A HYPOTHESIS CONCERNING THE DISASTROUS FAILURE OF THE ONOMICHI-MARU

The bulk carrier ONOMICHI-MARU suffered severe damage in rough seas and was lost on 30 December 1980 while carrying coal from the USA to Japan via the Panama Canal. In their analysis, the authors of this paper suggest that the loss may have been due to fatigue and that it was a consequence of direct proportionality between bending moment and shearing force at the section which failed, 0.15 L abaft the bow.