Project Objective

The strategic obiective of SAFER EURORO TN is to facilitate the development of a formalised design methodology for safer ships by promoting an integrated approach that  links behaviour prediction through the utilisation of appropriate technical “tools”, risk assessment deriving from risk-based methodologies for assessing ship safety and disparate  design activities and issues. Specific objectives relate to the co-ordination in the development of a series of quantifiable, readily available and evolutionary “tools”, that enable the analysis, interaction and interface of all the organisational, procedural, operational, technological, environmental and human related factors concerning the occurrence of accidental or  extreme events at sea. Specific objectives of the TN can be summarised as follows:

•  identify, develop and strengthen links and synergies between the various key groups, currently operating in a national or bilateral fashion to enable them to function on a European level and to prepare IRP proposals for the 5Ih Framework Programme;
• facilitate and promote integration between the thematic areas;
• monitoring and strategic analysis of research;
• identify and facilitate technology transfer and training opportunities among the participants and in a wider context where appropriate;
• ensure adequate and effective dissemination of research results and identify opportunities and channels for exploitation of research findings;
• define the scope of targeted research in the future of “Design for Safety”;
• co-ordinate CEC-funded research in this research priority area, following successful proposals in the future.

The impact of SAFER EURORO on the maritime industry of EU over the past four years has been manifold, but the most significant by far must be the instillation of a strong belief in the maritime industry that safety by design is a feasible proposition, which in turn helps to promote a safety culture that spans the whole profession. Major achievements in the strife for cost-effective safer ships through the activities of SAFER EURORO (brought to greater focus by the well publicised recent marine disasters, notably the ERIKA) include:

• The subject of safety has been forced to the forefront of developments, giving way to scientific approaches to assessing safety at the expense of the traditionally governing empiricism. As a result, a clear tendency to move from prescriptive to performance-based approaches to safety is emerging and this is paving the way to drastic evolutionary changes in design, where safety is dealt with as a central issue with serious economic implications rather than a simplistic compliance. The attention surrounding ship safety has scarcely been greater at any other time. Safety is becoming a central issue for the maritime community. The traditional inertia of the marine industry has been overcome by a new stronger resurgence of safety as a key issue that cannot be considered in isolation any longer nor fixed by add-ons, bringing home the long overdue realisation that lack of safety or ineffective approaches to safety can drive shippers out of business.
• The European Commission has actively responded to these challenges by retaining 12 proposals on “Design for Safety” prepared through SAFER EURORO (9 concerning safer Ro-Ro/passenger ships and 3 addressing the safety of high-speed craft), amounting to 45 ME of funding. Moreover, through the adoption of an open structure partnership, enabling other areas and others partners to join the TN a true European Research Area on the subject of Safety at Sea has thus been created and is being continuously nurtured and promoted.
• The internationalisation of the TN output, the significant contribution to the regulatory process and the increasing realisation by industry that scientific approaches to dealing with ship safety offer unique opportunities to building and sustaining competitive advantage, have helped in creating a momentum that is now proving to provide the “fuel” and the inspiration towards achieving the goals of the TN.
• More importantly, the effective co-operation between all the major players and stakeholders in the EU maritime industry led to a closer collaboration and to increased trust and respect of each of the partners potential and strengths. EU can only be better for it.