Full Scale Measurement of a Large Container Carrier on the Far East - Europe Route

Abstract

There is limited long term service experience with the modern generation of large container carriers and hence there is great interest in improving our understanding of the performance of these vessels. In an effort to assess the actual structural service performance of a large container carrier, a comprehensive full-scale measurement system was developed to measure the wave environment, ship motions and structural response. The system was installed on an 8063 TEU container carrier built in 2006, and the first year measurement campaign has successfully been completed. This paper presents a summary of noteworthy observations during the first year’s voyage records which includes ship motion, wind and wave conditions, and hull girder strains and derived hull girder bending and torsional moments. The observed vibratory responses of the hull girder are also presented.