University of Strathclyde wins student ferry design prize

Winning entry features a rounded bilge design as opposed to a chined hull

JUNE 2, 2016 — The University of Strathclyde, Scotland, is the winner of the $5,000 first prize this year’s International Student Design Competition for a Safe Affordable Ferry. The annual competition is held by the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association (WFSA) whose Executive Director, Dr. Roberta Weisbrod, was scheduled to formally announce the results at the Ferry Safety and Technology Conference, which being held in downtown New York, today and tomorrow.

The requirements of this year’s competition were to design a RoPax ferry able to transport 185 passengers plus a crew of 15 and cargo carrying vehicles on a route linking five islands surrounding Indonesia’s Savu Sea.

The University of Strathclyde’s Savutec ferry has been designed for two main conditions: safety and affordability, and, according to the WFSA, “satisfies greatly all the requirements from the Terms of Reference of the competition.”

The vessel was designed with a rounded bilge as opposed to a chined hull for improved passenger comfort. Maneuverability is significantly improved due to the minimal resistance of the optimized hull and the combination of the large rudder area and bow thruster.

All phases of the design were evaluated utilizing high level software technologies. The safety aspect has been satisfied by features such as, parametric design conferrring a better stability and therefore seakeeping and a general arrangement that improves sability and evacuation time.

Probabilistic damage stability has been calculated to find the weakest points of the ferry and corrected by implementation of a new system called Damage Stability Recovery System (DSRS) that reduces the risk of capsizing and sinking by 191 %, important in view of fire onboard or grounding inducing ingress of water due to breached hull.

The team successfully included design of longitudinal bulkheads, and has relocated openings and splash-tight doors, all of which positively increase the safety factor.

Wth the implementation of the DSRS, lifeboats are not needed anymore with only liferafts being considered necessary, which make an important cost saving.

There were two second prize winners, both teams from Hochschule Bremen – City University of Applied Sciences, and two third prize winners, the U.S. Naval Academy and Tolani Maritime Institute.