Naval Architecture and Shipbuilding
Naval architecture portal: hull form, hydrostatics, intact and damage stability, strength, resistance, seakeeping, load lines, tonnage, shipyards and recycling.
This portal covers how a ship is designed, built and broken up: hull form and hydrostatics, intact and damage stability, longitudinal and local strength, resistance and propulsion prediction, seakeeping, load lines, tonnage measurement, shipyard practice and ship recycling under the Hong Kong Convention.
The working rules are SOLAS Chapter II-1 Parts B and B-1 for subdivision and damage stability, the 2008 Intact Stability Code, the Load Lines Convention 1966 and its 1988 Protocol, the Tonnage Convention 1969, the IACS Common Structural Rules for bulk carriers and oil tankers, and the Hong Kong Convention for ship recycling.
Ship classes and named designs live here; individual hulls belong to Ships and Vessel Types. Machinery belongs to Marine Engineering and Propulsion.
Start here
- Damage Stability: Rules and Criteria by Ship Type
Damage stability is a ship's ability to survive flooding after collision or grounding. SOLAS, MARPOL, IBC, IGC and Load Line regimes compared by ship type.
- Probabilistic Damage Stability: SOLAS II-1 A and R Indices
SOLAS II-1 probabilistic damage stability explained: required index R, attained index A, p, v and s factors, three draughts and the MSC.421(98) changes.
- Intact stability
Intact stability covers the ability of an undamaged ship to resist capsizing, governed by the IMO 2008 IS Code and the criteria of Resolution MSC.267(85).
- Metacentric height (GM)
Metacentric height GM is the primary index of a ship's initial transverse stability, governing righting moment, roll period.
- Ship resistance and powering
Ship resistance and powering quantifies the forces opposing a vessel's motion and the engine power required to overcome them at a given speed.
- Rudders and Ship Steering: Types, Forces, Standards
How ship rudders work: hydrodynamics, spade and horn types, IACS UR S10 loads, stock and bearings, IMO maneuvering criteria and energy-saving rudder designs.
- Bulbous Bow Retrofits: Re-Profiling Guide
A bulbous bow retrofit replaces a ship's bulb with a new form tuned to its actual speed and draft, cutting resistance and improving attained EEXI and the CII rating.
- Tonnage measurement of ships
Tonnage measurement of ships covers gross tonnage, net tonnage, and the 1969 International Tonnage Convention that replaced register tons with.
All articles in this portal
40 articles, plus 101 in preparation.
- Admiralty coefficient
- Block coefficient and hull form coefficients
- Bulbous Bow Retrofits: Re-Profiling Guide
- Cross Curves of Stability and KN Tables
- Damage Stability: Rules and Criteria by Ship Type
- Free surface effect
- Freeboard and Reserve Buoyancy
- GZ Curve and Righting Arm
- Hong Kong Convention 2009: Ship Recycling
- Hull form design
- Hull Strength and Longitudinal Bending
- Hydrostatics and Bonjean curves
- Intact stability
- Kockums: Malmo Shipyard and Marine Engines
- Lightweight vs Deadweight: Displacement Explained
- LNG Cargo Containment Systems
- Marine Bow Doors and Stern Ramps: Ro-Ro Safety
- Marine Hatch Covers: Weathertight Closures
- Marine propeller
- Marine Stabilisers: Roll Reduction Systems
- Marine Stability Booklet and Loading Computer
- Metacentric height (GM)
- Mooring Forces and Station-Keeping
- Naval Architecture Coefficients Explained
- Parametric Rolling: SGISC Level 1 and Level 2 Criteria
- Probabilistic Damage Stability: SOLAS II-1 A and R Indices
- Propeller Theory: From Momentum to CFD
- Rudders and Ship Steering: Types, Forces, Standards
- Scotts Shipbuilding Greenock: 1711 to 1984
- Sea Trials and Performance Testing
- Seakeeping: Ship Performance in Waves
- Ship Lines Plan: Hull Geometry Reference
- Ship Motions: Six DOF in a Seaway
- Ship resistance and powering
- Ship Resistance Components: Full Breakdown
- Ship Vibration: Hull, Propeller and Engine Excitation
- Subdivision and Floodable Length: SOLAS II-1
- Tonnage measurement of ships
- Trim and list
- Wetted Surface Area of a Ship Hull