On regulatory framework of direct stability assessment

Abstract

Direct assessment of stability, including model tests and numerical simulations, is the ultimate way to evaluate the risk of stability failure for an unconventional vessel. That is why direct assessment is considered to be the highest tier of the second generation of intact-stability criteria, that are being developed by IMO. Direct assessment procedures for stability failure are intended to employ the most advanced state-of-the art technology available, yet be sufficiently practical so as to be uniformly applied, verified, validated, and approved using currently available infrastructure. This paper addresses several principal issues related to the application of numerical simulation in the IMO regulatory framework, including possible requirements for a method that adequately replicates ship motions in waves, validation of such a method, actual assessment procedures and their validation.