Classification society RINA will work with the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) to create an interface to the SDARI 3D Ship Model. It marks another step towards 3D design verification.

SDARI is a member of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and is one of the largest research and design institutes in China. As part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), ongoing R&D activities by RINA into 3D ship model verification will now proceed with the development of an interface with the SDARI 3D ship model to create a platform for reliable and rapid exchange of high volumes of information relating to ship design.

The project aims at improving the common understanding of the design, strengthening transparency of designs, increasing protection of intellectual property (IP), optimising software calculation processes and reducing the time taken to approve drawings.

Next step in digitalisation

‘The MoU takes a long history of cooperation between our companies to a new level,’ states Giosuè Vezzuto, EVP Marine at RINA. ‘This highly innovative approach to design verification offers many benefits, not least of which is a more efficient and robust exchange of information. The cooperation between RINA and SDARI is an exciting one that will mutually benefit both organizations and is in line with RINA’s ongoing digital strategy.’

Ship design verification was originally carried out by classification societies using paper drawings. This process has evolved to digital drawings with exchange of files between client and the society. Using a 3D platform takes design verification to a new level of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Based on the shared 3D model design, both SDARI and RINA teams will aim to further develop an efficient and user-friendly platform.

Vezzuto concludes: ‘Digitalisation is changing all aspects of shipbuilding and shipping, and we believe that a faster and more efficient sharing platform will soon benefit all parties in this sector.’