Ferry plans questioned
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by Nick Bell • Recommendations by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for new safety standards on RO-RO ferries will still leave vessels vul. nerable to capsizing, according to a university marine engineering expert .
Commenting on the IMO's recommendation for transverse bulkheads to create watertight compartments on the car deck (GM 20-26 April), Ian Winkle, senior lecturer at Glasgow University's naval architecture and ocean engineering department, says: "Almost any water on the car deck can produce instability. As little as 300mm can lead to a 150 heel tilt and this may produce cargo shift, which serves to compound the problem." And transverse bulkheads would also cause delays in loading and unloading.
Winkle is working on a design using longitudinal bulk heads and a second car deck below the waterline where any leakage will be contained, reducing its effect. Testing has shown that this model avoids the problem of capsizing. It is also said to avoid the delays involved in lowering the bulkheads, as they are permanent.
and results in minimal loss of space.
Winkle admits that the creation of a new car deck will be prohibitively expensive in most cases, but sees the construction of longitudinal bulkheads as an interim measure preferable to the IMO recommendations.