Page 1( 6)

2009 Foreship Lt d.
SOME I MPORTANT NAVAL ARCHI TECTURAL TERMS
February 2009
I TEM EXPLANATI ON
A- , B- and C- class divisions SOLAS has t ables f or st ruct ural f ire prot ect i on requi rement of
bulkheads and decks. The requir ement s depend on t he spaces in
quest ion, and are diff erent f or passenger ships and cargo ships.
A- 0, A- 15, A- 3 0, A- 6 0:
Shall be const ruct ed of st eel or equivalent mat erial, shall be
const ruct ed t o prevent passage of smoke and f lame f or 1 h in
St andard Fire Test , shall be insulat ed so t hat t he average t emperat ure
of t he unexposed side does not rise more t han 140C ( any point no
more t han 180C) above t he original t emperat ure wit hin 0, 15, 30 or
60 minut es.
B- 0, B- 15 :
Shall be const r uct ed t o pr event passage of f lame f or 0. 5 h i n St andar d
Fire Test , shall be insulat ed so t hat t he average t emperat ure of t he
unexposed side does not rise more t han 140C ( any point no more
t han 225C) above t he or iginal t emperat ure wit hin 0 or 15 minut es.
Shall be const ruct ed of approved non- combust ible mat erial s
( However, combust ible veneer may be used) .
C:
Shall be const ruct ed of approved non- combust ible mat erial s
( However, combust ible veneer may be used) .
Alt ernat ive Design,
Alt er nat ive Arr angement s
Regulat ion allows for designs and arrangement s which are not
according t o SOLAS requirement s, pr oviding an analysis i s made t hat
shows t he pr oposed alt ernat ive design or arr angement is, wi t h regards
t o safet y, at t he same or bet t er level t han t he SOLAS requirement .
Example of an alt ernat ive design are lifeboat s wit h a higher t han 150
person capacit y.
At t ained Subdivision I ndex, A According t o probabili st ic damage st abilit y rules t he vessels
probabilit y t o survive a flooding damage ( collision, grounding) is
calculat ed wit h f or mula:
A = p

wher e:
i represent s each compart ment or group of compart ment s under
considerat i on.
pi is t he probabilit y t hat only t he compart ment or gr oup of
compart ment s under considerat ion may be flooded.
si is t he probabilit y of survivabilit y aft er flooding of t he
compart ment or group of compart ment s under considerat ion.
The A i s cal culat ed f or t hree dif f erent draf t s and summari zed wit h a
weight ed formula. I f t he A R ( R= required subdivision i ndex) , t he
vessel f ulf ills t he requirement . Typically t he vessel s GM- limit s for
damage st abilit y are adj ust ed so t hat A = R .
Ballast Wat er Convent ion, Ballast
Wat er Tr eat ment , BWT
New regulat ion requiring ballast wat er t reat ment syst ems on all ships
( new and old) , in order t o avoid harmf ul organi sms spreading from
one locat ion t o anot her . Typically t he t reat ment is by filt eri ng and UV-
light .
B/ 5, Breadt h divided by 5, B/ 5- line I maginary line used in ship design and damage st abilit y calculat ions:
according t o old rules, no damage ext ends inside t he B/ 5- li ne ( e. g. on
a vessel wit h breadt h of 32. 2 m, maxi mum ext ent of any damage is
6. 44 m fr om ships shel l) . Due t o t his, bilge main lines, fuel t anks, et c.
are normal ly locat ed inside t hi s B/ 5. New probabilist ic rules have
made t his r ule obsolet e on new ships.
Block Coef f icient , CB I mport ant coef ficient which describes t he f ullness of t he hull: a lower
coef f icient means t ypical ly lower resi st ance. CB = Displacement
Volume / ( L x B x T) . A t ypical f igure f or a cruise vessel is e. g. 0. 65.
Ot her oft en used coef ficient is CM, Midship Sect ion Coeff ici ent , which
describes t he f ullness of Midship Sect ion.
Page 2( 6)
2009 Foreship Lt d.
Cent er of Gravit y, Vert ical Cent er of
Gravit y ( VCG) , Longit udinal Cent er of
Gravit y ( LCG) , KG
Cent er of Gravit y is used especially in connect ion wit h li ght weight ,
deadweight and displacement . VCG is t he ver t ical dist ance bet ween
cent er of gravit y and keel, LCG i s t he longit udinal dist ance bet ween
cent er of gravit y and f rame # 0. Lower VCG means more st abilit y and
LCG af f ect s vessels t ri m. Typical VCG f igures f or a Panamax crui se
ship are, f or example:
I t em Wei gh t VCG
Light weight 39, 000t 17. 8m
Deadweight 8, 000t 6. 8m
Displacement 47, 000t 15. 9m
As t his example shows, deadweight has a lower VCG t han l ight weight
and t hus reduces t he VCG of displacement ( and improves st abilit y) .
The sit uat ion is kept like t his by replacing used f uel wit h ballast wat er.
KG is t he same t han VCG. See also GM.
CFD, Comput at ion Fl uid Dynami cs Calculat i on met hod or soft ware whi ch enables hydrodynamic
opt imizat ion of hull form. Has lat ely enabled fast development of
ef ficient hull forms. RANSE in connect ion wit h CFD denot es Reynolds
Averaged Navier St okes Equat ion , and means simulat i on of t he
viscous f low. I n f ut ur e CFD calculat ions can likely replace model t est s.
COP, Coef f icient of Perf ormance Descr ibes t he eff iciency of AC- cooling compressors ( chi llers) . For
example, COP of 4. 0 indicat es t hat for a 4, 000 kW cooling power, t he
chiller requires 1, 000 kW of elect ric power.
Damage Lengt h The lengt h of damage used in damage st abilit y cal culat ions. For
passenger ship t he old ( pre 2009) rules def ined t his lengt h t o be 3m
+ 3% of Lpp or 11 m, whichever is less . I n new pr obabilist i c r ules t he
calculat ed damage lengt hs are based on probabilist ic dist r ibut ion, and
t he calculat ion can include much longer damages t han was required in
old rules.
Damage St abilit y The vessels st abili t y charact er ist ics in damaged condit ion. Big crui se
ships can float wit h several f looded wat er t ight compart ment s. Old ( pre
2009) rules required t he ships t o wit hst and a damage of any t wo
adj acent wat ert ight compart ment s, but in new regul at ions t he
calculat i on met hod and requirement is much more complex.
Deadweight , DWT Weight ( and cent er of gravit y) of vessel s cargo, st ores, fuel, f resh
wat er, passengers, crew, liquids in t anks, et c. Deadweight of a
Panamax crui se vessel i s t ypically ar ound 8, 000 t . See also l ight weight
and displacement .
Design Draught , TDESI GN The draft t he vessel ( and her deadweight , st abilit y, perf ormance, et c. )
is designed f or. On a Panamax cr uise ship design draf t is t ypically ca.
8. 0 m. Generally more draft means bet t er seakeeping capabilit ies, but
less dr af t of t en means mor e st abilit y. See also Scant ling Dr af t .
Displacement , Di splacement weight The weight ( and cent er of gravit y) of t he vessel herself and vessels
cargo, st ores, passenger s, crew, et c. Di splacement = Light weight +
Deadweight . Displacement of a Panamax ( approximat ely 90, 000 GT)
cruise vessel is e. g. ca. 47, 000 t . Di splacement Force ( symbol ) is
Displacement Weight x g ( g= 9. 81 m/ s
2
) , and is t he same as
buoyancy.
Displacement volume ( ) The volume t he vessels hull di splaces in wat er. I n seawat er wit h
specific gravit y of 1. 025 kg/ m
3
, t he Displacement Volume f or a vessel
Displacement of 47, 000t i s 45, 854 m
3
. Thus t he vessel needs more
Displacement Vol ume ( and draft ) in fresh wat er t han in sea wat er for
t he same Displacement Weight .
Duckt ail An ext ension t o ships st ern. On older ships t he dimini shed st abilit y
can be regained by adding a duckt ail. Duckt ail is also used on
newbuildings; t here t he primary purpose is oft en t o reduce t he power
consumpt ion f or propulsion.
Froude Number, Fn Froude number describes t he vessels r elat ive speed, which depends
on vessel lengt h:
F
n
=
:[
m
s
]
_g[
m
s
2
] I[m]
wher e:
v i s vessel speed in [ m/ s] ( 1 knot 0. 5 m/ s)
g is 9. 81 m/ s
2
L is vessels wat erline lengt h
Page 3( 6)
2009 Foreship Lt d.
Generally a lower Fn means lower resist ance ( f or f ast , small vessels
t he sit uat ion can be opposit e) . Typical f igure f or a Panamax cruise
ship is Fn= 0. 25.
Fuel Consumpt i on Using a t ypical engine specif ic fuel oil consumpt ion of 200 g/ kWh
( when t olerances, heat value correct ions, et c. are t aken int o account ,
t he real heavy f uel oil consumpt ion is seldom below t his, and oft en
even above t his) , t his corresponds t o a fuel consumpt ion of 0. 2 t / h per
1 MW. Thus, a ship using 30 MW f or propulsion and hot el load,
consumes 6t heavy fuel oil ( HFO) per hour.
Free surface correct ion The GM is correct ed wit h free surface correct ion : i. e. t anks wit h free
surface reduce t he st abilit y of t he vessel; t his correct ion is e. g. - 0. 1
m. The more f ree surf aces ( slack t anks, pools, splash ar eas) t here
is, t he bigger t he corr ect ion is, and t hus more t he GM reduces.
GM, ( t ransverse) Met acent r ic Height Descr ibes t he r ight ing moment of t he vessel: higher GM means bet t er
st abilit y ( condit ion f or posit ive st abilit y is t hat GM> 0. ) . Typical value
f or GM on a Panamax cr uise vessel is ca. 2. 0 m. GM = KM KG,
where KG is t he VCG of t he ship ( light weight + deadweight ) and KM is
t he dist ance f rom keel t o t he met acent er ( see f igure below) . KM has
t o be higher t han KG f or a ship st ay upr ight ( and GM t o st ay posit ive) .
GM can also used for t he l ongit udinal st abi lit y of t he vessel: t hen
symbol GML is used.
Growt h Margin An addit ional margin added int o vessel weight calculat i on t o cover for
lat er weight incr eases. Pr act ically all ships get heavier when t hey age;
t his is due t o conversions, modif i cat ions, paint ing, et c. and wit hout
preparing f or t his, t he ship can lat er end up wit h st abili t y problems,
requiring a duckt ail or a sponson.
GT ( Gross Tonnage) , ( f ormerly GRT) Gr oss Tonnage descr ibes t he volume and size of t he vessel. GT
includes all t he enclosed spaces ( not balconies, sun decks or si milar
areas) . GT is calculat ed wit h a f or mula:
0I = (0.2 + 0.02 log
10
I)I
wher e V = vessels calculat ed volume in m
3
.
Not es:
Earlier 1 GRT was 100 f t
3
, or 2. 83 m
3
; t hus figures f or e. g.
Tit ani c cannot be direct ly compared wit h GT figures of
t odays vessels.
For example, if vessels enclosed vol ume i s 294 000 m
3
, t he
GT is ca. 91, 000.
GT is of t en t he base f or dif f erent port and ot her f ees.
As GT is logarit hmic, i t cannot be used for accurat e
compari son bet ween vessels of diff erent size: f or example, on
a 10, 000 GT ship one GT is 3. 44 m
3
, but on a 150, 000 GT
vessel one GT corresponds t o 3. 19 m
3
.
Heeling, Heeling angle The angle vessel is leaning away f rom upright posit ion.
Hot el Load The elect ric power needed for ot her ship f unct ions t han propulsion, i. e.
for AC, light ing, galleys, et c. For a Panamax vessel a t ypical hot el load
is close t o 10 MW.
I nt act St abilit y The vessel st abili t y in int act ( normal , non- damaged) condit ion. I n
int act condit ions t he vessel has t o wit hst and heeling, wi nd, et c. t o
fulfill t he crit eria st at ed in rules.
KM, ( t r ansver se) Met acent r ic Height KM is t he dist ance f rom Keel t o Met acent er, whi ch depends on t he
vessel draf t , displacement and hull f orm. Typical KM f or a Panamax
cruise vessel is 18 m. High KM means more st abil it y, but oft en at t he
expense of speed and sea keeping capabilit ies. See f igur e below.
Light weight , LWT Vessels empt y weight ( and cent er of gravit y) , i. e. weight of t he
vessel wit hout fuel, st ores, wat er, cargo, passengers, crew, et c.
Needed liquid in ship syst em piping and syst em t anks is included, but
not liquids in e. g. st orage t anks.
Typical light weight for a Panamax cruise ship is ca. 39, 000 t . See also
displacement and deadweight .
Longit udinal Cent er of Buoyancy ( LCB) Longit udinal Cent er is t he l ongit udinal cent er of wat er t he vessels
hull displaces. When t he vessel f loat s, LCB and LCG ar e in same
posit ion. Posit ion of LCB is very import ant f or t he hull resist ance.
Typically LCB is locat ed slight ly af t of midship ( Lpp/ 2) .
Main Dimensions The vessel main dimensi on area:
Page 4( 6)
2009 Foreship Lt d.
LOA, Len gt h o ver al l : t he vessels absolut e maxi mum lengt h.
LPP, Leng t h bet w een per pen di cul ar s: t he dist ance bet ween rudder
shaft ( t ypical) and t he point where bow st em ent ers wat er at design
dr af t ( t ypical) . Basis f or many calculat ions and coef f icient s.
B, Br eadt h ( moul ded) : The vessel breadt h wit hout t he shell plat ing,
i.e. t he act ual br eadt h of t he vessel is slight ly more.
T, Dr af t ( desi gn ) : The planned design draf t f or t he vessel.
Ot her t ypically used dimensions incl ude wat erline lengt h, ai r draft and
scant ling draft .
Main Fire Zones ( MFZ) ,
Main Vert ical Zones ( MVZ) ,
Main Fire Zone Bulkheads ( MFZB)
The vessel has t o be divided int o vert ical f ire zones: t he basic rule i s
t hat maximum lengt h of a f ire zone is 40m, which can be in cert ain
sit uat ions ext ended t o 48m. Todays pract ice is t o use 48m fire zones
where ever possible. The maximum permi ssible area of one main f ire
zone on one deck i s 1, 600 m
2
. On some of t odays newbui ldings t hese
areas are ext ended beyond t he SOLAS maximums, of t en based on
special cases, or on so called Alt ernat ive Design Principles .
Addit ional r equirement is t hat t he bulkheads bet ween main f ire zones
should not have st eps.
Margin Line I maginary line t hat is def ined t o be 3 inches ( 76mm) below bulkhead
deck: in pre 2009 rules, in damaged condit ion t he Margin Line may
not submerge. Wit h new probabilist ic st abil it y rules margi n line has
become obsolet e.
MCR, maximum cont inuous rat ing The rat ed or maximum cont inuous power of a diesel engi ne. I n real
lif e t his power is never used: on diesel- elect ric ships 90% of MCR is a
t ypical maximum and on a diesel mechani cal ship t he t ypical f igure is
85% MCR.
Net Tonnage ( NT, f or merly NRT) Descr ibes vessel s net volume, i. e. is lower t han GT. I t i s calculat ed
wit h a more compl icat ed for mula t han for GT: t he f ormula t akes int o
account t he volume of cargo spaces, vessel draught and number of
passengers. On a ca. 90, 000 GT ship NT i s t ypically ca. 54, 000, i. e.
ca. 60% of GT. Of t en basis f or dif f erent port , passage et c. f ees.
Permeabilit y Permeabilit y is t he rat io of maximum flooded wat er ( in damaged
condit ion) volume t o t he space volume. I t is used in damage st abilit y
calculat i ons. For example, t he permeabilit y of st ores is 0. 6, i. e. when
a 100 m
3
st ore is f looded, 60 m
3
of wat er i s assumed i n damage
st abilit y calculat ions. For engine rooms t he permeabilit y is 0. 85 and
for t anks, voids and cof ferdams 0. 95.
Probabilist i c Damage St abilit y Rules New rules in for ce since 1. 1. 2009. I n t hese t he damage st abilit y
requirement s are no longer based on si mple rules, but on calculat i on
met hods where vessels t heoret ical and simplif ied survival probabilit y
is calculat ed. See At t ained and Required Subdivision I ndex.
Propeller Pressure Pulses,
Propeller Excit at ion Frequency
Pressure pulses propeller generat es in ships hull ( mainly due t o t he
pr opeller blade passing near t he vessel hull) . The higher t he pr essure
pulses are, t he higher t he probabilit y for vibrat ion problems. A good
level f or highest pressure pulses is lower t han 1. 5 kPa. More propeller
blades ( e. g. 5 inst ead of 4 - or use of pod propulsion can reduce t he
pressure pulses) .
St ill, even if t he propeller pressure pulses are low, t he nat ural
f r equency of vessels st ruct ur es needs t o be designed t o be above t he
pr opeller blade f r equency. Typical blade f r equency is, f or example, 11
Hz ( 132 rpm x 5 blades) .
Pump power demand Elect ric power demand f or a seawat er pump can be roughly est imat ed
wit h a f ormula:
P
cI
[kw] =
b[m] low[
m
3
b
]
228
wher e:
h is pump pr essure head
f l ow is pump capacit y
As an example, a seawat er pump wit h 2. 5 bar pressure head ( 25 m)
and capacit y of 100 m
3
/ h, t akes ca. 11 kW of elect ric power.
Page 5( 6)
2009 Foreship Lt d.
Required Subdivision I ndex, R I n probabili t ies damage st abil it y rules, if t he at t ained subdivision index
A is great er or equal t o required subdivision index R , t he vessel
fulf ills st abilit y requirement s. For passenger ships, t he R is calculat ed
as f ollows:
R = 1 -
5000
Is + 2.5 N + 15225
wher e:
LS is subdivision lengt h in met er s ( si mplif ied: t he lengt h of t he
wat ert ight part of t he hull) .
N= N1+ 2 x N2
N1 = number of per son who have lif eboat seat s
N2 = number of persons wit hout lifeboat seat s
The f or mula means, f or example, t he f ewer passengers t her e ar e, t he
lower R is accept ed. Also, increasing t he lif eboat capacit y f rom
SOLAS minimum ( lifeboat s for 75% of t ot al number of persons
onboard on int ernat ional voyages) will al so reduce t he R .
Resist ance Vessels resi st ance against moving. Thi s includes, e. g. f rict ion
resist ance, wave making resist ance and wind resist ance. For
est imat ing vessels propulsion power demand t hese are measured in
model t est s bef ore f inalizing hull f or m and propulsi on power.
Scant ling draft ( TSCANTLI NG) The draf t vessel st ruct ures are designed f or ( hull plat ing, t ank
bulkheads, et c. ) , i. e. t he maximum st ruct ural draft for t he vessel.
Typically scant ling draft is slight ly more, or t he same, t han design
draught . I f st abilit y requirement s do not require ot herwise, t he
scant ling draf t is t he maximum draf t t o whi ch t he vessel can be
loaded.
Safe Ret urn t o Port New signif icant regulat ion ( 1
st
July 2010) . This requires ( simplified)
t hat a passenger vessel has t o be able t o ret urn t o nearest port , wit h
required syst ems working, when:
a) any compart ment is flooded; or
b) any room is lost due t o f ire
SECA, SOX Emission Cont rol Area Sea areas wher e t here are st rict er SOX limit s t han in ot her areas.
Today, f or example, Nort h Sea, English Channel and Balt ic Sea are
SECAs and requir e use of low sulf ur f uel ( or scr ubbing syst ems) .
Ser vice Speed Speed t he vessel is opt imized for in normal operat ion, or capable t o
sust ain in t ypical sea condit i ons. I n connect i on wit h Service Speed a
sea margin is def ined, for example service speed t o be 22. 5 knot s
wit h 15% sea margin . This means t hat t he vessel has t he power for
22. 5 knot s in t rial condit i ons + 15% addit ional power f or sea margin.
Sea margin compensat es for rough weat her, hull fouling, et c.
Shaf t Power, PS The power available at vessels pr opeller shaf t . On a diesel- elect ri c
ship t his is t ypically 0. 92 x available diesel engine power due t o losses
in elect ric drive and shaf t ing. On a diesel- mechanical ship t here are
less losses, i. e. shaf t power is ca. 0. 985 x available diesel engine
power. See also MCR: available diesel power is less t han MCR.
Sponson An ext ension on ship side; t his can be required if t he vessel f aces
st abilit y problems in her service lif e. See also duckt ail . Sponson
t ypically incr eases t he resi st ance.
THD, t ot al harmonic dist ort ion On ships t his t ypically means t he di st ort i on in elect ri c dist ribut ion
net work caused by elect ri cal propulsi on drive. For example, a
specif icat ion can requir e THD t o be below 5%.
Tr ial Speed Vessel speed in t rial condit i ons. Trial condit i ons are t ypically def ined
as f ollows:
Vessel at design dr af t and even keel
Clean hull
Defined engine / propulsion mot or load ( e. g. 90% MCR)
I n deep wat er, no current , calm weat her, no waves
Fin st abilizer s folded in.
Thus in normal oper at ion vessel seldom r eaches t he Trial Speed. Tr ial
speed is measured during sea t rial: due t o weat her condit ions, et c. t he
measured speed needs of t en t o be corr ect ed. See ser vice speed.
Trim When a vessel is not on even keel ( i. e. t he bow is higher t han st ern,
or vice versa) , t he vessel is t rimmed, or has t rim. For example t he
vessel has 0. 5 m st ern t rim , when her draft in st ern is 0. 5 m more
t han draf t in f oreship.
Page 6( 6)
2009 Foreship Lt d.
Weight Reser ve Weight reserve in t he vessels weight calculat ion ( bot h weight and
cent er of gravit y) . This is e. g. 2% and 0. 2 m. This is mar gin against
calculat i on inaccuracies and changes during design and building st age.
See also Growt h Margin. Weight reserve is adj ust ed during t he
building process as t he weight dat a get s more accurat e.
Figure: def init ion of GM, KG and ot her relat ed t erms.