2 Ship Life Cycle

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2 SHIP’S LIFE CYCLE


2.1 AIMS OF THE LECTURE

a) To describe the concept of life cycle and its application to ship
b) To outline the stages of ship life cycle
c) To explore the tasks to be carried out at every stage of the ship’s life cycle.

2.2 THE CONCEPT OF LIFE CYCLE

Life cycle concept can be defined as a way to identify processes imply through the life of a
product by comparing with the human life or other creatures from the conceiving of its
existence to its withdrawal.

Life cycle concept has been applied in a number of substantive areas and disciplinary
perspectives depend on its purpose of usage. One approach is to utilise stage in life cycle as
an independent variable explaining some forms of behaviour, and the other approach is to
utilise the life cycle as an analytical framework with which to view behaviour over time.

Like human beings, products also have their own life-cycle. From birth to death human
beings pass through various stages e.g. birth, growth, maturity, decline and death. A similar
life-cycle is seen in the case of products. The product life cycle goes through multiple phases,
involves many professional disciplines, and requires many skills, tools and processes. In the
similar ways it also applies to a ship, ship’s life cycle has to do with the life of a ship in the
operation with respect to business/commercial costs and revenue measures. To say that a ship
has a life cycle is to assert four things:
• That ships have a limited life,
• Ship’s life cycle passes through distinct stages, each posing different challenges,
opportunities, and problems,
• Profits rise and fall at different stages of ship life cycle, and
• Ships require different marketing, financial, manufacturing, purchasing, and human
resource strategies in each life cycle stage.
To see the similarities and differences between ship’s life cycle and human life cycle
following is the comparison excerpt from Prof. Kuo’s presentation in conjunction with the
50
th
anniversary of Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, 18 December 2002:
SHIP’S LIFE CYCLE HUMAN LIFE CYCLE
Phase Time (Yr) Phase Time (Yr)
Concept 3 Concept 5
Design 1.5 Incubate 0.75
Construction 3 Birth 0.1
Commissioning 0.5 Education 25
Operation 40 Careers 40
Maintenance 3 Retrain 3
Decommissioning 2 Retirement 20

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Points to note:
SIMILARITIES DIFFERENCES
Both ship and human pass through different
stages along their life cycle
Ship needs longer time before its
existence depended on the type and size,
while human needs shorter and relatively
same time for incubate and birth
Each stage has its own distinct characteristic
but integrated to the previous and following
stages
The commissioning of ship takes less
than 1 year, while human normally need
around 25 years for education
The product of each stage will determine the
activities to be carried out in the following
stages
The decommissioning of ship is much
shorter compare to the human retirement
Both ship and human will spend almost the
same length of time in their
operation/careers
After retirement human may still be
productive, while ship is usually
inefficient and unprofitable
During their career both ship and human
need maintenance or retraining
The recycling of ship is different
compare to the inherited thought and
works of human


2.3 MAIN STAGES OF SHIP LIFE CYCLE

A ship will pass through some stages before and during its existence, which known as ship’s
life cycle stages.

Starting from the expression of the owner’s desire/need for procuring a ship for various
reasons, which include replacing the old ship (also known as rejuvenating the fleet or
regeneration), adding new ship to the existing fleet, or just a new ship of its kind and purpose.
The concept is usually still very global which only representing the general needs of the ship
such as type, capacity, speed, main dimensions, and number of crews. This concept of the
ship is then brought to the naval architect to be converted in to ship design, after passing
through several phases of design it is then brought to appointed shipyard to be constructed.

The shipyard has to perform production planning which includes making schedules for
purchasing of materials and bought in equipment, human resources, and production
processes, and then implement the plan through various processes.

Upon its completion the ship is now ready for commissioning prior being handed over from
the shipyard to the owner for the designation of its operation, many parties are involved in the
commissioning stage to ensure the compliancy of the ship to the required standards and
regulations, which include classification society, owner’s representatives, statutory
authorities, equipment and engine manufacturers’ representatives etc.

During its operation the ship will have regular as well as special maintenance and repair in
order to maintain its fitness for operation under the supervision of classification society.

After passing through certain period of time due to its age or any other reasons the ship and
its equipment is not economical any more for operation and has to be sent to ship breaking

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Demand for
ship
Design
Construction
Commissioning Operation
Repair &
Maintenance
Scrapping &
recycling
yard for scrapping and recycling, and the new loop of ship life cycle is following for the
replacement of the withdrawn ship.
















Figure 2.1. Ship’s life cycle stages

2.4 THE DEMAND FOR SHIP
Unlike “production” industry which sells their products to the market, shipbuilding is a
“project” industry that processes its products upon request from the owner, based on the
specification and requirements of the owner, one at the time (even though sometime in
series), which is also known as made to order or tailor made. So, the demand of ship is
coming from the ship owners or ship operators in line with the trends of shipping industry.
The demand for ships may either be incremental or replacement demand. The key factors
such as growth in GDP, increase in oil demand, availability of shipping finance and other
factors contribute to the demand for ships. Before deciding to procure a new ship owner
should intensely investigate the future shipping market, local as well as international, and
analyse the possibility of gaining benefit from it. Based on this survey the owner will identify

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the need for the vessel which include type of vessel, number of vessels, capacity, and longest
voyage before bunkering, speed, and cargo handling facilities needed. The procurement of
the ship may serve three different purposes i.e. adding new ship to the existing fleet,
replacing the withdrawn ship from the feel, or just totally different type of ship for serving
new market opportunity.
The demand for ship can be illustrated as follows:










2.5 DESIGN
Ship design stage is the second stage of the ship life cycle, which naval architects, engineers,
designers, and others translate the owner’s requirements in to drawings, specifications, and
other necessary data for the building of the ship. Ship design process has to pass through
several iterative and concurrential phases namely: concept design, preliminary design, and
detail or production design.
At the concept design phase the naval architects figure out the general ship concept given by
the ship’s owner.
At the preliminary design phase the naval architects, designers, and other engineers translate
the agreed concept design into several technical and theoretical drawings for calculation and
analysis, ship modelling, and simulation purposes using iterative processes electrical systems
Detail design is carried out by shipyard, but usually there is a transitional design conducted
by the naval architects and the owner known as contract design, which is used as the basis for
construction bidding and contract with the shipyard. The detail design phase is the final phase
of the design stage. During this phase, ship’s structural component and assembly drawings
are prepared, steel sheets are nested, and so on.

SHIPPING
MARKET
TRENT
SHIP OWNER
OTHER
MARKET
NEEDS
PROCURE THE SHIP
• Increment to the existing fleet
• Regeneration
• New sevice
Figure 2.2 Demand for ship

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2.6 CONSTRUCTION
Up on winning the bidding and obtaining the project shipyard would start the production
processes of the ship by implementing project management approaches. The shipyard would
firstly conduct a production planning to decide how the production of the ship should be
carried out including the arrangement of materials purchasing schedule. The production
sequence of ship construction in a shipyard would generally be as follows:










Figure 2.3 Ship Production Sequence
And the production processes involved in ship construction include:
• Lofting and nesting
• Plates and sections cleaning
• Plates and section straightening
• Plates and sections primer painting
• Plates and section marking
• Plates and section cutting and profiling
• Plates and sections forming
• Plates and section welding

2.7 COMMISSIONING

When the construction process is completed prior to handing over the ship to the owner
shipyard should conduct a series of commissioning processes, which include launching or
floating out, trials, and ship delivery.



MATERIALS
PROCUREMENT
PREPARATION
FABRICATION OF
PANELS
MODULES & BLOCKS
ASSEMBLY
BLOCKS ERECTION
OUTFITTING

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a) Launching

There are various ship launching and floating out techniques depending on the facilities
available in the shipyard and the size of the ship, among others are:

• Conventional launching
- End launching
- Side launching
• Novel launching
• Dry dock floating out
• Ship lift floating out







































Figure 2.4 End launching
Figure 2.5 Side launching

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Figure 2.6 Airbag launching

Figure 2.7 Dry dock floating out


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b) Ship trials

After the ship has been launched prior to its trials there are usually still some post launch
outfitting works to be carried out at the outfitting quay, especially for the sensitive equipment
of the ship, which might be damage if installed at the earlier stage of the construction.

Before being handed over to the owner the ship should undertake a series of trials, to ensure
that the ship being built has met the specifications and complies with the standards and
regulations required. There are two phases of ship trials i.e. basin trials and sea trials. Basin
trials are conducted in the shipyard’s outfitting quay, and the items to be tested are all the
ship’s equipment and machinery; while sea trials as its name are conducted on the sea, mainly
for testing the manoeuvrability, engine endurance, anchor handling equipment, speed, etc.
And sometime the items which are related to the ship’s movement that have been tested at the
basin trials might be repeated at the sea trials.

Some of the trials are illustrated as follows:

















Figure 2.8 Ship lift

Figure 2.9 Speed trial


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c) Ship delivery

When the results of ship trials have satisfied every party concerned, and the shipyard has
completed all the required reports, certificates and all requirements, the ship is ready to be
delivered to the owner.

Beside technical aspects there are also some administrative aspects should be accomplished
during the commissioning processes, such as reports, certifications, approvals, etc., which
Figure 2.11 Engine trials

Figure 2.10 Turning trial



usually involve various concerning parties, such as owner’s representative, classification
society, statutory authorities, etc.



















2.8 OPERATION
The most significant stage of ship’s life cycle is the operation
that the ship gives its contributions
owner/operator. For the owner ship is
the owner or by ship operator
operator will get sufficient return

The ship must obtain enough freight in order to cover the expenses and
some profits. Beside the commercial aspect
also perform well along its operational life
operational monitoring play very important roles.
crews the ship will be handled efficiently and with good operational monitoring appropriate
actions could be employed to maintain good perform
environment control.














various concerning parties, such as owner’s representative, classification
authorities, etc.
The most significant stage of ship’s life cycle is the operation stage, because this is the stage
that the ship gives its contributions as it carries out its missions to bring profit to the
. For the owner ship is an investment, therefore it should be operated either by
the owner or by ship operator (if the ship is hired) in such a manner that the owner or the
get sufficient returns as has been expected.
The ship must obtain enough freight in order to cover the expenses and investment, and gain
commercial aspect as the complement ship’s technical aspect
perform well along its operational life. For this purpose appropriate manning and ship’s
operational monitoring play very important roles. With sufficient number and qualification of
the ship will be handled efficiently and with good operational monitoring appropriate
actions could be employed to maintain good performance of the ship, this include safety and
Figure 2.12 Ship delivery

Figure 2.13 Ship operation

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various concerning parties, such as owner’s representative, classification
stage, because this is the stage
to bring profit to the
an investment, therefore it should be operated either by
in such a manner that the owner or the
investment, and gain
’s technical aspect must
manning and ship’s
number and qualification of
the ship will be handled efficiently and with good operational monitoring appropriate
, this include safety and

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2.9 MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR

In order to ensure its fitness for operation and for safety and environmental reasons ship has
to undertake regular maintenances and if necessary some repairs as well. The repair and
maintenance procedures must comply with the associated standards made by classification
society, engine makers, and concerning authorities. In conjunction with this there are some
periodical inspections should be carried out by classification society as well as by statutory
authority based on their stated requirements
Beside conducted by the ship’s crews on board the ship repair and maintenance works are
mostly conducted by shipyards, which known as repair yards. The works to be done in the
repair and maintenance are very much subject to the conditions of the components being
repaired or maintained, even though there are manuals to be followed as guidance, especially
for scheduled and routine maintenance. Cost effectiveness and efficiency in conducting ship
repair and maintenance are very important both for the shipyard and the ship operator
because they are directly related to their revenues, for this reason new technologies and
methods are continuously being developed for maintenance and repair of ships, some
examples include:
• Reliability Centered Maintenance System
• “Home Doctor Shipyard” Maintenance System
• Sandwich Plate System


























Figure 2.14 Ship maintenance


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2.10 DECOMMISIONING AND RECYCLING

When the ship is becoming inefficient and unprofitable due to its age or cannot be operated
anymore due to particular reasons such as collision, sink, on fire etc. The owner will send the
ship to ship breaking yard for scrapping, so that its materials and remaining equipment can be
recycled.
Due to low margin in ship breaking business most of the ship breaking industry use manual
labour and simple facilities such as winch, acetylene cutter, mobile crane, slipway etc., even
though a few use mechanised methods. In non-mechanised ship breaking the process can be
divided into three main stages as follows:
• Preparation stage
Blocking the intakes, emptying and clearing the tanks, removing non-metal objects
and potentially explosive materials.

• Removing large metal structure
Beach the ship and remove large metal structures such as masts, pipes, superstructure,
deck equipment, engines, ancillary equipment from engine room, propeller and
propeller shaft, bulkheads, and then the remaining of the ship is hauled to dry land by
means of slipway or mobile crane.

• Cutting structure to smaller pieces
Finally the panels and sections are cut into smaller pieces as required using acetylene
cutters.


















Figure 2.15 Ship breaking

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The structural metal materials parts of the ship are usually sent to the melting industry to be
reproduced for other usage such as concrete reinforcing rods, and agricultural needs. The ship
equipment such as diesel engines, generators, deck machinery, compasses, clock and
furniture are sold and reused in other ships. This is known as recycling process.


2.11 CONCLUDING REMARKS

During its existence ship will pass through different stages of life cycle namely: demand for
ship, design, construction, commissioning, operation, maintenance and repair, and
decommissioning and recycling. Many parties are involved in every stage of the ship’s life
cycle such as naval architecture firm, engineering firms, shipyard, ship equipment
manufacturers, classification societies, statutorial authorities, ship owner and operator, ship
breaking yard etc. Each of these parties has its special roles in accordance to the tasks they
have to perform in the life cycle stages including physical engineering works, inspection
works, management works, and administration works.