BVS 8.

6
Severe Motions Avoidance QRG

In recent years, vessels have on a seemingly regular basis encountered the phenomena of sudden large roll amplitudes. These severe motions are
particularly dangerous for vessels carrying high deck cargo, such as container or heavy lift vessels, and may cause cargo loss damage.

The BonVoyage System (BVS) assists by predicting the potential for severe motions by means of a tool for avoiding roll resonance and wave impact.

This feature is valuable for both the strategic voyage planning and the tactical handling of the vessel. The implemented method, as proposed by the
International Maritime Organization (IMO), takes into account the vessel roll period, course and speed as well as the encountering wave trains as forecast
by StormGeo. It then calculates the potential for heavy oscillations with high amplitudes, capsizing and sudden course deviations of the vessel.

The results are depicted graphically in a polar diagram.

The objective of this method is not to calculate any roll period, but to predict the potential of severe motions. The resonance function does not require any
sensors, as the system is based on the physical approach that the vessel is an oscillating system which may be excited at, or in the neighborhood of,
resonance frequency. This method is available in the BonVoyage System (BVS). The Master can use the polar diagram as a guideline to derive reasonable
course and speed adjustments to avoid these dangerous situations, thereby preventing cargo losses and damages. Furthermore, StormGeo is applying
this method for its shore-based Optimum Ship Routing service to generate severe motion alerts. This objective evaluation of safety takes Optimum Ship
Routing a higher level. So, if your vessel is routed by StormGeo, please report the roll period of your vessel to their Route Operations team.

You now have the ability to carefully analyze the route ahead and thereby predict potentially dangerous conditions well before they occur. Please review
the guidelines below.

BVS RESONANCE DISPLAY: You can of course set different thresholds for the different rolling
phenomena.
FREQUENT ACCESS IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED
NOTE: If one of the four fields is left blank, or shows 0.0 (zero), you will
Each time your voyage track is edited and after each download and see a warning marquis at the top left of the BVS Chart that says:
processing of new weather data, you should open the resonance graph
“Resonance threshold not defined“:
and review the route points along the track to check for the display of
potential vessel resonance conditions. DATA INTERPRETATION
This will allow you to make well-informed tactical decisions regarding
Resonance Data Shown Along the Voyage Track
your route planning.
Areas of potential rolling are indicated along the voyage track as
colored warning circles as shown in the image below left:
VESSEL CONFIGURATION
Two of the vessel specifications used by the resonance feature are Each color indicates the resonance type:
initially configured during installation. The Length between RED—Parametric Rolling
Perpendiculars (LPP) & Breadth should be entered. PINK—Synchronous Rolling
GREEN—High Wave Groups
This information can be accessed/ modified by clicking BLUE—Surf-Riding/Broaching
Setup | Vessel Setup. Enter the appropriate data and click OK.
Example:
Each time a voyage track is created, the Fore and Aft Draft should be Multiple Alarms appear as orange
entered as well as the Roll Period. Note that a GM entry ‘calculates’ roll disks along the track.
period & does not need to be entered unless roll period is NOT known. Right-click an orange disk to
display all symbols of the various
corresponding alarms.

Hover over an alarm to see a

1) To create a voyage track, click File | New, choose a track name and
click OK. Enter Departure details, including draft. Example:
2) In the Snapshot tab of the Left Panel, Enter the roll period.
This example shows a roll period of 22.00. Note: the mean draft is
automatically calculated from the
previous departure point entries: 11.50.
3) Enter reasonable wave thresholds into each of the four resonance
limit fields. The thresholds define the corresponding wave height for
each specific risk.
description. The example shows
“synchronous roll”.
When the wave height is in excess of the user-defined threshold, two
types of warning circles appear along the BVS voyage track.
A marginal risk will display a smaller, lighter colored circle:
A full risk display will show a darker colored circle:
The display information on the resonance graph can be reset to display
information for a new location by clicking on one of the other route
points along the voyage track. You can also move along the voyage
track by using the “Previous Time Step” and “Next Time Step icons on
the top right of the chart.
SYNCHRONOUS AND PARAMETRIC ROLLING:
Wave height above the threshold limit = High Risk/ High Likelihood
Wave height that is 50% to 100% of the threshold limit = Marginal risk

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 BVS 8.6
Severe Motions Avoidance QRG
Wave height that is < 50% of the threshold limit = No risk indicated on
BVS display.
SURF-RIDING AND BROACHING:
Wave height above the threshold limit = High Risk/ High Likelihood
Wave height that is 80% to 100% of the threshold limit = Marginal risk
Wave height that is < 80% of the threshold limit = No risk indicated on
BVS display.
Synchronous Rolling Example: If the threshold limit is set to 5 meters.
Full Risk = a wave height that is above 5 meters
Marginal Risk = a wave height that is 2.5 to 5 meters
No Risk Displayed = a wave of less than 2.5 meters
For your reference:
Parametric Rolling: TE ≈ (0.5) (TR). (TE is Wave Encounter Period)
Synchronous Rolling: TE ≈ TR. (TR is ROLL Period)
Interpreting Graph Vectors & Symbols
Wind Wave and Swell can be interpreted in the following manner:
Information is found in the legend below resonance graph in the
snapshot panel (see above right). Small arrows also display Sea and
Swell direction on the outer edge of the graph. In this example, the Sea
arrow appears from 357˚ and swell is from 195˚.
The vessel position and speed appear as a yellow vector.
A wind bard depicts wind direction as well.
Interpreting the Resonance Graph
The shaded alert areas indicate potential risks. They appear when any
combination of vessel’s course and speed fulfills the physical condition
that defines a corresponding risk
The tip of your ship’s vector should be well out of any shaded alert area.
Synchronous Roll: See the examples below of the darker (full risk)
and lighter (marginal risk) shaded areas. If the tip of the ship vector
points into any location within the magenta area, then TE ≈ TR is
valid.
Additional Resonance Information
Surf Riding and High Waves: The IMO suggests that either of
these two risks becomes a concern when the wave height is higher
than 4% of the vessel’s length (LPP). However, we feel that for
large vessels with a length of more than 300m this suggestion may
result in thresholds which are too extreme. Therefore, we apply the
4% rule to vessel with LPP less or equal to 275m but only 3.5% to
vessels with LPP > 275m. If the vessel’s LPP is 281m or greater,
the default thresholds for these risks should be entered as 9.8m.
The thresholds are calculated by means of LPP, not the
freeboard.
BVS will consider Surf Riding and High Waves as a FULL RISK
when the wave height is in excess of the defined threshold for the
particular risk and as a MARGINAL RISK when the wave height is
within 80% up to 100% of the threshold. If the wave height is less
than 80% of the threshold then there would be no warning.
These thresholds can be edited by the user if it is felt that they are
too high by simply modifying the threshold field with the desired
value.
Unfortunately, the IMO is not suggesting any threshold for
Parametric Roll and Synchronous Roll. The physical model is only
taking into account the roll period and the encountering period. So,
because BVS displays marginal risk already at 50% of the
thresholds, theoretically there would be alerts even for very low
wave heights which potentially would be false alarms.
Hence, it’s difficult to provide specific guidelines for how to set
these thresholds. It very much depends on the physical vessel hull
design and naturally the size of the vessel, including actual loading
condition.
Captains onboard smaller vessels may choose to set these
thresholds lower, while captains on very large container ships or
bulk carriers may be confident with higher thresholds, as per their
discretion.
It is always up to the Master to define the wave height when
parametric or synchronous roll becomes a concern for him.
All thresholds are based on the Master’s experience and
his/her understanding of the risk profile for that particular
vessel!
It is also important to keep in mind, that setting a threshold for alert
notification should not be mistaken with the viewpoint that seas
above, e.g., 5m must be avoided at all costs.
From time to time it’s unavoidable that a route will pass through an
area with sea conditions above thresholds set by the captain, e.g.,
for routes passing through heavy monsoon conditions or
widespread winter storms in the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans. Alerts
for resonance risk will then be displayed, if the circumstances for
risk of resonance motions are not fulfilled, i.e., if the relationship
 BVS 8.6
Severe Motions Avoidance QRG

between encountering period and natural roll period is met, but the
crew should still analyze via the tool to understand the risk pattern.
If risks are indicated, the crew should utilize the tool well in
advance to understand and plan possible actions, which could be a
temporarily speed or course change, or a combination of both. A
route change may also be considered, as safe navigation permits.
The crew should understand the risk pattern for all routes, be
aware and be ready to take the necessary actions IF resonance
rolling should occur.

BVS will consider Parametric Roll and Synchronous Roll as a FULL

RISK when the wave height is in excess of the defined threshold
for the particular risk and as a MARGINAL RISK when the wave
height is within 50% up to 100% of the threshold.

NOTE: The concept of the MARGINAL RISK ensures that there

is not just a simple yes/no decision. It provides a reasonable
safety margin below the wave thresholds.
Questions? Email bvs@awtworldwide.com