Operational risk assessment for hulls of inland and river-sea navigation towed barge trains

• Main Author: Alexander G. Yegorov
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Krylov State Research Centre 2017-07-01
• Series: Труды Крыловского государственного научного центра
• Subjects: inland navigation vessels; mixed (river-sea) navigation vessels; barge; tug; train; risk analysis; hazard analysis; damage; design; reliability
• Online Access: http://transactions-ksrc.ru/eng/archive/Operational-risk-assessment-for-hulls-of-inland-and-river-sea-navigation-towed-barge-trains/

Object and purpose of research. This paper studies inland and mixed navigation towed barge trains to provide the analysis of the emergencies aboard Russian towed barge trains, their tugs and barges. Materials and methods. The analysis relies on the database of the Marine Engineering Bureau, reports of Classification Societies and supervisory bodies. The risk assessment was performed as per the IMO-suggested procedure improved by the author. The methods of statistical data analysis were also used. Main results. The paper analyses the emergencies suffered by towed barge trains since 1991. In total, 533 emergency cases were investigated. The study identified the main hazards leading to accidents and catastrophes. Conclusion. The rate of emergencies grows steadily for the ships more than 14 years old, with the peak for the age group of 22-25 years. To ensure sufficient reliability and safety of towed barge train, keeping the economic efficiency level within ac- ceptable limits, is only possible if all the life cycle stages of these ships, including classification of the requirements stated in the Rules, design, construction, operation, certifications, repair and retrofitting are regarded as per the system approach.