Ship collision

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Ship collision is the structural impact between two ships or one ship and a floating or still object such as an iceberg^[1]. Ship collisions are of particular importance marine accidents. Some reasons for the latter are:

The loss of human life.
The environmental impact, especially in the case where large tanker ships are involved. However, even minor spills from any kind of merchant ship can form a threat to the environment.
Financial consequences to local communities close to the accident.
The financial consequences to ship-owners, due to ship loss or penalties.
Damage to coastal or off-shore infrastructure, for example collision with bridges.

As sea routes are getting denser and ship speeds higher, there is a good possibility that a ship may experience an important accident during her lifetime. Higher speeds may cause larger operational loads, like slamming, or excessively severe loads, for example during a collision. Denser sea routes increase the probability of an accident – in particular a collision – involving ships or ships and shore or offshore structures. Due to extremely large masses and relatively high velocities the energy involved in such an accident is astonishing: the collision energy of a 10,000 tonne RoRo passenger at a speed of 30kn, is equivalent to 10,000 cars of approximately 1 tonne each, impacting a small area with a speed of approximately 55km/h (slightly higher than the speed used in Euro NCAP side impact tests for cars).^[2]