Holistic Approach to Ship Design

Abstract

The recently completed Horizon 2020 European Research project—HOLISHIP—Holistic Optimization of Ship Design and Operation for Life Cycle (2016–2020) has developed suitable tools and software platforms which are necessary for the creation of innovative design solutions meeting the set low-emission strategic objectives. The present paper introduces an innovative, holistic approach to ship design and the development of integrated design software platforms and tools, which are used in practical applications. In the era of the 4th industrial revolution, this project sets out to substantially advance ship design via the introduction of a fully computerized, multi-disciplinary optimization approach to ship design and life-cycle operation. The approach enables the exploration of a huge design space in a relatively short time, as well as the distributed/multi-site working and the virtual reality testing; thus, it is a strong asset for the development of innovative maritime concepts in response to the needs of the 21st century.