Offshore safety case approach and formal safety assessment of ships

PROBLEM: Tragic marine and offshore accidents have caused serious consequences including loss of lives, loss of property, and damage of the environment. METHOD: A proactive, risk-based "goal setting" regime is introduced to the marine and offshore industries to increase the level of safety. DISCUSSION: To maximize marine and offshore safety, risks need to be modeled and safety-based decisions need to be made in a logical and confident way. Risk modeling and decision-making tools need to be developed and applied in a practical environment. SUMMARY: This paper describes both the offshore safety case approach and formal safety assessment of ships in detail with particular reference to the design aspects. The current practices and the latest development in safety assessment in both the marine and offshore industries are described. The relationship between the offshore safety case approach and formal ship safety assessment is described and discussed. Three examples are used to demonstrate both the offshore safety case approach and formal ship safety assessment. The study of risk criteria in marine and offshore safety assessment is carried out. The recommendations on further work required are given. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This paper gives safety engineers in the marine and offshore industries an overview of the offshore safety case approach and formal ship safety assessment. The significance of moving toward a risk-based "goal setting" regime is given.