Ship Design Application Database was created to provide a source where world class commercial foreign ship design elements could be documented by photographs and text and could be accessed by the World Wide Web. This will benefit ship designers and engineers in new construction commercial shipbuilding, as well as commercial ship repair projects. The Database has hundreds of pictures and text that can be searched by Category (i.e. electrical, piping, structure), System (i.e. handrails, fire main, hangers) and Location (i.e. main deck, accommodations, engine room).

It includes many different types of foreign built ships including tankers, containerships, cruise ships, RO-ROs and others. The countries of origin are also very diverse and include Germany, Italy, France, Korea, Japan and others. Class Societies for these ships are ABS, DNV, Lloyds, RINA and GL. Many of these design elements are world class, cost effective, and are class society approved, which can help designers and engineers compare different world class design elements in an effort to improve the general knowledge.