Structural Reliability Assessment of an Oil Tanker Accidentally Grounded in the Adriatic Sea

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to present a methodology for the assessment of the structural reliability of an oil tanker damaged in a hypothetical grounding accident in the Adriatic Sea. The grounding accident affects the ultimate hull girder capacity in the damaged region, the still water bending moment (SWBM) distribution along the vessel as well as the vertical wave bending moments (VWBM). The extent of the damage on the ship’s hull after a grounding accident depends on several parameters such as ship‘s speed, rock size, penetration depth, longitudinal and transversal location of stranding along the hull. These parameters are in the present study assumed as random variables, described by probability density functions. Based on defined statistical properties, random realizations of grounding parameters are simulated by Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. For each such random grounding scenario, the damage size is calculated by the surrogate model based on numerical grounding simulations. Residual ultimate strength and SWBM distribution are determined based on the size and location of the damage. VWBM is calculated for average sea state in the area with increased risk of grounding accident in the Adriatic Sea. Structural reliability analysis is employed to determine the safety index with respect to the ultimate hull girder failure for salvage period of 12 hours. As each grounding scenario results in different hull-girder reliability, histogram of safety indices is obtained representing new measures for the performance assessment of the damaged ship.