Numerical Evaluation of Ships Collisions

Maritime collisions represent one of the main risks for operational safety at sea and can involve various types of contact, such as ship-to-ship impacts, collisions with fixed obstacles (e.g., bridge piers) or groundings. Such events can cause severe structural damage to vessels and ships, compromising their integrity and leading to significant environmental consequences in the event of spills or transported cargo loss. This study is focused on the evaluation of the consequences of a collision event on a reference structure, assessing the energy absorbed, the deformation resulting from an impact and the damage extents and feature. An explicit dynamic finite element model is employed to simulate the temporal evolution of the impact event, with a focus on quantifying energy absorption, deformation patterns, and damage extent. The results offer valuable insights into the mechanics of hull breach formation and energy dissipation, supporting the development of crashworthy structural solutions and effective containment strategies. This is crucial for preventing oil dispersion in the event of a collision and for ensuring safe navigation to the nearest port. This study is conducted within the framework of the EMPATHY project (Enhanced Marine Pollution Emergency Actions to Preserve Ocean Health and the Safety of Ship and Navigation), funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), which aims to enhance preparedness and resilience in maritime safety by advancing the modeling of collision scenarios and guiding emergency response planning.