Towards an integrated approach to collision and grounding damage assessment

Although the safety record of maritime industry has been constantly improving during the past decades accidents that challenge public outcry and hurt the image of shipping industry still happen. In response to this situation a substantial amount of effort has been devoted in de-risking ships during the design process. However, the highly competitive nature of the industry and the constant exposure of ships to the marine environment enforce the need for managing the residual risk of ships during their operational life. This requirement paves the way for the development of a comprehensive methodology that will take into account all the stages of an accident between its route causes and the aftermath of it. In this manner, efficient and cost-effective strategies pertaining to prevention and mitigation measures can be established. The objective of this paper is to outline a methodology for structural damage assessment with particular emphasis to collision and grounding accidents, and to elaborate on the constitutive elements of it by (i) utilising existing work in the respective areas, and (ii) highlighting the weaknesses that prohibit comprehensive treatment of the underlying phenomena.