Lloyd’s Register Foundation has awarded almost £10,000 to Beckett Rankine and National Historic Ships UK to create specialist guidance in historic vessel conservation.
The ‘Don’t Rock the Boat’ project will create a suite of specialist guidance material on stability that will be accessible and usable by custodians of static floating historic vessels, as well as contractors and service providers to the industry.
A large number of vessels listed on the National Registers of Historic Vessels have been given a second life as static floating assets, often undergoing significant transformations into museums, restaurants, office spaces, hotels and other publicly accessible spaces.
Yet there are limited policies, procedures or guidance available for vessels which cease being operational and become a static floating asset.
This project will consider regulatory requirements and set standards of best practice to enable owners to assess, manage and improve the safety of their assets. Research into both UK and international practice will be undertaken to gather case studies demonstrating successful transformations of historic craft, as well as those who have experienced stability issues as a result of alterations made. With new guidance in place, the project will reduce risk, safeguard significance and prevent avoidable accidents or future vessel losses.
The new stability guidance publication will be made freely available via the National Historic Ships UK website.
Beckett Rankine has worked closely with National Historic Ships UK on a number of historic vessels across the country, building a well-rounded portfolio of case studies. Drawing on decades of global maritime engineering expertise, Beckett Rankine is uniquely positioned to undertake the design and project management of major restoration and conservation activities of historic ships and their berths.
Director Tim Beckett said, “I am delighted with this announcement from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation and look forward to continuing our relationship with National Historic Ships UK on such important work. This is an opportunity to create pioneering guidance that will shape the future of maritime heritage assets, both in the UK and beyond. It is very satisfying for Beckett Rankine to be able to share our experience of historic ship work with the wider community.”
Read one of our historic ship case studies
