A PERFORMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENT OF THE SURVIVAL OF DAMAGED SHIPS: FINAL OUTCOME OF THE EU RESEARCH PROJECT HARDER.

The paper presents the results of the EU Research Project HARDER with regard to the development of generalized formulations to predict the probability of survival of a damaged ship in a seaway. The methodology follows the procedures used to develop the survivability functions for the probabilistic damage stability regulations for passenger ships developed in the 1960s but makes use of an extensive series of a new model test carried out both as part of the HARDER Project and as part of independent external model tests. Simplified formulations based on static calculations have been proposed and correlated to the model test results. Two formulations are proposed, one to be applied to all types of ships, and an additional function based on the static equivalent method (SEM) methodology, which is suitable for roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) ships (or any other ships with large unsubdivided horizontal spaces near the final damaged waterline). These formulas are currently under consideration by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for the new harmonized damaged stability regulations in the upcoming SOLAS 2006 revisions.