Maritime Safety Research Center Opens

The Maritime Safety Research Center was officially opened this week by the IMO Secretary General Kitak Lim, who anticipates that the center could play a role in the shift of maritime safety from empirical to risk-informed legislation and goal-based standards. 

The center is an industry-university partnership, involving the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow's Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean & Marine Engineering, Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCCL) and DNV GL. 

A world first, the center aims to improve safety at sea through a close collaboration between industry and academia that targets interdisciplinary, common-threaded research and development.

It will contribute to safer waterborne operations through the development and implementation of a life-cycle risk management approach, accounting rationally and formally for all cost-effective measures of risk reduction, both active and passive. These efforts are directed at cost-effective safety improvements for new and existing ships and offshore units. 

It will also promote safety culture and continuous development of the regulatory framework. Research areas will include: safety and security of complex systems onboard ships, dynamic barrier management, ship stability, intact and damage stability of cruise ships, safety culture, fire protection and prevention and blackout prevention.

DNV GL’s Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen said: “Classification societies have an ever more important role to play, helping the various stakeholders in the maritime arena understand the new reality and complexity by focusing on interfaces, developing effective safety barriers and ensuring that these remain effective throughout the life of the vessel. Equally as important is enhanced capability for medium and long-term research, addressing the impact of increased complexity and of increasing societal expectations for human safety and environmental impact.”