Monday, June 29, 2020 - 11:56 by ce-press
The Spanish government made it possible for ADELTE (ADvanced ELevation TEchnologies) continue with the assembly of its SPBBS in the port of Barcelona and subsequent transport during the coronavirus lockdown.
Staff working in the port and those assembling the SPBBs had to wear extra protection. In addition ADELTE also decided that its employees should work in small groups and shifts, so that the same groups of technicians were working with each other during these months.
Following assembly in the port, the following SPBBs were shipped or are en route on special heavy transports vessels: two for the new Cruise Terminal B (NCL Terminal) in Port Miami; two for the new Cruise Terminal 3 (Carnival Terminal) in Port Canaveral; four for the new Dubai International Cruise Terminal and two for the new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal in Australia.
On February 13, ADELTE announced that the Spanish Association for Standardisation, UNE, has recently approved and published UNE 27800:2020, a new standard for seaport passenger boarding bridges (SPBBs) destined for cruise and ferry terminals.
This new Spanish standard specifies safety and security requirements, as well as performance and operating specifications for SPBBs, which are used to service all types of cruiseships and ferries.
The standard is intended to improve fulfilment of the stipulations laid out in the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, setting specific and vital minimum criteria for safe, durable and practical boarding bridges.
For over a decade, various interest groups in the Spanish cruise and ferry industries have insisted on a need to regulate this type of equipment. Currently, there is no harmonised European standard under the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, the European regulation governing SPBBs.
Martin Westphal, group marketing director ADELTE, comments: “Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, to which SPBBs (which is a machine) apply, doesn’t contain sufficient regulations specifically for SPBBs, therefore this standard has been developed in Spain and is approved here. The objective is to have this standard approved on EU level and this will possibly be achieved in the course of 2021. Eventually this standard could also be proposed for approval by other countries or regions such as the USA.”
In 2018 ADELTE took the initiative to promote the creation of a working group within the UNE’s Standardization Technical Committee CTN 27, with the elaboration of a reference standard as goal.
This group has worked during two years under a consensus basis and the participation of all stakeholders: cruise terminal operators, cruiseship builders, cruiselines, certification bodies and engineering companies.
The standard specifies technical requirements to minimise hazards that may arise during the commissioning, operation and maintenance of SPBBs for cruiseships and ferries when used as intended (even foreseeing the most common errors in use), according to manufacturers’ or authorised representatives’ instructions.
It also stipulates other essential requirements as recommended by port authorities, cruise and ferry companies, as well as cruise and ferry operators, terminal operators and engineering companies.
UNE 27800:2020 applies to fixed and mobile bridges for boarding and disembarking passengers to cruiseships and ferries. It is applicable from the interface with the terminal building or pier, to the connection with the ship, including the fixed tunnels that are part of a SPBB.
Westphal comments: “In practical terms this standard means that consultants, operators and owners of cruise and ferry terminals in Spain now can use this standard when defining and evaluating the functionality of their current and future SPBBs.”
