Feature 2 | LIFESAVING & SHIP SAFETY Safeguarding ship evacuation
Understanding how passengers behave in maritme emergencies is vital for the development of robust evacuation procedures. Dr Philipp Lohrmann, and Prof Ed Galea describe the methodology behind full-scale assembly trials –including the largest ever real-life assembly trial on a passenger ship.
A and
n essential component for understanding passenger behaviour is the collection characterisat ion
of human
performance data. However, little data relating to passenger response time or full-scale validation data in maritime environments exists. Although the IMO’s evacuation protocol Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) Circ. 1033 and its successor, MSC Circ. 1238 are of great use, it is known in the industry that the existing data is not representative of passenger ships in general. In a bid to address the IMO Fire
Protection Sub Committee’s requirement to collect full-scale data for calibration and validation of ship-based evacuation models,
as well investigating as proposing and additional benchmark
scenarios to be used in certification analysis, the SAFEGUARD project was born. Funded through the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme and the Canadian authorities and bringing together leading industry experts, the findings derived from the SAFEGUARD project will play an integral role in framing the next iteration of international guidelines for ship evacuation analysis. The first recognised document to
specify protocols for the use of ship evacuation models in order to analyse and certify passenger ship design was IMO MSC Circ. 1033 (2002). However, further research indicated that IMO MSC Circ. 1033 was unrepresentative of actual passenger response time and was liable to produce incorrect or misleading conclusions surrounding the suitability of ship design for evacuation. As part of the European Union FP5
Competitive and Sustainable Growth Programme, a project (led by BMT and featuring the SAFEGUARD partners University of Greenwich and the Offshore
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importance of collecting assembly time data sets for use as validation data. Te latter refers to the length of time it takes for a passenger to reach the designated assembly area. Te first vessel where these full-scale
Professor Ed Galea, director of fire safety engineering group, University of Greenwich
Safety and Survival Centre (OSSC)) called “FIRE-EXIT” collected passenger response time data for a passenger ship at sea during 2003 and 2004. Tis data was then accepted by the IMO and used in the formulation of IMO MSC Circ. 1238, the modified protocols for passenger ship evacuation analysis and certification. However, only a small amount of response time data was produced by FIRE-EXIT and it related to only one type of ship. The data collected was therefore not considered representative of passenger ships as a whole.
Furthermore, no
assembly time data was gathered – a crucial component of validation data. The SAFEGUARD project was
proposed to meet a further requirement by the IMO Fire Protection Committee to measure passenger behaviour during planned assembly trials at sea on three different types of vessels – a ferry with cabins (night passengers), a ferry without cabins (day passengers) and a cruise ship. As well as collecting response times, i.e. the amount of time it takes passengers to begin moving once the alarm has been sounded, SAFEGUARD recognised the
trials were to be carried out was the large ro-pax ferry SuperSpeed 1 (SS1), operated by Color Line which can accommodate approximately 2,000 passengers and crew, as well as over 700 vehicles. Te route taken by the vessel during the data collection trials was from Kristiansands in Norway to Hirtshals in Denmark – a trip which takes approximately three hours and 15 minutes. Te ship configuration is a mixture of public passenger spaces spread over
three decks including:
business and traveller class seating areas, large retail and restaurant/catering areas, indoor and outdoor seating areas and general circulation spaces. Operated by Royal Caribbean Cruise
Lines International, Jewel of the Seas which has a capacity of 2,500 passengers and a crew of 842 was the second vessel to be used in these real-life trials. Te ship contains a variety of spaces spread over 12 passenger decks and features all of the amenities you would expect from a cruise ship of this size such as restaurant and bar areas, theatre, gym and casino etc. Te route taken by the vessel during the data collection trial was from Harwich, UK to St. Petersburg in Russia, via Copenhagen, Denmark, a total voyage of nearly seven days. Te trial was conducted on the leg of the voyage to Copenhagen. Tis particular trial is certainly noteworthy as it is the largest real-life assembly trial ever to be conducted on a passenger ship. The final vessel used was Olympia
Palace, an overnight ferry operated by Minoan Lines which has a maximum passenger capacity of 2,182 and can carry approximately 600 cars. Tis vessel
The Naval Architect October 2012
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