Warship Technology: January 2017
The role of classification societies in the naval ship’s sector is evolving rapidly as environmental safety and the protection of human life become increasingly important, says RINA. “Warships have for some time been classified during the construction process but on expiration certificates were often not renewed, but RINA has noticed that, increasingly, navies are maintaining the validity of certificates for the whole ship life. This includes the statutory certification of existing ships that were not certified at the construction stage,” the classification society told Warship Technology.
RINA has experienced a busy year, both for ongoing projects and new developments. Among the most important is the involvement of RINA in the classification of Fincantieri’s newbuilding programme for the Qatari Navy, which consists of the construction of four corvettes, a landing platform dock and two offshore patrol vessels. Another important classification project is two multipurpose fast patrol vessels (or ‘UNPAVs’) that are being built by Intermarine Shipyard for the Italian Navy. New orders were also received from the Indonesian Navy covering a total of 16 Fast Patrol Vessels.
Several RINA-classed ships were delivered in 2016, including the third mine countermeasures vessel of the Katanpää class for the Finnish Navy, Vahterpaa, bringing to a conclusion the MCMV 2010 programme
The fifth FREMM frigate, F 594 – Alpino – was delivered to the Italian Navy with a further five ships on their way. Vittoria Shipyard has delivered a training vessel, Zarzis, to the Tunisian Navy, an interesting vessel that combines dynamic positioning capability and the ability to operate as a diving support vessel. RINA also classed two offshore patrol vessels and a further five 28m hulls for the Indonesian Navy.
Following a detailed presentation to the technical committee, RINA has updated the RINAMIL rules. The new rules will be issued at the beginning of 2017 and reflect the evolution of standards in the maritime sector where they have been deemed applicable to the design and construction of naval ships.
A good example is the class notation GREEN-PLUS MIL, which provides a benchmark for the environmental performance of a vessel. In addition, a new class notation for helicopter operations has been introduced which essentially amalgamates rules that were scattered amongst the existing regulations. The new helicopter notation also introduces verification criteria for fixed helicopter handling and recovery systems. Also included is a novel approach for the management of the risk of an explosive atmosphere in the hangar space.
RINA also has a pipeline of ongoing classification projects with 16 ships for the Italian Navy, comprising five FREMM frigates, a logistic support ship, a landing helicopter dock vessel, seven multipurpose patrol vessels and two multipurpose fast patrol vessels. Work continues with the Coast Guard in the United Arab Emirates on two offshore patrol vessels (the Arialah class) and a mine countermeasures vessel for the Algerian Navy, which is also due to be commissioned in 2017.
