Shipbuilding Projects in Norway : Joint Risk Management in Shipbuilding Projects

In today’s shipbuilding industry there are no contracted obligations or tradition for collectively manage risks jointly between a shipowner and a shipyard throughout the shipbuilding project’s entirety. This thesis aims to discover and understand the active risk management motivation from each side, and identify possible benefits with implementing Joint Risk Management (JRM) in shipbuilding. The on-land construction industry has in the latter years experienced success with the use of a new project approach, named Integrated Delivery Project (IPD). Such an approach opens up opportunities for both parties which traditional project approach prevents. The research methodology used to achieve the thesis aim is a qualitative research strategy. Through semi-structured interviews, empirical data were collected from high-ranked practitioners primarily within the maritime domain at shipowners and shipyards, but also on-land construction industry with experience of IPD implementation. Findings suggest that risk management is conducted to a various degree within the shipbuilding industry, and may be due to different risk attitudes amongst the companies. There is identified a change in actions and perception of risks when the project in hand is conversions of already built vessels in comparison with newbuildings. Further, multiple potential benefits of implementing JRM in shipbuilding projects are found, but which will require a change of today’s pre-defined roles, project climate, and new contractual conditions. The study has both practical and theoretical implications in addition to suggestions for further research within contractual matters and mechanisms of tactical approaches between the two parties