Reducing Fire & Flooding Risk On Board
FLAGSHIP, a part EU-funded maritime transport project, has successfully delivered the first advanced emergency situation management tool for fire and flooding with integrated ship to shore real time reporting: FLAGSHIP-DSS (Decision Support System). The system delivers an accurate, early prediction of how a fire or flooding may impact on a ship at any given time, enabling efficient decision-making in distress situations.
FLAGSHIP-DSS integrates prognosis tools for fire and flooding with an evacuation simulation process, an advanced on-board stability calculator as well as an on-board emergency management system. It constantly collects data from all ship sensors to assess the vessels vulnerability at any one time providing the captain and crew with information upon which they can take prompt remedial actions to effectively bring an unfolding crisis under control. FLAGSHIP-DSS can also provide real time data simultaneously to shore based authorities to optimise communication in the unlikely event of a crisis situation occurring.
Trials
Designed and developed as a management tool for sea-going vessels, FLAGSHIP-DSS introduces an even higher standard of risk management best practice. Trials were undertaken over a four month period in conjunction with premier shipping operators and during sea trials resulted in a 45% factual improvement in premeditative decision taking. These high quality decisions would simply not be possible without the information provided by the system.
Enhanced Decision Making
Dr Andrzej Jasionowski, manager of The Ship Stability Research Centre at the University of Strathclyde, responsible for prototype developments of elements of FLAGSHIP-DSS said: “The new generation probabilistic methods enhance decision making in distress conditions substantially by combining knowledge of ship’s vulnerability with instantaneous ship status sensors. These sensors monitor doors closures, flooding and tank levels, geographical positions, ship instantaneous attitude, clock etc. Computer processing of such information enables consideration of many decision options often not even conceivable by highly trained crews and at fractions of time traditional manual trial-and-error methods would take. Safety to ship and persons on board can be enhanced by orders of magnitude.”
Impressive Development
Mr Herman de Meester, Coordinator of FLAGSHIP commented: “Through FLAGSHIP we see the maritime industry collaborating to improve safety, environmental friendliness and the competitiveness of European maritime transport. FLAGSHIP-DSS is an impressive development that could help to significantly reduce risk at sea – which is one of the key objectives of FLAGSHIP overall.”
FLAGSHIP-DSS was led by the University of Strathclyde in the UK and was supported, delivered and trialled in conjunction with two British companies (Teekay Shipping and BMT Group), five Greek organisations (Altair Maritime Enterprise (subsidiary of Maran Tankers Management Inc.), Danaos Shipping Co Ltd, the National Technical University of Athens, Minoan Lines and Superfast Ferries S.A), two Norwegian businesses (MARINTEK and Lodic AS) and Instituto Superior Tecnico of Portugal.