Heel angles in turn and passenger safety

The present paper addresses the issue of heel angles in turn, focusing on experimental results, existing regulations and passenger safety. Statistical and experimental data show that the maximum heel angles of passenger ships can reach high values, depending on many factors such as rudder angle, approach speed and loading condition. Such values are consistently higher than the ones calculated with the formula for the heeling in turn of passenger vessels present in the current International Code on Intact Stability. This is further confirmed by means of dedicated model tests performed at MARIN and presented in this paper. It is shown that the criterion for maximum angle of heel in turning of the International Code on Intact Stability is inadequate. Furthermore a revision for improving the safety of passenger vessels is proposed after a discussion on safety aspects.