Ship stresses

This is directed at students studying for professional Merchant Navy Deck Officer Certificates of Competency and knowledge required for certification to Officer of the Watch (OOW) level (STCW 95/2010). A vessels hull may be comparable to a simple beam ( in fact a box section) under even loading (weight of structure plus contents) and supported evenly (buoyancy in water). Simple beam theory may be applied in calculating the compound bending and shear stresses caused by loading and wave action. In addition torsional stresses may be significant especially during grounding.