Naval architects count the cost of ship design errors
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| International Transport Intermediaries Club
(ITIC) says recent claims experience demonstrates that naval architects need
to be aware of the need to protect against their exposure to liability for
damages resulting from errors in design work.
ITIC
cites by way of example a case involving the operator of a passenger and
ro-ro ferry service which appointed a naval architect to design a landing
craft ferry. The design was to be based on that of an existing vessel
operated by the company. Prior to beginning the design work, the parties
entered into a design agreement under which the naval architect’s liability
was limited to approximately $750,000.
Shortly
after the vessel was launched, the operator noticed various issues relating
to its performance, including vibration, lack of manoeuvrability and stopping
capability. The vehicle loading ramp was also at an excessive angle in
certain conditions, making the loading of vehicles difficult and, in some
cases, impossible. The operators took the view that urgent rectification work
was required so that improvements could be made before the approaching summer
season.
The
vessel was drydocked and third-party experts were engaged to provide a report
detailing the extent of the problems and their potential causes. Based on the
findings of the report, the operators brought a claim for $3.5m against the
naval architect, alleging that the performance issues were attributable to design
errors. The operators subsequently acknowledged that the naval architect’s
liability was limited to $750,000.
ITIC
appointed an expert naval architect to inspect the vessel and comment on the
extent to which the apparent performance issues could be attributed to design
errors. The expert found that the naval architect was at fault, but that the
claimant had incurred significantly more costly and extensive rectification
work than was necessary. ITIC entered into negotiations with the operators in
order to resolve the matter, and the claim was settled for slightly less than
the limit of liability under the contract.
In
another case reported by ITIC, a naval architect entered into a contract with
a shipyard to design the structure and access arrangements for new lifeboats
and their davits to be fitted to a specific vessel. The naval architect
undertook the design analysis, using data received from the manufacturer of
the lifeboats, and produced design drawings.
It
was understood that the yard was to seek classification society approval of
these designs before starting the build work under the terms of the yard’s
contract with the shipowner. However, due to time restraints and pressure from
the shipowner, the yard decided to start building prior to obtaining class approval.
The
lifeboat support structure was manufactured and installed by the yard
according to the naval architect’s design. The yard subsequently noticed that
the davits were flexing under operation, even without the lifeboats. An
internal investigation within the naval architect’s office determined that an
error had occurred whereby information provided by the lifeboat manufacturer had
not been converted correctly by the naval architect’s computer program, with
the result that the calculations were out by a factor of 1000. This error was
not identified during the naval architect’s quality assurance process and, as
a result, the structural platform, as designed and built, was not fit for
purpose.
The
yard raised a formal complaint advising the naval architect that the work on
the davit support structure had to be rectified because of the error. A few
months later it claimed that rectification had cost £347,254. ITIC assessed
the claim and was also able to raise arguments that the contract terms excluded
some components of the claim and that the yard should not have started construction
before the classification society had approved the designs. A settlement was
eventually agreed at £255,000.
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ITIC is managed by Thomas Miller. More details about the club and
the services it offers can be found on ITIC’s website at www.itic-insure.com
For more information:
Charlotte Kirk
ITIC
Tel. +44 (0)20 7338 0150
Fax. +44 (0)20 7338 0151
Labels: claims, class approval, davits, ITIC, landing craft ferry, liability insurance, lifeboats, naval architects, vibration
posted by Merlin Corporate Communications
@ 11:32
