Future Challenges for the Structural Design of Marine High Speed Vessels

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the special issues raised within the structural design of high speed vessels and to describe the future challenges for such a design process as we see it.

This work is based on our experience from the pre-contract structural design work of a large high speed ocean freighter (H.S.O.F.), the 265 m long FastShip TG770, and the design of a large number of hulls for small and medium sized high speed patrol and inspection vessels.

The paper includes issues such as first principle design procedures, determination of hydrodynamic loads, ship motions, load applications, fatigue strength and ship building principles. The overall intention of this paper is to bring a contribution to the industry's development of reliable methods for the design of small and large high speed ships.