ABSTRACT
It can be assumed that the failure rate curve of an Integrated Navigation System (INS) of a ship has also the shape of a bathtub during its lifetime. There is some evidence about higher failure rates of new INSs, although extensive statistical data seems not be available about this matter. After 1994 on Finnish waters, there have been several groundings caused by a failure or a malfunction of the navigation and steering system of the ship [1]. Almost all the systems involved were new and the failures fell in the category of infant mortality failures.
