GOAL BASED STANDARDS (GBS)

GOAL BASED SHIP CONSTRUCTION:----

Goal based ship design and structure was first presented in 2002 in MSC
76 after a proposal was given by BAHAMAS and GREECE in 89th
session of council. They suggested that IMO should play a larger role in
determining the standard to which new ships are built, traditionally the
responsibility of classification society and shipyards.
It was adopted in 2010 at MSC 87. It will be applied to oil tankers
and bulk carriers starting in 2016. It means whose building contract is
placed on/after 1st July 2016. In the absence of building contract keel
laid on/after 1st July 2017. And whose delivery is on/after 1st July 2020.
IMO Goal based standards are:-
1) Broad, overarching safety, environmental and/or security standards
that ships are required to meet during their lifecycle.
2) The required level to be achieved by the requirements applied by
classification societies, other RO, administration and IMO.
3) Clear, demonstrable, verifiable, long standing, implementable and
achievable, irrespective of ship design and technology.
4) Specific enough in order not to be open to differing interpretation.
These basic principles were developed to be applicable to all
goal based new ship construction standard. In the near future IMO may
develop goal based standards for other areas e.g. machinery, equipment,
fire protection etc.
The committee agreed in principle on a five tier system.

Tier 1 GOALS ----- IMO

Tier 2 FUNCTIONAL
REQUIREMENT
Tier 3 VERIFICATION AND
ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA
Tier 4 IACS CSR FOR OIL TANKER AND
BULK CARRIER ------ IACS
Tier 5 PROCEDURE AND QUALITY SYSTEM ------
INDUSTRY

TIER 1 :- GOALS –
Ships are to designed and constructed for a specified design life to be
safe and environmentally friendly when properly operated and
maintained under the specified operating and environmental condition,
in intact and specified damage condition, throughout their life.
 Here safety also includes the ship structure being arranged to
provide safe access, escape, inspection and proper maintenance.
TIER 2:- FUNCTIONAL REQUIRMENT ----
A set of requirements relevant to the functions of the ship structure is to
be complied with in order to meet the above mentioned goals. It consists
of:-
a)DESIGN:--
1) Design life :- 25 years design life
2) Environmental condition:- North Atlantic environment
3) Structural strength:- Suitable safety margin at net scantling
4) Fatigue life:- 25 years fatigue life in north Atlantic
5) Residual strength:- Sufficient
6) Protection against corrosion:- Coating design life specified.
7) Structural redundancy
8) Water tight and weather tight integrity
9) Human element consideration
10) Design transparency
b) CONSTRUCTION:-
11) Construction quality procedures
12) Survey
c) IN SERVICE CONSIDERATION:-
13) Survey and maintenance
14) Structural accessibility
d) RECYCLING CONSIDERATION:-
15) Recycling
TIER 3:- VERIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE
It provides the instruments necessary for demonstrating that the
detailed requirement in TIER 4 and TIER 5 comply with TIER 1 goals
and TIER 2 functional requirements. Verification process is:-
1) RO or administration submits request for verification of its rule.
2) IMO appointed audit teams review.
3) Report of audit team goes to MSC
4) MSC takes decision on conformity with GBS
TIER 4:- Technical procedures and guidelines, including national and
international guidelines.
TIER 5:- Industry standard, codes of practices and safety and quality
systems for ship building, operation, maintenance, training etc.
SHIP CONSTRUCTION FILE:- it will contain the specific information
on how the functional requirements of the GBS have been applied in
ship design and construction. It shall be provided upon delivery of a
new ship, and kept on board a ship and/or ashore. It should be updated
as appropriate throughout ship’s life. Contents of SCF shall at least
conform to the guidelines.

Goal-based verification heralds new era for ship

construction rules
Briefing: 13 13/05/2016

The MSC reviewed goal-based standards verification audit reports on 12 Recognized Organizations which are
members of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) and confirmed that the 12 ROs’
ship construction rules were in conformity with the goals and functional requirements set out in the
international goal-based ship construction standards for bulk carriers and oil tankers.

IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) has confirmed that ship construction rules for oil tankers and
bulk carriers submitted by 12 classification societies conform to the goals and functional requirements
set by the Organization for new oil tankers and bulk carriers.

This marks a significant new development in how international standards for ship construction are
determined and implemented. For the first time, IMO has been given a role in auditing and verifying
the structural rules developed by the classification societies for new-build oil tankers and bulk
carriers.

The philosophy behind goal-based standards for bulk carriers and oil tankers is that ships should be
designed and constructed for a specified design life and that, if properly operated and maintained,
they should remain safe and environmentally friendly throughout their service life.

Regulation II-1/3-10 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) applies the
above philosophy to new oil tankers and bulk carriers over 150 metres in length. Under the
regulation, such ships must have adequate strength, integrity and stability to minimize the risk of loss
of the ship or pollution to the marine environment due to structural failure, including collapse,
resulting in flooding or loss of watertight integrity.

The MSC reviewed goal-based standards verification audit reports on 12 Recognized Organizations
(ROs) which are members of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). The
audits were carried out by teams of experts nominated by IMO Member States.

The Committee confirmed that the 12 ROs’ ship construction rules were in conformity with the goals
and functional requirements set out in the International goal-based ship construction standards for
bulk carriers and oil tankers. The MSC also confirmed that ships contracted under the current verified
rules are deemed to meet the GBS Standards.

The goal-based standards amendments in SOLAS regulation II-1/3-10 were adopted in 2010 and
entered into force in 2012, with a date of 1 July 2016 set for application to new oil tankers and bulk
carriers.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said the verification process which had now been completed was a
significant step for IMO, since until now, there had been no direct oversight by IMO of the
classification societies’ structural rules.

While there has not been any doubt that classification societies have for many years ensured the full
implementation of all applicable IMO standards, including those in SOLAS and MARPOL, the detail of
ship construction has been the remit of classification societies. The goal-based standards verification
audit process means that all aspects of ship construction for oil tankers and bulk carriers now have to
be verified and audited as meeting the established goals.

“The completion of this process of developing goal-based standards for oil tankers and bulk carriers,
followed by the detailed verification audit process, means that we now have a much closer alignment
between the classification societies’ rules and the IMO regulatory process. This marks a very
significant development in the IMO rule making process,” Mr Lim said.

Goal-based standards
The goal-based standards for oil tankers and bulk carriers adopted by IMO set goals and functional
requirements associated with those goals. An important element of the verification process has been
to confirm that the classification societies’ rules and regulations do indeed ensure that the functional
requirements included in the goals, and therefore the goals themselves, will be met.

The goals are defined as follows:

Ships shall be designed and constructed to be safe and environmentally friendly for a specified design
life, when properly operated and maintained under the specified operating and environmental
conditions, in intact and specified damage conditions, throughout their life.
Safe and environmentally friendly means the ship shall have adequate strength, integrity and stability
to minimize the risk of loss of the ship or pollution to the marine environment due to structural
failure, including collapse, resulting in flooding or loss of watertight integrity.

Environmentally friendly also requires the ship to be constructed of materials acceptable for
environment-friendly recycling.

Safety applies to the ship's structure, fittings and arrangements providing for safe access, escape,
inspection and proper maintenance and facilitating safe operation.

Specified operating and environmental conditions are defined by the intended operating area for the
ship throughout its life and cover the conditions, including intermediate conditions, arising from cargo
and ballast operations in port, waterways and at sea.

Specified design life is the nominal period that the ship is assumed to be exposed to operating and/or
environmental conditions and/or the corrosive environment and is used for selecting appropriate ship
design parameters. However, the ship's actual service life may be longer or shorter depending on the
actual operating conditions and maintenance of the ship throughout its life.

The functional requirement II.1 on Design life states that the “specified design life shall not be less
than 25 years”.

Another example of a functional requirement is: II.14 Structural accessibility: “The ship shall be
designed, constructed and equipped to provide adequate means of access to all internal structures to
facilitate overall and close-up inspections and thickness measurements.”

In order to meet the goals and functional requirements, classification societies acting as recognized
organizations and/or national Administrations develop specific rules and regulations (for example, to
achieve the ‘adequate means of access’). These detailed requirements become part of a goal-based
standards framework when they have been verified, by independent auditors and IMO, as conforming
to the goal-based standards. A detailed ship construction file must be provided for each ship.

SOLAS regulation II-1/3-10 on Goal-based ship construction standards for bulk carriers and oil
tankers (resolution MSC.290(87)), which entered into force on 1 January 2012, requires that all oil
tankers and bulk carriers of 150 m in length and above, for which the building contract is placed on
or after 1 July 2016, satisfy applicable structural requirements conforming to the functional
requirements of the International Goal-based Ship Construction Standards for Bulk Carriers and Oil
Tankers (GBS Standards) (resolution MSC.287(87)).

Read more about the IMO goal-based standards.

IMO safety committee adopts historic ship construction
regulations
Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), 87th session: 12 – 21 May 2010
Briefing: 24/2010, May 21, 2010
Share9

IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) has instigated an historic change in the way international
standards for ship construction are to be determined and implemented in the future.

The adoption of so-called “goal-based standards” (GBS) for oil tankers and bulk carriers by the MSC,
yesterday (20 May 2010), means that newly-constructed vessels of these types will have to comply
with structural standards conforming to functional requirements developed and agreed by the
Committee. This means that, for the first time in its history, IMO will be setting standards for ship
construction.

The Committee also adopted guidelines that, equally for the first time, give the Organization a role in
verifying conformity with SOLAS requirements. The guidelines establish the procedures to be followed
in order to verify that the design and construction rules of an Administration or its recognized
organization, for bulk carriers and/or oil tankers, conform to the adopted GBS. The verification
process consists of two main elements: self assessment of the rules by the entity submitting them to
IMO for verification; followed by an audit, to be carried out by experts appointed by the Organization,
of the rules, the self-assessment and the supporting documentation.

Since the beginning of the 2000s, Governments and international organizations had expressed the
view that the Organization should play a larger role in determining the structural standards to which
new ships are built. The philosophy underpinning this move has been that ships should be designed
and constructed for a specified design life and that, if properly operated and maintained, they should
remain safe and environmentally friendly throughout their service life.

The MSC formally adopted International Goal based Ship Construction Standards for Bulk Carriers and
Oil Tankers, along with amendments to Chapter II-1 of the International Convention for the Safety of
Life at Sea (SOLAS), making their application mandatory, with an entry into force date of 1 January
2012.

The new SOLAS regulation II-1/3-10 will apply to oil tankers and bulk carriers of 150m in length and
above. It will require new ships to be designed and constructed for a specified design life and to be
safe and environmentally friendly, in intact and specified damage conditions, throughout their life.
Under the regulation, ships should have adequate strength, integrity and stability to minimize the risk
of loss of the ship or pollution to the marine environment due to structural failure, including collapse,
resulting in flooding or loss of watertight integrity.

The MSC further adopted Guidelines for the information to be included in a Ship Construction File.

The notion of "goal-based ship construction standards" was introduced in IMO at the 89th session of
the Council in November 2002, through a proposal by the Bahamas and Greece, suggesting that the
Organization should develop ship construction standards that would permit innovation in design but
ensure that ships are constructed in such a manner that, if properly maintained, they remain safe for
their entire economic life. The standards would also have to ensure that all parts of a ship can be
easily accessed to permit proper inspection and ease of maintenance. The Council referred the
proposal to the 77th meeting of the MSC in May/June 2003 for consideration.

The MSC commenced detailed technical work on the development of goal-based ship construction
standards at its 78th session in May 2004, when a comprehensive general debate of the issues
involved took place and the Committee agreed to utilize a five tier system initially proposed by the
Bahamas, Greece and the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), consisting of the
following:

Tier I – Goals
High-level objectives to be met.

Tier II – Functional requirements

Criteria to be satisfied in order to conform to the goals.

Tier III – Verification of conformity

Procedures for verifying that the rules and regulations for ship design and construction conform to
the goals and functional requirements.

Tier IV – Rules and regulations for ship design and construction

Detailed requirements developed by IMO, national Administrations and/or recognized organizations
and applied by national Administrations, and/or recognized organizations acting on their behalf, to the
design and construction of a ship in order to conform to the goals and functional requirements.

Tier V – Industry practices and standards

Industry standards, codes of practice and safety and quality systems for shipbuilding, ship operation,
maintenance, training, manning, etc., which may be incorporated into, or referenced in, the rules and
regulations for the design and construction of a ship.

The goal-based standards adopted at this session reflect tiers I to III.

IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos has described the adoption of GBS as “a significant
and important breakthrough for the Organization, not only in terms of how future regulations will be
developed, but also with respect to the role that IMO will play in verifying conformity with SOLAS
requirements.” He added, “the concept that IMO should state what has to be achieved, leaving
classification societies, ship designers and naval architects, marine engineers and ship builders the
freedom to decide on how best to employ their professional skills to meet the required standards is a
sound one and I congratulate the Committee on the painstaking and hard work carried out to turn
the concept into reality.”