SafetyatSea has been working with Cruise vessels operators on the development, implementation and verification of safety goals related to improved survivability for safe return to port for current and future newbuilding projects.

As a result of this work SafetyatSea has developed an evaluation and verification process to establish the probability of exceeding the casualty threshold and facilitate compliance with the new safety goals. The casualty threshold assessment includes the following areas:

• > Ship survivability assessment
• > Fire risk assessment
• > Abandonment assessment

Safe return to Port

Recent amendments to SOLAS by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) were the result of a comprehensive review of passenger ship safety aimed at assessing whether the current regulations were adequate, in particular for emerging large passenger ships.

The IMO work in developing the new and amended regulations has based its guiding philosophy on the dual premise that:

"the regulatory framework should place more emphasis on the prevention of a casualty from occurring in the first place and that future passenger ships should be designed for improved survivability so that, in the event of a casualty, persons can stay safely on board as the ship proceeds to port".

The amendments include new concepts such as the incorporation of criteria for the casualty threshold (the amount of damage a ship is able to withstand and still safely return to port) into SOLAS chapters II-1 and II-2. The amendments also provide regulatory flexibility so that ship designers can meet any safety challenges the future may bring.

The amendments are expected to enter into force on 1 July 2010.