THE DESIGNER'S DILEMMA

The authors' consider a designers dilemma; how does a naval architect approach the design of an inherently unsound ship type; the ro/ro monohull, in order to satisfy commercial, technical, legal and ethical consideration? This paper reviews a number of areas of ro-ro design which influence safety, including hull form, sub-division, general arrangement, devices and appendages. Economic performance and safety of alternative ro-ro hull configurations are considered. The weaknesses of SOLAS 90 are analysed and alternative approaches to ro-ro safety assessment are considered which might be applied in conjunction with SOLAS 90 in the short term. Finally a better approach is suggested for designers attempting to comply with current legislation in vessels which must work within existing constraints set by port facilities and commercial pressures.