Costs of Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture Services by Douglas Scheffler, Brandon Lee, and Jeffrey V. Conopask, Ph.D. 1 Abstract The U.S. Coast Guard in consultation with ABS Consulting, conducted a study on the costs of marine engineering and naval architecture services and related industry practices in 2013. The goal for this study was to provide information on industry costs and practices to support the Coast Guard’s regulatory development program. The findings of this study provide information on the costs and the reasons for the variability of the costs for a suite of vessel inspection activities. The information compiled by this study indicates that there is not a general market for marine engineering and naval architecture services in the United States. Instead, the costs of each service are driven by the characteristics of the service and the vessels receiving the service. Introduction The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is the Federal government’s lead regulatory agency with respect to maritime matters, including navigation, marine safety, and protection of the marine environment. 2 When it issues regulations in support of these missions, the USCG must follow multiple statutory and policy requirements, including Executive Orders 12866 3 and 13563 4 and provide regulatory analyses that show that the costs of proposed rules are justified by their expected benefits. This report describes the results of analyses in support of a USCG-sponsored study of Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture Costs for Use in Regulatory Analyses. 5 The goal of this study was to systematically collect information on the costs of marine engineering and naval architecture services. The immediate application of the data is to support the USCG’s regulatory development program by filling knowledge gaps related to maritime engineering and architecture services and provide a baseline of cost data for 1 Mr. Scheffler and Dr. Conopask are economists with the USCG’s Standards Evaluation and Analysis Division, Mr. Lee is a program officer with ABS Consulting 2 http://www.uscg.mil/top/missions/ 3 http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/pdf/12866.pdf 4 http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/inforeg/eo12866/eo13563_01182011.pdf 5 Contract GS-23F-0207L for the Coast Guard Standards Evaluation and Analysis Division (CG-REG-1) as performed by American Bureau of Shipping Group Consulting (ABS Consulting) TRB 2014 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
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Costs of Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture Services
by
Douglas Scheffler, Brandon Lee, and Jeffrey V. Conopask, Ph.D.1
Abstract
The U.S. Coast Guard in consultation with ABS Consulting, conducted a study on the
costs of marine engineering and naval architecture services and related industry practices
in 2013. The goal for this study was to provide information on industry costs and
practices to support the Coast Guard’s regulatory development program. The findings of
this study provide information on the costs and the reasons for the variability of the costs
for a suite of vessel inspection activities. The information compiled by this study
indicates that there is not a general market for marine engineering and naval architecture
services in the United States. Instead, the costs of each service are driven by the
characteristics of the service and the vessels receiving the service.
Introduction
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is the Federal government’s lead regulatory agency with
respect to maritime matters, including navigation, marine safety, and protection of the
marine environment.2 When it issues regulations in support of these missions, the USCG
must follow multiple statutory and policy requirements, including Executive Orders
128663 and 13563
4 and provide regulatory analyses that show that the costs of proposed
rules are justified by their expected benefits. This report describes the results of analyses
in support of a USCG-sponsored study of Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture
Costs for Use in Regulatory Analyses.5
The goal of this study was to systematically collect information on the costs of marine
engineering and naval architecture services. The immediate application of the data is to
support the USCG’s regulatory development program by filling knowledge gaps related
to maritime engineering and architecture services and provide a baseline of cost data for
1 Mr. Scheffler and Dr. Conopask are economists with the USCG’s Standards Evaluation and Analysis
Division, Mr. Lee is a program officer with ABS Consulting 2 http://www.uscg.mil/top/missions/
TRB 2014 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
Vessel Type Divisions
Certified for fewer than 150 passengers
Certified for 150 or more passengers
Passenger Ships Length ≤ 250’:
Certified for fewer than 150 passengers
Certified for 150 or more passengers
Passenger Ships Length > 250’ and ≤ 350’
Passenger Ships Length > 350’ and ≤ 450’
Passenger Ships Length > 450’
Sailing School Vessels
Small Passenger Vessels Length < 65’
Small Passenger Vessels Length ≥ 65’
Tank Barges
Tankships Length ≤ 300’
Tankships Length > 300’
Liquefied Gas Tankships
Sea-going and Other Towing Vessels under
USCG’s Regulatory Scheme
The taxonomy served as the basis for the compilation of the services costs. We did not
include commercial fishing, towing, and recreational vessels as vessel types, as these
vessel types are not subject to the same regulations as other vessel types and are covered
under Subchapter C: Uninspected Vessels. Recreational and commercial fishing vessels
tend to be categorized in sizes smaller than other vessel types. Because of the smaller size
of these vessels, they rarely interact with commercial shipyards. Consequently, we found
it difficult to obtain pertinent information for these vessel types We also found that for
some services, there was not much variability across vessel type.
ABS Consulting conducted an internal data search by interviewing employees of the ABS
organization. Individuals interviewed included vessel inspectors and surveyors. These
TRB 2014 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
employees provided inspection and survey cost data for all types of classed16
and
unclassed vessels.
In order to focus this study within the confines of limited fiscal resources, this study
focused on the Gulf Coast region of the USCG’s Eighth District and the Hampton Roads
region of the USCG’s Fifth District. (Insert Figure 1, CG District map) ABS Consulting
conducted interviews with industry representatives to identify costs and to determine the
drivers of these variations at major port areas within the two selected regions.
These industry representatives provided background information on the various services
and estimations of the related costs for their respective regions. The data gathered in the
regional interviews were cross-referenced with the data collected from internal ABS
Consulting sources and the literature review.
ABS Consulting utilized three other main sources to determine specific costs: 1) a
database previously created by ABS Consulting to determine costs for hull cleaning; 2)
the ABS Fee Schedule to determine costs for surveying; and 3) Don Butler’s A Guide to
Ship Repair Estimates (in Man Hours), 2nd edition 17
to create baselines for ship repair
costs from practical estimations.
Data Analysis
Study profile
In general, vessel type and length are the primary specifications used by vendors to
develop costs for each service. Many of the vessel types have a break point between a
small vessel and a large vessel at around 300 feet in length. In cases where the shipyard
or the classification society did not break costs down by length, tonnage was utilized
instead. Our research indicates that a similar break point for tonnage is at 3,000 gross
tons.
To create a national profile of costs, data from two regions were averaged. Data are
provided based on the regional source. The values could be:
Obtained from the Gulf Coast region only;
Obtained from the Hampton Roads region only;
An average between the averages of the Gulf Coast and the Hampton Roads
regions;
16
For information on classification of vessels and classification societies, see ABS web site: http://www.eagle.org/eagleExternalPortalWEB/appmanager/absEagle/absEagleDesktop?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=abs_eagle_portal_classification_book. 17
Butler, Don, A Guide to Ship Repair Estimates (in Man Hours), 2nd
ed., Waltham, MA, Elsevier Science, 2012.
TRB 2014 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
The average of the maximum from one region and the minimum from another
region; or
The same, regardless of region.
Findings
In this section we present the major findings of the study. They include general topics of
hourly labor rate; vessel length as a cost driver; and costs of specific services.
Hourly Labor Rate
In general, the wages charged to the client would include those for general labor,
docking, and other specialized activities like welding or working sheet metal. Overhead
costs like administration and management are included in the man-hour calculations.
Activities like welding or working sheet metal require more time than other activities, but
the hourly rate is held static for most of these tasks at the shipyards we visited.
Rates for specialized labor for specific tasks involving activities such as environmental
compliance, ballast water operations, and marine chemistry, were cost out on a project-
by-project basis. The shipyards we interviewed outsourced these services; thus, the costs
are not specified for a type of work.
A major finding of the study was that the hourly rate charged for a labor-hour is
dependent on the market. In the Gulf Coast region, the market rates were very
competitive, as indicated by little fluctuation in the rate charged across firms. The hourly
rates of the drydocks we interviewed in the Gulf Coast region were close to $55 on
average, with the highest rate of approximately $56 and a minimum rate of $48. Based on
data from the studies, interviews, and internet searches, we concluded that the typical
hourly rate in shipyards across the nation is approximately $75 per hour, with rates
ranging as high as $85 per hour. Premium rates for overtime and subcontractors were
higher. Overtime work was often billed at $96 per hour, with an additional 125 percent
retail cost for subcontractors. (Subcontractors are often used for specialized tasks such as
ballast water tank cleaning and water removal.) The Gulf Coast region had the lowest rate
charged for a labor-hour of the regions interviewed.
Surveying activities conducted by ABS Group Quality Evaluations charge $150 per hour.
For classification activities, ABS Group Quality Evaluations may charge as much as
$160 per hour.
For the academic and industry sources we reviewed that used labor hours instead of a
market rate, a national average for the labor-hour rate was applied. For this study, we
used the consensus national shipyard rate of $75 per hour as a representative wage rate.
Vessel Length
TRB 2014 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
For many services, vessel length—and not vessel type—was used to determine cost.
Inspections are the only service whose costs are based on vessel type in addition to
length.
Certain vessel types have their own cost structure. Oceanographic research vessels,
lighter aboard ship (LASH) carriers, and mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs) have
different naval architecture configurations and, therefore, are often charged differently
than other vessels.
Inspections
There are three types of vessel inspections: inspections for certification, annual
inspections, and periodic inspections. Each inspection occurs at least once every five
years and includes inspecting the navigation systems, cargo systems, life-saving systems,
and fire-fighting systems, and reviewing crew drills and pollution prevention procedures.
The inspection for certification is the most rigorous inspection, occurring once every five
years. Periodic inspections are less rigorous than the inspection for certification. They
are conducted twice within the five-year period of an inspection for certification. Annual
inspections are the least rigorous inspections, occurring every year the vessel is not
required to have a periodic inspection or inspection for the purpose of certification.
Inspection costs vary depending on the type of inspection, the size of the vessel, and the
time it takes to conduct the inspection. The USCG is responsible for inspections and the
issuance of Certificates of Inspection, for which services it charges a fee.18
Alternately,
classification societies can conduct inspections on behalf of the USCG through the
Alternative Compliance Program19
, usually at a cost to the owner.
The inspection fees do not reflect the additional cost to drydock each vessel. Inspection
fees are categorized by vessel type and size. The time required to inspect a vessel is
typically proportional to the its length. Smaller vessels are assumed to take on average of
three days to inspect: one day to drydock and prepare the vessel for inspection, one day
for inspection, and one day to launch. Larger vessels may require a longer inspection
time, often on a one to two week time-scale.
Table 2 presents our findings on the costs of inspections.
Table 2: Annual Vessel Inspection Costs
Annual Vessel Inspection Fee
18
46 CFR 2.10–101, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title46-vol1/pdf/CFR-2012-title46-vol1-chapI-subchapA.pdf, p. 33. 19
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/acp/
TRB 2014 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
Annual Vessel Inspection Fee
Vessel Type Vessel Size Minimum Average Maximum
Freight Barges ≤300' $495 $553 $610
>300' $955 $955 $955
Freight Ships ≤300' $1,425 $1,648 $1,870
>300' $5,410 $5,410 $5,410
Industrial Vessels ≤200' $1,435 $1,435 $1,435
>200' $2,550 $2,550 $2,550
Mobile Offshore
Drilling Units
(MODU)
$4,695 $6,373 $8,050
Nautical School
Vessels
$835 $4,020 $7,205
Oceanographic
Research Vessels
$840 $2,225 $3,610
Offshore Supply
Vessels
$1,135 $1,303 $1,470
Passenger Barges <100 GT and
<65' $300 $300 $300
≥65' $600 $600 $600
≥100 GT and
<150 passengers $2,215 $2,215 $2,215
≥150 passengers $2,525 $2,525 $2,525
Passenger Ships ≤250' and
<150 passengers $3,600 $3,600 $3,600
≥150 passengers $4,050 $4,050 $4,050
TRB 2014 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
Annual Vessel Inspection Fee
>250' and ≤350' $5,330 $5,330 $5,330
>350' and ≤450' $6,835 $6,835 $6,835
>450' $14,650 $14,650 $14,650
Sailing School
Vessels
$530 $755 $980
Small Passenger
Vessels
<65' $300 $300 $300
≥65' $600 $600 $600
Tank Barges >100' $500 $500 $500
Tankships ≤300' $1,295 $1,803 $2,310
>300' $5,805 $5,805 $5,805
Liquefied Gas
Tankships
$12,120 $12,120 $12,120
Sea-going and other Towing Vessels under USCG’s
regulatory scheme
$1,030 $1,030 $1,030
Examinations
There are three types of examinations: a drydock examination, an internal structural
examination, and a cargo tank internal examination. Vessels are required to undergo two
examinations per examination type every five years.
We did not find significant variation in costs across the study’s vessel taxonomy. The
typical range for vessel examination costs was between $3,500 and $15,000.
Classifications
There is no regulatory vessel requirement to be classed. However; there may be industry
requirements for classification to conduct certain operations (particularly for the oil and
gas industry).
TRB 2014 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
Since the classification standards of ABS are more stringent than the requirements for
vessel inspection by the USCG, classed vessels are allowed to use their classification
inspections instead of a USCG inspection. The USCG can choose to delegate inspection
functions to approved organizations, such as ABS, under the Alternate Compliance
Program. This delegation reduces the number of inspections necessary to just the
classification inspection instead of both the classification inspection and the USCG
inspection.
Since vessel classification is not required, it represents an additional cost incurred by the
vessel owner. However, many vessel owners who choose not to have a vessel classed still
build their vessels to meet class standards.
Classification costs are set by ABS at the port; however, there were no regional
differences within the United States. Vessel classifications for relatively small vessels
cost between $6,000 and $10,000.
Surveys
A survey is not a requirement for unclassed vessels. It can refer to an investigation into a
specific area of the vessel or a general check of the entire vessel. A survey can be
conducted to determine the overall condition of a vessel; however, often a survey is done
for a specific system. Surveys are usually conducted by a surveying company like ABS
and its affiliated companies for unclassed and classed vessels, but can be done by
classification societies or even by the shipyard.
Cost and frequency of vessel surveys and inspections vary based on the type of survey,
whether the vessel is classed or unclassed, the size of the vessel, and the time it takes to
conduct theinspection. Due to broad variances in the types of surveys and the vessel
sizes, little data were available for vessels greater than than 300 feet in length. For vessels
less than 300 feet in length, the costs of a survey range from $750 to $1,500.
Drydocking
Vessels drydock for two main reasons: regulatory requirement and emergency repairs.
Vessel owners typically wait until the mandatory drydocking period to complete any non-
emergency repairs, modifications, or maintenance.
Drydocking occurs more frequently under certain circumstances, such as advanced vessel
age (which may require more out-of-water inspections) and in the event of emergencies
that raise concern over hull integrity (e.g., significant scraping or bumping of a vessel
hull).
TRB 2014 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
How long a vessel remains in drydock depends on the type of work being done on the
vessel. For smaller vessels, the drydocking period may be as short as a single day,
whereas larger vessels may need longer drydocking periods.
Drydocking costs vary based on vessel size, vessel weight, equipment, type of work, and
the type of drydock needed to accommodate the particular vessel. Most shipyards have
inclusive rates, often charging a flat rate either by day or by estimated costs for the
contracted drydocking period. These costs ranged from $2,000 to $250,000. The largest
passenger ships can have higher costs of up to $1,000,000.
The overall costs covered the labor costs for setting up the blocks and operating the
switchboard required during drydocking, but could also include additional costs for
services involving power, docking, potable water, and waste processing. These services,
combined with berth preparation, docking, and undocking, compose the typical baseline
drydocking estimates.
Table 3 presents data on drydocking following our vessel taxonomy, with additional data
on drydocking frequency and duration.
Table 3: Annual Drydocking Costs, Durations, and Frequencies
Drydocking Frequency
(Years)
Drydocking Duration
(Days on the dock) Drydocking Cost
Vessel Type Vessel Size Highest Ave Lowest Min Ave Max Min Ave Max