Presentation of New Service by Germanischer Lloyd: Classification of Military Submarines

Hamburg/Amsterdam, 21 June 2005 – At the Undersea Technology Exhibition (UDT) from 21 to 23 June in Amsterdam, Germanischer Lloyd will be presenting its spectrum of technical services for the classification of military submarines. Thanks to the classification of submarines, their structural safety will already be ensured at the plan approval stage. Through the subsequent construction supervision, together with the certification of components and parts, the entrepreneurial risk of the shipyard is minimized. At the same time, the naval customer receives an undersea vessel offering enhanced safety and quality standards at reduced cost. Germanischer Lloyd has now extended its body of rules for the classification of naval ships to include construction rules for military submarines. Published recently, the new Rules are based on the wide-ranging experience of Germanischer Lloyd gained in providing technical advice and support for 25 navies around the world over the last thirty years. The customers of Germanischer Lloyd include the navies of Korea, Israel, Norway and Argentina. The rulebook was decisively influenced by the know-how obtained from technical support for civilian submarines. Germanischer Lloyd had already published construction guidelines for submarines in the seventies. The construction rules for military submarines – entitled “Preliminary Rules for Sub-Surface Ships” – form part of the “Rules for Classification and Construction, Naval Ship Technology”, and are subdivided into three chapters:  “Submarines”, with pressure hull, structural strength, dynamic behaviour, propulsion, electrical equipment; “Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicles” (ROVs) with their launching and recovery systems, manipulators, manoeuvring equipment as well as tests and trials; ´ “Guidelines for Air Independent Power Systems for Underwater Use” (AIP systems) including the materials, fuel systems, energy converter, and explosion protection. All four common AIP processes (FC, MESMA, CCD and STIRLING) are addressed in detail in the construction rules of Germanischer Lloyd. For the classification von submarine newbuildings, the performance spectrum of Germanischer Lloyd encompasses the plan approval, materials testing and inspections, construction supervision, trials and certification of fuel cells and of AIP systems. According to independent data from maritime research institutes, about 300 submarines will be ordered worldwide over the next twenty years. Of these, approx. 180 submarines will be equipped with diesel-electric propulsion systems. At the Undersea Defence Technology Exhibition in Amsterdam, Germanischer Lloyd will be represented at Stand 140 in Hall 10.

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