Alternative Design Studies

Enabling alternative design without compromising safety

The demand for alternative or more innovative marine and offshore vessels often conflicts with IMO Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requirements. Builders now seek equivalent solutions in terms of fire safety, life safety, appliances, machinery and electricity for their alternative demands. Alternative design studies offer them a way to make sure their next generation of vessels combines innovation with safety.

From the design stage, BV Solutions M&O’s global team of experts works closely with owners and designers aiming to build vessels that lie beyond some limitations of SOLAS regulations. Starting with a thorough analysis of the new asset’s build and safety thresholds, we ensure the newbuild either meets or exceeds the level of safety required of standard ships. The result: vessels with new designs, that do not sacrifice safety.

Our added-value

With 20 years of experience in developing alternative designs, we offer unparalleled insight and expertise regarding all equivalence procedures.

We can ensure design equivalence using tailored in-house methodologies and digital simulation tools combined with our people’s long-term experience.

Life safety and evacuation

Life safety and evacuation

Large passenger ships carry a high density of people on board. In the event of an emergency, they need to be safely evacuated in as little time as possible. Our experts conduct exhaustive mathematical calculations to model the behavior of passengers in a wide range of scenarios to determine time to reach safe areas and lifeboats. We also perform alternative design studies for life-saving appliances and arrangements (e.g., risk assessments and abandonment simulations).

Fire safety

Fire safety

BV Solutions M&O conducts full-scale fire safety modeling. We investigate a range of scenarios and possibilities to determine where fires may ignite and how fast they might spread, and we examine evacuation procedures. We then create a simulation of how a client’s alternative design achieves a safety level equivalent to the conventional design, in challenging conditions.

Customized solutions

Customized solutions

Our experts can study any newbuild project containing deviations from regulatory values as part of the “equivalent” section of any code or convention. We ensure that our clients’ specific designs achieve a satisfactory safety level, thanks to our in-depth knowledge of regulations and risk-based methods.

Luxury cruise ship operator Ponant wanted to design a ship with an underwater lounge space, where guests could relax while looking out large glass windows at surrounding sea life. Our experts carried out the feasibility studies to enable the building of a solid equivalence demonstration file for the Administration.

20years of experience in developing alternative designs