7.

GENERAL ARRANGEMENT
As the initial hull form is being developed, the general arrangement of the ship must be prepared. The
general arrangement plan should include the following information

Positions of main bulkheads and decks

Extents of machinery space and superstructure
Plan of each deck or space for each deck all spaces including the accomodation arrangements
should be shown.

Figure 7.1. Typical general arrangement plans for a container ship and a bulk carrier

7.1
Figure 7.2. Typical general arrangement plan for a motorboat

7.2
7.1. Basic Principles
No matter what kind of ship or boat is under consideration, there are certain common sense rules that
a naval architect will want to remember when deciding where to locate each of the various component
parts. The first thing to realize is that there will inevitably be conflicts. For example, in a small power
yacht the engine almost invariably seems to foul up the arrangements by occupying a space right near
the middle of the cabin accomodations. Priorities must be established and compromises reached. The
naval architects ranking will be in one order on a cargo ship and another on a yacht. Morever, there
will always be a need for subjective judgement and no two designers will come up with the same
answers. Like so much in naval architecture, arrangement decisions involve art as well as science,
and its the art that makes the subject so fascinating.

The following principles must all be kept in mind througout the task of deciding what is to go where in
any ship or boat.

The ships primary function: For example, in a commercial fishin boat, the designer should start
by selecting and locating the fish catching equipment. In a cargo ship, the first task is to find out
the form in which the cargo is to be moved. Then decide how the cargo is going to be moved on
and off the ship, through what kind of openings in the hull, and where it is to be carried within the
hull. Having made those key decisions, the designer will wrap the design around them.
Regulatory requirements : The forepeak bulkhead and forepeak just have to go up there at the
forward end. Decisions like that are easy.
Finding locations where the hull form fits the function : Liquids can be carried in oddly shapd
spaces but cargo container boxe cannot.
The big items should be loacted first :
Things that clash should be segragated : A noisy mooring winch does not belong atop
somebaodys cabin. The dining room should be kept well away from the engine room.
Thing that are functionally related should be close to each other : The galley should be
placed next to the eating places and also close to the food stores. Sanitary spaces for adjacent
cabins are best situated beck to back to minimize the amount of piping.
Stability and trim must always be kept in mind : What happens during the voyage as fuel is
used up? When no cargo is available, is there enough ballast capacity to put to sea safely?
Major structural components should be integrated into the general layout

Good arrangement require considerable study to achieve an optimum layout. Design needs to
consider

separation of function, such as passengers and crew, sleeping and working, etc
adjacency of similar functions such as stores, galley, messrooms
traffic flow in stores loading, battle stations, abandonship, launch embarkation, meal time,
maintenance, etc.

Traffic flow is very important in arrangement design. You do not want the crew to go through the
owners stateroom to get to a forward auxiliary space. On large military and passenger vessels, traffic
flow patterns must be studied and simulated in detail to ensure that bottlenecks will not occur. Crew
berthing relative to battlestations, for example, must be studied carefully. In the general field of
architecture rational methods have been developed to assess arrangements. For example, the
property circulation is evaluated where,

n n
C = d ij A ij
i =1 j=1
where

n : number of compartments
dij : distance between spaces i and j
Aij : degree of association between spaces i and j (such as trips per day)

The designer should seek minimum circulation.

7.3
The initial development of a general arrangement plan is a combination of common sense, recognition
of regulatory requirements, and consideration of similar designs. At the earliest stages of design a
sketch indicating the location of decks and bulkheads is usually adequate.

Figure 7.3. Typical general arrangement plan for a research vessel

7.2. Location of bulkheads

For cargo ships and tankers the number of transverse bulkheads will depend on the following
requirements:

Shipowners requirements
Rules of the Classification Society
Subdivision requirements

For tankers and bulk carriers holds must be located in front of the machinery space but for cargo ships
and passenger ships many arrangements are possible.

7.2.1. Collision bulkhead

7.4
TL rules requires a watertight bulkhead at 0.05 LBP to 0.08 LBP from the forward perpendicular for
L200 m. For ships longer then 200 meter this distance shall not be less than 10 meters. In most
cases this is desired to be as forward as possible. Space forward can serve as chain loceker, bow
thruster room, deep tanks etc. Winch gear rooms and bosun stores can go at the upper level. The
collision bulkhead should be watertight up to the freeboard deck

For passenger ships classification society rules requires a watertight collision bulkhead at 0.05 LBP to
0.05 LBP +3 m from the forward perpendicular.

7.2.2. After peak bulkhead

TL rules requires an after peak bulkhead to enclose the shaft stern tube in a watertight compartment
or a shaft tunnel must be fitted. The top should terminate in a deck extending aft providing a deck for
the steering gear. The watertight bulkhead should extend to the freeboard or the strength deck. In
passenger ships this bulkhead should extend to the main deck.

Benford reccommended that the after peak bulkhead be

0.518(SHP) 0.2 + 2.0 m

forward of the AP. Where SHP is the engine power.

7.2.3. Machinery space bulkheads

TL requires the the machinery spaces be enclosed in watertight bulkheads extending to the freeboard
deck. For large engine rooms, higher bulkheads or a watertight deck over the engine room with
watertight casing is reccommended.

7.2.4. Other transverse bulkheads

Subdivision or normal cargo hold/tank divisions will usually set the remaining bulkhead locations. With
discrete cargo such as containers or Ro-Ro trailers there are logical distances between bulkheads.
The optimum spacing should be an integer multiple of the unit size plus needed clearances.

TL requires that the number of transverse bulkheads be not less than that shown in the following table

L (m) Engine room

Aft Any other place
L65 3 4
65<L85 4 4
85<L105 4 5
105<L125 5 6
125<L145 6 7
145<L165 7 8
165<L185 8 9
L>185 to be specially determined

7.3. Double bottom

TL rules require an innerbottom from peak to peak with a minimum depth of

45 B + 350 [mm]
where B(m) is the breadth. The depth is needed for grounding protection, structural efficiency, and to
allow inspection. Greater detph may be needed for access, ballast volume, etc. The minimum height of
double bottom required by ABS is

7.5
 32 B + 190 T
where B(m), and T(m) are the breadth ad draught, respectively.

7.4. Deck heights

Deck heights depend upon function. Passenger ships, Ro-Ro ships, warships and ferries will have an
integer number of decks. Some cargo ships have tween decks in their holds. The height of the hold,
lower tween deck and upper tween deck are reccommended as 3-5.5 m, 2.7-4.6 m, and 2.4-3.0 m,
respectively. A minimum deck height of about 2.4 m is usually reccommended. In warships and
passenger ships minimum clear deck height should not be less than 2 meters. Ro-Ro decks usually
provide 5-6 m clear height.

7.5. Cargo Spaces

Figure 7.4. Arrangement of cantainer ships

7.5. Human Factors in Design

7.6
Throughout the design of a ship, a naval architect should always keep in mind the human beings who
will be aboard. Many factors will influence the crews ability to work at top efficiency. This is particulary
important in warships. In passenger ships the comfort and well being of the passengers is usually the
primary design objective to be satisfied.

Depending on the type, flag, and owner of the ship there may be a body of basic rules that must be
met (IMO, ILO, etc). The designer must understand all these basic constraints without, however,
necessarily treating minimum requirements as maximum design standards.

Early in the design stage the designer should learn from the owner as much as possible about the
working conditions and social conventions to be expected on the proposed vessel. Naval architects
must remember that shipboard life is highly unnatural, so a wide variety of human relations problems
is likely to arise. Although a naval architect cannot solve all such problems, care in design can help.

In parts of the world where high wages prevail, there are economic incentives to increase crew
productiviry so as to allow safe and efficient operation with reduced crew numbers. Developmnts in
this direction are usually associated with shipboard automation. There are, however, many other steps
that can be taken to achieve such economies. More maintenance work can be done ashore or by
roving repair crews. Components can be selected with a greater emphasis on durability and reliability.
Corrosion-resistant materials may be specified. All such matters of manning practice should be clearly
understood before the design of working areas and accomodations begins.

7.5.1. Working Areas

In designing the working areas on a ship the basic aim is to provide a physical working environment
that will allow the crew to perform the work effectively and ensure a reasonable degree of safety and
comfort. There must be adequate control of noise, temperature, vibrations, ventillation, odors, and
illumination. Some elementary understanding of ergonomics is also essential in the design process.
The following subsections describe three working areas to which the naval architect devotes particular
attention; the navigating bridge, the food service arrangements, and the amchinery spaces.

7.5.1.1. Navigation spaces

In a ship of any size, the navigation and control functions are accorded a special work area called the
wheelhouse or bridge. A bridge arrangement should incorporate such desirable features as

360 degree visibility

Windows sloped (outward at top) to eliminate reflection from interior lights
Enclosed areas for shelter, but also open areas for maximum visibility and hearing
Bridge wings extending beyond the ships side to allow the master or mate a clear view of quay,
lock wall, or tugs alongside
High enough vertical location to allow good visibility over the bow
Navigation equipment and chart table are located such that the user is facing forward
Conveniences including a toilet and a sofa for resting during prolonged periods.

7.5.1.2. Food services

Tasty, nutritious food served in pleasant srroundings is an important part of the implied social contract
between shipowner and crew in any fleet that aspires to long-term retainment of personnel. Two basic
questions that must be answered right away are

how many separate messing spaces must be provided?

what are their seating capacities?

In small service vessels, such as tugs, space constraints usually dictate a single mess for both officers
and ratings. On large ships there may be a considerable degree of segregation, with individual eating
areas for deck and engine crews and separation between officers, petty officers, and ratings.

Having settled on the number and sizes of messing spaces, the designer tries to position them
adjacent to the culinary working areas (galley, scullery, and garbage disposal). Storage compartments
for dry and refrigerated food should also be positioned near the galley. Care should be given to ease

7.7
of operation; loading stores aboard ship, moving them to the galley, serving the crew, and disposing of
the garbage.

The galley equipment should be selected and located with the aim of efficient operation. There is also
the matter of safety in the galley. Ranges, for example, should be oriented athwartships so that a
sudden role of the ship will not deposit a kettle of boiling soup on some unsuspecting cook.

7.5.1.3. Machinery spaces

The total volume of machinery spaces can be estimated from the machinery weights by the use of a
density figure. Approximate densities are as follows

Slow speed diesel 0.16 t/m3

Medium speed diesel 0.13 t/m3
High speed diesel 0.11 t/m3
Gas turbine 0.10 t/m3

There are two parts to the task of settling on machinery arrangements. The first is to decide where to
locate the engine room. the sceond is to fix the details as to what goes where.

In deciding where to place the machinery in a cargo ship, we must defer to the primacy of the ships
central function: that of transporting cargo. In containerships, bulk carriers, general cargo ships, and
tankers the nature of cargo dictates that the engine room should be placed at or near the stern. In Ro
Ro ships, and ferries there are good reasons to place the machinery near amidships.

The advantages of midship location are

more even longitudinal daistribution of weights along the ship length which may result in a lighter
structure
elimination of trim problem

However, the midship location will require a long propeller shaft to the stern. That shaft is enclosed in
a tunnel that occupies valuable space and interferes with cargo staowage.

A key consideration is the matter of total engine room size. In a minority of cases, such as ferries,
there may be plenty of room. In most ships, howver, economic pressures place constraints on the
extent of machinery spaces. In principle, then , naval architects want to make the engine room as
small as is reasonably possible. This means that the machinery components must be placed just far
enough apart so that the crew will have elbowroom to service, inspect, and on occasion repair each
item of hardware.

In the case of direct-connceted diesel engines located in the stern, the governing size constraints may
be the length and height of the main engine. There may be space to waste port and starboard.

The ship designer must also think about arrangements for supplying air to the engine room and getting
rid of exhoust gases. Then there is the matter of distributing the various hotel services (such as
ventillation ducts, electrical wiring, and piping systems) between the engine room and the
accomodations. In addition, the designer must remen-ber to provide ladders and gratings to allow
access to, and within, the engine room. To make space for all these functions, a large vertical air shaft
running from the top of the engine room right up through accomodations and other deckhouse spaces
is usually provided. This is called the engine casing. Because the number and sizes of the various
systems progressively diminish in the higher levels the horizontal cross-sectional size of the engine
casing can be corresondingly reduced. And so we usually find the casing configured in stepped
pyramid style. At the uppermost deck the engine exhaust enters the bottom of the smokestack and
there may be a skylight or other removable closure than can be opened to allow easy removeal of
large items of machinery.

7.8
 Figure 7.5. Engine room arrangement for a low speed diesel engine

7.5.2. Accomodations
Human beings need alternating periods of privacy and social contact. Privacy is afforded in crew
cabins; social contact comes about during work periods but also, more importantly, in various public
spaces during off hours. These spaces include mess rooms and other social gathering places such as
lounges and game rooms. There may also be spaces, such as swimming pools and gymnasiums, set
aside for off duty physical activities.

One of the first steps in designing the accomodations is to establish the extent of the deckhouse. In
containerships, where deck area is at a premium, the accomodations may have to be stackep up in a
high rise configuration. That adds to the problem of providing convenient access, but often cannot be
avoided.

7.5.2.1. Private quarters

In general, all crew cabins should be located above the deepest likely operating waterline, and all
should be outside rooms, i.e. they should be fitted with windows or ports allowing an outside view.
Neither of these constraints applies to passenger cabins, some of which may be located far below the
waterline and which would have no port or window.

Crews quarters should, as much as possible, be located close to the place of work. They should also
be close to the public rooms. Thus we see that engine ratings are usually given cabins on a fairly low
deck. Above that level would be a deck for the food service functions. The deck crew ratings might be
on the next deck above, the officers of all departments above that, and the navigation spaces highest
of all.

Crew cabins need be only large enough to attend to the users private needs; sleeping, reading, and
sanitary functions, plus reasonable clearences for housekeeping. Berths are usually oriented fore and
aft. Settees, where fitted, should be at right angles to the berth; then, no matter how the ship may roll
or pitch, the occupant may hope to find a comfortable place to sleep.

7.9
7.5.2.2. Public spaces

In small merchant ships, the dining facilities form the only public gathering places. On larger ships,
however, there may be a number of other public off duty amenities; swimming pools, video TV rooms,
gymnasiums, and hobby shops. Such extra features are particularly appropriate on ships engaged in
long ocean voyages. Boredom is often a serious problem on such ships, and it is likely to be
intensified where short port times preclude a change of pace for the seafarer.

In passenger ships, of course, agreat deal of emphasis goes into the design and furnishing of all
public spaces. Professional interior designers are often brought into the process because in many
ways these public spaces form the very heart of the arrangement and have the strongest effect on the
passengers perception of the ship.

Areas of spaces on passenger ships

Passenger cabins

Cruise ships Suit cabin 40 m2

Standard cabin 18 m2
Overnight accomodation 1. class single 3.6 m2
2
1. class twin 5.0 m
Tourist twin 4.0 m2
Tourist three 6.0 m2
Tourist four 6.6 m2
Private bathroom 3.8 m2
2
Private toilet 2.8 m

Passages, foyers, entrances and stairs

About 45 % of passenger cabin area

Public lavatories

To serve public rooms and any passenger sections without private facilities.

Bath 3.3 m2
Shower 1.7 m2

7.10
WC 1.9 m2

Dining saloon

Area should be based on the numbers eating at one sitting. Areas per person should be as follows

Passenger type Large numbers Small numbers

1st class 1.5 m2 2.3 m2
Tourist 1.3 m2 1.6 m2

Galley

Area per person served should be about 0.65 m2 for small numbers, reducing to 0.55 m2 for 1000 or
more total complement

7.5.3. Access

Good access about a ship requires careful planning from the earliest stages of laying out the
accomodation and working spaces. Proper access is a factor in both segregation and integration. One
of the first steps in blocking out living and working spaces should be to locate corridors, stairs, doors,
and elevators. Naval architects have to give thought to traffic flow between cabins, work places, and
public spaces. Except in the smallest vessels, an attempt should be made to provide at least two
means of getting to the open deck and life saving equipment from any place on board. Wherever
practical, sheltered access to work stations should be provided.

7.5.3.1. Stairs and passageways

Stairs (often called ladders) on ships, where possible, should run fore and aft. If run athwartships,
steps can become dangerous whenever the vessel rolls.

Passageways should be as staright as possible and wide enough to permit easy passage of furniture.
Handrails should be fitted in passageways as well as along stairs.

7.11
Doors should be wide enough to admit furniture. their location, hinging, and direction of swing will have
an influence on accessibility and convenience in living and working aboard.

7.6. Tankage Loaction and Volume

In setting ballast conditions and evaluating trim and stability, the required volume of tankage and its
feasible location must be established. Tankage volumes and location must consider fluid density, lost
volume from moulded dimensions due to structure and fluid expansion, and adjacency requirements.

The potable (drinking) water tanks should not be adjacent to the sea or any other nonpotable liquid.
Voids or cofferdams are required around these tanks.

Density (t/m3)
Salt water 1.025
Fresh water 1.000
Distillate fuel 0.867
Lub oil 0.924
Diesel oil 0.837
Alcohol 0.812

Reduction in tank volume must be made for the lost volume due to structure and thermal expansion.
Tanks are also usually not ever filled to 100 % capacity (98 % might be more typical).

7.7. Propeller clearences

Preliminary propeller design will yield an optimum diameter or the combination of hull lines and
minimum acceptable clearences will yield a maximum diameter constraint which must be imposed
upon the propeller design.

Propeller inducd vibration is of major concerni particularly on full ships with poor inflow to propellers
and high powers where cavitation will be a problem. The main solutions are better hull form and
special propeller design (e.g. highly skewed propellers) but the clearence from the propeller to the hull
is also important. This must be considered early in the hull form development. The propeller is usually
not allowed below the baseline on commercial vessels.

7.12
 c e f

a bt

0.7D D
h

bb

g
d

a b c d e f g
0.08D - - - - - -
0.08*0.15D 0.20D 0.08-0.10D 0.02-0.03D - - -
0.10D 0.15D 0.08D 0.03-0.04D - - -
0.08D 0.15D 0.10D 0.03D - - -
0.72

7.8. Rudder Area

For commercial ships the rudder area is about 0.02-0.03LT. Larger ships have
smaller ratio. DNV reccommends the following formula for minimu rudder area

LT
2
B
Ar = 1 + 25

100 L

Exercise
Find a general arrangement plan for a modern ship (any type) (Motor ship, Hansa
etc) and compare the following with the reccommendations given in the lecture notes.

Location of collision bulkhead, after peak bulkhead, engine room bulkheads, and
other transverse bulkheads
Height of double bottom
Propeller cleareances
Rudder area
7.13
7.14