ABSTRACT
Recent research on ship maintenance strategies includes optimal inspection to detect fatigue cracks and update the structural reliability when the cracks are repaired. This approach relies on repaired failures to determine an updated level of reliability after the repairs are made. This often includes the effects of the repair quality on the reliability updating. However, optimal inspection approaches based on finding failed structure are not cost effective for complex ship structures in the context of total ownership costs and risk. In this paper, risk is defined as the product of the probability of failure and associated consequences. This paper compares the inspection of failure approach to a safe life approach involving inspections with no (or minimal) failures in combination with structural monitoring. The benefits of hull structure monitoring are presented in the context of the cost benefit gained for lifecycle maintenance decisions.
