DESIGN

A modern ship is very expensive to build and is expected to operate efficiently over a long time span,
often in excess of 25 years.

Thus capabilities might be the ability to maintain a speed of 20 knots in the average sea conditions it is
likely to meet on its usual service run; the ability to carry 500 standard containers or the ability to carry
1000 passengers

As far as possible, how the capability is provided should be left to the designer

Thus it is the designer who should propose how best to achieve the speed capability. For instance, what is
needed in the way of:

• total installed power;

• type of main engine – steam, diesel, gas turbine;

• how many shafts, or whether azimuthing pods are used; • type of propeller; fixed or controllable pitch,
ducted;
• shaft revolutions.

The designer must work closely with the owner in deciding many of these issues as the owner will often
have a legitimate interest in the decisions made. In addition to meeting an owner’s requirements there are
a wide range of international and national regulations to be met and standards which may originate with
the owner or builder.

Some of the most important decision on the general form of the ship must be taken early on.

These days the computer, with advanced computer-aided design (CAD) systems, provides an ability to
study alternatives in enough depth to give confidence in the final product. Simulators can give a feel for
the navigation of the ship in confined waters. However, these approaches can be expensive and a prudent
designer still makes good use of data from an earlier successful design.

COST?

Developing design

A feel for the size of the ship will be obtained from the weight or volume of cargo to be carried. The type
ship will then give a guide to the ratio of the dimensions but these can be modified to give the form
coefficients desired to give the desired propulsive efficiency, seakeeping and maneuvering characteristics.
The values of ratios such as length to beam or draught must be checked as being within the usually
accepted limits. Absolute dimensions must be compared with limiting values for ports and waterways the
ship is to use.
Initial stability would be considered early on, large angle stability would follow later but damaged
stability would not be dealt with until the internal layout of the design was better defined.

THE DESIGN PROCESS

Feasibility studies

As explained above the start- ing point is usually a type ship. Several design options will be produced
showing the trade-offs between various conflicting requirements or to highlight features that are unduly
costly to achieve and may not be vital to the function of the ship.

Contract design

The contract design, as its name implies, is produced to a level that it can be used to order the ship from a
shipbuilder, and a contract price quoted. Layout drawings will have been produced to confirm spaces
allocated to various functions are adequate. The power and type of machinery will have been decided and
the electrical power, chilled water, air conditioning, hydraulic and compressed air system capacities
defined. The basic ship design drawings will be supported by a mass of supporting specifications which
will control the development of the final design.

Full design

Included in this documentation will be the detailed specification of tests to be car- ried out including an
inclining experiment to check stability and the sea trials needed to show that the ship meets the conditions
of contract and the owner’s requirements.

Then, after acceptance, the Ministry of Defence carries out further trials on weapon and ship performance
in typical seagoing conditions.

It must be remembered that To Float is one capability the ship must possess reflecting the facts that it
must float at a reasonable draught and be stable. The external hull and internal watertight structure will
contribute to this capability.

The impact of technology and computers

Over the last half-century technology has had a tremendous impact upon how ships are designed, built,
operated and maintained. One could mention a myriad of examples but the following will serve as
illustrations:

-Materials technology. Modern materials require much less maintenance, reducing operating costs and
manpower demands. Reinforced plastics can be used for local structures, superstructures and for the main
hull. Such plastics can be con- figured to enable them to meet the local stresses efficiently. For example,
carbon fibres can be aligned with the main stress direction. New hull treatments permit much longer
intervals between dockings leading to higher ship usage rates and reduced costs of ownership. They also
contribute to the battle against pollution of the sea environment.

-Modern equipments are generally much more reliable with increased mean times between failures.
Modularization and repair by replacement policies reduce downtime and the num- ber of repair staff
needed on board.
The biggest impact has been the influence of the computer. Indeed, computers have made a vital
contribution to many of the changes referred to above. But it is in the sequence of design, build, maintain-
ing and running of ships that their influence has been greatest for the naval architect. In some cases these
processes have changed almost beyond recognition although the underlying principles and objectives
remain the same. As examples:

In design

(1) CAD systems enable preliminary designs (PD), in response to a client’s wishes, to be produced
more rapidly, in greater detail and with greater accuracy than ever before. Large databases of
type ships can be called upon. If the design is novel specialist software is usually available to
assess all the major characteristics.

(2) Once the customer has agreed the PD the computer already holds the basic definition with which
to start the contract design phase. The hull form, machinery requirements, layouts and sys- tems can
be produced with all the data accurately integrated and recorded. Any changes in form can be
reflected in compart- ment shapes, and the volumes recalculated, and so on. Changes in structure are
reflected in weight, hydrostatic and stability up-dates. Computer-based directories of materials and
equipment help in selecting equipments and fittings and integrating them into systems of known
performance, cost and reliability.

3 The strength of CAD systems is that they are integrated suites of related programs. These can
accommodate advanced programs for such things as structural strength evaluations, motion pre-
dictions and so on.

In production

(1) Once the design is approved to build the data can be passed to the chosen shipyard in digital form.
This reduces the risk of misinterpretation of drawings and other data. Provided the designer’s CAD and
builder’s computer-aided manufacture (CAM) systems are compatible it also reduces the builder’s task in
pro- ducing information for the production process.

(3) In production the computer can deal with routine matters like stock control. It can control cutting and
welding machines ensuring greater accuracy of fit, facilitating more extensive pre-fabrication and
reducing built in stresses. It should lead to a better, more consistent, quality of product. Where more than
one ship of a class is being built the ships will more closely resemble each other. This makes future
modification easier to control.

In operation and maintenance

1. they make it easier to pass information on to those who are to operate and maintain the ship.
Hydrostatic, hold and tank capacity, stability and strength data can be fed into the ship’s own
software systems to assist the captain in loading and operating the ship safely.

2. Computer-based decision aiding systems can be installed. For example, the master can be
prompted on the loading sequences to eliminate the possibility of jeopardizing the stability or
strength.
 3. The database provides a useful input to any surveyor. It shows what should be fitted and provides
the ‘hooks’ upon which the results of successive surveys can hung. In this way the gradual
deterioration of structure, say, can be logged, showing up poten- tial trouble spots and helping
decide when remedial action is needed.

It must be remembered though that it is only a tool, albeit a very powerful one.

Some of the more humdrum activities have been removed such as tedious manual calculations of volumes
and weights. But more knowledge is needed to carry out the total task.

SOME GENERAL DESIGN ATTRIBUTES

It has been seen that a ship will need to possess certain characteristics, or attributes, to meet an owner’s
requirements. It is constructive to consider some general attributes of design which apply to all, or most,
ship types. Different ship types are discussed in a later chapter

Transiting the world’s major waterways

There may be limits imposed on the size of a ship by external factors such as the geographical features,
and facilities, of the ports and water- ways to be used. Three waterways are of particular interest:

(1) The Suez Canal (The Suez Canal Authority). Built to reduce the passage time between Europe and
the East. Its length is 192 km and the average transit time is 14 hours.

(2) The Panama Canal (The Panama Canal Commission). Connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

(3) TheSt.LawrenceSeaway(St.LawrenceSeawayAuthority).Provides a link between the Great Lakes of

North America and the Atlantic.

The use of each of these requires a ship to pay tolls and not to exceed certain critical dimensions. Both
tolls and dimensions are subject to detailed conditions and special certificates are needed. A designer/
operator should consult the relevant authority for those details but a lot of data can be found on associated
web sites. As regards dimensions a simplified table is given below (Table 2.1). These limitations have led
to the terms Suezmax and Panamax being applied to bulk carriers just within the limits of dimension.
Those not able to use the canals are referred to as Capesize.

Manoeuvrability

What is meant by good manoeuvrability and means of providing it in a ship are discussed under
Manoeuvring (Chapter 13). Twin shafts, azimuthing propellers and lateral thrust units are some of the
means used to obtain good manoeuvrability.

SAFETY

Many, if not most, of the ships lost will have been built, maintained and manned in accord with the latest
rules and regulations. It is clear that a ship can be designed to meet all existing regulations and yet not be
as safe as it could, and should, be. This is partly due to:
 1. (1) Regulations having to be agreed by many authorities. As such they are often a compromise
between what is regarded by many as the best practice and what others feel to be unduly
restrictive or are prepared to accept for economic reasons.

2. (2) The time lag between failures being experienced, analysed, the corrective action decided
upon, agreed and implemented.

3. (3) Advancingtechnologyandchangingtraderequirementsleading to ships with new features, and

operating patterns, which have not been fully proven. Testing of hydrodynamic or structural
models, and of materials in representative conditions can help but the final proof of the soundness
of a design is its performance at sea.

It must be accepted that ships cannot be made completely safe against all eventualities. Some measures to
improve safety might:

1. (1) Makeitvirtuallyunusable.Forinstancetoogreatalevelofinternal watertight sub-division, carried

up high in the ship, would make it very difficult to move around or to stow cargo effectively.

2. (2) Be very costly, making the ship uneconomic to operate. It is this factor that makes many
owners unwilling to do more than required. They fear competitors will do the minimum and get
ships which are cheaper to own and operate. Fortunately some owners do recognize the need to
do more than the legal min- imum. They will benefit if their better safety record attracts ship-
pers and passengers.

Damage scenarios

A ship can be seriously damaged by, or lost because of:

(1) Water entering as a result of damage or human error in not having watertight boundaries
sealed. This can lead to capsize or foundering.
(2) Fire or explosion.
(3) Structuralfailureduetooverloading,fatigueorfracture,possibly
brittle in nature. Failure may be of the overall hull girder or local,
say in way of a hatch cover, so permitting the ingress of water. (4) Loss of propulsive power or
steering, leading to collision or
grounding.

Action by the designer

Apart from meeting all the legal requirements, a designer should:

(1) Consider whether any novel features of a design require special consideration.

(2) Look for any potentially weak spots which can be improved. This will often be at little cost if
addressed early enough in the design process.

(3) Use the dependency diagrams drawn up as part of the design process to establish where
duplication of critical equipments would be beneficial.
 (4) Ensure the builder and operators are aware of the reasons the design is configured in the way
it is, to ensure that this intent is carried through into the ship’s service life.

(5) Carryoutfailuremodeeffectanalyses(FMEA)ofcriticalequipments and systems. This calls for

experience of failures and why they occur and requires a dialogue between the designer and users.

(6) Produceasafetycase,identifyinghowashipmightsufferdamage, the probability of occurrence

and the potential consequences.

The safety case

The safety case concept consists of four main elements:

(1) The safety management system, including establishing, imple- menting and monitoring
policies. It is these policies that set the safety standards to be achieved, that is, the aims. It is the
oppos- ite of the prescriptive approach in which the system is made to adhere to a set of rules and
regulations. The safety case is tar- geted at a particular ship, or installation, in a given
environment with a specified function.

(2) Identification of all practical hazards.

(3) Evaluating the risk level of each hazard and reducing the level of hazards for which the risk is
judged to be unacceptable. The risk of a hazard is the product of its probability of occurrence and
the consequences if it does occur. The judgement of accept- ability is a difficult one. It is usually
based on what is known as the ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Possible) principle.

(4) Being prepared for emergencies that could occur.

It must be accepted, however, that no ship can be made absolutely safe under all possible conditions.
Unusual combinations of circum- stances can occur and freak conditions of wind and wave will arise
from time to time.

SUMMARY

The general approach to design and some specific design attributes have been discussed. The importance
of safety has been emphasized. It is apparent that a naval architect needs a clear set of definitions within
which to work and an ability to:

 Calculate areas and volumes of various shapes.

 Establish the drafts at which a ship will float and how its draughts

will change with different loadings.

 Study the stability of a vessel both intact and after damage.

 Determine the powering needed to achieve the desired speed in

 service on the routes the ship is to ply.

 Understand the environment in which a ship operates and its

responses to that environment.

 Ensure the ship is adequately strong.

 Provide the ship with adequate means for manoeuvring in con-

fined waters or on the ocean.

All these areas of knowledge are addressed in the ensuing chapters. Then a number of ship types
are discussed to show how the require- ments of an operator can lead to significantly different
ships although they obey the same fundamental laws.
SUMMARY

The general approach to design and some specific design attributes have been discussed. The importance
of safety has been emphasized. It is apparent that a naval architect needs a clear set of definitions within
which to work and an ability to:

 Calculate areas and volumes of various shapes.

 Establish the drafts at which a ship will float and how its draughts

will change with different loadings.

 Study the stability of a vessel both intact and after damage.

 Determine the powering needed to achieve the desired speed in

service on the routes the ship is to ply.

 Understand the environment in which a ship operates and its

responses to that environment.

 Ensure the ship is adequately strong.

 Provide the ship with adequate means for maneuvering in con-

fined waters or on the ocean.

All these areas of knowledge are addressed in the ensuing chapters. Then a number of ship types
are discussed to show how the requirements of an operator can lead to significantly different
ships although they obey the same fundamental laws.