across the ocean to New York from Southampton in near total safety in under two days, would you use this service? Maricuda has the technology to do just that and is constructing an 80m ocean-going trimaran, The Atlantic Challenger, powered by twin gas-turbines to secure the Hales Trophy, the Blue Riband of the Atlantic for the UK.

David Aitken, Managing Director of Maricuda has assembled a team of highly skilled engineers to ensure this mathematically proven concept craft is built to an exceptional standard of competence, safety and design. To complement

the team Devonport Yachts of Falmouth has been selected to build the Atlantic Challenger with the assistance of international companies such as General Electric, Furuno, Wartsila and Renk.

When proven, this technology has global implications. Air- freight would become Ocean- freight, International borders could be hastily protected, distant oilfields and wind farms could be rapidly serviced, rescue services be swiftly deployed, passenger ferry services would excel and private superyachts would offer high speed safety as well as luxury.

Finally, the hovercraft is an amazingly versatile form of transport, which is much underrated. Maricuda has now developed the original concept into a truly remarkable craft with more advanced features than was originally thought possible thus ensuring that the next generation hovercraft will have wide civil and military appeal well into the future.

Ever eager to share knowledge, Brunel University has been invited to consider issues that Maricuda is working on such as the effects of stress reversals in marine grade aluminium due to cyclic loading, an assessment of vibration reduction on the human body by comparative monitoring and how the design of high speed craft is limited by cavitation.

Maricuda marine technology is innovative, has a strong vision, is local, has an array of exciting engineering projects and offers entrepreneurial investment opportunities.

For further information visit www.maricuda.co.uk and to read more excellent business articles visit www.bizmag.co.uk

Each topic has a direct bearing on the speed that a vessel can travel through the water, the endurance of the crew and the structural integrity of the hull when operating under demanding conditions. It is only through challenges such as the Hales Trophy, the Blue Riband of the Atlantic, supported by major academic institutions, that science can advance and progress can be made.

The round trip will start in Southampton and finish in New York, then return to Southampton after a short lay over period in New York of about three days. The total fuel load for the round trip is just over 1000 tonnes including contingency. The merits and limitations of using ‘green’ fuel is currently being assessed by Charlie Charles who is the gas turbine engineer for the project.

Charlie will investigate the effects of sooting, combustion temperature, whether there will be any adverse effects on turbine blade life at elevated temperature and would a green fuel load have an equivalent density, requiring a different volume of fuel for the same run-time. More importantly, will the combustion efficiency still allow the vessel to complete the crossing in the predicted time of two days. There are also health and safety issues concerning flash point and carcinogenic properties to consider.

The result of this investigation will give an indication of the viability of green fuel for the challenge prior to talking to General Electric. If the vessel can be green and still attain its predicted performance profile, then this will broaden its appeal to the fast ferry and special purpose vessel markets after the event.

The Maricuda Atlantic Challenger is by necessity a long and narrow hull form. This is fine for a wave piercing craft that is required to slice through the water like a blade, however at high speed, this concept does raise structural difficulties which are at the very limits of modern technology.

Some will remember the disappointing event when the port hull of Pete Goss’ Team Phillips catamaran sheared off during sea trials in the Atlantic eleven years ago. That was a sailing catamaran made of carbon fibre and the challenger is a power trimaran made of aluminium, but the principles are exactly the same.

A slender hull form travelling at speed through the water momentarily veers off course by a few degrees immediately causing a proportion of the water force to be applied to one side of the hull. The hull portion is effectively, a cantilever and tries to rotate the vessel about its centre of mass. The vessel has considerable inertia due the combined mass of its self weight plus fuel, and therefore resists the turning moment caused by the increased water pressure.

The hull portion, acting as a beam resists the vectored force of the water by tension in the side adjacent to the applied force, and compression in the opposite side. These forces induce high stresses in the extreme fibres of the hull material, and when these stresses exceed the ultimate material stress, failure occurs.

There are other factors which contribute to the load case such as the geometry of the cross section, and the size, shape and position of internal members, but the dominant components of this particular failure mode* are essentially as described above.

Maricuda will shortly appoint a specialist consultant who will apply advanced mathematical methods such as finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics to ensure that the challenger design has the best possible chance of crossing the Atlantic in the fastest time ever.

*An alternative failure mode occurs when a hull, having insufficient internal support structure, deforms locally due to bending thus allowing instantaneous collapse of the hull by the resulting loss of section properties.

David Aitken MSc CEng MRINA