Recommendation Date
Recipient Name
IACS
Text
Advise all member Classification Societies of this accident and that where a reduction in diameter was granted for rudderstocks made of high-strength steel, surveyors and ship operators should be aware of the possibility of load stress cracking. Vessels fitted with such rudderstocks should be inspected to check for such cracks.
Reply Text
IACS members have carefully considered your recommendation and have concluded that they cannot adopt it as it would likely require the dismounting of the whole rudder system of all the existing ships fitted with rudder stocks of higher strength steel and the root causes of this incident have not yet been fully established.
In order to justify the adoption of the recommendation, a fracture mechanics/crack propagation analysis should be developed; however, this analysis is neither simple nor rapid to carry out and I regret we are not in a position to undertake it.
In order to justify the adoption of the recommendation, a fracture mechanics/crack propagation analysis should be developed; however, this analysis is neither simple nor rapid to carry out and I regret we are not in a position to undertake it.
Related Investigation(s)