STRONGER containerships are expected to be built supposedly at no extra costs, according classification societies responsible for ensuring ship construction and maintenance meet international standards.
The move follows the splitting and subsequent sinking of the five-year old, 8,110-TEU MOL Comfort off the coast of Yemen last year, an incident. Speculation is rife over what was the cause, reports Lloyd's List.
The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), whose 13 members set the design and construction standards for ships and then continue to monitor vessels throughout their life, is reviewing the way in which the strength of a containership is analysed.
IACS, representing all the top containership classification societies including Lloyd's Register, ABS, DNV-GL, Bureau Veritas and ClassNK, which was responsible for MOL Comfort, does not plan to introduce common structural rules for containerships.
Given that developing such rules is a lengthy process, IACS has decided instead to develop common structural analysis requirements for containerships.
These will ensure that the hulls of ship types covered by the rules are built to identical safety specifications, so that there is no competition between shipyards on a vessel's strength.
In other words, all class societies will have to use the same methodology to test the structural strength of post-panamax boxships.
The new rules, which will be mandatory when developed, will apply to all newbuildings of around 5,000 TEU and larger ordered after 2016.
Said IACS chairman Roberto Cazzulo: "We decided it was time for a state-of-the-art review of IACS criteria on containerships."
The IACS is now putting together a group of experts who will draw up more detailed recommendations that are likely to be ready within a year and will form the platform for individual members to develop their own rules, based on an underlying common standard.
One area to be considered is the strength of a ship, taking into account a combination of factors such as the weight of containers and loading conditions.
All container vessels should be constructed to cope with greater extremes of loading or weather conditions than at present.
"We are broadening the scope of the standard verification criteria, not standardising designs," said Mr Cazzulo.
SHIPBUILDING
20 March 2014 - 20:35
Uniform standards of ship strengths first aim of class societies
STRONGER containerships are expected to be built supposedly at no extra costs, according classification societies responsible for ensuring ship construction and maintenance meet international standards.
SHIPBUILDING
20 March 2014 - 20:35
Uniform standards of ship strengths first aim of class societies
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