Germanischer Lloyd Launches New Containership Construction Rules

Hamburg, 23 September 2008 – 158 containerships of 10,500 TEU and larger will enter the world fleet until early 2012. In order to take particular account of technical and structural safety aspects of the growth in size, Germanischer Lloyd (GL) has presented new Construction Rules for container ships at SMM today. With a revised edition of its classification rules, the classification society supports shipyards and owners in building containerships. They define a modern standard for the classification and manufacturing of containerships.

“Shipbuilders and designers have requested us to spell the calculations and requirements out. It is not only the rules, but also why they apply and how to calculate them”, said Jan-Olaf Probst at Germanischer Lloyd’s press conference at SMM.

All requirements are now compiled in one concise, customer- and user-friendly document. The new edition also comes with enhanced graphics as well as updated tables and illustrations. By introducing the new classification rules, GL assists shipyards and shipowners in the challenges of building containerships: The level of detail in the new containership rules has been expanded.

Classification rules have been developed to guarantee the structural strength and integrity of essential parts of a containership’s hull and superstructure. Furthermore, these rules assure the reliability of the propulsion and steering, thereby ensuring safe operation of the ship.

The existing GL rules for containerships cover all current requirements. The previous edition described the procedures and instructions in general terms. The revised issue puts a stronger focus on details, providing more specific instructions on procedures such as cargo hold calculations. The section “Structural Fire Protection on Board Seagoing Ships” incorporates new requirements based on the Fire Test Procedure Code.

New recommendations are given for strengthening shell plates and profiles to minimize propeller-induced vibrations. Avoiding deckhouse vibrations – including those affecting the cantilever navigation bridge wings as well as the radar mast located on the compass deck – is a concern addressed by a set of new recommendations.

As for the deck area, the revised edition contains new requirements regarding the arrangement of strengthened insert plates. This also concerns openings within and close to insert plates. The requirements for breakwaters have been updated in terms of loads, sizes and dimensions for plates, stiffener and girders.

GL classification rules draw upon the expertise of leading members of the industry, such as shipbuilders and containership owners whose experts are actively involved in the technical committees of Germanischer Lloyd. The experience accumulated by Germanischer Lloyd in classifying containerships since the emergence of container shipping in the 1950’s has contributed substantially to the society’s know-how on this technologically complex ship type.

They are valid as of today and can be obtained from the GL website http://www.gl-group.com/.

Germanischer Lloyd press release