a)

‘Hove to’ stationary position and head to wind. The vessel may not necessarily be head to the
waves, but I am going to assume that it is!

As waves travel past the vessel, the shape of the vessel’s waterplane changes, and so the inertia of
the vessel’s waterplane changes. BM (and hence GM) is related to the inertia of the waterplane
area. Therefore, the stability of the vessel changes with the moving wave. The higher the waves the
bigger the fluctuations in stability and the closer the wavelength is to the vessel’s length, the bigger
the fluctuations in stability. Stability is improved when there are wave crests at the bow and stern,
and reduced when there is a wave crest at amidships.

There is a risk of ‘Parametric roll’ in head or following seas. If the vessel’s TCG is slightly off centre,
the vessel will have a very small initial list in still water. As GM varies with the waves passing down
the vessel, the list will vary. The vessel therefore experiences a change in list angle over time, which
is driven by the wave frequency. Parametric roll occurs when the frequency of the list change is the
same, or very similar to, the natural roll frequency of the vessel. When this happens the vessel starts
to resonate in roll, with the list converted to a dynamic heel, which gets larger and larger.

In calm water, there is minimal fluctuations in stability over time, therefore statical stability
measures provide an accurate representation of a vessel’s ability to return upright.
b)

Crest of waves at the bow and stern

 Increased waterplane area forward and aft, small decrease amidships, net increased BM,
increased GM, increased initial gradient of GZ curve.
 Reduction in DEI due to lower freeboard at bow and stern.
 Reduction in angle of maximum GZ due to reduction in DEI
 Increase in maximum GZ
 increase in angle of vanishing stability,
 Increase in range of stability
 Increase in dynamic stability (area beneath graph increased)

Trough of wave at bow and stern (crest amidships)

 Marginal increase in waterplane area amidships, but dramatically reduced waterplane area
fore and aft, net decrease in BM, decrease in GM, decreased initial gradient of GZ curve.
 Reduction in DEI more pronounced.
 Reduction in angle of maximum GZ more pronounced.
 decrease in maximum GZ
 decrease in angle of vanishing stability,
 decrease in range of stability
 decrease in dynamic stability (area beneath graph decreased)