Crystal Chan/09 March 2015. The International Association of Classifications Societies (IACS) said it has developed two new rules as a result of the break-up and sinking of MOL Comfort.

MOL Comfort, an 8,110-teu container ship, broke up and sank while en route from Singapore to Jeddah on 17 June 2013.

In early 2014, IACS had launched an expert group on structural safety of container ships, which carried out a review of the MOL Comfort incident, also taking into account a number of past casualties.

This work has resulted in the development of two new IACS Unified Requirements (URs), namely UR S11A, which is a longitudinal strength standard for container ships, and URS 34, which deals with functional requirements for direct analysis by finite element method of container ships, including a set of loading conditions.

IACS will carefully study the report and the recommendations formulated in the document, and will make public the results of this examination.

IACS said, "It is worthwhile commenting that this continuing work had already taken into account the CLCSS [Committee on Large Container Ship Safety] recommendations. The URs do take into account the effect of lateral loads on bi-axial buckling of stiffened panels [a phenomenon preceding loss of ultimate strength as correctly indicated in the report] and whipping on vertical bending strength."

With respect to the third recommendation of the report - representation of technical backgrounds - IACS can also confirm that class societies' rules already consider the strength of the ship under specified operating and environmental conditions corresponding to its entire life.

"These two important URs will be finalized in the coming months. As a matter of clarity it should be understood that IACS Unified Requirements are minimum common technical requirements to be incorporated into the rules of each individual member. URs are not intended to address all the strength aspects of hull structures, which remains the function and responsibility of each class society," said IACS.

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's final report suggested MOL Comfort broke up because the sea loads exceeded the hull girder ultimate strength at the time of the casualty.

ClassNK, which classed MOL Comfort and later led the investigation into the accident, told IHS Maritime that it would also be amending its class rules in due course.

Source: www.ihsmaritime360.com