The assessment of safe navigation regarding hydrodynamic forces between ships in restricted waterways

Abstract

This paper is primarily focused on the safe navigation between overtaking and overtaken vessels in restricted waterways under the external forces, such as wind and current. The maneuvering simulation between two ships was conducted to find an appropriate safe speed and distance, which is required to avoid collision. From the viewpoint of marine safety, a greater transverse distance between two ships is more needed for the smaller vessel. Regardless of external forces, the smaller vessel will get a greater effect of hydrodynamic forces than the bigger one. In the case of close navigation between ships under the forces of wind and current, the vessel moving at a lower speed is potentially hazardous because the rudder force of the lower speed vessel is not sufficient for steady-state course-keeping, compared to that of the higher speed vessel.