New Generation Stability Norms-How to Approach the Task

Abstract

International stability norms included in the Code of Intact Stability 2008 adopted by IMO on 4 December 2008 constitutes the latest set of international requirements on intact stability of ships. However the requirements included in the Code, part of them compulsory (Included in the Part A of the Code), other only recommended (included in the Part B of the Code) are considered as not totally sufficient to assure safety of ships. Because of that, IMO decided that there would be the necessity to develop so called new generation stability criteria covering certain identified hazards, such as parametric resonance, loss of stability in the wave crest broaching, dead ship condition and excessive accelerations when rolling. Those criteria, or rather stability norms, are under development since 2008. The present approach, the work on which is well advanced, is however, not fully satisfactory and several important problems were discovered. This approach may need to be reconsidered or supplemented. The author in the paper presented discusses the weak points of the current approach and proposes possible different approach in order to make future ships safer from the stability point of view.