Grounding of Costa ship raises 'serious' design questions

摘要

Costa Concordia's grounding could forge a rethink on ship design, but that will depend entirely on what investigators uncover, The Naval Architect has learned, writes Julian McQueen. The Royal Institution of Naval Architect's technical director, Mark Staunton-Lambert, told The Naval Architect that the vessel's stability performance as well as possible human error would be scrutinised by investigators. Once the extent of the damage caused to the ship has been established, the key question to be asked will be: was the damage and subsequent flooding - within or beyond what the ship is designed to handle? If flooding remained within these limits, then "some serious questions [on design] would need to be asked", added Staunton-Lambert. Knowing how many of the vessel's watertight compartments were compromised would be critical in establishing the effect of water ingress into the ship's hull and its operation.