Maritime software, services and data analysis provider NAPA has joined forces with more than 20 industry leaders and academic bodies, as part of the European Commission funded FLARE project.
This project is aimed at developing a risk-based methodology that will enable ‘live’ flooding risk assessment and control for the passenger sector.
By drawing on the simulation capabilities of NAPA emergency computer, which assesses the vulnerability of an intact ship, as well as its survivability in case of a flooding emergency, those in the flood risk workspace can improve their monitoring, assessment and analysis of a ‘live’ flood, and in turn, accelerate ship-shore response.
This will enhance the provision of vulnerability monitoring and survivability assessments across the passenger sector, the company claimed.
Esa Henttinen, Executive Vice President at NAPA Safety Solutions, commented, “The concept for NAPA emergency computer arose from market demand in the cruise industry, and NAPA loading computer originated from collaboration with key stakeholders across the passenger sector.
“NAPA is leading this work into the mitigation of flood risk through similar customer and industry collaboration. Upon completion it is expected that this methodology will globally align key stakeholders to improve passenger ship safety by increasing its simulation capabilities, and providing more accurate assessments of external factors, such as traffic and volatility of weather conditions,” he said.
The FLARE project started in June, 2019 and is set to run for three years with the overall aim of developing a generic (all incidents in one model) and holistic (active and passive measures) risk model with potential application to newbuildings and new solutions to existing ships.
It has received funding from the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
Markus Tompuri, Senior Technical Consultant at NAPA Safety Solutions and the NAPA lead on the FLARE project, commented, “The highest risk for personnel on board passenger ships coming from flooding accidents, and as a number of recent incidents have shown, there is an acute need for decision support systems which can enhance the abilities of officers in crisis situations.
“Since its launch in 2015, NAPA Emergency Computer has become the industry benchmark for integrated decision support. It is used by almost all the major cruise lines, including Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Line, Viking Ocean Cruises, Genting Cruise Lines, Virgin Voyages, Saga Cruises, Hurtigruten and Lindblad Expeditions. Our partnership with FLARE will enable us to further study and enhance NAPA Emergency Computer’s assessments, and make passenger vessels substantially safer,” he claimed.
