SHIP SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Editorial Note

Cartagena de Indias, 21 January 2010

The year 2010 is of the upmost importance for COTECMAR since it is the year of consolidation of the Technological Development & Innovation Plan – PDTI, the vehicle through which COTECMAR expects to reach its objectives via the execution of projects in four strategic areas: (1) Research and Development, (2) Organizational Learning, (3) Information Technology, and (4) Infraestructure. In this number, Ships’ Science & Technology presents the results of two research projects which will have a big impact in the achievement of this objective: (1) The development of the Decision Support System – DSS for ship repair and shipbuilding, and (2) The assessment of the FCAW welding technology in the ship repair plate replacement process. As always, we have contributions from our technological partners and our worldwide collaborators; in particular, the Escuela Naval “Almirante Padilla” – ENAP (Colombia) on the use of fuzzy logic to improve the seakeeping qualities of high speed crafts, the Escuela Politécnica del Litoral – ESPOL (Ecuador) on the development of productivity measures of merit is medium size repair shipyards, the University of Sao Paulo (Brasil) on the recent development of the maritime industry in Brasil, and Germanischer Lloyd – GL (Germany) on the effective use of simulations in the design of high performance vessels. All of these are current topics in our industry and therefore of interest to our readers.

In COTECMAR innovation is a corporate value, one that has been consolidated with the effort of many people during these years and one that has been recognized in multiple forms in our own country. In 2009, the Colombian Association for the Advancement of Science – ACAC distinguished COTECMAR with the “Price to Scientific Merit in the category of Technological Innovation” for the development of the Riverine Patrol Support Vessel – RPSV. At the same time, COTECMAR was selected by Portafolio, the main economics’ diary in the country, as one of the finalists for the “Prize Portafolio in the Category of Innovation”, for the design and construction of the Riverine Support Vessel – RSV, receiving a “Mention of Honor” in this category. I would like to take this opportunity to praise the team of COTECMAR that makes possible year by year the fulfillment of our responsibility in the development of the naval, maritime and riverine industry in Colombia, and to extend it to all our partners and collaborators around the world who have help us grow during these almost ten years.

Lastly, I would like to inform you that starting with this number the journal will include editorial improvements that will allow you to continue reading papers of high scientific quality in a better format.

Commander OSCAR DARÍO TASCÓN