Objectives The dead ship stability, which is defined as a ship losing its power and rolling after turning into beam seas, is recognized as a dangerous stability failure mode. The International Maritime Organization(IMO) and its sub-committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC) are expected to finalize the second-generation intact stability criteria in 2019, while a number of sample calculations are currently required for its perfection.
Methods In this paper, a Level 2 criterion for dead ship stability is conducted for three container ships based on the local linearization method.
Results Ship design parameters which can influence the probability of capsizing are investigated, and it is concluded that a ship's capsizing probability may first decrease and then increase as draft increases. Besides, standard value for Level 2 criterion is proposed and several suggestions are raised for the improvement of IMO dead ship stability criteria.
Conclusions This study has a certain value in engineering application and provides technical support for the further development of dead ship stability criteria.