On the time for the abandonment of flooded passenger ships due to collision damages

The time dependency of the survivability of passenger ships in flooding accidents leading to ship's loss is shown to be confined within short times after the flooding initiation. RoRo ferry and cruise type ships demonstrate similar behaviour, though vessel types differ with respect to the subdivision and the flooding process. The presented research is based on numerical simulations of the flooding of two sample passenger ships in collision damages and the estimation of the probability to capsize. The systematic fast character of capsize events is shown to be primarily a consequence of the extent of hull breaches. The IMO regulatory concept for orderly abandonment of damaged passenger ships, in addition to the safe return to port regulatory provisions, are discussed in view of the present results. The timely onboard damage identification by ship's master and the enhancement of the SOLAS survivability requirements for passenger ships appear to be the most effective operational and design measures leading to improved survivability of the ship and to enhanced safety of people onboard.