Meet the Team

Coming from a background in hydrodynamics and complex offshore structures, Kieran Dodworth is Brookes Bell’s Director of Naval Architecture.  Kieran's journey began in the mid-1990s after graduating and joining Noble Denton in London where he focused on offshore analysis of jack-up rigs, before rejoining academia at Strathclyde University to pursue a PhD in damaged vessel hydrodynamics. 

Following his PhD, Kieran joined Marine Computation Services (MCS) in Aberdeen (now part of Wood Group), working as part of the analysis team where he was responsible for analysing the structural integrity of offshore risers.  Kieran had the opportunity to get involved in several riser failure investigation cases foreshadowing his later career. 

In 2001, Kieran moved to Safety at Sea, a fledgling spin-out company from Strathclyde University where he focused on assisting operators in meeting the enhanced stability requirements for roll-on/roll-off vessels under the Stockholm Agreement. 

Kieran explains further, “This work involved assisting owners in getting their vessels ready to meet new stability requirements.  My work at that time focused on the improvement of hull performance through the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) when stability required the design of duck tail designs and sponsons.  Through the use of what was at that time a truly innovative approach we were able to achieve greater stability, at minimal loss of speed – sometimes even improving it.” 

“The advanced analysis capability and experts at Safety at Sea brought us to the attention of insurers and lawyers working in litigation, which was a new direction for us.” Kieran was involved in accident investigations on fishing vessels and offshore supply vessels, the most notable of which was the capsize of the Bourbon Dolphin in 2007. 

Safety at Sea developed its services into the cruise line market and Kieran was key to the success of groundbreaking cruise ships, the most notable of which was Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. 

Kieran notes, “The work I was most heavily involved with was the design of the superstructure for passenger wind comfort.  Our work on Oasis remains one of my proudest professional achievements and I still get a kick out of seeing designs I had a hand in appear in adverts or on social media.”

In this field, Kieran and his team again broke new ground in the use of CFD for superstructure design, which has since become the method of choice for designers in the cruise liner market.   

Transitioning from Managing Director of Safety at Sea to a partner at Brookes Bell in 2016, Kieran has continued to expand his expertise and scope of experience. 

“Since joining Brookes Bell, most of my day-to-day has focused less on design and has instead evolved to shift towards litigation support with a heavier emphasis on structural analysis and stress engineering.  My work tends to focus on why accidents and failures may have happened, which can include accidents, groundings, machinery failures and structural failures, advising parties on the merits of claims.” Kieran’s in-depth knowledge and analytical skills are vital in providing expert opinions on complex maritime incidents. 

Following his appointment to Director of Naval Architecture in 2019, Kieran still occasionally gets involved in hands-on work for specific design projects, such as wind comfort projects for the cruise sector and the development of hull designs.  “It is a pleasure to keep my hand in on design projects as it is always exciting to work on challenging projects and it brings me back in contact with old friends in the industry.” 

The role of the Naval Architect

Commenting on the common misconception of a naval architect’s role, Kieran says that “a naval architect is totally different from a regular architect”. 

“An architect tends to be more involved with aesthetic design, whereas naval architecture is pure engineering,” Kieran iterated.  “Our expertise is in engineering, with similar crossover of disciplines with marine and mechanical engineers.  Some areas of ship technology are pure naval architecture and those include stability, seakeeping and propulsion performance.”

Kieran's blend of practical design improvements and regulatory compliance exemplifies his approach to naval architecture.  His extensive background, from offshore analysis to regulatory compliance and accident investigation, are the cornerstones to his invaluable contribution to Brookes Bell.  His expertise not only strengthens our consultancy but also ensures that we remain at the forefront of naval architecture and marine safety.