The problem of optimal design of a steel plated girder according to the Eurocode 3 is considered. Code regulations admit the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in designing plated structures with variable cross-sections. A technique of determining an approximate solution to the optimization problem is presented. It is determined a solution of a control theory optimization task, in which Eurocode requirements regarding the Ultimate Limit State (bearing capacity, local and global stability) as well as Serviceability Limit State (flexural rigidity) are used as appropriate inequality constraints. Static analysis is performed within the framework of linear elasticity and Bernoulli-Euler beam theory making an account for second-order effects due to prescribed imperfections. Obtained solutions, after regularization, may be used for direct verification with the use of FEA or as the first guess for iterative topology optimization algorithms. Code requirements governing the determination of optimal shape are visualized in the constraint activity diagram, which is a proposed tool for analysis of optimization process.

In her introduction, the author points to the institution of a global limitation of liability relating to maritime claims for damage caused by oil pollution at sea. Compensation cannot be greater than the equivalent of a sum calculated on the basis of the tonnage of the vessel involved. This maximum sum is not always sufficient to cover all claims. After the kind of accident that the tanker "Torrey Canyon" suffered in 1967, the international community understood that the traditional limitation of liability on the part of the owners of the vessel made it impossible to cover the cost of the enormous damage which a tanker can cause if it is involved in an accident at sea. The convention on civil liability for damage caused by oil pollution at sea (CLC), which was concluded in 1969, establishes that the owner of the vessel is responsible for damage done on the basis ofrisk. The convention introduced a limit of that liability, but the owner lost his right to that limit if the damage was the result of his culpable actions. Under those circumstances his responsibility became unlimited. A protocol of 1992 supplemented the CLC Convention, as did the Convention of 1971 which created the Compensation Fund for Damage Caused by Oil Pollution. The USA recognised that a ratification of the CLC Convention does not provide sufficient protection for the environment, and, in connection with this, the US Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) in 1990. This legislation established the Compensation Fund for Oil Damage. Responsibility for damage was linked with the principle of risk. Higher limits of responsibility were accepted than in the CLC Convention, and it is easy to lose the privilege of limitation of liability.