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No. 3/93

Edited by DSO-245

The purpose of Casualty Information is to provide the marine industry with 'lessons to be learned' from incidents of
ship damage and more serious accidents. In this way, DNV hopes to contribute to the prevention of similar
occurrences in the future. The information included is not necessarily restricted to cover ships classed with DNV
and is presented, without obligation, for information purposes only. Queries may be directed to Maritime Industries,
Maritime technology and Production Centre(dept for Calssification & ISM, N-1322 Hvik, Norway, fax: +47 67 57
99 11. E-mail: MTPNO860@dnv.com.
Copyright and disclaimer:This publication may be reproduced freely on condition that Det Norske Veritas (DNV) is always stated as the
source. DNV accepts no responsibility for any errors or misinterpretations.

SHIP TYPE Tanker for Oil

SIZE(GRT) 80000

YEAR OF BUILD 1988

SEMI SPADE RUDDER - CRACKS

Course of Events:
Serious cracks in the rudder side plating were discovered after only 2 years in operation.
Extent of Damage:
The cracks had initiated in way of the recess for the rudder horn, at the upper aft corner of the
cut-out in the rudder side plating, and at the vertical transition weld between the cast and the rolled
material. The crack had penetrated almost through the heavy steel casting of the rudder blade, and
had approx. the same shape and propagation on both sides. See Fig. 1. Similar but smaller cracks
were found on sister ships after survey.

Fig. 1
Probable Cause:
The cut-out area in the side plating of semi spade rudders is critical with regard to stresses. The
dominant stress component is that from the transverse bending moment. A sharp corner will result
in additional stresses. Notch at end of a vertical weld will have the same effect. The cracking may
be due to many causes, but is mainly due to large stress concentrations created by the local
geometry. There was practically no radius (approx. 10mm) in the upper corner of the recess.
Furthermore, a vertical weld in the corner between the cast steel and the rudder plate, created a
rather rough weld surface that acts as a stress riser.
As the cracks occured after such a short period in operation, vibration may also have been a
contributing factor.
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For some ships, having been in operation only up to 5 years, cracks as above may be connected to
a possible coincidence of rudder blade natural frequency (combined bending/torsional mode) with
the propeller blade frequency at normal full speed. Such a coincidence was found for the ship in
question, but not for a sister ship with fewer propeller blades. No cracks in the rudder have been
reported for this vessel.

Fig. 2
Lessons to be Learned:
A. Design.
1. The risk of cracks in the rudder cuts-out and recess may be eliminated/reduced by introducing a
proper radius in the corners. This will reduce the stress concentration significantly. In general, the
bigger the radius, the better. Secondly it is considered of importance to position the weld joint
between the cast and rolled material away from the corners of the cut-out, as indicated in Fig. 2.
Recommendation regarding the detail design will be considered to be included in the Rules.
2. In order to reduce possible damage effect from vibration, it is recommended to avoid the shaded
area as given in Fig. 3. The extent of the diagram and the shaded area is based on experience.

Fig. 3
B. During Construction.
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In order to prevent cracks, the structural details in way of the rudder cut-outs should be
considered particularly with regard to structural continuity, proper radius at corners,
location of welds, proper weld procedures, smooth grinding after welding, and NDT of
welds, in order to prevent cracks to occur.
C. Ships in Operation.
Over the years fatigue cracks in rudders have been found especially in areas with
large discontinuities in combination with weldings.
It is therefore recommended to inspect the areas of vessels having this detail design
during future docking, and also afloat when convenient.

Copyright and disclaimer:This publication may be reproduced freely on condition that Det Norske Veritas (DNV) is
always stated as the source. DNV accepts no responsibility for any errors or misinterpretations.

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