Ro-ro ships

Ro-ro cargo ships and passenger vessels pose specific safety challenges. Bureau Veritas works to address these risks while meeting owner requirements.

Putting safety first

The non-standardized designs of ro-ro vessels present specific safety risks, notably relating to strength, and transverse stresses in the form of racking. Ro-ro ships are designed to carry specific, often in some cases atypical cargo, which poses additional structural and stability risks. And vibration, also resulting from non-standardized designs, can impact safety and comfort. Finally, owners seek to improve energy efficiency to improve fuel consumption and performance.

Bureau Veritas analyzes your ro-ro design by performing direct calculations, before applying the loads to a complete Finite Element Analysis (FEA) model. We take all factors into account, including cargo to be carried and meteorological data on the routes the vessel will travel. Our goal: to reduce or eliminate risk, remove uncertainties and optimize cargo arrangement. For ropax vessels, we also help you improve passenger comfort.

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Direct strength analysis

Bureau Veritas’ approach to strength analysis goes beyond IACS’ unified requirement for longitudinal strength. Using our Hydrostar seakeeping analysis tool, we perform direct calculations for verification of design wave, and shear force distributions. We model real conditions, without relying on hypotheses, to remove uncertainty.

Complete FEA model to optimize performance

Our calculations are applied to a complete FEA model (VeriSTAR Hull). Every part of the vessel can be reviewed with accuracy for yielding and buckling, and oblique seas are also taken into account. The model enables optimization of scantlings to improve structural strength. It also enables analysis of global vibration by calculating resonance.

Expertise in assessing cargo loads

Ro-ro vessels carry atypical cargo, for example, vehicles or industrial equipment. Bureau Veritas assesses cargo arrangement at the design stage, analyzing point loads on deck, and proposing optimizations.

Experience across all types of ro-ro vessels

Bureau Veritas’ classed fleet includes a wide range of ro-ro cargo ships and ropax vessels. Unique examples include a ro-ro cargo ship used to carry Airbus 380 parts; dual-fuel (LNG and diesel) vessels featuring battery power; and a dual-fuel luxury ro-ro ferry.

LNG fuel expertise

LNG is an increasingly attractive fuel choice for ro-ro ships operating in Emission Control Areas. Several cargo and passenger vessels in the Bureau Veritas classed fleet or under construction have followed our dedicated Rules for use of gas as fuel.