CERTIFICATES OF COMPETENCY IN THE MERCHANT NAVY –DECK OFFICER

STCW 78 as amended CHIEF MATE/MASTER REG. II/2 (UNLIMITED)

032-74 – STABILITY AND STRUCTURE

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Materials to be supplied by examination centres

Candidate’s examination workbook

Stability Data Booklet
Stability Formulae Datasheets

Examination Paper Inserts

STABILITY AND STRUCTURE

Marks for each question are shown in brackets

1. A stability instrument installed onboard should cover all stability requirements

applicable to the ship. With regards to such instruments:

(a) State the purpose of the stability instrument and state whether the provision
of such an instrument replaces the need for the Master to be provided with
an approved ship stability data book. (5)

(b) For EACH of the following list the stability information which is required to
be pre-programmed into the software of a ship’s stability instrument in order
that it reliably calculates whether a typical load condition complies with the
intact stability criteria:

(i) Hydrostatic data; (6)

(ii) Stability data and (3)

(iii) Compartment data. (5)

(c) On each of the following deadweight categories list relevant information to

be input by the Ship’s Officer into a passive ship’s stability instrument that
would be required in order to reliably calculate whether a typical load
condition complies with the intact stability criteria:

(i) Ballast, Bunker tanks and bilge spaces; (2)

(ii) Solid cargoes; and (6)

(iii) Liquid cargoes. (3)

(d) Identify and explain why there may be a difference, assuming no equipment
or input errors, between the draughts and trim produced by a Stability
Instrument and those visibly observed from the ship’s side. (5)
1. (a) The following is cribbed from the International Code on Intact Stability, 2008
(IS Code), Part B, Chapter 4.

The stability instrument should include all information and perform all
calculations or checks as necessary to ensure compliance with the applicable
stability requirements. An approved stability instrument is not a substitute
for the approved stability booklet and is used as a supplement to the
approved stability booklet to facilitate stability calculations. (International
Code on Intact Stability, 2008 (IS Code), Part B, Chapter 4)

(b) The following is cribbed from MSC.1/Circ.1229, Guidelines for the Approval
of Stability Instruments. The following is applicable to stability instruments
which use only pre-programmed data from the approved stability information
as the basis for stability calculations.

Hydrostatic data: displacement, LCB, LCF, VCB, KMt and MCT versus draught.

Stability data: KN or MS values at appropriate heel/trim angles versus

displacement, stability limits.

Compartment data: volume, LCG, VCG, TCG and FSM/grain heeling moments
versus level of the compartment’s contents.

(c) A passive system requires manual data entry.

Ballast, Bunker tanks and bilge spaces; Density or relative density of

substance. Percentage fill or mass of substance. A stability instrument may
accept tank sounding/ ullage data entry

Solid cargoes (excluding bulk cargo); Mass, Kg, Vcg, Tcg and Lcg. A stability
instrument may include the option to centre cargo in a space.

Solid Bulk cargo; Volume of cargo and stowage factor of cargo. A stability
instrument may accept sounding/ ullage data entry

Liquid cargoes; Density or relative density of substance. Percentage fill or

mass of substance. A stability instrument may accept tank sounding/ ullage
data entry. A stability instrument may accept temperature data entry.

(d) Some stability instruments use only pre-programmed data from the approved
stability booklet as the basis for stability calculations. These stability
instruments mirror typical hand calculations, that incorrectly assume many
hydrostatic particulars do not change with pitch and roll.

Other stability instruments use hull form models as their basis for stability
calculations. These stability instruments perform iterative calculations to
determine hydrostatic particulars at equilibrium. These stability instruments
are pre-programmed with balancing tolerances to limit the number of
iterative calculation and in turn curtail computation time to within
acceptable limits. Tighter balancing tolerances result in increased accuracy
and slower calculation time.

Regardless of the type of stability instrument, there will be differences

between the designed ship and the built ship. This means there will always
be a discrepancy between calculated draughts and those visibly observed
from the ship’s side.
The sample solution refers to the ‘Ship Constant’, this is not relevant to the
question posed. A ship constant is only needed if there are input errors;
because the raw data is wrong, the raw data is entered incorrectly, or the
raw data is not exhaustive.

The following is taken from the sample solution.

“Ships Constant - This is a figure which accounts for the errors in the ship’s
lightship condition and the cumulative effect of all unaccounted dead weights
onboard the ship, e.g. stores, spare parts, tools and personal possessions of
ship’s crew and passengers.”

FK 17/06/2021
2. (a) Describe the phenomena referred to as ‘surf riding’ coupled with ‘broaching’
and the circumstances when this is likely to occur. (6)

(b) Describe the potential consequences to a vessel of ‘broaching’. (5)

(c) Explain the condition known as ‘Dead ship’ including a description of the
stability consequences experienced by a loaded container ship in moderate
weather conditions. (12)

(d) The current IMO weather criterion provides the following formula for
calculating the still water roll period (T) in seconds:

2×C×B
Rolling Period T(Sec) =
√GM

Explain EACH of the terms and the use of the value (T) in subsequent
weather criterion parameters. (12)
2. (a) The following is from MSC.1/Circ.1228.

“When a ship is situated on the steep forefront of a high wave in following or

quartering sea conditions, the ship can be accelerated to ride on the wave.
This is known as surf-riding. In this situation the so-called broaching-to
phenomenon may occur, which endangers the ship to capsizing as a result of
a sudden change of the ship’s heading and unexpected large heeling.”

Surf-riding and broaching-to may occur when.

The angle of encounter to the waves is between ‘135 and 225 degrees’
‘the angle between keel direction and wave direction, α = 0° means head
sea’

The ship speed in knots is higher than ‘1.8√𝐿𝐿 / cos(180- α)’

The following is taken from the sample solution.

“Surf riding may occur when a following sea/swell of particular

characteristics catches up to the vessel and accelerates it to the speed of the
wave. The required wave length is generally 1 to 3 times the length of the
vessel and of sufficient steepness in order to generate a sufficient wave surge
force. The vessel may then broach, which is a sudden and uncontrollable
turning despite the opposite helm to counter act it.”

(b) Broaching may be caused by wave action and/ or wind action. Broaching
occurs when a vessel is travelling on a similar course to the waves and loses
it’s directional control, leading to an abrupt and involuntary turn beam onto
the wind and waves. Beam wind and waves can cause huge heeling moments,
potentially overwhelming the vessel.

The following is taken from the sample solution.

Broaching may result in:

- The vessel heeling to a large angle,
- Possible ingress of water,
- Possible capsize,
- Injury, fatality to crew and passengers,
- Shift of dead weights resulting in a worsening condition.

(c) A dead ship is a ship that has lost all propulsive and steering power. Without
control over forward velocity and course a ship will be forced beam onto the
wind and waves by the action of the wind and waves.

A loaded container ships will have a large lateral area exposed to the wind.
Wind pressure on the lateral area exposed to the wind will cause a large
heeling force. The heeling force will act at the centre of the lateral area
exposed to the wind, causing a large heeling moment. The vessel will
resultantly heel to a large angle. Reserves of stability will then be greatly
reduced, as will freeboard on the low side of the vessel. Low freeboard will
result in greater amounts of shipped water on the weather deck, further
endangering the ship its crew.

If the vessel is rolling because of wave action, then the force causing the
vessel to roll is constantly being applied and removed. The frequency of this
depends on the wave frequency. If the wave frequency is the same, or similar
to, the natural frequency of the hull, then it is possible that a heeling moment
from the wave is applied to the hull at the extreme roll angle. This will have
the effect of progressively increasing the maximum roll angle. This
Phenomena is known as Synchronous rolling motion.
 The following is taken from the sample solution.

Dead ship occurs when a ship has lost power and steerage. It will then lie at
an angle to the wind and sea appropriate to its hull and windage
characteristics.

- The presence of containers on deck is likely to result in the ship lying beam
on to wind and sea.
- The ship will be heeled to the lee due to wind heeling moments. This
results in a heel arm and the loss of both statical and dynamic stability.
- Additionally, the vessel will be rolling due to the action of the sea waves.
- A larger roll may be experienced should a gust of wind occur when the
ship is at its maximum roll to windward.

(d) The ability of a ship to withstand the combined effects of beam wind and
rolling is measured in part using the principle of energy balance. Where a
worst-case heel angle is determined by assessment of potential energy due
to both gusting wind and roll to windward because of wave action. The
assumed roll to windward due to wave action during a lull in wind speed is a
function of the following.

• Period and steepness of waves.

• The total area of bilge keels and/or bar keel.
• Breadth to draught ratio.
• Block coefficient.
• Natural roll period of the ship, which is function of it's GM and radius
of gyration (gyradius). The radius of gyration is the distance that all
mass may be assumed concentrated about the roll axis.

In absence of empirical information, the formula (in the question) may be

used to determine an approximate natural roll period for a ship, where

• B is the moulded breadth of the ship

• GM is the ships metacentric height corrected for free surface effect,
• C is a coefficient of natural roll period. The coefficient is a function
of mean moulded draught, moulded breadth, and waterline length.
The coefficient effectively accounts for an approximate ship radius of
mass gyration.

FK 08/06/2021
3. With reference to Passenger ship regulations:

(a) Define the term bulkhead deck; (2)

(b) Summarise the damage stability information supplied to Masters; (15)

(c) Outline what is meant by the term attained subdivision index A; (12)

(d) Outline what is meant by the term required subdivision index R. (6)
3. (a) The Bulkhead deck is the uppermost deck to which the main bulkheads and the
ship's shell are carried watertight; and it is the lowermost deck from which
passenger and crew evacuation will not be impeded by water in any stage of
flooding post damage.

The following is taken from the sample solution.

“It is the uppermost deck up to which the transverse watertight bulkheads are
carried.”

(b) A passenger ship shall be supplied with both a ‘Damage Control Plan’ and
‘Damage Control Booklet’.

“The damage control plan and damage control booklet are intended to provide
ship’s officers with clear information on the ship’s watertight subdivision and
equipment related to maintaining the boundaries and effectiveness of the
subdivision so that, in the event of damage to the ship causing flooding, proper
precautions can be taken to prevent progressive flooding through openings
therein and effective action can be taken quickly to mitigate and, where
possible, recover the ship’s loss of stability.” MSC.1/Circ 1245.

"For passenger ships constructed on or after 1 January 2024, the damage

control information shall include a reference to activation of damage stability
support from the onboard stability computer, if installed, and to shore based
support when provided." SOLAS Consolidated Edition 2014, Regulation 19.

The following is taken from the sample solution. The contents of the Damage
control Plan and Damage Control Booklet are listed, but the documents
themselves are not mentioned.

• Curves or tables of minimum operational GM and maximum permissible

trim for a range of draughts, or alternatively corresponding curves or
tables of the maximum allowable KG and maximum permissible trim for
a range of draughts, or with the equivalents of either of these curves
or tables;
• Instructions concerning the operation of cross-flooding arrangements;
and
• all other data and aids which might be necessary to maintain the
required Intact stability according to the requirements of part A of the
2008 IS Code and stability after damage.
• Damage stability information shall be presented in a simple and easily
understood way (SOLAS Ch II-1 Regulation 19)

(c) Damage stability regulations are based on a probabilistic concept which uses
the probability of survival after collision as a measure of ships’ safety in a
damaged condition. This probability is referred to as the “attained subdivision
index A” in the regulations. It can be considered an objective measure of ships’
safety.

The ‘attained subdivision index accounts for three possible loading conditions
and possibly over one hundred damage cases. There could potentially be
several hundred permutations of damage and loading conditions.

For each damage case the probability of occurrence (according to the

regulations) is multiplied by the probability of ship survival post damage (0%
ship lost, 100% ship survives). These combined probabilities are then
aggregated to determine an overall attained subdivision index.
 The three possible loading conditions are ‘s’, ‘l’, and ‘p’. A weighting is
applied to the Attained Subdivision Index for each loading condition
culminating in an overall value for ‘A’. Details of ‘s’, ‘l’ and ‘p’ follow.

• Deepest subdivision draught (ds) is the summer load line draught of the
ship.
• Light service draught (dl) is the service draught corresponding to the
lightest anticipated loading and associated tankage. For passenger ships,
it corresponds, in general, to the arrival condition with 10% consumables,
a full complement of passengers and crew and their effects, and ballast as
necessary for stability and trim.
• Partial subdivision draught (dp) is the light service draught plus 60% of the
difference between the light service draught and the deepest subdivision
draught.

The following, which is very similar to the above, is taken from the sample
solution.

The probabilistic concept uses the probability of survival after collision as a

measure of ships’ safety in a damaged condition. This probability is referred
to as the “attained subdivision index A” in the regulations.

It can be considered an objective measure of ships’ safety and, ideally, there

would be no need to supplement this index by any deterministic requirements.

If the probability of occurrence for each of the damage scenarios the ship could
be subjected to is calculated and then combined with the probability of
surviving each of these damages with the ship loaded in the most probable
loading conditions, we can determine the attained index A as a measure for
the ship’s ability to sustain a collision damage.

The probabilistic requirements are such that the attained subdivision index A
must be NOT less than the required subdivision index R.

(d) The Required Subdivision Index “R” is the required probability of a ship
surviving collision or grounding. For dry cargo ships the Required Subdivision
Index is based on ship length. For passenger ships, the Required Subdivision
Index is a factor of both ship length and the number of persons onboard.

The following is taken from the sample solution.

This minimum value of A is referred to as the “required subdivision index R”

and can be made dependent on:

• ship size,
• number of passengers or
• other factors legislators might consider important.

The probabilistic requirements are such that the attained subdivision index A
must be NOT less than the required subdivision index R.

FK 17/06/2021