Maritime Research Seminar '99

This publication contains the papers given at the seminar 'Marine Research 99'. Seminar was organized by the Maritime Institute of Finland, which is the joint venture between Helsinki University of Technology and the Technical Research Centre of Finland. The aim of seminar was to present to the industry the latest results of the research work done at Ota-niemi. This seminar continues and promotes the dialogue between maritime research and industry in Finland. A modern and competitive ship designer needs today deep knowledge about physical problems in ship and marine structures as the ships are becoming technically more and more complicated. Application of design methods based on 'the first principles' are essential in order to decrease the over dimensioning. Important aspect in the implementation of new methods into the ship design process is that the designer has a clear picture of the contents of the methods and understands the limits of the capabilities of the methods. The iterative nature of the ship design process must be taken into consideration - the accuracy of the design converges stepwise. This means that the methods must accept the limited information at the beginning phase. The contents of the papers given are divided into several items from ship performance in open water and also in ice to ship safety. The topics are based on the research work carried out during the past years in different research projects. The range of topics covered by the papers of the seminar is broad, which gives a good overview on the research activity in the Institute, but at the same time the broadness inevitably limits the depth of discussion on particular problems. The lecturers are thanked for their valuable contributions. The seminar was held at Hanasaari in Espoo. The number of participants was about 50 persons. Mr. Martin Landtman, the director of Helsinki New Shipyard, Kvaerner Masa-Yards, gave the opening address. He emphasized the importance of the close contacts and co-operation between the industry and the institute. The discussions during the day gave us evidence that the general direction of the research work carried out in Otaniemi on marine technology is correct. We hope that the participants of the seminar gained some useful ideas. The participants from industry should be thanked for making the time to take part in the seminar.