Analysis of Structural Steel Renewal Locations in Ship Repairing

Structural steel renewal in ship repairing is a routine work throughout the service/ operational life of a ship. Prior information about the renewal quantity helps the shipowners to allocate an appropriate budget and the shipyard to prepare the proper ship repairing schedule. It, in turn, helps the shipowners make a financial commitment for cargo. Likewise, prior information about the location of steel renewal works can help the shipowners to prepare the ship before going to the shipyard and the latter to plan for the required logistics. By doing so, the shipowners would be able to save cost in terms of less idle time in the shipyard. The latter can also increase the revenue in terms of minimizing mobilization time. Structural steel renewal location-related information for 123 cargo ships of various ages, deadweights, and types were collected from a single shipyard. Data of renewal locations of selected structural members were analyzed and presented in both tabular and graphical forms. The intention was to show the behavior of renewal locations with respect to the ship’s dimension appropriate for respective structural members, age, and length of the ship. In this article, the authors have attempted to identify and establish the possible root causes that influence the renewal locations and also to investigate and suggest the potential interrelationships between renewal locations, age, length, and type.