Common rules for bulk carriers have taken another step forward as the IACS Joint Bulker Project team have made a series of presentations to shipowners, seeking industry input to the rules.
The JBP is made up of BV, CCS, ClassNK, GL, KR, RINA and RS. The aim of the Joint Bulker Project is to develop a set of common IACS rules and procedures to determine the scantlings of structural members of single or double hull bulk carriers of more than 90 m in length. The first draft of those rules has now been presented to industry in Shanghai, Tokyo, Pusan, New York and Rome, and a review of the draft will be complete by October 2004.
The new rules should enter into force with all IACS members on July 1, 2005.
Jean-François Segretain, regional Marine manager at Bureau Veritas, is a member of the Steering Committee of JBP. Segretain says, "We have had excellent feedback from owners at all our consultation meetings, and after the meeting in London today we will be well placed to complete work on the
rules. The shipping industry and IMO want to see class deliver a common high standard. These new rules are the first concrete evidence of the hard work and co-operation which IACS members have put into meeting those demands."
The expected benefits of the new rules are:
1. To offer to the Industry a classification standard valid for both
single hull and double hull vessels allowing fair comparison between these
competing designs.
2. To eliminate competition between class societies with regard to
structural requirements and design and construction standards.
3. To embrace the intentions of the anticipated IMO requirements for
Goal-Based Standards for new buildings.
4. To ensure that a ship meeting these new standards will be recognised
by the Industry as being safe, robust and fit for the purpose.
A number of innovative requirements will be included in the new rules:
1. For single hull vessels, more accurate formulas for the scantlings
of the lower and upper frame brackets, explicit consideration for fatigue
and new requirements for scantlings of connecting brackets and hatch end
beams.
2. Adoption of net scantlings and values of corrosion additions based
on 25 years conventional service life for all designs.
3. New sea loads formulas based on hydrodynamic computations and test
model basin results.
4. Closed-form formulas for buckling, allowing complete and accurate
determination of the scantlings of the secondary structure of the ship
(plates and ordinary stiffeners) at an early stage of the approval process.
5. Explicit computation of the ultimate strength of the hull girder
allowing a better assessment of deck and bottom structure in order to avoid
breakage of the ship into two parts at sea or in port.
6. New fatigue procedure based on the combined previous experience of
all members of the project.