SHIP HANDLING

Capt. A.AMINIAN
FACTORS IN SHIP-HANDLING ARE DEVIDED ON 2 PARTS:

A-Controllable Factors such as:

1. Main engine power.

2. Propeller or propellers. Fixed or controllable pitch.
3. Anchors.
4. Mooring ropes.
5. Rudder movement.
6. Bow thrust (if fitted).
7. Astern thrust (if fitted).
8. Bow rudder (if fitted).
9. Tugs.
B-Uncontrollable Factors such as:
1. The weather. wind
2. Tide and/or current.
3. Geographical features such as shallow water, floating obstructions,
bridges and ice accretion , squat . Intraction.
4. Traffic density.
Venturi Ejector Systems - Deep Vacuum | Fox Venturi Products
propeller

The propeller is essentially a screw that, when turned, pulls itself

through the air or water in the same way that a bolt pulls itself through
a nut. Marine propellers are frequently termed screws.

Typical propellers consist of two, three, or four blades, each

of which is a section of a helix, which is the geometric form
of a screw thread
Propeller
Propeller (mechanics), mechanical device that produces a force, or
thrust, along the axis of rotation when rotated in a fluid, gas or
liquid.
Propellers may operate in either air or water, although a propeller
designed for efficient operation in one of these media would be
extremely inefficient in the other.
Virtually all ships are equipped with propellers, and until the
development of jet propulsion, virtually all aircraft, except gliders,
were also propelled in the same way.
The blades of a propeller act as rotating wings (the blades of a
propeller are in fact wings or airfoils), and produce force through
application of both Bernoulli's principle and Newton's third law,
generating a difference in pressure between the forward and
rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blades and by accelerating a
mass of air rearward.
Skewback propeller

As in the scimitar blades used on some aircraft, the blade tips of a

skewback propeller are swept back against the direction of rotation.
In addition, the blades are tilted rearward along the longitudinal axis,
giving the propeller an overall cup shaped appearance. This design
preserves thrust efficiency while reducing cavitation, and thus makes
for a quiet, stealthy design
Pitch , slip
The distance that a propeller or propeller blade will move forward
when the propeller shaft is given one complete rotation, if there is
this corresponds to the pitch, is called the geometric pitch or the
distance between adjacent threads, of a simple screw.
The distance that the propeller actually moves through the air or
water in one rotation is called the effective pitch, and the
difference between effective and geometric pitch is called slip. no
slippage, is called the geometric pitch.
Thrust

Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by

Newton's Second and Third Laws. When a system
expels or accelerates mass in one direction the
accelerated mass will cause a proportional but
opposite force on that system.
Propellers / Rudders
Primary means of controlling the stern

Thrust

Side Force

Rudder Force
Propeller Thrust
 ENGINES
Power train:
power source turns a shaft (through reduction gears), which turns a propeller

Propellers may be fixed or controllable pitch propellers

• Fixed: Ship speed (thrust) is controlled by shaft RPM only

• CRP controllable pitch propellers : Ship speed (thrust ) is controlled by both

shaft rpm and propeller blade pitch
ControllablePitch Propellers

The shaft always spins in same direction whether going forward or

backward.

At maneuvering speed the shaft rotates at maneuvering RPM

Thrust (speed) controlled by changing the pitch of the propeller blade ( at
maneuvering maximum pitch)

At full sea speed with full RPM Thrust (speed) controlled by shaft speed
as well as changing the pitch of the propeller blade but at restricted
pitch.
Fixed Pitch Propellers

Cannot change pitch of propeller blades.

Thrust (speed) controlled by changing speed of the shaft speed.

To go backwards, must stop the shaft and spin it in the opposite

direction.
 AZIMUTH THRUSTER
Controllable Pitch Propeller
Controllable Pitch Propeller
SIDE FORCE

In addition to fore and aft thrust, propeller rotation also causes what
is known as “side force”:
Side force is a lateral force caused by propeller rotation.
The direction of the force is the direction in which the propeller
would “walk” along the bottom due to its rotation.

Side force reduces to minimum or zero when:

Ships' speed increases Or

With a vessel with reduced (narrower) astern construction
Standard
propeller rotation
for single and
twin screw ships
(ahead operation)
ENGINES

Almost all ships have one of three propulsion plants:

1. Gas turbine (requires CRP): most surface Navy combatants

2. Diesel: Large auxiliaries, …minesweepers
3. Steam (Conventional or Nuclear): Older ships, aircraft carriers,
submarines , Navy ships
Cavitation
Cavitation is defined as the phenomenon of formation of vapor bubbles
of a flowing liquid in a region where the pressure of the liquid falls
below its vapor pressure.
Cavitation is usually divided into two classes of behavior:
inertial cavitation and non-inertial cavitation.
As an impeller's (in a pump), or propeller's (as in the case of a ship
or submarine) blades move through a fluid, low pressure areas are
formed as the fluid accelerates around and moves past the blades.
The faster the blades
move, the lower the pressure around it can become. As it reaches
vapor pressure, the fluid vaporizes and forms small bubbles of gas.
This is cavitations. When the bubbles collapse later, they typically
cause very strong local shockwaves in the fluid, which may be
audible and may even damage the blades.
Discharge cavitation
Discharge cavitation occurs when the pump discharge pressure is
extremely high, The high discharge pressure causes the majority of the
fluid to circulate inside the pump instead of being allowed to flow out
the discharge.
As the liquid flows around the impeller it must pass through the small
clearance between the impeller and the pump cutwater at extremely
high velocity.
This velocity causes a vacuum to develop at the cutwater (similar to
what occurs in a venturi) which turns the liquid into a vapor. A pump
that has been operating under these conditions shows premature wear
of the impeller vane tips.
Steering

• The effectiveness of a conventional rudder is determined by the

water flowing over it, causing different pressures on either side. The
stern moves toward the low pressure side causing the bow to move in
the opposite direction.
Twin-screw Single Rudder Vessels
• Twin-screw vessels are normally designed with their propellers
equidistant from the fore and aft line. Usually both are outward turning,
the starboard propeller being right-hand-fixed and the port-propeller
left-hand fixed. Many modern vessels are now constructed with twin
controllable pitch propellers, especially fast ferries and the like. The
twin-screw vessel is usually easier and simpler to handle than the
conventional single-screw vessel. The transverse thrust on a single screw
vessel strongly affects the steering capability, but with twin screws the
forces tend to counteract each other, preventing the steering problems
experienced by the single screw vessel distinct advantage of twin
screws, apart from the increased speed created, is that if the steering
gear breaks down, the vessel can still be steered by adjusting the engine
revolutions on one or other of the propellers. When turning the vessel,
for instance, one propeller can go ahead while the other is going astern.
RUDDERS

Rudder effectiveness is dependent on flow velocity over the rudder

surface.
“Bare steerageway” is the minimum speed at which a rudder is still
effective. This is generally 2 to 3 knots for most ships.
Rudder angles must be reversed for astern operation
RUDDERS
- Configuration: normally one rudder for each propeller,
mounted directly astern of the propeller.
- Range of motion: 35° left or right of CL
- Rudder angle
- Hard rudder: 35°
- Full rudder: 30°
- Standard rudder: 15°
 Pivot Point

Imaginary point on the ship’s centerline about which the

ship pivots
Pivot Point

A ship’s pivot point is a point on the centerline about which the

ship turns when the rudder is put over.
The pivot point scribes the ship’s turning circle

Usually located 1/3 the length of the ship from the bow.

Pivot point is not fixed.

A ship’s pivot pointis nearly always located about one-third the
ship’s length from her bow when moving ahead ,

and at or near her stern when moving astern.

The location of the pivot point will vary with ship’s speed.
An increase in speed will shift the Pivot point in the direction of
the ship’s movement.
location of the Pivot Point affected by:
Headway or Sternway
Ship’s Speed
Anchors
Mooring Lines
Tugs
Turning Circle
• A ship’s turning circle is the path followed by the ship’s pivot point
when making a 360 degree turn.

• The diameter of the turning circle varies with rudder angle and speed.
• With constant rudder angle, an increase in speed results in an
increased turning circle.
• Very low speed (those approaching bare steerageway) also increases
the turning circle because of reduced rudder effect.
Path followed by the ship’s pivot point in a constant turn.
Advance
Advance is distance a vessel will continue to travel on her original course
until the ship arrives on a new course 90° from the original while a vessel
engaged in a turning manoeuvres.
Advance is measured from the point where the rudder is first put over
(kick).

Distance gained toward the direction of the original course after the rudder
is put over.
Transfer
Transfer is the amount of distance gained towards the new course.

Distance gained perpendicular to the original course after the rudder is put
over.

Tactical Diameter
Perpendicular distance between the path of the ship on original course
and final course after a 180° turn
FinalDiameter
Diameter of the ship’s turning circle

Kick - Momentary movement, at the start of a turn, of the ship’s stern

toward the side opposite the direction of the turn

Surge - Distance gained/lost during a speed increase or decrease

Turning Circle
Track Reach is defined as a distance along the vessel's track that the
vessel covers from the moment that the “full astern” command is given until
ahead speed changes sign
Drift angle
• the angle between the axis of a ship when turning and the tangent
to the path on which it is turning. 2 : the horizontal angle between
the longitudinal axis of an airplane and its path relative to the ground
: the angle between the heading and the track. — called also leeway
Stopping Distance
Stopping Distance Defined as the minimum distance that a vessel may be
seen to come to rest over the ground.
The distance is usually determined from a ship’s trials when the vessel is new.

Test runs will normally provide the stopping distance:

(a) from full ahead after ordering the main engines to stop;
(b) from crash full astern (emergency stop).
Turning Circle
Turning Circle of double flap rudder
SHIPHANDLING CHARACTERISTICS
Advance , Transfer , Tactical Diameter , Final Diameter ,

Knowledge of the turning characteristics of one’s ship

Is essential to safe ship handling , particularly when in restricted waters.
 RULES OF THUMB
• Turning circle diameter normally equals 3.5 to 4 time of ship’s length,
when depth of water in relation to ship’s draft (depth= 4 draft)
• Turning circle diameter in shallow water increases considerably due
to reduction of ship speed.
• when UKC = 0.4 draft Turning circle diameter may increase turning
circle 5.5 times of ship’s length.
• Resolution MSC.137 (76) , MSC 76/23/add.1 Annex 6 Standard for
ship maneuverability
• MSC/circ. 1053 Explanatory notes to the standard for ship
maneuverability
• IMO Recommendation with respect of turning ability of the ship that the
advance shall not exceed more than 4.5 of ship’s length and tactical
diameter should not exceed more than 5 of ship’s length
 RULES OF THUMB
IMO Recommendation with respect of stopping ability of the ship that the
the track reach in full stern stopping test should not exceed more than 15
of ship’s length and in no cases for large ship the stopping distance should
not exceed more than 20 of ship’s length

when UKC = 0.15 draft Turning circle diameter may increase turning circle
8.5 times of ship’s length. ( 2 times of normal)
Turning circle duration for most of the cargo ships is between 7 to 8
minutes.
By increasing ship’s initial speed Turning circle duration is reduces normally
not turning circle diameter.
Vessel steers irregularly when depth = 1.5 draft