An all-round approach for vulnerable ship systems
The overall objective of the EU-funded project 'Decision support system for ships in degraded condition' (DSS_DC) was to minimise the losses incurred, environmental harm and risk of loss of lives due to the breakdown of critical ship systems. The project's focus was on developing decision support systems (DSSs) to be used when the ship is already in a degraded state, and tools capable of assessing the consequences of intentional grounding. Partners aimed to integrate the introduction of advanced analysis modules with already existing onboard tools. The project envisaged a DSS for handling ships in a degraded condition with simulation/guidance modules for main emergencies and effective information filtering to the right level of onboard decision makers. Other objectives included developing modules for guidance in heavy seas during main emergencies and systems for remote monitoring, decision support and crisis assistance from traffic control centres, as well as on-shore command centres, and extending sensing and monitoring systems for technical condition management (TCM) at an early stage. The DSS_DC system boasts a number of subsystems, models and methods that largely cover project goals and advance means for improved safety management. These cover onboard and on-shore interaction and cooperation, a ship-shore communication (SSC) module to reduce crew workloads, and a multifunction console (MFC) that can operate either independently or as an integrated information display on more complex ship systems. Other modules developed enable disability diagnosis relative to manoeuvring and propulsion, evaluating hull strength and damage, a DSS for intentional grounding (DIG), and a weather and sea routing module (WRA) to obtain weather information to evaluate and predict developments under particular scenarios. Developments in these areas contribute to safer operation of sea vessels and improved passenger safety as well as taking environmental effects into account.
