Report finds no definitive cause of MOL Comfort sinking The MOL Comfort may have broken in half in Indian Ocean last year because its double-bottom structure was less capable than those of similar ships of dealing with lateral loads, according to Japan’s ClassNK’s report released Tuesday. But the classification society couldn’t determine a definitive cause for the June 17 sinking, which caused the loss of its entire cargo of 4,382 containers, and said further investigation is needed to ensure safety for large container ships. “To prevent similar fracture accidents, it is necessary to assess the hull girder ultimate strength in proper consideration of the effects of the lateral loads, and to assess the buckling strength of stiffened bottom panels in the middle part of the loads,” the report stated. The Japanese classification society said it will will meet with other members of the International Association of Classification Societies within the next month to discuss the findings. ClassNK pledged to “continue to work towards the safety of the large container ships, including improvement of the relevant rules, guidance and guidelines.” The report on the MOL Comfort said any of several factors could have caused the ship’s hull to break in two amid waves estimated to be 5.5 meters. The report discussed the effects of bottom pressure on hull plates and the possibility that some containers’ weights may have been misreported. “The investigation concluded that it was actually possible that the load of the vertical bending moment exceeded the hull girder ultimate strength at the time of the accident when the effects of the deviations of the uncertainty factors were taken into account although the overlap between the strength and the load was very narrow,” the report stated. ClassNK said it simulations with 17 other ships with capacities of 6,000 and 8,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units built in Japanese and non-Japanese shipyards failed to replicate a situation that would cause the hull fracture. The ClassNK report won’t be the last word in the case, which is the subject of lawsuits in Japanese courts and speculation about what caused such a large ship to break apart. Knut Dohlie, vice president of the Norwegian-German classification society DNV GL said the MOL Comfort had a “non-robust design.” His remarks caused a stir last week at International Union of Marine Insurance’s annual conference in Hong Kong. Dohlie said the MOL Comfort’s longitudinal girders should have been aligned to the vessel’s container grid and that the ship’s scantlings should have been as much as three millimeters thicker. He also said the investigation of the sinking was an “all-Japanese event” that was too secretive. The MOL Comfort had nominal capacity of 8,100 twenty-foot-equivalent units, making it the largest container ship to be declared a total loss. The five-year-old ship was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and owned by Mitsui OSK Lines. Estimates of cargo losses have ranged from $200 million to $500 million, in addition to the ship and its containers. Share JOC NEWS - SEPT 30 2014
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 05:17:14 +0000
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