Project SAFEDOR- Maritime Experts Meet in Munich

The approval procedures of risk-based ship design is one feature of the European research project SAFEDOR. The SAFEDOR research project views safety of ships as an objective of the design process and not as a limitation imposed by standards or regulations. Within the project, a framework had been developed which is required for risk based approval. Today, 25 representatives of regulatory authorities, flag states, governmental administrations and classification societies are taking part in a training course on approval of risk-based ship design in Munich.

For risk-based ship design, operation and approval to be effectively implemented, there is an urgent need to develop ways of approving innovative designs in an effective, practical and flexible manner. A risk based regulatory regime implies that regulations have been developed and justified based on well-defined approaches to reduce risk in the most cost effective manner. At the same time, these regulations] must be open to direct use of risk assessment in design and approval,] characterized by rationality, objectivity, transparency, auditability and openness for innovation.

Risk-based approval is the process of approving risk-based designed ships for their intended operation based on acceptance criteria (eventually to be agreed at IMO), which are elaborated and proposed through SAFEDOR research. The one-day workshop discusses the outline of a high-level Risk-Based Approval Process of innovative ship designs. It continues with a description of high-level Risk Acceptance Criteria for the ship, which is further detailed at ship function level by a lecture on Acceptance Criteria for Main Ship Functions. The afternoon session is oriented towards to examples and applications. It begins with the detailing of the Approval of Risk-Based System and is followed by the presentation of a FSA Study on Container Ships. The vital bond between Risk-Based Design and Approval is presented in the final lecture, concentrating on how Risk-Based Design and Approval work together. This lecture ends with a presentation of an Innovative Risk-Based Tanker Ship Design project.