NEW CONSTRUCTION--THE TECHNICAL ISSUE

This article reprints a presentation by the author, speaking as director and chief ship surveyor of Lloyd's Register, to the Council members of Intertanko. The issue it addresses is that of what lifespan owners want or expect of future new large tankers. The view expressed is that there are profound commercial implications in the universal adoption of high tensile steel and optimum design for tankers. These issues involve scantlings, new ship prices, and a need, ideally, for close scrutiny by classification society surveyors during the construction process--surveyors aware of the finer construction tolerances called for by highly optimized, higher tensile designs. Two sets of charts that accompany the text show age distribution and deadweight distribution for the oil tanker fleets that are in service.