Casualty analysis of large tankers

This article presents detailed results of a comprehensive analysis of recorded accidents of large oil tankers (deadweight greater than 80 000 tonnes) occurring between 1978 and 2003. The analysis encompasses a thorough review of available raw accident data and their postprocessing in a way to produce appropriate statistics useful for the implementation of risk-based assessment methodologies. The processing of the captured data led to the identification of significant qualitative historical trends of tanker accidents and of quantitative characteristics of large tanker accidents, such as overall accident rates per ship-year. Data were also analyzed for all major accident categories separately, taking into account tanker ship size/type, the degree of accident severity, and the oil spill tonne rates per ship-year; this led to the identification of heavily polluted worldwide geographical areas as a result of large tanker accidents.     

Statistical and dynamical analyses of propagation mechanisms of solitary internal waves in a two-layer stratification

The blocking effect of submarine ridges on the propagation of internal solitary waves (ISWs) over the topography of the seabed results in the fission of the solitary waves that accompany the generation of reflected and transmitted waves. In this study, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) is used to investigate the inseparable relationship between the transmission and reflection. An examination of the error sums of squares and cross-products (SSCP) matrix and the correction matrix shows that the correlation between the transmission (at/ai) and reflection coefficients (ar/ai) is quite low (0.284). Moreover, from multivariate testing, including Pillai’s trace, Wilks’ lambda, Hotelling’s trace and Roy’s largest root, we conclude that the ridge height has a large effect (η = 0.456) on both the amplitude of the transmitted and reflected waves, as well as large (η = 0.411) and very large (η = 0.469) effects on the amplitudes of the transmitted and reflected waves, respectively. In conclusion, the results in the present study highlight the importance of the role played by ridge height in coherent ISW transmission and reflection during oceanic wave–ridge interactions.     

Experimental study on the width of the turbulent area around bridge pier

At present, the method of calculating the turbulent flow width around the bridge pier is not given in the "Standard for Inland River Navigation" (GB50139-2004) in China, and the bridge designer usually increases the bridge span in order to ensure the navigation safety, which increases both of the structural design difficulty and the project investments. Therefore, it is extremely essential to give a research on the turbulent flow width around the bridge pier. Through the experiments of the fixed bed and the mobile bed, the factors influencing the turbulent flow width around the bridge pier have been analyzed, such as the approaching flow speed, the water depth, the angles between the bridge pier and the flow direction, the sizes of bridge pier, the shapes of the bridge pier, and the scouring around the bridge pier, etc. Through applying the dimension analytic method to the measured data, the formula of calculating the turbulent flow width around the bridge pier is then inferred.     

A case study related to the improvement of working and rest hours of oil tanker deck officers

Navigation safety on coastal waters is an extremely important issue. Fatigue is an important factor threatening navigation safety. Considering that the vessel type is an oil tanker, such a threat is not posed only to the crew but also to the environment. Most of the tankers navigating coastal waters are in the small tanker category. Therefore, this study examined the working and resting hours of the deck officers in the oil tankers navigating coastal waters. The study utilized the ISF Watchkeeper 3 program for assessing and interpreting the working periods. The study reached the conclusion that the first and second officers in particular are working under unsuitable conditions. To improve the working conditions of the deck officers, effects of additional cargo officer on board was investigated. This study is in quality of recommendation. The study elucidated that the cargo officer practice determines the working and resting hours of deck officers, in the work on the oil tankers, and compliance with the related conventions.     

Evaluating the impact of PSC inspectors’ professional profile: a case study of the Spanish Maritime Administration

Full-scale globalisation of trade has been accompanied by a progressive liberalisation of maritime transport. The proliferation of open registries has created a situation in which Port State Control (PSC) has become much more effective than the feeble or non-existent control exercised by those States. This study has been conducted on the influence of the professional profile of inspectors on inspection results. The objective of our paper was to evaluate the impact of PSC inspectors’ professional profile by conducting a case study of the Spanish Maritime Administration. The paper concludes with a discussion of the correlation between deficiencies detected and professional profiles.     

The analysis of life safety and economic loss in marine accidents occurring in the Turkish Straits

The increase in the world's trading capacity, which has been spurred by globalization, has caused problems in marine transportation, namely congestion. Despite the safety measures currently in place, marine accidents are still not being prevented. This study focuses on marine accidents in the Turkish Straits that have done serious harm to humans, the natural environment, and the economy. To reduce the negative impacts mentioned above, this study considered the most common types of accidents, their causes, and their results. For this purpose, 850 serious marine accidents, which took place in the Turkish Straits between the years of 2001 and 2010 (as recorded by the Undersecretaries for Maritime Affairs), have been analyzed and the data obtained have been systematically tabulated using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methodology. According to the data, the most significant cause of marine accidents in the Turkish Straits is human error. This study proposes measures to ensure that ship personnel are competent, mentally and physically, to navigate narrow and dangerous waterways in order to minimize the amount of accidents caused by human error.     

Broaching prediction of a wave-piercing tumblehome vessel with twin screws and twin rudders

The new intact stability criteria which are under development at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are required to cover a broaching phenomenon, well known as a great threat to high-speed vessels which can lead to capsizing. Some reports exist which demonstrate that their numerical models can predict a highly nonlinear phenomenon of broaching. However, additional validation studies are needed for unconventional vessels, in addition to conventional ones, to develop direct stability assessment methods for the new intact stability criteria. In this research, we selected as the subject ship a wave-piercing tumblehome vessel with twin screws and twin rudders, a design expected to be one of a new generation of high-speed monohull ships. Firstly, a series of captive model tests were conducted to measure the resistance, the manoeuvring forces, the wave-exciting forces, the heel-induced hydrodynamic forces, and the roll restoring variation for the unconventional tumblehome vessel. Secondly, the existing mathematical model which had been developed for broaching prediction of conventional vessels with a single propeller and a single rudder was extended to unconventional vessels with twin propellers and twin rudders. Finally, comparisons between numerical simulations and the existing free running model experiments were conducted. As a result, it was demonstrated that fair quantitative prediction of broaching is realised when the rudder force variation, the roll restoring variation and the heel-induced hydrodynamic force for large heel angles are taken into account.     

Analysis of occupational accidents encountered by deck cadets in maritime transportation

The 2010 Manila amendments to the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Code (STCW) was adopted by the idea to render the profession more attractive to the seafarers, particularly to cadets. It is possible to ensure greater attraction only by providing suitable and safe working conditions on board to cadets. This study analyses occupational accidents and near misses encountered by ocean going deck cadets, who received A-II/I training, during their sea training. The aim of this study was to determine causal factors influencing work accidents and to propose several recommendations for the safety of deck cadets. A total of 857 officer candidates, who received maritime education at university level in Turkey, were interviewed. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was used in the study to analyse the occupational accidents. As a result of this study on deck cadets, the most risky areas for work accidents were found to be the deck (39.9%), cargo areas (35.7%), areas used for manoeuvring operations (including winch areas and areas in which berthing, unberthing, and anchoring operations take place) (16.1%), and accommodation areas (8.3%). The most important root causes for occupational accidents were identified as not using personal protective equipment (24.2%), haste (22.6%), and presence in inappropriate places (13.6%). This study offers some important insight into the prevention of occupational accidents, and includes suggestions and advisory opinions of sector representatives. As a result of this study, several recommendations for the prevention of accidents are proposed.     

Response-based analysis for Tension Leg Platform

The typical industry practice for Tension Leg Platform (TLP) design focuses on a conventional short-term design recipe, which assumes that an N-year design environment leads to an N-year response. In the response-based design method, the TLP is designed to withstand N-year responses rather than respond to N-year environmental conditions. In this paper, we present an overview and a general procedure for the response-based design method and use a case study to compare the critical TLP responses between the two methods. The results of our comparison show that the conventional short-term design method often contains an element of conservatism and that the response-based design method can reduce the design conditions and thereby achieve cost savings.     

Response spectrum method for extreme wave loading with higher order components of drag force

Response spectra of fixed offshore structures impacted by extreme waves are investigated based on the higher order components of the nonlinear drag force. In this way, steel jacket platforms are simplified as a mass attached to a light cantilever cylinder and their corresponding deformation response spectra are estimated by utilizing a generalized single degree of freedom system. Based on the wave data recorded in the Persian Gulf region, extreme wave loading conditions corresponding to different return periods are exerted on the offshore structures. Accordingly, the effect of the higher order components of the drag force is considered and compared to the linearized state for different sea surface levels. When the fundamental period of the offshore structure is about one third of the main period of wave loading, the results indicate the linearized drag term is not capable of achieving a reliable deformation response spectrum.