Updated Vertical Extent of Collision Damage

The probabilistic distribution of the vertical extent of collision damage is an important and somewhat controversial component of the proposed IMO harmonized damage stability regulations for cargo and passenger ships. The only pre-existing vertical distribution, currently used in the international cargo ship regulations, was based on a very simplified presumption of bow heights.

This paper investigates the development of this damage extent distribution based on three independent methodologies; actual casualty measurements, world fleet bow height statistics, and collision simulation modeling. The results from the three methods are compared, and a proposed distribution for the new harmonized regulations is presented.