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The role of the naval architect: in the event that a vessel sustains damage, such as taking on water, a collision, grounding or fire, the vessel finds itself in a dangerous situation and its flotation and stabilisation systems may no longer be "intact". This may lead to major problems (aggravated by bad weather) posing a threat to its safety: stability deteriorates and the vessel risks capsizing, or the holds are overloaded due to flooding which may cause the vessel to sink suddenly, or structural damage (following a collision, grounding or accelerated ageing) which could cause the vessel to break up (cf. the Erika and the Prestige, etc.). The salvage operation will therefore entail an attempt to maintain the vessel afloat while a solution is sought to bring it safely back to a place of refuge (e.g. port, sheltered roadstead or deliberate grounding on a beach, etc.).
For a major operation, the naval architect (assisted by the Salvage Master to handle any technical contingencies) will, using specially-developed software, calculate the stability of the damaged vessel at each stage of the salvage operation. He will decide whether the operation planned (refloating using tugs, pumping out water, discharging merchandise to lighten the vessel, extinguishing a fire, etc.) is appropriate and will ensure the vessel’s minimal stability and structural integrity.
The naval architect is therefore an expert in salvage operations, trained to work in emergency situations and to deal with vessels that have sustained various kinds of damage and situations that are difficult to resolve.