United States Department of Transportation
Guideline Specifications for Merchant Ship Construction
The MARAD Guideline Specifications for Merchant Ship Construction are guideline metric specifications intended to provide guidance to the maritime industry for the preparation of specifications for building competitive commercial ships in the U.S. for domestic or export markets. The Guideline Specs are intended as a helpful generic package for ship operators and shipbuilders that will design specific commercial ships for the international marketplace.
The Executive Summary to the Guideline Specs limits the details while it provides the opportunity for the ship designer to use his or her creativity to achieve a desirable product in accordance with internationally accepted standards.
These documents replace all previous editions of the Maritime Administration Standard Specifications for Merchant Ship Construction. Each contain a total of 73 sections; the first 29 sections comprise the Hull Sections, and the remaining 44 sections comprise the Machinery Sections.
In addition to downloading these documents from the titles above, you may also order these documents in hard copy by contacting Sharon Nielsen via e-mail at sharon.nielsen@dot.gov.