cruise ships

[Doc Vernon]

Don't think I would like to go on this Monster although very updated but talking about stability! Eeeeeeek!
Wonder if that would survive a Big Storm in the North Atlantic or elsewhere!

Thanks to George for this Link!
Hope you are keeping well there George!
Cheers

World's third-largest cruise ship Anthem of the Seas arrives in Southampton* | Daily Mail Online

[happy daze john in oz]

Most of the modern cruise ships are made of a composite metal to reduce weight and for reducing wear and tear. Providing the power systems work as they should then the sprinkler systems would be more than capable of dealing with fire. The latest ship shave enough back up systems to ensure safety is the first option, however there is no legislation to account for capitans from a certain part of the EU.

[Ivan Cloherty]

Most of the modern cruise ships are made of a composite metal to reduce weight and for reducing wear and tear. Providing the power systems work as they should then the sprinkler systems would be more than capable of dealing with fire. The latest ship shave enough back up systems to ensure safety is the first option, however there is no legislation to account for capitans from a certain part of the EU.

John reading recent insurance casualty reports I see that many of them are still catching fire in the engine room and seem to have no back up propulsion system and have to be towed back to port, and we have had cases where essential services seem to be run from a shaft generator thus losing the air conditioning systems and toilet systems in the tropics, seems that there is still a lot to learn in the industry about back up systems. With the proliferation of so many super size ships where are they getting the experienced crews to man them, and with this proliferation I see a major incident, or loss, waiting to happen. One of my neighbours (an ex Navy man) returned from a cruise on a ship he was on six years ago and was not impressed by the fall in standard throughout the whole ship (P & O) and as he said if standards fall in the visible part of the ship, they also fall in that part invisible to the passengers. He said the number of 'disabled' cabins had been increased and he stopped counting when he reached 100 four wheeled electric disabled scooters on board. He didn't bother counting the number of wheelchairs for those in ordinary cabins as he said wheelchairs were everywhere, being an ex seaman the first thing he did was find a quick route to the lifeboats.

[Captain Kong]

Many cruise ships do have a high rate of geriatrics and wheel chairs, Oxygen cylinders and walking sticks. I have been on some that look like a Care Home.
But again, a Care Home will cost you around a thousand pounds a week now, a cruise ship around £500 pounds a week,
So if I have to go into a Care Home one day then stick me on a cruise ship.
Brian

[John Arton]

On a fairly regular run to a place called Donges we used to pass the shipyard where the QM2 was being built and you could see that the hull sections being fabricated appeared to be of greater scantlings than normal. The collision bulkhead is 30 metres tall and built to withstand a 100 ft. wave according to the information given to me by one of the pilots on the river.
The last time I saw her in the yard she was in the dry dock adjacent to the huge building dock, getting final paint and fit out. This was shortly before the shore gangway collapsed killing some school kids who were on a visit to her. Seeing her underwater hull form you could certainly appreciate the form and strength of construction.

Next time I saw here was when she appeared out of the mist passing us a 20kts plus up in the Helgoland Bight
rgds JA
p.s.
The latest RCL cruise liner, Ovation of the Seas, is bound for the Australian cruise market this year. These are the ones with the "sky room", basically a glass pod AKA the London eye, on a great long hydraulic arm that be swung up and over the ship and rotated around 360 degrees to give the passengers a birds eye view of the ship. Better than bungee jumping I guess.

[happy daze john in oz]

There are still a few old cruise ships out there that may have a number of issues, but the latest, those built in the last six years or so are state of the art when it comes to safety at sea. Though must admit P&O Australia are not as good when it comes to passenger involvement in lifeboat drill as Royal Caribbean or Princess.
Notice there are now more British, American and Canadians in senior officers positions now.

[Captain Kong]

Holland America have a mix of British and Dutch Officers.
Two of there ships have been sold to P&O Australia, Ryndam and Statendam, They are going to Singapore in September to be cut in half and then lengthened. So I imagine the Safety equipment will be updated.
Brian

[j.sabourn]

As the original question was stability, I don't think all, though most cruise ships look top heavy will not be. They would have to be passed through rigorous tests for positive stability throughout and be able to maintain. Would imagine would be one of a type of vessel to be idiot proof as to its stability criterion. Doubt very much if anyone gives it much thought prior to sailing. Unlike what at one time was considered conventional shipping where the GM had to be worked out every time especially with the likes of grain cargoes and had to maintain a 6 inch positive GM. What would you load on a passenger vessel to alter to any great difference, unless you loaded a couple of hundred Churchill tanks on the uppermost deck and even then would probably be ok. Don't imagine any passenger vessel going down to its marks, and if there ever was the slightest doubt about ever the ship going into neutral or negative stability would be loaded with permanent ballast, like the old sailing ships. I still cant understand why that Korean vessel turned over although believe she was a ferry, and probably had known problems which weren't acted on in the first place, didn't follow the final result why and wherefore. She must have had a known disability in her build. The loss of GM on the average Cruise ship would be due to having every fuel and fresh water tank on the vessel slack, and loss of GM would be due to this. They will be well covered if built not too far in the past. JS

[Ivan Cloherty]

John - The Korean vessel had on her last visit to drydock had additional accommodation and restaurant added to her upper deck, but investigations have revealed that she was not put through any inclination tests or had her stability data reviewed, that is why the owners were also arrested in addition to the manslaughter charges. I wonder what amount of collusion (if any) was undertaken by the shipyard and surveyors, but surely they must have a case to answer for neglect of duty. I know when I was Supt converting a vessel from Norwegian flag to British flag we had to change the lifeboat davits, as boats would not run at at 15 degree list, the new davits were more substantial and heavier and we had to put the vessel through fresh inclining tests and have the stability data updated, both were costly exercises

[Peter F Chard]

When I was a Government Ship Surveyor some years ago I was present when the DNV surveyor carried out a year 5 renewal of the Stability test on a Cook Strait Ferry. We did the first weight movement and the swing of the pendulum was about five times more than the figure from the previous test 5 years earlier. The same result for the second movement of weight. It was obvious that a lot of weight had been added high up in the ship in recent times that seriously affected the stability. Eventually we found that the upper passenger decks had been fitted with One Armed Bandits, Coca Cola dispensing machines, coffee dispensing machines etc and the upper decks had also been carpeted with thick pile woolen carpet. An estimate was that some 100 + tonnes had been added. The whole stability book had to be re-calculated and the solution was to have more permanent weight low down in the ship -- from memory some DB tanks were designated to be permanently ballasted and that solved the problem. Regards Peter in NZ.