Ocean Network Express and ClassNK have launched a joint research project to quantify how effective roll damping tanks are on large container ships, sources indicated on 5 October 2026.
The collaboration pairs Ocean Network Express Pte. Ltd., commonly known as ONE, with Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, the classification society ClassNK. The partners say the work will focus on roll damping tanks, often abbreviated to RDTs.
The stated aim of the project is to evaluate the performance of RDTs in reducing roll motions on large container vessels. The research will rely on measurement taken aboard ONE’s ships and on numerical simulation performed by ClassNK.
Method and data
ONE will supply onboard measurement data from its vessels to support the study. ClassNK will analyse that measured data alongside numerical simulations to assess roll reduction performance under actual operating conditions.
The project design therefore combines empirical data gathered at sea with computational analysis. Together those two streams are intended to produce an evidence base for quantifying how RDTs perform when a ship is operating in service rather than only in model tests.
The announcement reported identifies the practical focus plainly: the partners will measure and compute roll behaviour to determine the effectiveness of the tanks. The research is framed around large container ships specifically, rather than smaller vessel types.
A short summary of roles in the project is as follows:
- ONE: provision of onboard measurement data from its vessels.
- ClassNK: analysis of the measurement data together with numerical simulations to evaluate roll reduction performance.
Purpose and context
The research seeks to quantify roll reduction under real operational conditions by combining shipboard measurements with analytical modelling. That stated purpose underpins the project’s approach and the roles taken by the two organisations.
The information published by that outlet is the basis for this account and describes the arrangements between ONE and ClassNK without giving further technical detail or a timetable for results.
The project marks a formal partnership between a container-line operator and a classification society to investigate RDT behaviour on large container vessels. The partners’ announced method, measured data from in-service ships analysed in concert with numerical simulation, is the core element of the work described in the report.
No additional technical specifications, test locations, ship names or completion dates were supplied in the report published on 5 October 2026. The material provided by reports confined the description to the roles of ONE and ClassNK and to the objective of assessing roll damping tank performance under actual operating conditions.
The research remains at the launch stage in the account supplied; further detail on findings, timelines or any operational recommendations will depend on the outcomes of the measurement and modelling work described by the partners.
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