A Study on Under Keel Clearance of Gadeok Channel for the Safety Passage of Mega Container Ship

Abstract

The worldwide sizes of container ships are rapidly increasing. The container ship size in 2005, which was about 9,200 TEU has increased to 24,000 TEU in recent times. In addition to the increase in the sizes of the container ships, the arrivals/departures of large container vessels to/from Korea have also increased. Hence, the necessity for reviewing safe passage of such vessels is emphasized. In the present study, a 24,000 TEU container vessel was used as a model ship to calculate the under-keel clearance (UKC) at Gadeok Channel through which vessels must pass to arrive at Busan New Port, in accordance with the Korean Port and Fishing Port Design Standards and Commentary. In addition, the maximum allowable speed that meets UKC standards was calculated using various squat formulas, whose results were then compared with the current speed limit standards. The analysis results show that Busan New Port requires 10% marginal water depth, and the squat that meets this requirement is 0.95 m. Gadeok Channel requires 15% marginal water depth, and the squat that meets this requirement is 1.78 m; in this case, the maximum allowable speed is calculated as 15 kts. Busan New Port has set the speed limit as 12 kts, which is higher than the calculated 11 kts. Thus, speed limit reconsideration is required in terms of safety. However, the set speed limit for Gadeok Channel is 12 kts, which is lower than the calculated 15 kts. Thus, additional considerations may be provided to increase the speed limits for smooth navigational passage of vessels. The present study, however, is constrained by the fact that it reflects only a limited number of elements in the UKC and allowable speed calculations; therefore, more accurate UKC and safe speed values can be suggested based on extended studies to this research.