Full-scale measurements of vertical motions on ultra large container vessels in Scheldt estuary

Abstract

From September 2017 to July 2018 the Flemish Pilotage executed nine ship measurements on container ships to and from Antwerp. The measurement results were processed by Flanders Hydraulics Research and Ghent University providing 6 DoF motions of the vessels. Furthermore environmental data regarding tide, currents, waves, bathymetry and AIS were processed in order to assess the influence of environmental conditions on the vertical motions of container ships.The paper presents the vertical ship motions separately for steady and unsteady sinkages in different DoF. As such the relation with ship squat, hydrostatics, sea keeping, turning, steering and ship-to-ship interaction could be assessed and related to the driving parameters such as ship speed, rate of turn, under keel clearance, water density, waves, rudder action and ship meetings.