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The naval architect is an invaluable member of the contract negotiation team. Technical expertise is required in many areas to ensure that a project will run smoothly and be performed satisfactorily including grounds for rejecting a ship liquidated damages (penalty clauses) and guarantees. Brief details of procedures and documentation that will help to avoid disputes are given.

A presentation approach is used to consider aspects of conductor design. Slides include: design issues; effect of top cement level; causes of failure; analysis methods; conductor design loads; conductor axial capacity; properties of clay (including remoulding) and sand; design guidelines.

Solas Chapter II-1 damage stability regulations set to enter force at the outset of 2009 in application to newbuilds whose keels are laid from 1 January will no doubt promise designers greater flexibility with regard to vessel subdivision deck heights and bulk-heads compared with the B/5 edict and other prescriptive requirements.

Wei Biao (Bill) Shi Principal Engineer ABS Corporate Technology examines the critical design issues posed by the increased size of ultra-large containerships

DNV's VMO rules for Planning and Execution of Marine Operations include some important towing-related requirements and recommendations. The VMO rules were issued in 1996 and updated in 2000. DNV's experience with these rules is discussed and some possible future changes are indicated.

Although originally discovered back in 1977 Texaco's Captain field received its Annex B earlier this year. The development is presently on schedule with start-up anticipated for 1996; peak production of 60000 b/d oil and 6.6 Mft3/d gas is expected by late 1996.

According to ABS in the latest edition of its quarterly magazine Surveyor today's offshore support vessels are a far cry from their predecessors. They are larger more specialised and more technically sophisticated to meet the demands of complex deepwater field developments.