Abstract
Ships should ensure safe navigation by meeting the stability norms defined by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and determined by national maritime administrations. The fulfillment of these norms is becoming increasingly important, especially for passenger ships used for tourist excursions. Recently, the development of maritime tourism has greatly increased the demand for these ships most of which are converted fishing vessels. The situation described in this paper pertains to Albania and most probably differs in other countries in the region and the wider area. Ships rarely have adequate technical documentation. The Albanian Register of Shipping requires the performance of stability tests, the results of which are entered in the amended stability book to ensure the vessels’ compliance with the norms following modifications undergone and guarantee safe navigation for tourists. An examination of a variety of ship design papers helped us identify various methods and methodologies for determining approximate geometric ship elements with an acceptable degree of reliability. However, their use should be limited and reliability proven by calculating parameters such as lightship VCG, number of passengers per m2, assessing the possible range and area of navigation and weather conditions (mainly wind speed and wave forces). The calculations based on stability testing and the use of highly reliable software such as MaxSurf - Integrated Naval Architecture Software, Napa - Naval Architectural Package Autoship - Systems Operation, Orca3D – Naval Architecture Software delivered fast and reliable stability assessment results and verified conformance with the norms prescribed by the Albanian Register of Shipping.
Highlights
Maritime tourism in the bay of Vlora saw rapid development and the increasing demand for passenger ships, especially those suitable for one day excursions (Rexhepaj, 2019).Field observations and contacts with the Albanian port authorities and maritime administration suggest that these ships have major safety standard and service issues.Tourist boats operate mainly in the bays of Vlora and Saranda, at short distances (1-2 hours) and inland, such as on Koman and Vau i Dejes lakes on the Drin River or artificial lakes such as Belsh lake in Elbasan
The purpose of this study was to present the necessary stability procedure required by the Albanian Register of Shipping, which is of paramount importance for the safety of short distance passenger transport activities
Consulting various authors and literature on ship design, methods and methodologies for preliminary determination or empirical formulas for calculating various technical elements of vessels, such as vertical center of gravity for lightship, minimum values for metacentric heights GM or others parameters, helped us create an excellent inventory to be used in ship calculations required to fill out the trim and stability booklet as described above
Summary
Maritime tourism in the bay of Vlora saw rapid development and the increasing demand for passenger ships, especially those suitable for one day excursions (Rexhepaj, 2019).Field observations and contacts with the Albanian port authorities and maritime administration suggest that these ships have major safety standard and service issues.Tourist boats operate mainly in the bays of Vlora and Saranda, at short distances (1-2 hours) and inland, such as on Koman and Vau i Dejes lakes on the Drin River or artificial lakes such as Belsh lake in Elbasan. Maritime tourism in the bay of Vlora saw rapid development and the increasing demand for passenger ships, especially those suitable for one day excursions (Rexhepaj, 2019). The only repair shipyard is the Pashaliman Shipyard, which is still under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, but lacks the tools and specialists needed to meet all ship repair, maintenance and construction requirements. In these conditions, lacking the required safety-related technical data, these ships fail to meet the safety standards applicable at sea and geometric and stability calculations are not made.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
