Longitudinal and transverse framing

There are three possible ways to fit the secondary supporting members:

Transverse Framing System ---bottom ---side----deck

Longitudinal Framing System-- bottom ---side----deck
Combined or Mixed Framing System----. bottom ---side----deck

Bottom shell Transverse >120 mts longitudinalframing

framing or preferred
longitudinal
framed
Side shell Transverse Transverse framing conventional
framing or cargo ship.maximum bale capacity
longitudinal required
framed Longitudinal framing large container
ship and bulk carrier with hopper and
wingtanks.
Transverse frames are then fitted at
the side shell between the hopper
and topside tanks.
Deck Transverse both
 Frames (transverse framing-1) SIDE SHELL PLATING
Frames act as major transverse stiffners. Frames are Big size steel plate
connected to bottom of the ship
In a general cargo ship the transverse framing will consist of main and hold
frames with brackets top and bottom,
And lighter tween deck frames with brackets at the tops only
Scantlings of the main transverse frames depends upon :1.position2.spacing 3.
depth4.rigidity at end connection. Bunker tanks,deeptanks side frame size
increased
Web frames: Web frames, that is built up frames consisting of plate web and face
flat, where the web is considerably deeper than the conventional transverse frame,
are often introduced along the side shell
Web frame
placing
Machinery Not more than 5
space frames apart
Fwd of Not more than 5
collison frames apart
bulkhead,
deeptank
Tweendeck Every forth frame
and above
apk tank

Shell framing
 Frames (transverse framing-2)
Runs in athwartship direction . These are vertical members that make up the
framing of the vertical part of the hull. Frame type and spacing vary considerably
depending on the ship's construction.
strengthen the ship against buckling and bending.
We can consider the frames to be similar to the girders but with
 only one difference. Frames runs in transverse (Athwartship) direction.
If keel is the backbone of the ship, the frames are considered to be the rib cage.
Frames are numbered starting from aft perpendiculars
Longitudinal framing :side shell

Transverse webs are fitted to support the

side longitudinals,

Transverseweb placing
<100 mts Not more than 3.8 mts apart
Peak tank Every 2.5 mts
+length<100mt
s
Peak tank 3.5 mts
+length300mts

Peak tank Linearly increasing

+lengthbetwee
n 100-300mts
Longitudinal framing systems require deep transverse webs for support. These
web frames
interfere with the arrangement of spaces inside the ship. This is inconvenient for
some ship
types, although not for tankers & bulkers, which is where longitudinal framing is
most commonly used.
In practice, longitudinal and transverse framing systems can be combined.
Longitudinal stiffeners are used in the bottomand deck, where their contribution
to resistinglongitudinal bending (and buckling) is most
useful…
… and transverse framing is used at the side to avoid obstructing interior spaces
with the deep webs associated with longitudinal frames
 Bar Keel

The bottom shell plating is stiffened by means of transverse or longitudinal

frames. Fitting vertical plates to the bottom shell provides additional
strength. Those fitted transversely are called floors and those fitted
longitudinally are called side keelsons. On some smaller vessels, a single
bottom construction is employed as shown below.
Flat Plate Keel:
  The simplest type of keel, this structure is actually integrated completely into the internal
framework of the vessel. The stresses are centered on a continuous centre girder that runs
longitudinally down the centerline of the ship. Are simple because they can be built completely
within the internal structure and allow for the complete double bottom to be used as tank space

Flat Keel is a solid plate which is supported by frames running around the vessel. It is thicker than
the adjoining plates and must be of full uniform thickness for 3/5th length amidship. It may
gradually reduce towards ends of the ship and is most common in a majority of ocean-going
vessels

Flat plate keel may be fitted on ships with either single or double bottom.
In the double bottom construction, the flat plate also forms a strong “I” structure, the
vertical plate commonly called the centre girder, and the horizontal plate being part
of the tank -top structure.
FLAT PLATE KEEL
 Duct keel

Following are the advantages of Duct keel:

1)    They are a higher strength compared to other types of the keel as they give
excellent resistance to loads due to its box structure.
2)    It allows protected cables, bunker pipelines, and ballast pipelines to run fore and
aft beneath the cargo spaces. This allows the pipelines to be easily inspected even
when cargo is loaded.
3)    It is possible to carry oil and water pipes in the duct to prevent contamination,
which could occur if the pipes passed through cargo tanks.
4)    It acts like a cofferdam and is provided with a sounding pipe to detect any leakage.
It is very important to carry out duct keel inspection on a regular basis. Duct keels have bunker
and ballast pipelines running along its full length and connecting to various bunker storage
tanks and ballast tanks. Any leakage from these pipelines can cause severe problems and risk
the safety of the ship. Hence it is necessary to carry out periodic inspections of the duct keeL
3. Duct keel:-  runs from fwd bulkhead of engine room to the collision bulkhead. It is a form of
flat plate keel but with 2 centre girders. Transverse stiffening bar or brackets are normally
provided on keel and inner bottom plating between the centre girders. Duct keel is normally
provided as a tunnel for pipes from the tank
 Flat keel

Flat Plate Keel: Duct keel

  The simplest type of keel, this structure is
actually integrated completely into the internal
framework of the vessel. The stresses are
centered on a continuous centre girder that runs
longitudinally down the centerline of the ship.
Are simple because they can be built completely
within the internal structure and allow for the
complete double bottom to be used as tank
space
https://www.voicetube.com/videos/68321
Floor
Floors: These are made up of cross members that are mounted perpendicular to the
keel and girders. There are three main types of floor: solid, plate and bracket.
Plate floor SOLID floor

Bracket or open floor

Double hull, as the name suggests, are tanker ship hulls with
double layers of watertight hull surface. The inner and outer layers
of the hull are on the bottom as well as the sides of the tanker
ships. The double layer construction helps in reducing the risks of
marine pollution during collision, grounding, and any other form of
ship’s hull damage.
Single hull have only one outer watertight layer which runs
throughout the structure of the tanker ship. As a result of only one
layer, single hull tankers pose a greater threat to marine
environment during any kind of accidents.
 Single hull, Double bottom, and Double hull ship cross
sections. Green lines are watertight; black structure is not
watertight
Double hulls are a more extensive safety measure than double
bottoms, which have two hull layers only in the bottom of the
ship but not the sides
 Stiffeners

a) A steel plate can be bent easily . To strengthen the steel plate stiffeners
(welding flat bars f&A or atwartship direction are placed (transverse or
longitudinal way )
b) To provide strength to the ship structure
c)  stiffner welded in longitudinal direction is called “Longitudinal stiffner”.
Same way a stiffners welded in transverse direction is simply called
“transverse stiffner”.
d) longitudinal stiffners and transverse stiffners can further will named
according to various factors including the amount of strength these provide
to the structure
e) Types of Stiffeners
f) Girder
g) longitudinals
h) Frames
i) Transverses
j) Stringers
 Girders

Girders are one form of longitudinal stiffeners. These are

Big size steel plate (or sometimes beams) connected to bottom of the ship
Runs in fore and aft direction
strengthen the ship against bending moment
Girders are also named according to its location. The girder at the center of the
ship is called center girder
n double bottom tanks, the thick solid metal plate that divides the ballast tanks
into port and starboard tank is the center girder.
Apart from the center girder, there can be few girders on each side of the ship or
double bottom
Depending upon the breadth of the ship, there can be more than one side girder
on each sidehile center girder runs in full depth of the double bottom tank, side
girders may or may not run in full depth
Use of intercostal girder
Use to give extra strength to the particular area which require
There are locally fixed longitudinal where more strength required.
They are not running continuously as longitudinal.
They are located in places such as loading heavy,
under the M/E, under container shoes

Double bottom tank Transverse framing

Centre girder and intercostal girder
 longitudinal

Longitudinal = longitudinal stiffeners

in most cases the longitudinals are beams (mostly L-beams) and runs
 along the length of the ship. In Double bottom space longitudinals
 can be seen
Section wise longitudinals name is given. In double bottom
ballast tank, longitudinals strengthening the bottom are called “bottom
longitudinals”. Longitudinals strenghtening the top of the ballast tank are called “top
longitudinals”
 Transverse
Called “transverse stiffners”
These are different from frames in two ways
First unlike frames these do not extend to full height of the compartment.
Second transverse are of lesser strength and thickness than frames
Based on the location of transverse, these may be called “bottom transverse”,
“inner bottom transverse” or even “deck transverse”..
 Stringers

how the girder is stiffned. The stiffner is welded in vertical direction. If

same stiffner is required to be welded in horizontal direction, it will be
called stringer.
One of the location where stringer is mostly used is the forward part of
the ship. Bow of the ship has to bear lots of stress and so requires
extra strengthening
 a) >120 mts longitudinal
bending stresses
Bottom Plating
increases like hogging
and sagging therefore
for strengthening
longitudinal framing
stiffeners are used
Single Bottom Double Bottom

Longitudinal
Transverse Framing Transverse Longitudinal
Framing Framing Framing
Does not exists
Single bottom Bottom Plating
Double bottom Single hull, Double bottom, and Double hull ship cross
Double hull sections. Green lines are watertight; black structure is
not watertight
 For addition

A beam is a structural element that increases load bearing capability and

avoid bending of the structure. Beams can be categorized by many types
but from point of ship construction, we need to categorize it through cross
sectional shape.
For example, there are L-Shaped beams, C-shaped beams, I-shaped beams
and SI-shaped beams. SI shaped beams are I-shaped beams with slight
curved cross section.
 Deck Beam knees

 Deck is transversely framed the deck beams are to be fitted at every frame. Across the
width and are joined with the side frames by brackets known as beam knees
Deck beams supports
 the deck
 any loads
 it carries and to act as struts assisting in holding the sides of the ship apart against the
inward pressure of the sea.
Beam knees are fitted to provide an efficient connection between the side frames and
deck beams.
 small amount of resistance against racking stresses. \
size of the knees is determined by the scantlings of the frame and beam and are given
in the Rules.

TRANSAM BEAM
PANTING BEAM
 Beam Knee

When a ship rolls there is a tendency for the ship to distort transversely in a
similar way to that in which a picture frame may collapse. This is known as racking and is
reduced or prevented by the beam knee and tank side bracket connections,
together with the transverse bulkheads, the latter having the greatest effect.
The efficiency of the ship structure in withstanding longitudinal bending depends
to a large extent on the ability of the transverse structure to prevent collapse of the shell
plating and decks.
Panting beam
 Bulkhead
Vertical partitions on the ship arranged transversally or fore and aft are refer as
bulkheads
These bulkheads divides the ship in number of compartments
Three types of Bulkheads
Watertight bulkheads :Watertight bulkheads are attached to the shell, the deck,
and the bottom or tank top by welding
Non watertight bulkhead :which are non water tight such as centreline wash
bulkhead in the peak tanks, partial bulkheads in the accommodation spaces, stores
and cargo holds.
Oil tight bulkhead :Oiltight Bulkheads form the boundaries of tanks used for the
carriage of liquid cargoes or fuels.
Functions of Bulkhead
Subdivision
Contain flooding in event of Damage
Transverse strength member
Protection aginst racking Stresses
Protection against spreading of fire
Resisting transverse deformation of ship
Types of bulkheads based on direction
Transverse Bulkheads
Longitudinal Bulkheads
 Watertight bulkhead
All ships must  have
a collision bulkhead
 an aft peak tank bulkhead
 a bulkhead at each end of the engine room
Numbers of bulkheads on passenger ship are more due to stringent stability
requirement
The Safety of any ship highly depends on its water tight integrity and structural
 
strength.
If structure of ship is damaged, water will ingress, resulting  stability problems.
Ship may capasize. To arresst the water flow from one compartment to other
compartment watertight bulkheads are fitted

Watertight bulkheads are vertically designed watertight divisions/walls within the

ship’s structure to avoid ingress of water in the compartment if the adjacent
compartment is flooded due to damage in ship’s hull. This starts from ship’s
double bottom to top until the upper main deck
Advantages of Watertight Bulkheads
They help in subdividing the ship into number of watertight compartments, thus
increasing watertight integrity of the ship
It helps in increasing the transverse strength of the ship which helps in reducing
raking
In case of fire bulkheads restrict the spread of the same to other compartments.
 Bulkheads divide the main hull of a ship into different compartments such as
the aft peak tank, engine room, cargo holds,deep tanks, cofferdam space, and
the fore peak tank
 construction watertight Bulkhead

Stronger and thicker as water pressure to sustain

Stakes of plating welded on tanktop ,side shell and
deck
Bulkhead plates Arranged horizontally, Stiffed vertically
Thickness of horizontal plate increases towards bottom
as water pressure increases
Stiffening done through vertical plate either bulb
stiffener or angle bar welded(bulkhead stiffner,760mm
apart)

End of the stiffner is weld to deck beam and tank top
through bracket
Sluice valves are not permitted in water tight
bulkheads.
Why vertical stiffening is done not horizontally?
1. The bulkhead plate itself is not resistant
enough against large scale transverse forces like
shear forces. 
Horizontal stiffening :Horizontal stiffening in
ships with high beam would require stiffeners of
long span, which would also increase the scantling
and weight of the stiffener, affecting usable cargo
volume
vertical stiffening, the span (and hence, the
scantling) of the stiffener can be kept low by
The sections used for stiffening the bulkheads are usually flat bars, angles or bulb
bars, depending upon the required section modulus.

Flat Bar

Bulb bar
There are two types of bulkhead construction:
i)       Plain bulkhead
ii)      Corrugated bulkhead Plain bulkhead
Plain bulkheads consist of plates stiffened by rolled sections such as bulb plates and
angles spaced approximately 760mm apart.
The thickness of the plates are generally thickest at the bottom because of the maximum
hydrostatic pressure experienced there, and thinnest at the top and generally not less than 6.5
mm thick.  The plates of the bulkhead are laid in a horizontal direction.
Where the depth of the bulkhead is great, horizontal stringers or girders are fitted as well as
vertical girders with face plate and tripping brackets.
 Corrugated watertight bulkhead

Modern day ships use an advanced technology to achieve the required strength of
bulkhead plates. They use corrugated bulkheads instead of stiffened ones
A corrugated plate is stronger than a flat plate stiffener if subject to a bending
moment or pillar load along the corrugations
Corrugations (or swedges) are formed on a corrugated bulkhead to eliminate the
need to fit the vertical stiffener, as in those of the plain bulkhead.
The elimination of vertical stiffeners also results in saving in steel weight and cost
of stiffeners.
The angle of corrugation is normally about 45 degrees.
Other usage:
1.complete cargo tank washing
2.Minimise cargo Residue
3Maximum cargo tank capacity
 two main groups based on the orientation of the corrugation
1. Vertically corrugated bulkhead
 2.Horizontally corrugated bulkhead
 . Vertically corrugated bulkhead

Vertically corrugated bulkhead

Without stools at inner bottom – Type VC1. Type VC1 arrangement is most
common on smaller tankers including product tankers and chemical carriers.
With lower stool – Type VC2. This arrangement is utilised on larger ships than
those using type VC1 and has found application on ships exceeding 40,000 dwt.
With lower and upper stool – Type VC3. This arrangement is utilised on the
largest tankers fitted with corrugated bulkheads which now reach Aframax size.
 Horizontally Corrugated Bulkhead

Bulkhead arranged transversely – Type HCT. This arrangement is most common

on smaller tankers including product tankers and chemical carriers where the
efficiency of tank cleaning is of primary importance.
Bulkhead arranged longitudinally – Type HCL. This arrangement is most common
on smaller tankers including product tankers and chemical carriers where the
efficiency of tank cleaning is of primary importance.
Water tight bulkhead testing.
The main fore and aft peak bulkheads must be tested by filling with water to the
load waterline.
Subdividing watertight bulkheads are tested by hosing down
Oiltight and tank bulkheads must be tested by a head of water not less than 2.45
m above the highest point of the tank.
Corrugated Bulkhead

Bulkhead stool :corrugated Bulkhead is

mounted on bulkhead stool. Which transfer
weight on the floor
Shedder Plate: The shredder plate prevents
accumulation of cargo at the base of the
corrugations.
 Non-watertight bulkheads

Any bulkheads other than those used as main subdivisions and tank boundaries
may be
Nonwatertight
Examples of these are engine room casing bulkheads, accommodation partitions
store room divisions, etc. Wash bulkheads fitted in deep tanks or in the fore end of
a ship
Where a non-watertight bulkhead performs the supporting function similar to a
pillar, its stiffeners must be adequate for the load carried.
In all other situations the non-watertight bulkhead is stiffened by bulb plates or
simply flat plates welded edge on.
Corrugated bulkheads can also be used for non-watertight bulkheads.
 Solas rules on Bulkhead
 Number of openings for pipes and access should be kept to minimum in order to
retain the strength of the bulkhead.
proper reinforcement must be provided so as to prevent stress concentration
 Proper flanging must be incorporated in openings for pipelines and cables.
Not more than one watertight door is allowed per watertight bulkhead
Exception : there may be two watertight doors, each providing access to the two
shaft tunnels on either side.
The time required to close or open any watertight door when triggered from the
control room or navigation deck should not exceed 60 seconds when the ship is in
upright condition.
The transverse location of the watertight doors should be such that they must be
easily operable even when the damage to the ship is within one fifth of the ship’s
breadth from its side shell.
Every watertight door should be equipped with an audible alarm distinct from all
other alarms in the area. In case of passenger ships, the audible alarm must be
accompanied by a visual alarm.
All watertight doors that are accessible during voyage must be locked via an
authorised unlocking system.
Access doors and hatches on watertight bulkheads must remain closed when
the ship is at sea. Visual indicators must be provided for every access hatch to
indicate their status at the location and the navigation bridg
 Rules for watertight bulkheads

The collision bulkhead must be located not less than 0.05L or 10 metres, whichever is

the lesser from the forward perpendicular and not more than 0.08L or 0.05L+3 m,
 whichever is the greater  The regulations require that the bulkhead is watertight from
the bottom of the ship, up to the bulkhead deck.
The collision bulkhead may have steps or recesses, but no doors, manholes, access
openings, ventilation ducts or other openings can be fitted in the bulkhead below the
bulkhead deck. There is only one exception and that is a single pipeline which is
allowed to penetrate the bulkhead for the purpose of filling and emptying the
forepeak tank
The spacing of watertight bulkheads, which is known as the watertight subdivision of the ship,
is governed by rules dependent upon ship type, size, etc. All ships must have:
(1) A collision or fore peak bulkhead which is to be positioned not less than 0.05 X length of the
Ship, nor more than 0.08 X length of the ship, from the forward end of the load waterline.
(2) An after peak bulkhead which encloses the stern tube(s) and rudder trunk in a watertight
Compartment.
(3) A bulkhead at each end of the machinery space; the after bulkhead may, for an aft engine
room, be the after peak bulkhead.
Additional bulkheads are to be fitted according to the vessel's length, e.g. a ship between 145
and 165 m long must have 8 bulkheads with machinery midship and 7 bulkheads with
machinery aft.
 Collision Bulkhead

Collision bulkhead is a forepeak watertight bulkhead to protect foundering and

against racking stress.
It is fitted not less than 5% or not more than 7% of the ship length aft and stern at
load water line.
It must extend to upper deck.
Stiffners may be spaced 600 mm apart.
Its water tightness can be tested by filling the fore peak tank to the level of water
line or hose test along the boundary. No water leak through other sides.
- Function of Collision Bulk Head

- The collision bulkhead is a heavily strengthened structure, its main purpose being
limiting the damage of a head-on collision to the part of the bow forward to it.
-  It is usually vertically stiffened with sections of scantlings higher than those on the
surrounding structures.

- This is the first watertight bulk head on the forward of the ship, which continuing
from bottom to upper most continuous deck.
- In the event of collision it refrain entering water further in the ship
- It will help to keep buoyancy of the ship
- No doors manholes or any other openings are permitted
- There will be only one pipe line pierced the bulk head. It is for the pipe to pumping
water from FPT.
- The valve for the FPT discharging line should be fitted forward of the water tight bulk
head. It can be fitted out of the FPT if it provides separate access. It must be out of the
cargo hold and must be accessible in all ships operational condition without any
obstruction.
- Better in a separate compartment.
- This pipeline must be fitted with a screw-down type of valve, capable of being
operated from above the bulkhead deck. The valve chest must be fitted directly on the
collision bulkhead inside the forepeak tank
- A flag administration may allow the valve to be fitted on the after side of the bulkhead,
if the valve is readily accessible in all conditions and the space is not a cargo space.
 Deck Opening

Deck openings
Holes cut in the deck plating, e.g. hatchways, masts, etc. create areas of high local
stress due to the lack of continuity (of structure) created by the opening.

Access Hatchways

Watertight Door Open Alarm Switch

Scuppers, Inlets and Discharges
Weathertight Doors
Maintenance of Watertight Integrity