RINA’s highlights on cruise ship stability challenges
Market conditions as well as green regulations have been pushing the cruise lines to further explore energy efficiency measures and technology to reduce their eco-footprint.
RINA’s conference on design and operation of passenger ships in November last year, highlighted some of the challenges faced by the passenger shipping industry in terms of their approach to assessing cruise ship stability, as well as practical steps that can be taken to improve evacuation procedures in the event of a casualty and risk assessment for passenger ships.
David Ridden, principal consultant at Burness Corlett Three Quays, highlighted the practical difficulties of assessing the stability of cruise ships, which have been increasing in size and in numbers during the past 20 years.
The growth in passenger numbers has occurred at the same time as regulatory changes aimed at ensuring adequate margins of stability in intact and damaged conditions.
He maintained that the: “statutory requirements for confirming the accuracy and reliability of the lightship properties remain largely unchanged and do not reflect the increased risk presented by ever larger passenger ships.“
As cruise ship operators seek to improve the appearance of their ships and the amenities on board, this results in potential weight changes which result in the need to verify lightship properties, he explained. Lightship surveys tend to be done when the ship is in service and are sub-divided into a dry survey, a tank survey and draught survey.
Other issues he raised were the weight of stores onboard. If the ship was in service when the survey was made it was likely to be fully stocked with stores, in which case there might be difficulty in accurately estimating the weight. In the same way, the more passengers on the ship, the greater margin for error.
Other concerns included that in the past practically all tanks had sounding pipes, whereas these had now been replaced by gauges and surveys show: “they are sometimes faulty, he said. There were also problems with draught surveys if draught marks were in the wrong place, or weather conditions made reading them difficult. Given the design of the after hull of some cruise ships reading the aft hull marks might be difficult“, he added.
Given that the cruise industry is growing, both in size and in numbers of passengers onboard a single ship, so are the difficulties of successfully evacuating passengers and crew in the event of an emergency according to Dr Daniel Povel of FutureShip part of the DNV GL Group.
Since July 2010 passenger ship newbuildings have to comply with Safe Return to Port regulations, which addresses redundancy of propulsion and safety systems following a fire or flooding incident. However, the new rules only apply to ships built since the rules came into force, but Povel explained at the conference that the philosophy of Safe Return to Port could be applied to existing vessels using a risk assessment method. A system vulnerability and availability assessment addressing passenger ship systems capabilities following an accident could increase safety for passengers and crew, as well as prevent down time in a shipyard, or compensation payments, Povel said.
Safety and security on cruise ships has been at the centre of a newly released Government Accountability Office report in the US on the implementation of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act 2010 and crew industry safety practices. The point of the review was to establish whether cruise lines met all the requirements of the Act, and also any actions taken following Costa Concordia’s grounding to improve the safety of cruise ships visiting US ports.
The report found that the cruise industry and federal agencies had implemented 11 out of 15 of the Act’s provisions.
According to US Coast Guard officials, the report states a notice of proposed rulemaking is in development to address three of the four remaining provisions. The three provisions relate to technologies to firstly detect a person going overboard, secondly maintain a video surveillance system to assist in documenting crimes on the vessel, and thirdly transmit communications and warnings from the ship to anyone in surrounding waters.
“A policy linked to the fourth provision on the certification of trainers who provide the CVSSA course on crime scene preservation to cruise line personnel, is, as of December 2013, undergoing review at the Department of Transportation.“
The report raised some concerns about crime reporting and amendments to the Act have been tabled to deal with this aspect.
Following Costa Concordia’s accident the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) identified 10 safety-related policies in 2012 that were adopted by all member cruise lines by July 2013.
These policies include improvements to vessel passage planning and life jacket stowage, among other things. The IMO has also adopted a regulation, effective January 2015, requiring passengers to participate in a muster drill prior to or immediately upon departure rather than within 24 hours of departure. CLIA member cruise lines adopted a similar muster policy weeks after Costa Concordia’s accident.
Commenting on the report CLIA President and CEO Christine Duffy said: “We are pleased the GAO concluded that cruise lines are complying with the requirements of the CVSSA, and implementation of the law is progressing as intended. The cruise industry worked with Congress to develop the CVSSA, along with numerous other stakeholders, and supported its passage and enactment into law.
“Although allegations of serious crime on cruise ships are a small fraction of corresponding rates on land, the cruise industry voluntarily discloses allegations of serious crime to the public so consumers can see for themselves that alleged crimes on cruise ships are uncommon. To our knowledge, no other industry provides this level of transparency.
“The GAO report notes that the low rate of alleged crime on cruise ships as compared with land-based crimes can be explained in part by the fact that passengers are in a set environment, all persons and items brought onboard are screened, camera surveillance is ubiquitous, and security personnel are present.
“We are pleased that the GAO report highlights the proactive efforts of the cruise industry in keeping with its legacy of continuous improvement in shipboard operations and safety. The report recognises that the industry adopted 10 wide-ranging safety policies in 2012, each of which are mandatory for membership in CLIA, and have been incorporated into IMO standards.“
Costa Cruises meanwhile has been celebrating the technical launch of its new flagship the 132,500gt Costa Diadema at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera. The ship, which has 1,862 cabins, will be delivered on 30 October 2014. Costa Cruises has invested a total of around 550 million (US$746 million) in its construction and the project is employing approximately 1,000 shipyard workers plus another 2,500 employees of allied industries. The benefits in terms of employment extend beyond the yard, especially regarding the fitting-out of the interiors of the cruise ship, with the involvement of about 400 contracted suppliers, most of which are Italian firms.
Costa Crociere CEO Michael Thamm commented: “Costa Diadema will be our new flagship and our tangible commitment to the future success and growth of our Company. She is the 10th cruise ship built in Italy by Fincantieri for Costa since 2000, with a total investment worth almost 5 billion (US$6.78 billion). This investment creates wealth and employment for the country as a whole not only during the building, but also when the ships are in service.“
Fincantieri’s CEO, Giuseppe Bono, said: “For many years now we’ve been applying Italian know-how to form a winning team with Costa. We hope that the country as a whole is proud of these two major companies and will not fail to support their continued growth. We’re also convinced that Costa Diadema, the largest ship ever built for Costa Crociere, bodes very well for the future development of our companies and the entire industry“.
SAM technology
Hamburg-based SAM Electronics, together with its associate company, Valmarine, has supplied a combination of NACOS Platinum integrated navigation and Valmatic Platinum automation systems aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s new 144,000gt cruise ship, Norwegian Getaway. Built by Meyer Werft at its Papenburg yard, the vessel is due to begin service in February from its home port of Miami.
The complete NACOS assembly comprises five X and S-band radars serially linked to five main Multipilot 1100 multi-function workstations for combined displays of ARPA radar, ECDIS and conning operations in addition to those for automatic steering and voyage planning. The touch-screen units are in turn connected to secondary stations for selectable displays of data located at port and starboard wings as well as the captain’s cabin.
Featuring standardised consoles and a common operating network, the assembly incorporates a complete range of subsidiary navaids consisting of AIS, VDR, DGPS, EcdisPilot, doppler logs, echosounders, gyros, rudder steering and indicator and wind/weather sensors. Also included is SAM’s latest Bridge Navigational Watch Alarm System in addition to an advanced dynamic positioning system with three polar axis controllers and specialist cruise software developed by Dynamic Positioning & Control Systems.
The NACOS arrangement is complemented by an L-3 Valmarine Valmatic Platinum automation assembly complete with Safety Management and Emergency Shutdown systems, all of which are fully integrated via a redundant network. Operational control is via a dedicated communications network connected to multi-purpose workstations in the engine control room and on the bridge.
With a length of 324m and accommodation for 4,000 passengers, Norwegian Getaway is the second cruise newbuilding in NCL’s Breakway-class ships following the launch last April of Norwegian Breakaway. Also built by Meyer Werft, the earlier sister vessel is equipped with identical SAM and L-3 Valmarine integrated Platinum systems.
Source: RINA
