Technical advisor to Rio Tinto shipping Ltd, UK

Gelen Marine Director Dr Paul Read whilst working as Technical Director for Keel Marine Limited was appointed lead technical advisor to Rio Tinto Shipping during the build of their seven 88,000 DWT Post Panamax Bulk Carriers, three 250,000 DWT Ore Carriers and two 80,000 DWT IMO III chemical combination carriers being built in two shipyards in southern Japan.

In his role Dr. Read was initially responsible for assisting in the development of Rio Tinto’s Statement of Requirements based on their different trading routes and trading patterns. He then participated in the shipyard technical negotiations in order to develop and agree the concept designs for each ship.

After shipyard contract award he was responsible for the ship design development with the shipyard and during the design phase formed and managed a plan review team, having an overview of all drawings under review, overseeing all comments made by the review team, overseeing and coordinating the replies and responses between the team and the shipyard, whilst reviewing personally specific important plans.

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On start of construction he was responsible for forming and managing the on‐site construction supervision teams in Japan which comprised of 4 specialist engineers in each yard. This role included monitoring and carrying out inspections of construction, including steel work, outfitting, painting, piping and machinery installation and attending factory acceptance trials at the manufacturer’s facilities where necessary for the main engines, generators engines, ballast water treatment systems, switchboards, engine room control consoles, etc. Later in the construction his role included monitoring and attending harbour acceptance trials and commissioning of all the ship machinery, equipment and systems. Furthermore, he was responsible for ensuring the team liaised with the classification society surveyors on a daily basis and flag state surveyors during their inspections.

Dr. Read was additionally responsible for preparing monthly construction progress reports to Rio Tinto outlining the status and progress of each ship construction and highlighting any particular concerns related to the builds. He went on to command sea trials on behalf of Rio Tinto, managing the supervision team and the attending ship’s crew, coordinating the attendance of testing and the subsequent comments process.

Liaising with the ship’s crew further he was additionally responsible for overseeing ship delivery and the provision of technical advice during the guarantee periods.