GL: Strength Aspects and Weather Routing of Multi-Purpose Ships

Adequate hull strength and safe weather routing are primary requirements for safe operation of multi-purpose
ships. In his presentation "Strength Aspects and Weather Routing of
Multi-Purpose Ships", Dr Thomas E. Schellin, Department Analysis of Hull
Structures and Damages at Germanischer Lloyd, informed on these
requirements. The presentation took place today at ShipTek 2008 in
Cochin, India.
Fast changing designs, increasing safety demands, and greater
environmental concerns require innovative procedures. They are necessary
to control the inherent risk associated with marine transport of large,
complex, and expensive structures. In his presentation, Dr Schellin gave
an overview of application of modern analysis methods that can reduce
the risk of incurring property loss or causing pollution. To ensure safe
sea transports for heavy or bulky cargos, weather routing analysis is
appropriate, he emphasized.
In combination with extremely long and wide cargo holds, ships with
complex and flexible cargo handling and stowage functions require an
intensive strength investigation. An overall design approach must
consider deflections and interaction forces between hatch covers and the
longitudinal hull girder, Dr Schellin pointed out. He described a finite
element coupling method comprising interaction between hatch cover and
cargo hold deflections caused by operation of cranes in port and
wave-induced loads. Other topics of his presentation included modeling
principles, strength analysis and voyage planning.