The Shiphandlers Guide

3-N;
THE
SHIPHANDLER'S
GUIDE
Captain R.W. Rowe, FNI

Nautical
q
Institute
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THE SHIPIIANDLER'S GUIDE

for
Masters and Navigating Offlcers,
Pilots and Tug Masters
Captaln R.W. Rorre tr'NI
THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

THE SHIPI{ANDLER'S GUIDE
Published by The Nautical Instltute
2o2 Lambeth Road, London SEl 7Lg, England
Telephone: +44 (OJ2o7 928 1351

Fax: +44 (Ol2O7 4OI 2AI7
Publications e-mail: pubs@nautinst.org
Worldwide web site: http:/ /www.nautinst.org
First edition published 1996

Second edition publtshed 2OOO
Copl'right @ The Nautical Institute, 2OOO
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system, or transmltted in any form by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or ottrerwlse, wtthout the prior written
permission of tlle publishers, except for the quotation of brief passages in
re\,'iews.
Atthough great care has been taken \rdth the writing and productton of this
volume, neither The Nautical Institute nor the author can accept any
responsibility for errors, omissions or their consequences.
Thts book has been prepared to address the subject of shtphandling. This
should not. however. be taken to mean that this document deals
comprehenslvely witll all of the concerns which will need to be addressed or
even, wher€ a particular matter is addressed, that this document sets out the
only definitive view for all situations.
The opinions expressed are those of the author only.
Photographs courtesy Howard Smtth Towage and Salvage

and Warsash Maritime Centre
Typeset by Javafame Computer Services

90 Church Street, Lavenham, Suffolk CO1O 9OT, England
Prtnted in England by
The Repro Company, Hayes Road, Southall, Middlesex UB2 sNB
rsBN I 870077 35 0
THT SHIPIIANDLIR'S GUIDE

CONTENTS
Page
Lirt of Dlagr.m, aDd Acknowlcalg€E.Bt,
Preface
ForGword I
Forcsord 2
Chepter Onc
Chapt€r Two
Cheptcr Thrcc
Ch.pter Four
Chrptet Flvc
ChaptGt Sk
Chaptaa Savcn
Chaptcr Etght
Chaptcr lllnc
Chaptca T€tr
Chaptcr Elcvcn
Choptcr Tsclvc
Itrder
Photographa---- ..,....,.,.........2
......................,G
-.-----.---:.-.-- ....'.............7 ......................,4
s
Rcferencca anal furthor raadhg-------.-----.
Tha Nautlcal hrtitutG.......-.......--..
tal
ta2
THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 1
t.'z
LIST OF DIAGRAMS AND PHOTOGRAPHS

Description
Keel....................... 1 4
CIIAPTER ONE
r The Pivot Point On Ev€n a) shiP stopPed
b) making headu'ay
c) makiDg sternvaY
Kee1...............---...........-....--.... 1 3 On Even
Turning Levers and Momenls

a) ship stopp€d
b) making headrvay
c) making sternway
CHAPTER TWO
3 Loss ol Slow Speed Control . 17 4 Maintaining Slow Speed Conirol - -- i9 5 Shaft/Brake
Horse Power" 20
bl ivith sternrvay
CHAPTER TIIRET
6 Transverse Thrust s'irh Stern a) rvith headwaY Power.......... ....--...... 2 5
FOUR
LateraL Forces when Turning
CIIAPTIR 7a 2a
I
lo
tl CIIAPTER
t2
L3
14
Slolv Aheail Turns 1o Starboard 30 Full Ahead
Turns to Slarboard ...... . . " 3l Slo{' Ahead Turis to
Port..... ........ ..... 32 Slanding Turn irom
StoPped....-- - .......... ........--- --- 32 Elfeci of
Shallow water on Turning ...-----..---- ...... 34
Turnnrg in Shallo\t water '' . 35 Laieral Motion
.......... 3 7 a) io advaniag€
b) to disadvaniage
FIVE
l5 16 Effect of Wind with HeadvaY
Effect ol wind Ship StoPPed 3940
Effect of wind lvilh sternu'ay ..40
t7
Eff€ci of Wincl \t1th Trim -...... --- - ...............-. ......-- 42
la
a) with headway
b) lvi1h siernwaY
l9
20
2I 46
CIIAPTER SIX
- 5l
Graph of wind Forces Car Carrier & Tanker '' .
22 Dr"d{ Ing Two An' hor_ 23 Dr€dging one
44 Anchor
-
I ompa-i-on or for'cs I ldnker''
52
(
I ompdr l:on of For, es 2 dr c att c t
SEVEN
CHAPTER 2 4 Pressure Zones (simplifiecll -- - - -- ..- 56 Bank
25
26 E1fect................ ...56 Effect ot Tdm and Squat . ...
27 ...... 57 Bank Configuration ....... " 58 al steeP
sided banks
bl shallow shelving banks
2a
29 Passing Phase L......... - 6 i Passing Phase 2 62
30 Passing Phase 3 . .. .. . . .. 63
2 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE
Descriptlon
FiAure fage
CHAPTTR EIGIIT
-
31 Overtaking Phase I
32 - 67
33 overtaklng Phase 2
Overtaking Phase 3
34
35
36
3a
39
40
4L
CHAPTER 42
43
44
45
46
4a
49
CIIAPTER
Effect of Tide upon Ship Handling .......... ......... 71 Longitudinal Forces on a
Worklng in a Tide...... ............................. 73 a) with Tanker............................................-. a4 Lateral Tidal
tide from ahead Forces.- ...................... . 85 al blocklng the tidal flow
b) wlth tide from astern b) the resultant forces
cl working towards a berth
d) working away from a berth NIIIIE
Swirging to a Ttde on one Anchor .-...........................
Graph of Wind Speed and Thruster Force
75 Bends in a Tidal Rive . 78 al with a following tide ............................... aa Thrusting when Stopped
bl with a tide from ahead a)
Local Ttdal Anomalies .............- ...........79 a) sudden ........................................................... 91 Plvot Point
changes in direction bl creeplng ahead
b) restricting the tidal flow Thrusting with Headway
Ttdal Force at Anchor ................... ..........................................--............. 92 a) straight line
................................ 82 a) deep water b) turning
b) shallow water Lateral Motion to
Po.1.............................-...................-........... 95 1. with .................................................. Iol Working Astern to
Klcks Ahead a Berth ...................................................... 1O2
2. with Astern power
Lateral Motion to TEN
Starboard.......................-..................... . 9 7 l with
controllable Pltch Propellers
Kicks Ahead
2. Difficulty wlth Astern Power 50
Thrusting with Sternway......... . a) impeding the rudder with fine pltch settlngs
...................................98 al pivot polnt b) creating eddies and currents on zero pitch
bl turntng moments ............ 104
worklng Astern in a channel
Propeller Shrouds ..... -..-...........- ... 11 I

al fixed tunnels
b) rotating nozzles
Conventional Rudders............................................................. ll3
52
a) up to 45 degrees
b) over 45 degrees

Figure DFsrripiion Papc
53 Alternative Rudder Designs .................................................... 114 a) fiaps

bl shapes
54 Twin Schilling Rudde ....................------- 117 a) full ahead
bl bow to port
c) full astern
d) astern: stern to port
CHAPTER ELEVEN
55 Twin Scr€w Configurations..................................................... 120 a) single rudders
b) propellers too close together
c) twin rudders and propellers w€ll spread
56 Twin Fixed Pitch Propellers Outward Turnin9.................. t22 al ahead only
bJ one €ngine astern
57 Twln Fixed Pitch Prop€ll€rs Inward Turning..................... 123 aJ ahead only
bl one engine asrern
5a Twin Scr€w Turning Abilily.......................-..------...................-. t26 a) wtth sternway
bl with h€adway: one engine astern
cl with headwayr both engines ahead
CHAPTER ?WELVE
59 Conv€ntional Tug...... ........................... r30 a) without gob rope
b) wilh gob rope
60 Tug Interaction.......... ...........--...----....... r32 al forward
b) a{t
6l Glrting a Conventional Tug ................. r35 a) forward
bJ aft
62 Working a Gob Rope ............................ 137 al securing
bl limltations and salety
63 Using th€ Tug s weight....................-....................._......_..____..._ 139 al lbrward
b) aft
64 Tractor Tug................ ........................... 14l 65 Azhuth Slern Drive Tug and Azimuth
Propell€rs................ 143 66 Tractor Tug Forward. ........................... 146 aJ usrng stern towlng
poinr
br \ome aller nalivPs
67 Tractor Tug Aft-......... --........--............... l4a 68 WorkiDg an Azlmuth Stern Drive
Tu9.................................... r5r a) rolward
b) aft
69 Channel Escort....... ........................... t52 a) conventlonal tugs forward
b) tractor tugs aft
70 Tugs on Long Lines... ..--.-......-----.......... 155 a) sropped
b) maktng headway
ci making sternway
d) tugs balanced
IiFigure Descrlptlon Page

7 l Tugs Alongside .......... ........................... 1,57 a) wlth head\ray
b) wlth sternway
72
Container Ship Movement ....................................................... 159 a)
windage
b) manoe'ivre
73
Mov€ment L Discussion ................,,,,,......,...........,,.....,,,,..,,,,,, 762 a) ship
stopped
b) making sternway
Movement 2. DIscussion......................................................... I63 a) ehip
stopped
b) making sternway
PHOTOGRAPHS
Shiphandling with tug assistance......... .........,.,......,........ lO Shlphandling in locks and
baslns requlres special skills............................... 15
Car carrlerE present a partlcular problem when operating

in windy conditlons ......................21
Manned models are ideal lor rralnlng ln shlphandltng.

padicularly slow speed control vrithout tug assistance ,,,,..................-.......22
The view aft from a tug showlng the towlng arrangements

dlrectly from a winch................... ..................................48
This model shows well the anchoring arrangements

whlch are used to demonstrate dredging techniques..................................53
Shlps and tugs operatlng tn conflned waters have to be aware

of the effects of lnteractlon......... ..,....................,..,....... 69
Running lines ashore alLer a successlul slern berrhing

ustng tugs and thruster combined ................................................................ a6
On smaller shlps masters have to exerclse their shtphandling skills in a wide variety of
sltuations and frequently in cfltical circumstances ......... 105
Conventlonal tugs are stlll used ln many ports of the worId........................ 128 An
Azimuth Stern Drive tug demonstrating lts versatility............................ 128 A Voith
Schneider and a conventlonal tug in attendance............................. 145
THE SHIP}IANDLER'S GUIDE 5
ACI(NOItrLEDGTMTNTS
Ir rs Nor rHE rNrENrroN of

this publication to make anv
attempt at explaining how a
ship is berthed, or unberthed,
at specific quays, docks and
terminals That is entirely the
concern of the appropriately
experienced personnel- The
sole objective in each ofthe
'Shiphandler's
chapters of ihis
Guide is to discuss how a
ship behav€s under certain
circumstances or conditions
and to highlight any difficulties that might b e €ncountered, as an aid to ship handiing anywhere in the
world.
In the light of many years of expe ence in the use of ship simulators and manned models, as an
aid for training personnel in ship handling. it has been proved many times over that it is absolutely
essential to strike a critical balance between theoretlcal content and practical application. With this
experience in mind, it has been the deliberate intention throughout this publication io reduce the
complex mathematical data of the academic world of ship handling to the v€ry simplest level posslble,
so that it might be understood more easily and applied to the practical world afloat.
'Guide'will
It is hoped that this practical give all personnel involved in the handling oI ships a
working knowledge of how a ship behaves, so that in the future they can come to their own
conclusions with respect to a particular manoeuvre, in terms of its feasibility or dlfflcutties. This may.
for exampl€. be particularly useful to masters taking command for the first time after a long pertod as
chief officer, an.l to new pilots during the tripping stage of th€ir training period. It might also prove a
useful reference book and aid for more experienced personnel. when they are endeavouring to
analyse a specific manoeuvre, incident or casualty.
I would particularty tike to thank my working colleagues at the Warsash Maritim€ Centre for their
support in this project and Captain M.C. Banbury, FNl, Managing Director of Howard Smitb Towage.
London. Dr. Ian Dand of British Maritime Technology and Captaln P.J.D. Russell, FNI. London Pilot,
Ior reading ihe iext and for their constructive comments.
I would like to acknowledge and thank the many pilots and ship masters around the world, that I
have worked with over the y€ars. all of whom ln some way or another have contributed towards this
work. I dedlcate this publication to them.
The Author
PREFACI
Captain Goorge Angas' ErC' FNI
-
The ltirector Warsaeh Mrtltlme Ccntre
TnE cHALLENcEs rHAT FAcE the

international maritlme transport
lndustry can only be resolved on
an international scale, From which
lt follows that no one element of the industry can succeed without a good understanding and
close co-operation with other elements from within the same lndustry, In order to maintaln
and enhance seafarer standards a good working relationship must exist betv/een the
seafarers themselves, their employers. professlonal maritime bodies and marltlme trainlng
centres throughout the world. This book has been developed and written on this basis, e.g.
the author, a skilled and experienced mariner working withln a proactive maritlme
tralnlng and educatlon centre, providlng courses and consultancy for shipping companles
and pilots from around the world for many years, has now placed on paper some of that
knowledge and experience for the benefit of existing and futur€ mariners.
This has been a well understood and active process over many years. What ls different
now, however, is that the level of relationship betv/een these parts of our multlfaceted
lndustry has changed. Whereas ln the not too distant past mafltime colleges were seen more
as ivory tow€rs providlng educatlon and tralnlng to flxed national norms, we are now working
hard with shlpowners and operators to develop a relatlonshlp in v'rhich v/e are seen as an
extenslon of their own op€ratlon which can make a meanlngful contribution to the success of
a commercial venture. Maritlme colleges themselves cannot solely rely on state fundlng for
their existence and must Drovlde a Droactive contdbution to ensure that shiD oDerators can
maintain their iperattng costs to a minimum by effective tralnlng and issessment of the crews
that man their ships.
The Warsash Marltime Centre, near Southampton ln England, ls proud to be able to

contrlbute to our industry, not only in direct tralnlng and educatlon but also through
dissemlnatlon of knowledge and experience in books such as this. It ls publications such as
these that also demonstrate the close worklng relatlonshlp between maritlme education and
professional
traininq establishments and the bodies. The Nautical
Institute, for example,"ls facltitating the dissemlhailon of knowledge by providing very
effective publications that reach all parts of the world. We hope that you, the reader of this
book, will obtain both pleasure and knowledge from it and that it will be a valuable cont bution
to the develoDment of vour skill as one of the world's seafarers.
FOREWORD I
Captain
E.H.
Beetham, FNI
Paet President, The Nautlcal Institute
lr rs A Joy ro LooK Ar A BooK on ship handling that presents lhe behaviour of ships in such a
'Why" "was
practical way. we may ask ours€lv€s it not presented h this way before?"
I think the answer lies in the lasting influence of the traditional approach that does not always meet the
needs of iodays mariners. In the days of sail, when certificates of competency were introduced. there
was instruction and examination on how to avoid dangerous situations and how to turn wind, tide and
weather to best advantage.
Those who sat their certificates in more recent times demonstrated thelr ship handling ability with
wooden models. Text books illustrated standard situations with the plan view of a pram dinghy. No
damage was suflered by €ither ships or quays and shallow water effects were notably abseni.
Having been trained to handle modeis the officer was not introduced to the geometry of a turning
ship. the changing pivot point or the hydrodynamic influences that can make the end result so
different to the intended manoeuvre. We w€re not trained to control a moving ship in a confined area.
The Royal Navy, by contrast, had a practical solution to the problem by making sure that
midshipmen under training handled the cutters. pinnaces and rescue boata which gave them both ihe
feel and responslbillty at an early stage.
The great worry for the future is that the industry and the armed services will claim thai lt is too
expensive io provide practical training in shiphandling. Ii is expensive. time consuming but necessary.
The greatest benefit of this book is that it lays the right foundation for understanding the science of
the individual factors thal combine to creat€ the art of shlphandling.
One proposed solution to ship handllng training is to use simulators which are extensively used
-
in the aviation industry for pilot training but while valuable for the seaman, th€y rely on visual
respons€ to change. The strength of thts approach is that ihey can be used to familiafise ihe ship
handler wtth vafied situations in a safe environment but the weakness of simulation is the absence of
a sense of movement that makes it difficuli to appreciate the interactive forces. Simulator time. costs
and availability will inevitably restrict the extent of training that is possible.
The scale models used at Marchwood and crenoble are probably the most practical way of
attempting different manoeuvres and of learning the basic prtnciples. The quality of model and
simulator traininE relies on the dedication of the stalf and the author comes from the worthy group wh6
run ihe ship handLng courses ai the Warsash Maritime Centre.
This book will supplement any simuiaior training and will provide guidance for a master whose
ship has to perform an unfamiliar manoeuvre. It will gtve much easy reading to allow those in control
gain
oI ships to anticipate events and to an awareness of rvhy the ship responds in different ways and
whai rnfluences those responses.
I hope this book becomes a standard text for all those who aspire to control or command a ship
at sea. I think it will be of immense value to them.

FOREWORD 2
Captain P..t.D. Russell, FNI, London Pilot

President. The Nautical Institute
prlor
As A with some 30 years personal experience of ship handling it gives me great pleasure to
contribute a loreword to this excellent training manual. The training of pilots is frequently under
scrutiny. No doubt there will be much written by those who have never had responsibllity for the safe
navigation oI a ship to or from a berth as to exactly how it should be done. Their views will be
regarded with som€ scepticism. The first thing most pilots will do is to go to ihe author's curriculum
vitae to read exactly who is trying to teach them how to do their job and whether or not the author has
the necessarv experience, in their view. io teach them anything. That is an unfortunate fact of life. It
was, in fact. my first reactlon when asked to look at the manuscript and I did not find the kind of actual
ship handling experience there for which a pilot might be looking. I therefore started to read the
manuscript with some considerable scepticism,
I very soon r€alised that this book was something special. I became impressed with ihe clarity ol
presentation and the value of the information collated for all pilots and those charged with the safe
manoeuvring of ships. I have. over the years, studied many books on ship handling and suggest ihat
thts book is, wtthout doubt, on€ of the best I have come across.
Pilots remain, I know, of the opinion that ihe very best training they can receive is on the bridge of
a ship under the supervision of an experienced pilot. That system. ho$rever, does have a couple oI
weaknesses that this book can help to alleviate. The flrst weakness is that some of the very besl pllots
may b€ a joy to watch in action but
may not necessarily be good teachers. The second weakness ls that there are siill many pllots around
who look upon ship handllng as some kind of art whereby they instinctively respond and react from
€xperi€nce to the movement oI the ship. They may, in fact, go through a highly successful career
doing just that. rather than fully understanding the science behind those reactions and reasons for
'art
their need. This book will not only help them better to understand their but perhaps avoid some of
the more dramatic responses by allowing them to be proactive instead of reactive. The Shiphandler's
Guide will also enable them to b€come better at passing on relevant information to the next
generation.
I congratulate Bob Rowe on his thoughtful work and have no hesiiation in commending this book
to anyone with an interest in ship handling.

. - . .,iiff;ir
d;;'ji1,
wr* 2
ltl'
Shiphandring with tug asslstance

CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL AND INTRODUCTION TO THE PIVOT POINT

Getreral
THE sKrLL oF A cooD sHTPHANDLER should never be underestimated. This is becaus€ they can
achieve consistency in performance and control even though no two dockings are ever exactly the
same. Similarly the range of variable considerations which have to be taken into account when
planning, predicting monitoring and manoeuvring means the shiphandler is constantly having to
reassess progress.
The competent shiphandler has to be aware of wind and \teather, crrrent and tldal change;. In
most b€rth approaches, shallow water and interaction effects will also have to be taken into account.
There ls th€ range. type, availabillty and efficlency of tugs to be considered Also. the availabiltty
and-aptitude of the personnel on each ship has to be ass€ssed for their ability to handle to$r lines and
mooring lines All these factors effect ship manoeuvres \{hich in a tidal regime have to be completed
within limited time windowsl so adding to the sense of anxiety should anything go wrong.
We can start to s€e that the qualities demanded of a good shiphandler are considerably greater
than those required in other modes of transport. They must be
-the
competent ln sense that they are trained and knov/ what they lntend to achleve Th€t must be able
to exercise judgement and be flexible in their outlook to adjust to changing circumstances. They must
be able to communicate eff€ctivelyi they must be able 6 slay calm under pressure and solve problems
with authority when the sihration requires it, and they have io be experlenced.
Shiphandllng is t€amwork and for teamwork to be successful there has to be a eeneral

dock "masters
understandinA amongst pilots. masters. tug masters ships olficers and about ihe
p-rinciplis of shiphandling and the factors which influence manoeuvrlng.
In a perceptive artlcl€ by Julian Parker, Secretary of The Nautical lnstitute, he pointed out that
words and sentences flow in a sequence, whereas fbe need in ;hiphandling is to have an awareness
of the whol€ picture during manoerrvres- It is one of the reisons I believe, why it ls so difficult to
convey the essence of shiphandling ln a written text,
My approach to thls book has been different. Each situation is based upon a aiaErarn wtrtcfr
contains the essential information for visualising the particular point bei;p made. I have then added the
text to explain ln more detail how the forces reprdsented in a statlc diagram interact when the ship is
moving or being manoeuvred.
As I indicated earlier there ls much more to ship handling than a book can convey For this reason
I do not think it ls appropriate to try and describ€ how to approach berths ln specific ports or how to
plan a particular estuarial passage. That level of detail musa remain the responsibility of the senlor
pilots who best know the local areas and provide the detalled training necessary
I do however, believe that by having a clearly prepared set of diagrams to illustrate the key
factors in shiphandling readers will come to have a better understanding of the prlnclples involved.
Thes€ principles are based upon a number of moving lnfluences some int€rnal like thrust and the
of the
positlon Pivot point, some external like wlnd and interaction. It is these moving variable forces
that have to be mastered and the flrst plac€ to start ls the Divot Doint.
THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE l l

The Pivot Point
Shtp Stoppeal Fig. r(a)
Maklng Headway Fig. r(b) Making Sternway FtS. 1(c)

Turlirg Levert
Veeeel Stopped Ftg.2(a)
Making Headway Fia.2(b)
Making Sternway Fis.2(c)
Unless stated otherwise, each example assumes a

ship on even keel, ln calm conditions and still
water. ln thls sltuation no forces are lnvolved and
the ship has a pivot point colncldlng with its centre
of gravlty, approximately
amidships.
thrust. tug Iorce, interactlve forces and the forces
Two forces now come into play. Firstly, the forward of wind and tide,
momentum of the ship and secondly, longitudinal
reslstance to the forward momentum. cr€ated by lf we look at the ship used in our €xample, we can
the water ahead of the ship. These two forces must see that it has a length overall of 160 metres. It is
ultimately strike a balance and the pivot polnt stopped in the water and tv/o tugs are secured fore
moves forward. As a rough guide lt can be and aft, on long Iines, through centre leads. If the
assumed that at a steady speed the plvot point will
be approxl'nately 25 ora|/a ofthe ship's length from tugs apply the same bollard pull of. say, 15 tonnes
forward. (t)
each, it is to a position 80m fore and aft of the
pivot polnt. Thus two equal turnlng Ievers and
The situation is now totally reversed. The
moments of 80m x l5t (l200tm) are created
momentum of sternway must balance longitudinal
resulting ln even lateral motion and no rate of turn,
resistance, this time created by the wat€r astern of
the ship. The plvot polnt now moves aft and
With the ship making steady headway, however,
t/4
establishes itself approximately 25% or a of the the pivot point has shifted to a position 40m from
shlp's length from the stern. the bow. The forward tug is now working on a very
poor turning lever of 4Om x f5t t600tm). whilst the
Although not intend€d. some publications may give after tug ls worklng on an €xtremely good turnlng
the impression that the pivot point moves right aft lever of I20m x l5t {t80otmj. This results in a swing
with sternway. This ls clearly not correct and can of the stern to port.
sometimes be misleading. It should also be
stressed that other factors such as acceleration, The efficiency of the tugs wlll change totally when,
shape ofhull and speed may all affect the position by contrast. the ship makes sternway. Now the
of the pivot point. The arbitrary figures quoted plvot point has moved aft to a posltlon 4Om from
here. however, are perfectly adequate for a simpl€ the stern. The forward tug ls worklng on an
and practical worklng knowledge of th€ subj€ct. excellent turning lever of 120m x l5t (1800tm1
whilst the after tug has lost lts efflciency to a
More important. perhaps. than the position of the (60otm).
plvot polnt. ls the eff€ct its shifting nature has upon reduc€d turning lever of 4Om x l5t This
the many turning forces that.can influence a ship. now results in a swing of the bow to porl
These are - rudder force, transverse thrust, bow

Fig. f The Plvot Point
a) ship stopped On Even Keel
b) making headway
-T
P.
*r
-'
o o'(J o
c) making sternway
<-u4L--+

f.ig.2 Ttrrning Levers and Moments
a) ship stopped 15 tonne

b) making headway
t
c) making sternway

On Even Keel
SumEary
Note
I
interactlon and tug
positioning. In each
of the following
chapters which
dlscusses th€se
particular subject
areas it is a useful
basis from which to
start!
The full hul1 form of

the average
merchant ship is
used
throughout this
guide ln terms of
length to breadth
ratio and general
profile.
The guide does not

cover unusual
circumstances
which
may b€ expedenced
when conslderlng
less common
vessels such as fine
lined, high speed
warships, non
displacement craft
and vessels with
exceDtional
Drofiles.
This simple method can also be used as an aid

to
understandlng many practical aspects of
shiphandltng such as rudder, propeller and
I
thruster efflclency, the effect of wind, t m, l:
Getreral
Speed
Loss of Control Fig.3
fihtphenrlllag in locks end basina requlres
speclal skillB THE SHIPHANDLER'S
GUIDE 1 5
.-||MAfro\
THE or
cD
LD dnd
knowing $hen to
reducF speed
r\hen aDDroachinq
a berrh is nol
always easy
Confiden( e can
onlv come wrih
eYperien'e On
very large -hrp_
such as VLCas.
some guid;nce
may be available
from reliable
doppler logs. bul
on manv shrps a
doppler log ls nol
av;ilable. in anv
case tolal relian'e
upon
inslrumeniallon is
not wise and is no
subsiituie for
erperience. A pilot
iumplnq from one

ship ro anolher'
somelimes scveral
?ur:ne 6ne duly
perrod ha< lo
develop a fePl'for
Lhe lvpe of shi; he
boards and drive it
by the seat oi his
pants"
Many casualties
ar€ proven to
occur as a direct
result of excesslve
speed. lts effect
can be insidious
and a masler mav
find thaa it is
difficult to keep up
with €vents which
are happening too
qLljckl) EIfeclivc
conlrol oI Lhe 'hrp

'an b; slowI bul
inexorablv losr'
Againsl Ihis are
commercial
pi"ssure". on
masters and pilots
alike for exDedrenl
passages and Iurn
round times Whilsr
there .ri argumenrt
CHAPTER TWO .iiher way. Lhel are clearly not I ompdrible and
Jxperience has shown that a last pilot is not
SLOW SPEED CONTROL -
necessaiily a good pilot just a lucky onel
small increase in revolutions, lt is not always
It is therefore desirable to balance a safe and obvious. though. when the sDeed is too high.
effective soeed ol apDroach againsL a realistic The speed of a large ship during an alproach to a
llmc scale lr would h; Lrnwise. iot "xa*-pte, lo beith, partlcularlv wlthout tugs can increase in in
condut t a rhree mrle run-ln a l a speed of one lnsldtous man;er. It is invariably difficult to reduce
knot. Three hours would stretch anyone s that spe€d ln a short distance and keep control of
patiencel the ship'
It is, of cours€. impossible to give exact figures If we look at figure 3 we can illustrate some
The reouircmenr is dlcLaled lo a large degrce by important oojnrs. ln lhr. eiample wF have a
variable [acior< suih as tvpe of 5hip lonnage drdll medrum size ship o f bO.OOo a*1, which we wlll
shaft horsepower' wind and tide. G€nerally assume is diesel powered wi(h a single, right
speaking, ships of less than 40,OOO dwt. for handed, fixed pitch propeller and a single
examDle. are inclin€d to run their way conventional rudder'
offrelatively ourcklv wheningine speed rs rFduced
wherea\ ldrger shrps i*r.y in.it wa1 r-or much At one mile from the berth, running at an
larger distdn' es and rheir tpeed must be brought approach sDeed of 6 knots, it is well ln excess of
the ship's dead siow speed of 3 knots. As the
firmly under control at greater distanc€s from the
b€rth. ship approaches the r/2 mile ;ark, speed is still
over 3 knots, despile a rapid reduction in ;pm, It
It is usualty obvious when the speed of a ship is
is now necessary to stop the engine
too slow, and can easily be overcome with a
tI
-
Fig. S Loss of SIow Speed Control Ship flnaly
stopped
FULL ASTERN I Half

Control lost for a very
long period
Astern
Speed over 0.3 knot
Speed still over 3 knots

Stop Engtne
EXAMPLE ONLY
Panamax
60,OO0 dwt
Loaded
Dead Slow Ahead
4 knots
Slow Ahead
6 knots
1 mile from berth speed over 3 knots !
l0 cables
THE SHIPIIANDLER'S GUIDE 17
Slow Speed Control Ifick Ahead - Duration

Fig.4
Kick Ahead - Power

Fig.5
Kick Ahead - Rudder Angle

at the whim of
traa"r."a"a thrust,
wind, tide and
bank or shallow
water "ji."t. ft i"
effectivelv out of
control in so much
that we can onlv
stand back and
hop€ that it will do
what is i."rl*,i. rt l.
Ir lilerallJ a hir or
miss situalion and
the
oi" tu. .^n reduce
this prolonged
period ol
increasing :lern
poser and lhus
reLain conlrol so
mu'h lhe beller: ln
liAure 4 uc see the
same ship. again
on-e-mlle from a
nerth ijr.r L lhi5 lrme
at ils dead slorv
epeed of 3 knols-or
less. Before it
'/2
approaches th€
mile mark it may
also t.i"".""t.v to';top
th€ engine to furth€r
reduc€ the ;;";;;t ""d
allow pJenrv of
rime.lor adrusLing
'he shrp s aoproaih
and posilroning for

the betlh
One oi the biggest
worries is the loss of
rudder .rr""iln"tti""
and tfiE fear that we
cannot keep control
of iir. rrrioti head ar
very slow speeds.
particu)arly withoul
ur-ru 'rn r"",t,rn". For
a varicry ol rea50ns
5uch as poor
"i"'..i"_q, *i"a, tide.
and thence sustain a prolonged period of shallow water or
increaslng stern oo*.i. i" ota"t to sfop the ship in dlrectional instability'
this *.rt begin Lo dev.lop an unwanled sheer'
time During i;;;a;;ii.l ilme interval, the ahip is ir.l.-t.ri.rv
also i' -uv l. desirabl;to adiust the a((llude ol The duration of a kick ahead shouid be as short as
approach' i:'."Gh i" best achieved-by applving full Do:sible. Proloneed use ol lhe power' aller rhe Inilial
rudder and utilisinQ a short but substantial burst of I,..rine.fr"", has".eased will only rcsull in a violenl
sheer .ri an-unwanted build up of speed This will
'kick
€ngine power' This ttthe ahead' tschnique' result in the need for vet another kick ahead to rectlfy
the situation'
There are ho\r'ever' several pitfalls to avoid' which
As soon as the revolutions reach the required
can all lead to an excessive increase in speed. thus
maximum' the power must be taken off
ruining all the previous eflorts to control it
It is difficult to quantify the amount of power to apply.
If a kick ahead is to b€ utilised. it is essentlal that the for a klck ahead, as lt very much depends on the
.,.Od"i t" "".tt to U. hard over'before the power is
applled Whilst this ensures a maximum rudder siz,e ol .frip ina rne needs of lhe shrp handler aI (he
:or," rrme lt i s i*Jo.Ln,. horvever' to appreciare Lhe rdtio
turning lorce' lt .ir" it. brdke on
someoIrheresidualspeed,drreclly o[ shafL horse ooi"t ftitp' lo tonnagF rdwrt rhar exisrs
from ship ro ship
i"=ufiins fto. increased power' with lhe hclm al
anyrhrng i.". ."in ds I5' or 20". G"s rudder lor'e is lf we look at a table of new tonnages from a
applied dt the "tJ ot inct"asittg forward speed lt is also Japanes€ shrD \ard, (.ee frRurc 5r lhere are
essential that ;;;';*;. I. rak"en olr befoie rhe rudder is
relurned t o "lrli,itf.l,o" or Io angle\ of less lhan 35o enormous differences *iii i"ii.".r.e ciip size rh.
Failure lo do lhis ;iii;;",,iii in a brrei but imporrant cargo shrp ot 20 o00 dwt
inrerval during which time most or all of the power
applied, is again being used to increase sPeed

-
f'tE. 4 Maintalning Slow Speed Control
Stern power as requlred
Klck Ahead
Period of no
control is small
Short Deriod of Stern Pow€r
Klck Ahead
EXAMPLE ONLY
PanaEax
60,000 dwt
Loaded
Dead Slow Ahead (Turblne)

Stop Engine (Diesel)
THE SHIPHANDLER S GUIDE 19

1 mile from berth Speed 3
knots or less
Dead Slow Ahead or Stop
Short Kicks Ahead

FiE. 5 Shaft/Brake Horse Power * DWT Tonnes
LBP B ENGINE SHP
SHIP TYPE Turbine 3l,OOo

23
Tenker6 3ao.000 25 355 6 4 320 52 2l
0,000 DRAFT Turbine 45.OO0
30,000 Diesel Diesel
Tankert 20,oo0 t57 Diesel Diesel 24, OOO 2 3.
Contelner 32 30
146 lao OOO r
(23 I7 Diesel Diesel 7.000 r
knotsl 20,000
12.OOO l5 Di€sel Dlesel
TEU 1940 t2 5,o00 t
r96 2r3 Diesel Diesel
Bulk Cargo TEU 839 r2,500 3 8 3 8 36 t2 3,oo0
r 20,000 32 Diesel Diesel 9,000
100.ooo I8
80.000 2 9.000 50 3a 36 32
1 a t 2 t 2 l l Diesel r 7,000 I
60,000 23.000 9 l.ooo
252 251 237 2 2
r 90,000 r to Diesel Diesel r 0,400
Caigo 2r9 loI
26 22 23,OOO 2 r
20. ooo
ao.o00 245 244 237 ,000
Car Carrior 60,000 218 r63 r46 32 tl 20,000 15, 26.200
9 30.000
OOO
L€ngth between perpendiculars:

metres
Maximum breadth: metres
Shaft Horse Power
Shaft horse
power (shp) is
that gen€rated
to turn the
propeller' It is
almost
equivalent to
brake horse
power (bhp)
which is the
actual power
developed bt
the engine. For
shiphandling
purposes they
can be
assumed to be
the
has a substantial
17,000 shpi the
tanker of 60,000
dwt.
by contrast, has only
15,000 shp. The
VLCC of 250,OOO
dwt, which is four times larger than the tanker, has only
twice the engine power at 31.000 shp.
In practical terms, a kick ahead with slow ahead may

be ve+ effective on a smaller ship, but extremely
inadequate for a VLCC, when half or even full power may
be needed to achieve any result. This does not, of course.
encompass that peculiar breed of ship which for some
reason are built wtth speeds of 6 or 8 knots at dead slow
'kick
aheadl In this case a ahead at dead slow will be
advisable.
number of engine air starts, however, vari€s
lype of good
conslderably from shtp to ship. Some may be
propuleion unlt and have an unlimited start-up capacity, others
The type of propulsion unit ls also an important
may trave only two air bottles which at very best
factor to consider when utilising the kick ahead.
might
Diesel powered ships are generally very good, with
the power comlng in quickly and effectively. The
Summary
€)
roday.
Worlilne \illr a
turbinc ship is vcrv
jn
diflcrcnt. s o
much as a turlrlne
is slon to conle on
Line and build up
po\ver. This is not
parlirulallY useful
for kicks ahead.
When sloi{ing
don'n. lrrr I s (j1l
Nishing lo keep con
trol of heading,
it is better. lI it rs
perlnissiblc. ro
leave iLre |rrrbille
or] dead slolv for as
long as possibLe
rather tharl stop the
engine. The turbine
is thus on linc a11.l
instantl\,availablc
lor usc.
\'h^, l, r--r-r:rn..ol
ru(sr' 'arrr.l 1,. llplLl
r.c ard speell, thc
corrccr usc ol thc
kick ahcacl is lhc
slrglc most cffcrli!c
mcans ol lieepirle
conlrol ol hca.ling
an.l spccd,
parliculaflv $'ilh
directionailv
urlstable ships.
Clcarly thc ship
mLrst be stopped at
somciime and
incleed ser.eral
kiclis ahcad, ro
malicr how carclullt
applicd. \\'ill
rcsLrlt in a slo$'
build up oi speed.
'fhis
can be
carefull)' balanceci,
with short periods
ofmodcsl slcrn
pol!.cr. ibcrcby just
easing tlr( spccd
hacl{. or cvci
siopping lhc ship
entireh. if so desir
ed.
'l1rc
masicr or piloi
is rhus able to enjoy
gi\re 1O io 12 sra' ts cacl'. Far \rrorse cases can lre lar longer perlods
experlenced. Nillr thc irtlanrous words oxly orc siart rrf Lolal conirol and this would noi bc possiblc $'iih
good the shlp ruruing ai too hlgh a spccd.
lcfi piloi ruinine \rrhal !v:rs oilrer\vise a da!l
Forturately only a ie\r oI thcsc ships are aroLrnd
.'4tl! ro'riE .,.,
.m,,(!t!tl T
Car carriers present a particular probl€m when operating in windy conditions THE
SIIIPHANDLER'S CUIDE 2T
hA
IU"no.a moders are ial€al for training in shiphandling' o.li*J".fv

","* speed control without tuA assistance
22 THE NAUTICAI INSTITUTE

Ahead Movement of the Propeller
Astern Movement of the Propeller
Force ln Tonnc6
CIIAPTER TIIREE
TRANSVERSE THRUST
THE EFFECT oF TRANSVERSE THRUST whilst making an
ahead movement is arguably less worrying than that
of an astern movement. perhaps because the
result is less noticeable. Propeller destgn is a
compl€x subjeci area. but it is worth lookins at the
main factors, which are evident with an
ahead-movement of a right handed propeller.
.
The hellcal discharge from the propeller creates a
iarger pressure on the port side oI the rudder.
.
A slight upward flow from the hull into the
propeller area puts slightly mor€ pressure onto th€
down s\r'eeping propeller blades.
.
lt is evident during t€sts that the speed or flow of
water into a propeller area is uneven in velocity,
The net result is a tendency for a right handed

propeller to give a small swing to port when running
ahead. Whilst this may be noticeable in calm and
near perfect conditions it is easily influenced by
other likely factors such as wind, current. shallow
water. tugs, rudder errors and so on,
The importance of transverse thrust when using an

astern movement. is of much greater significance
to the shlp handler. The helical discharge, or flow.
from a right handed propeller working astern splits
and passes forward towards either slde of the hull.
In dohg so it behaves quite differently. On the port
quarter it is inclined down and away from the hull
whilst on the starboard quarter it is directed up and
on to the hull. This flow of water striking the
starboard quarter can be a substantial force in
tonnes that is capable of swinging the stern to port
'cut
giving the classic klck round' or of the bow io
starboard.
Mainly a function of water flow. transvers€ thrust

can be increased or decreased by varying propeller
rpm. This in turn varies the magnitude of the force
in tonnes applied to the quarter and 1t can be
viewed cllnlcally, as one of the forces available to
the ship handler, in much the same manner as
rudder. tug or bow thruster forces. It is. however, a
weak force and can be roughly calculat€d if the shp
of a particular ship is known.
For example let us take a ship of 80,OOO dwt with

a full ahead of 20.000 shp. If full astern is only 50%
of thts then ii only has a maximum of l0.OOO shp
astern. For practical purposes it can be taken as a
rough guide that transverse thrust is only 5 to 10%
of the appli€d stern power. Therefor€. in this case.
a force of l.OOO shp or 1O
(assuming =
tonnes at best 100 shp I tonne). THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 23
Whilst shaft horsepower is an important factor in Pivot Point ald Transverse Thrugt
determining the magnitude of transverse thrust and
Vessel Making Headway Fig.6(a)
how much a ship will cut $/hen going astern. a
lurther consideration must b€ the position of the
pivot point.
Vessel Making Sternway Fig.6(bl
Consider anoth€r ship. this time of 26.00O dq't with

a maximum ol 6.000 shp dsrern lsee ligure 6al. Il
can b c seen rhal rhp relates lo approxlmately 6
ionnes ol lorce on the starboard quarter. When the

shlp is maklng slow enouqh headway for the (see
amidships fiEure 6bl. With the propeller
propeller wash to reach the hull
ir rs icLing upon a pivol point rhal is forward dnd
working astern the flow of water on to the starboard
thuc d tLlrninp le\er of llO melres, This creales a
quarter is still maintaining its maenitude as a force
substaniial turning moment of 660 tonne-metres. of 6 tonnes but is now applied to a reduied turning
The forward speed of the ship must be considered. iev€r of 40 metres.
because at hipher speeds the full force of propeller Unlike the situation with h€adway we now have a
wash will not be strlking ihe quart€r. As the ship reduced turninE moment of 240 tonne-metres with
progressively comes down to loier speeds and ]^'ithstern\r'av. In the first instance this may not seem
the pivot point stil1 forward. the magnitude of strikingly lmportint. It must be remembered
transverse thrust will slowly increase reaching lts however' that transverse thrust may be a poor lorce
peak just prior to the ship being comDl"lelv in comparlson to other forces such as wind and
slopped. ll i< an unlorrunale lacl of life lhai a l the tide. With the example of sternway, a wind acting
rtowei .p.ids approa, hing d berlh il 'tern power i s of the
forward Pivot point may be .rrong "nouAh lo
applied, transverse thrust is likely to be at its overcome thal ot transverse Ihrusl This wrll bl
maximuml inveitigated more lhoroughly in laler 'haplcrs
With the same ship making st€rnway th€ pivot pointconcerninQ the effects of wind and tide.
will now move to a new position somewhere aft of
There are two
It ls sometimes power in the close possible causes for knowledg€ is
shallow water will likely
apparent that a ship when using this occurr€nce and only a pilot's
stern proximity of solid jetties, local io pinpoini them.
'cut
banks or the wrong way.
stopped or makrnE srernway. The force may be ot
AnoBalieE wedge Effect Fig.6(b) .ufficienl "lrenglh ro kill no;mal tran\verse lhrusl and
The first is a phenomenon known as wedgc effect.
(omeLimes
This occurs when the ship with a fixed pitch right generare a swing ol rhe boq lo porl lt
p will be worse if rhe :hrp has a bow-in aspect or is
handed ropelle r has d \olid jel ly or ol her vc rl
lcal ob!lru( llon closc io ii: srarboard side. If aand lorked lorward of (he berth lhus increasrng
rhe enlrapment oI waler llow Whilst a disad\anraAe
ex.cssrve 'lern power i" used thF wash created is in some respecls il can be ILrrnFd r o advanrage
lorced lorward between th€ ship and the
tn- tom" prtt" ot the uorld Using Ihe wedge
obstruction. If we again look at figure 6b, it can be
seen that if th€ flow ofwater is restrlcted then a elfect, t ship can be lifted bodily off a solid jetty
force is exerted on the ship forward of the pivot when backing out, to avoid dragging the bow along
point the dock slde
Thi" is pdrli.uldrly appdrenl when lhe sh ip rs
Fig. 6 llansverse Thrust wlth Stern Power
a) with headway
Main Engine 10,000 shp a

EXAMPLE
-T
. -+ I
Full Astern 60% 6.000 shp
{60 tonnel Transverse Thnrst
=
l0% 6 tonne
+',--
l2Om
\
6 tonne x 110 metre

= 660
b) with sternway
near underwater
obstructlons
4Om
6 tonne x 40 metre = 24O Im

Effect of Shallow water The second possible cause of a cut the wrong way may b€ attributed to the
vicinity of shallov,r $rat€r. Th€
flow of water from the fixed pitch right handed propeller
working astern as we have seen, is up and on to the
starboard quarter, but down and at'ay from the port
quarter. If the ship has a small und€r keel clearance it is
possible thai. in addition to such Iactors as cavitation and
restricted flow into the propeller, the flow of water on the
port side is being deflected off the bottom and back on to
the hull. This clearly gives some prior indication that th€
response of the ship may be unpredictable in shallow water
and. once again. the bow may swlng the wrong way.
Throughout these examples we have, for practlcal

purposes, adopted a simplisilc approach by only
considerlng a flxed pitch right handed propeller. There are
of course ships with fixed pitch left handed propellers,
propeller tunnels and controllable pitch propellers, the
laiier becoming increaslngly more common,
Altertratlve
Deaign Featurea Left Handed Propeller
Controllable Pitch Propeller
Shrouds
Hull Desrgn
rolarrng
With a left handed propeller lt is simply a case of counler.lock\iise during an astern movement, the
remembering that the results of transverse thrust bow will thus swing to starboard.
are the opposite in so much that the flow of water
from the propeller working astern ls up and on to For economical purposes, propellers in shrouds or
the port quarter and not the starboard quarter. In tunneis are growing in number, even on large
baslc terms the cut'of VLCCS. This ultimately has some bearing upon
the bow is therefore to port when working the transverse thrust because they alter significantly
propeller the flow of water exiting th€ propeller area, It may
be more concentrated and is likely to impose an
equal thrust upon both sides of the hull thus
The controllable piich propeller rotates constantly inresultlng in liitle or no transverse thrust.
the same directlon no matter what movement is
demand€d of it. Viewed from astern, a clockwise Finally. hull design features may also play a
rotating propeller is still rotating clockwls€ wlth significant part in altering this simplistic and
stern power. only the pitch angle of the blades has traditlonal concept of transverse thrust. It is
changed. This gives the same effect possible, for example, because of a different hull
as a conventional fixed pitch left handed propeller, shape or length to breadth ratio, for the point of
which is also rotating clockwise when going astern, impact of water flow to be much closer to the
the bow will swing to port. Similarly if a variable positlon of the pivot point when backlng. In such a
pitch prop€ller constantly rotates counter clockwise cas€.
transverse thrust. although relatively pronounced
when viewed from astern, this will be the same as
with headway, may be surprisingly iveak with
pitch sternway, to the extent that the bow may literally
a fixed right handed propcller uhr.h i< al\o
fall off either way, particularly if influenced by wind
or shallow water. more detail in later chaDters of this Dublication.
Some of these subject areas will be discussed in
26 THE NAUTICAI INSTITUTE
Generel
Ruddcr Force Plvot Polnt

Flg.7
Lrteral
ReEistalce
and
ranks high amongst the
causes of many
accidents, some literally
terminal. This can be for
a number of reasons
such as mechanical
failure, human error or
adverse weather
conditions, h the cetegory
of human erto& ercerslve
apeed whlkt attcmpting to
turr l' olce agdin a
najoftourcc of failur€.
We wlll start wlth a ship

of 26,OO0 tonne
displacement, stopped
dead ln the water
assuming even keel,
calm condltlons and no
(see
tlde flgure 71. With
the rudder hard to
starboard, an ahead
movement is now applied
and for the mom€nt it is
academic whether it ls
dead slov.r. slow. half or
full. Thls we can refer to
'1.
slmply as nrdalcr.
Forcc'. This will be
attempting to both turn
the shlp and drive it
forward. Forward
movement ls lnltially
resisted because of the
inertia of th€ ship, whllst
the turn, which is working
at the end of the ship on
a good lever, sets in
slightly earller. Thls
results in a pivot point
whlch ls initially well
forward and
t/s (P)
appioximately L
from the bow. The
importance of this is
absolutely vltal because
at thls stage, wtth the
ship just beginning to
make headway and the
plvot point well forward.
we have the optlmum
rudder force. It will never
be better!
Thereafter. when the ship

begins to bulld up speed,
the water reslstance
ahead of the ship
balances forward power
and pushes the plvot
CHAPTER FOUR lT rs t/a
OUrrE CLEAR from the point back a further L (see
results of numerous casualty chapter l). At a steady speed,
TURNING investigations that a failure to turn whilst turning, the flnal position of
a ship ln the available sea room
opposes the rudder force and
the pivot point will novr be As a ship commences to turn and '2.
r/3 (PPl which we can refer to as the
approxlmately L fuom the thereafter for the duration of a
turn, the ship is sliding sideways Lateral Rcalstancc'. The balance
bow. Wtth the turning lever thus between the rudder force and the
through the water. This results in
reduced the rudder force has now lateral reslstance. Dlavs a crucial
a large bulld up of water
become progressively less parr in shaping all turning clrcles.
resistance. all the way down the
efflclent.
shlp's side. which continually
Constant RPM Turns

Fig. 8 and I
If, for example, our ship of 26,OO0 tonne
dlsplacement €nters and continues a turn at a
constant rDm for slow ahead. both forces balance
to give a turning circle as shown ln figure 8. The
advance and transfer can be measured
from the scale for both 20'and 35'turns. Bv
comDarlson. looking at lhe same shlp. conducLing
a turn at a ionsranr rpm for full ahead in flgure 9, it
may be surpdslng to note that the turnlng clrcles
are vlrtually identical to the slow ahead turns,
The reasons for thls are due to the fact that

althouSh we have entered the turn with a much
larger rudder forcl. lr is also wlth a hlgher speed
and lherefoie higher lareral resistance. In any turn
at constant rpm, rudder force and
Fig.7 Lateral Forces when Turnin$

*
t)+
+./
P = Initial Pivot Point
=
PP Final Pivot Point
=
D Drift Angle on
B dge
2. Lateral
Resistance
1. Rudder
Force
.<_
Swept Track
----+,,
SpGGd durlng
a I!rn
Fig. I
Standing Turns
ald Kicks
Ahead Fis. 10
and 1 1
:A
)t
Shallow Water Fig. 12 and 1 3
lateral resislance are always achieving the

same balance thereby assuring that each
turning circle is approximately the sam€. in
terms of advance and transfer. The only thing
that is saved by entering a turn at higher
'rate anything faster will incur a loss of turning
speeds is time. It is th€ of turn which
ability.
varies. Whilst this can be crltical in cases
when time is of paramount importance. such So far we have only considered a ship
as conductlng a large turn across a strong tide manoeuvring in de€p wat€r. If. how€ver, the
or taking the ship through a Williamson Turn. it ship is operating in shallow water it is likety to
does not improve turnlng ability. have a considerable effect upon its
The speed of a ship during a normal turn is

interesting, ln so much that it suffers a marked
reduction. As the ship is sliding sideivays and
ahead. the exposed side experiences a
substantial increase in water resistance. which
in turn acts as a brake. The ship may
experienc€ a 30 to 50% speed loss and it is a
useful feature in manv areas of shiD handlrng
where a shdrp:peed reducrion is requrred. Th;
ship in ligure 9. for example, entered the turn
at a full speed of 11 6 knots. Once it has
settled into the turn. the speed will be reduced
io about 6 to I knots. This is useful in a
Williamson Turn, allowing it in the interests of
time to be conducted at lull speed, yet knowing
ihai ihe turn alone will iake a great deal of the
speed off. Similarly many pilots ivill come up to
(SBMI
a single buoy moortng wilh one and
sometimes two 90" turns in the aDDroach. as
this $ill ensure rhar rhe speed i5 broughr dowrl
In short, ir i s a useful and very effective
method of speed reduction, wlth which to fall
back on. should it be necessarv and Drovided
there is sufficient sea room.
Standing turns and kicks ahead can only be

achieved by altering the balance b€tween
lateral reslstance and rudder force, reducing
the former to a minimum and th€n exploiting
the lalier io iis full potential. To do this to best
effeci it is first necessary to take the ship's
speed right down to the equivalent of dead
slow or less. With the speed thus reduced, the
flow of water along the ships side and
Lhereiore larerdl re)irrance is minim-rl,
Lo
rhu<;llowins u " to use rhe rLrdder rorce
jc
Ereare<r cffecr Ihis 6e.l
illustraied with an example of a standing turn
in figure 1 1. In this case the same ship of
26,OOOI dlsplacement is stopped in the water,
with th€ rudder at port 35. With slolv ahead the
ship commences the turn and has completed
90" of that lurn with an advance of only ftl!
cables or 1rl2 ship lengths. This is
considerabiy tighter than the normal
turn at constant rpm for slow ahead , which is
shown in figure 10 and is included for
comparison as a dotted line in ligure r r .
After 90'however, care should exercised as the

speed is now building up. As it does so, the
lateral resistance and rudder force are
returning to normal and the ship is rev€rting to
its normal. sieady state, turning circle. This
can be illustrated by over laying the two
turning clrcles in figures 1O and 11. Thc
degree of specd reduction prlor
to the turn is of critlcal importa[ce to tightcning
thc turn. Dead slow or less is the optimum and THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 29
Fig. I Slow Ahead Turns to Starboard
l66m tanker 'Morlone'
Loaded in deep water
Approach speed 5.8 knots
,e"
'
2O' lllheel ..
35' Wheel
180.
360"
270"
Transler in cables
-
Specimen only Ship Simulalor. Warsash Maritime Centre, Southampton 30 THE NAUTICAL
INSTITUTE
Fig. I Full Ahead llrrns to Starboard
Loaded in deep water
Approach speed 11.6 knots
,ra: _9
2O" Wheel ''....
35'Wheel
360'
270'
Transfer h cables
-
Specimen only Ship Simulator. Waisash Manttne Centre, Southampton THE
SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 3I
Fig. f O Slow Ahead flrrns to Port FiE. f I
Standing ftrn from Stopped

Draft
Fig. 1 2
in a Turn
handling characteristics and in alepth of ryater la les6 than twice

particular its turning ability. As a the draft. i.e. the under keel
rough gulde lt can be asBumeal clearance is l€ss lhan th€ draft
that a ship may experi€rcc itself. Serious cases of shallow
Bhallow water effect when the $'ater problems have however.
been experienced with larger of the ship and on the port bow. clearance is poor. there will be an
under water clearances. This now upsets the balance increased pressure aiong the port
especially at high speeds, bet$.een the ships forward side. which will also result in an
sometimes $.ilh dire momentum and longitudinal increased flow of water under the
consequencesl resistance {see ship. To avoid getting bogged
chapier 1) and pushes the pivot down in complex mathematics. it
To look more closely at the point back from P to PP. With the is sufficient to say that this results
problem we $.ill return to the combination of these two effects. in a low pressure under lhe ship,
example ship. which is fully ihe ship is rapidly losing tbe and therefore some degree
loaded and on even keel lvitb a rudder efficiency enjoyed in deep of sinkage. This may be more
drafi of l2 metres. This vessel is $.ater. evident with a large high sided
commencing a full srarbodrd lerry or a container ship,
rudder Iurn. $rrh a rhrFF merre For comparison. the deep and particularly if the ship is
unde-r keel shallow water turns are overlaicl proceeding at high speed and
clearance. Looking at the ship in figure 13, and clearlv illuslrate already experiencing a small list
(see the vast differences that exisl due to the turn.
from astern figure t2a) it can
betrveen the li{.o. This should be
be seen, as the stern of the ship exp€cted in mosl port approaches Thc aEount of sinkege, in thic
commences to sweep lo port. thal and harbours where, inevitably. a casc I metrer can be Burpriaing
water pressure is building up ship is either loaded or of a size anal shoulal lrot be forgotten
along lhe port side, abaft of the which maximises the commercial when turnirg at 3peed in ahallow
pivot point, due to the restriclion limits of that district. Elsewhere if water.
under the keel. this is encountered rvlthout
warning, perhaps during a critical These effects are further
In the first instance. the rudder turn, it is an experience never considered in chapter 7
force now has t o over'come a forgotten! Interaction.
much iaroer lateral resistance and
is therelor€ considerably less Finaily, it should be noted lhat a
efficient. Secondly, at the bow. ship manoeuvring through a large
because oI the reduced under turn and iniluenced by shallow
keel clearance- ivater ii.hich wouldwater may also experience an
normally pass under the ship is increase in draft due to list. THE SHIPFIANDLER'S
now restricted and there is a Returning again to figure 12, it GUIDE 33
buiLd up of pressure, both aheacl can be seen that i[ ihe under keel
FtE. f 2 Effect of Shallow Water on Turningl

Normal Pivot Point
Sinkage On
+?q
Lolv Pressure area
b)
NOTE
lm dralt increase
due to 3 degree list
Reduced Dfiit Angle
D= New Pivot Point
+++
+ ++
Reduced Turnlng
A build up of Lever
+
Lateral
Resistance +
+ less effective
+
Rudder Force

Fig. 13 ftrning in Shallow Water
Loaded at slow ahead
2(,' Rudder
r l6u"
r2345678
-
Specimen only Shlp Simulator. Warsash Marltlme Centre, Southampton THE
SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 35
Lateral Motion Fig. 14
Fig. 14(al
Fig. r4(bl
Whenever a kick ahead is used, provided the shlp

(ropped
was orcviousl\ or .rt d surlably low speed
lhe ship inrrratty enr"riinro lhe lrrsl stage ola
"landing rurn The pivot point is well forward and the
rudder force starts to alew ihe stern sidewaYs, in a
wiih rhe siaewavs drift .onLinuing Ior some rime
dlrection which i s characterised. on ships with a
bridge aft, by the drift Thrs i s particularly noticeable to an ob-server, in a
angle. This is the angle between the ships head position some way astern of the shiP
and the direction that the bridge is actually
The use of one or more kickB ahead wlll alDoEt
travelling in.
certaitrly incur thc penalty of lncreeslng headlf,ay.
Once the after body is movlng sideways. a large lullThe ship Day therefote necd e llttle stcrn power to
bodied ship. such as a bulk carrier. has €normous check It, beforc .nothcr klck ahead cen be uscd !
momentum which can easily overcome lateral
Lateral motion can also b€ a disadvantage when.
resistance to develop a large dift angle. ln
for example, a ship ls turning lnto the entrance of a
comparison. a small fine lined ship, such as a
(see
warship. might not maintain sideways channel llgure l4b). If power is used initially to
motion so readily and may. therefore, not be able to tighten the iurn and then. for whatever reason, is
d€velop such a large drift angl€. This has a taken off th€ ship can be left with a r€sidual lateral
considerable effect upon the final turning circle of motion that can be extremely insidious in its elf€ct.
tbe respective ships in so much that the former will If a beam wind or tide is working the ship in the
usually have a good turning circle' rvhereas the same direction, the effect can also be very rapid-
latter may have a relatively poor turning circle. Again. this will be mor€ evident on a large fult
bodi€d ship, where the seemingly inexplicable
If a ship has a targe drift angle it also has the ability
sideways drift, can result in an un€xpected and
ro
Eenerare signilicdnl sidewavs mo\emenl embarrassing situation.
or'laterel moaion . I hr' rs an rmportanr
It has often been noticed that those wlth little or no
characleristic and one which can be used io great
previous experience ol ship handling, sometimes
advantage when handling a ship
concentrate almost wholly on placing the bow
If the power is used to give a shtp a good but brief where it is required, 'feel
with no lor working a ship
kick ahead, and then taken off, the ship will be left
sideways. The abllliy to anticlpate and feel this
with a residual lateral motion which can, for
lateral motlon, whether ir be to ad\ anlage or
example be most useful when working in towards a dlsadvanlage. I5 an imporLanl faclor in seat of
(see pants' ship handling.
berth figure 14a).
On ldrgF full bodied ships rhis can be very ellF.lr\e

Fig. f4 Lateral Motion
a) to advanrage
b) to disad\rantage
D = Drift Angle
General
vcseel stopped Fig. 1 5
Vessel Making Headway

Fig. 16
CIIAPTER FIVE
EFFECT OF WINII
acting upon rh. combinarion ol lhe"e lwo areas and
THE sHrp HANDLER FAcEs MANY l'RoBLEMs but
is much ir;rlher for$ard rhan Is somelimes expeclecl
there is non€ more i..o"."'iu.*p.ti.n.ed dnd less
This now needs to be compared with the
"ef
undersrood Ihan Ihe F[[ecl "i'i'i"a. f roo often underwater nrolrle of Ihe ship and Ihe posilron of
rhe pir ol poinl lPl a s Ii'i"r'.a previou'tl wiih 'he shlp
when 'lowing down afrer d rrvFr Ddssdgc. whilct
enLering lo.ks and during berihrng it can ireut.- u inrlrall\ sropped i n ihe water this was seen to be
malor dilficulty. Wirh or wilhoul lugs rl Ine ".ofi"- close to amidships The centre oJ effort of tne wind
ft."""ot been thought out in advance or if it is ioi (W) and the pivot point (Pl are thus ourle.lose
logFlher and lherelore do not create a turning
""J"t"tooa how the shiF wiil behav€ in the wlnd' the qhip
innr."." upo"n lhe Alrhough Ir willvary slrghrly
oo.r"liot *t e.' our olconriol exrremely quickly
from 'i'io io tf,ip. generally speaking motl will ldv
Needless
ro sav, wirh n6 ILlg aqsislan'c it is wise lo gel stopped wirh rhe rvrnd ruqL-lorward orjLlsl abdft lhe
this€rea o l .i'ip it""af'tg,lgk'i tlrsr rrme and aleo beam'
appre'iare what rhe limits are, When rhe same ship is making headv'rdy the shlfl o
"thF
It rs freouenllv slated by many a masler that t I he pivoL poin t upse ls Ihe previou: ba lance a tta
ined whilsl .-,jo.a.'u" in liAure 16. Wrlh lhe wind on
largF funncl rishi afl, act' like a huge sdil- tirhilcL ihis
the beam ihe ".nlie ot efforr ;l the wind remarns
is I o some extint true. it simply does not explain
where it is but rhe "it"i-".1"t moves forward. This
everytning satisfactorily. lt 1s important to look at creates a substantial
the problem more closely. i..t.riis t.u"t between P and w and. depending on
Lookinc al figure l5 we have a shrp on even keFl' wind strengih. the ship witl develop a swing of the
stoDDcd de"ad In lhe water' It has the lamiliar all all bow into the wind.
"""i'--oa^tro" and we wlll assume. at this stage that This trend is compounded by the fact that at lower
iir. -i"Ji" i."entv on the beam Whilst the
,o""ot ift. prvor poinl chifts even lurther forward
large ar€a of r..o.rtttr,"tut"'ut,d lunnel offer a lhereby i-".ovi"e rhc wind s turning lever and elle'l Ii
conslderable cros" seition 'o rhe wind. II is also is a i.d..,,"0i. facl oI life whcn approdching a berLh
necessarv Io lake into d'counl rhe drea ol freFboard wrLh lhe *i-nd rrpon ot abafl the beam. rhal a' sPeed
lrom forward oI lhe bridge lo lhe bow-'
is reou'eq rne effect;f the wlnd gets progressively
ii" " VlcC this could be an area as long as 25o x lo
greater and requires considerable correctlve action
metres. The centre of effort of the wlnd (Wl is thus

-
FiE. 15 Effect of Wind Ship Stopped
f-*\ o$r
PO
I
Negltgible Turnlng Lever
Wlnd on the Port Beam
-
16Om Product Tbnker Loaded and on Even Keel THE SHIPTIANDLERS
GUIDE 39
-il_
1v *"'-' aw
PO
4t
|H|'--1_1+
Lever
Turning n
1 lwlnd
-
l7 Effect of [rind with Sternway
r.ig.
I
l r.(|-t]-
*r"O
Turning
Lever
fr
VeEEel Making Sternway

Fig. 1 7
ftim and
Ileadway
Fig. 1a{aJ
Ilim ard
Sternway
Fig. 18(b)
When. however, approaching a berth or a buoy with

the wind dead ahead with the ship on an even keel,
the approach should be much easier to control.
Even at very low speeds the ship is stable and wlll
naturally wish to stay with the wind ahead until
stopped. wind.
The effect of the wind on a ship maklng sternway is When berthing with strong cross winds, or
generally more complex and iess predictable. In attempting to stop and hold in a narrow
part this is due to the addltlonal complication of channel. it is best to plan
transverse thrust when associated with single
(see
screw ships. Remalning with the same ship
figure l7). we have already seen that with sternway
the pivot point moves aft to a position
r/a
approximately L lrorn the stern. Assuming that
(W)
the cenire of effort remains in the same
position, with the wind still on the beam, the shift of
pivot point (P) has now created a toially diff€rent
(trtP).
turning lever This will now encourage the
bow to fall off the wind when the ship is backing, or
put another way. the stern seeks the wind.
Som€ caution is necessary. however. as the turning

lever can be quite small and the effect
disappointlng. particularly on even keel. In such
seek the wind,
cases the stern may only partially
wlth the ship making sternway 'flopped'across
the
wind. This sltuatlon is not helped by ihe centre of
effort (W) moving aft as the wind comes round onto

the quarter. This in turn tending to reduce the
magnitude of the turning lever WP.
The other complicating iactor is transverse thrust, Ii

the wind is on the port beam, there is every
likelihood that transverse thrust and effect of wind
will combine and indeed take the siern smartly into
ihe wind. If, however,
the wlnd is on the starboard beam. it can be seen
that transverse thrust and effect of wind oDDos€
each other. Whr.h force wins rhe da) is rherefore
vert muL h dependenr upon wind strength versus
stern power, unless you know the ship
exceptionally well. there may be no guarantee as to
which way the stern will swing when backing.
So far we have only considered a ship on even

keel. A large trim by the stern may change the
ship's handling characteristics qulte substantially.
Figure 18a shows the same ship, but this time ln
ballast and irimmed by the stern. The increase in
freeboard forward has moved W forward and very
close to P. With the turning lever thus reduced the
shlp is not so inclined to run up lnto the wind with
headvvay, preferring instead to fall off, or lay across
the wind. Because the ship is difficult to keep head
to wind, some pilotage districts will not accept a
shlp that has an excessive trim by the stern.
particularly with regards SBM operallons.
The performance when backing is also serlously

altered. With the wind on th€ beam and W well
forward. the turning lever WP is consequently
(see
hcreased figure l8b). Once ihe ship is stopped
and particularly when backing, the bow \ld]l
THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 4I
immediately want to fall off the wind, often with
great rapldity. while the stern quickly seeks the
Fig. f 8 Effect
of Wind wtth
Trim
a) with headwaY
5l
l l E_/ \u* rry_
ow
.pO
20 40 60 ao rOO t2O l4O 160 m
}+l weak Turning Lever
I I wlnd
b) with sternway
-lq ry+
wa
il
)*
-+
r< r--f l-
Sirong Turning Lever
42 THE NAUTICA' INSTITUTE
Calculations
hinder ship
handling. Not for
nothlng ls lt often
referred to as a
"poor
man's tug!"
It is very useful to
have a quantitative
understanding of
the actual force
that a ship expe
ences whilst
influ€nced by the
wind. This may be
of conslderable
benefit to pilots
wh€n
endeavouring to
estimate the wind
limitations of a
particular class of
ship. establishing
the size of tugs for
a district and so
forth. When
confronted by the
harbour authorities
or charterers it is
perhaps better, in
the interests of
professionalism, to
be armed with
concrete facts
rather than simply

"we
say don't thtnk
lt can be done".
Worse, is to be
forced to attempt a
movement wlth
unacceptable
risks.
Whilst complicated
formula€ do exist.
for calculating the
force of wind upon
a ship, it would be
more practical to
have at hand a
relatively slmple
method of
achieving a
working figure.
The first
requirement is to
obtain the best
available
estlmatlon of the
area of the shiD
Dresented to Lhe
wlnd ln square
well ahead as such a ship can prove very difficult merres. if iL were on the beam, This can be as
to hold in position. However. as Iong as we have simple as ,..,,.
some prior knowledge as to how the ship will react,
under th€ influence of the wind, lt can be turned to Lcngth over.all (m) x mat. frocboard (D) will glve an
advantage and readily employed to aid rather than .pproximation of th€ total windege eree (mt).
2
An approximate wind force in tonnes per I.OOO then
m2 can then be calculated uslngl
If V = Wind Spceal (metroa/record)
= ltrlnd speed lKnotal
Force (tonner) pe. v't a

IOOO Dz =
mean larg€ incr€as€s in wind strength, especlally ln
stronger winds. wh€n gusting can place an enormous
strain
on the ship.
Using the above formulae, this is illustrated

Examples lsee figure l9l
(tonnes)
Fig. t9, 20 and 2 1 with the graphs ofwind force ov€r a wide range of
wind speeds (knots) for a 60.000 dwt tanker and a large

197m car carrier.
Shtps tn the category of the 60.000 dwt tanker may have a

main engine capacity of around l5.O0O shp at sea speed.
This is equivalent to about 150 tonnes force. It is broken
down to give a rough approximatlon for dead slow to
manoeuvrlng full speed ln flgure 20.
Klcks ahead with full rudder wlll. at best. b e somewhere ln

the region of 45oo o[ lhese fjgures.
t
It should be noted that the wind force varies as the squar€
of the wind speed. Small increases in wind speed can
Ftg. f 9 Graph of Wind Forces
roo
90
a5
ao
75
70
65
TANKER
60 55 50 45 40 35 3 0 2 5
20 1 5 l 0
60,000 dwt
Loaded
5
CAR CARRIDR 197
metres
20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Wind Speed in Knots
'THE
44 NAUTICAL INSTITUTE
-
FiE. 2() Conparlson of Forceo I Tanker Tanker
60,00O dwt
Maln Engine 15,000 shp 26 tonnes
Full Ahead 150 tonn€s bollard pull
Krcks Ahead approx. 45% of ahead power
ft\ 7
Wind 30 knots k- ,----f
Full Ahead 69 tonne8 HalfAhead 50 tonn€s
SlowAhead 33 tonnes D€ad Slow Ah€ad I 7
toffres
c
L7tonnes
':l
'ii:.
26 tonnes
=
FUI Astern ai 60% of tull poq'€r 9000 shp
c
Transverse Thrust is approx. l0% of stem povter
=
At Full Astern = 90O shp 9 tomes
An Est[nation of Rudder Force

tonnes
Dxample only, All figures approximate.
-
Fig. 2f Gomparison of Forces 2 Car Carier (when
attemptlng to thrust sideway9)
Car Carrier 197m
Main Engine lo.ooo shp 13 tonnes

FulI Ahead IOO tonnes bollard pull Kicks
Ahead approx. 45% of anead porver
Wind 25 knots
An Eslimation of Rudder Force
Full Ahead
HalfAnead
22 tonnes
Dead Slow Ah€ad I I tonnes 1I tonnes
LJ
55 tonnes
=
of full power 6000
SHP
Transverse Thrust is At
Full Astern
apprcx. 10% ol stern
=
power 600 shp = 6
tonnes
Full Astern at 60 %
13 tonnes tonnes c
It
/\
55 tonnes
Wind 25 knots
Example only. All figures approximate

SuDaary
Slmllarly, if we assume stern power to be a

llttle over half that of ahead poqrer, we can
compile an approxlmate list of the range of
stern po\rers.
Tre[ryarre thrurt Eay b€ no tnorc thel lO% of
thcse llgurcs.
A slmilar exerclse is outlined in figure 2l for the

car carrier vdth a 10,0oo shp main engine.
Thls type of shtp may also be fttted with a bow
thruster, oi 1,0O0 kW {1341 shp or l3 tonnes)
for example, and it is interesting
to compare the comblned efforts of the maln
engine and the bow thruster when
endeavourlng to hold the shlp against a beam
wind.
By compadng the wind force at its worse, i.e.

on the beam. wlth the forces available to the
ship handler, including tugs, several important
polnts come to llght ......
.
Elcks ahead slth full povar ar€ vGt'' effectlvG
dgahrt e wida ra,rgc of wlnd ttrcrettha.
.
Elcke ahc.d of daaal 3lo{r and .los wlll bG
h.ffectlve et c€rtaln wlnd attength. eld EotG
powcf E|tat be uacal.
.
Thc r€a&[.ss of tralsvGttc thrltt !r ! fotca.
ThG llkely wlnd strcnllth at whtoh th.

trs|tayarac thruat stll bG ov€tcormG by thc
wlld.
ThG ltmttr of tb€ box thruiter ln bcao vlDdt.

.
Thc rlzc of tugr rcquheal lor th.t clo6a of thlp,
or ltr whal llmltr wlth the operatloral tugs ln a
speclllc port.
This informatlon is ofcourse extremely baslc,

refenlng in the maln to a ship whlch l3 lnltlally
stopped 1n the water, on even ke€l and with a
beam wlnd. Shlps like passenger vessels with
'rounded'
hlgh superstructures genetate
conslderable aerodynamic llft in a wind whlch
can change the balance of forces. It ls,
nevertheless, surprisingly accurate to use
the'slab sided'effect, as trials have shown, and
more than adequate for practical purposes.

nlrl
rtrr
Thc vlew aft from a tug Ehowing the towing airangcmentB dlrectly froE e
winch
4A THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

General
Local Knowtedge The Wlndlass
Safety Parameters
CHAPTER SIX
DREDGING ANCHORS
IN THE coAsfAL lRADns or EuRopE small ships
frequently resort to dredging anchors when
berthing. as an aid in confined areas, often in
difficult tidal and wind conditions. On larger
tonnage, with the exception of a ]imited number of
pilotage districts, or in cases of emergencies. it is
an art which over the last two of three decad€s has
declined in usage. This may be for fear of
damaging the anchor equlpment. on the generally
larger ships which are common today Such
reservations are unnecessary if the equipment is
used correctly and within th€ operational limitations
of the anchor, cable and windlass. Few
opportunities exist on board ship to practice
specific areas of ship handling and ihis is also a
difficult aspect of ship handling to simulate in
electronic simulators, It is on the other hand. an
area in which manned models excel. olfering every
opportunity
for experimentation and practice.
It goes without saying that the type of sea bed is of

paramount importance io dredging, soft mud being
the most obvious choice. The bottom must also b€
fr€e of obstructions such as power lines, pipes and
rock, therefore good local knowledge is €ssential.
As the anchors normally
dredge just inside ihe lines of the ship. there must
also be adequate under keel clearance to avoid
damaging the hull. This is also very much a
qu€stion of local knowledge and may vary
considerably from one district to anoth€r. It is never
the less interesting to note, that in one district.
ships of up to 12O.O0O dwt frequently dredge two
anchors,
sometimes on flat rock. to assist control when
berthing without tugs. Damaging an anchor or
windlass far outweighs th€ risk oI serious damage
to ship or quay!
Research has shown that whilst the anchors and

the cable are relatlvely reliable, the windlass is not.
This is partly due to ihe disproportionate size of a
windlass on the much larger ship oftoday. A
10O0o/o increase in tonnage has only been
matched with a 250% increase in the size of
anchor gear. There has been some evidence to
suggest that this weakness is likely to exist in ships
over 50.000 dwt. In addition it should be
remembered that the kinetic enerEv
.reared by a ship in excess of 5O.OO0 dwr. moving
over lfr; ground in any direction. at more than say
0.3 knoi, is enormous. By comparison. windlasses
may only be capable of lifting a small minimum
design weight, as specified by the classification
societies. This is the weiSht of the anchor and lour
shacnlF5 olcablc. hanging deadln rhe waler and
therefore nothing in comparison to the full weight of
the ship. If all of this energy is imparted into the
anchor it has to go somewhere and it is usually to THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 49
the windlass. The dlssipation of such energy oft€n
b€ing seen as brake or g€ar failure!
The source material for this chaDter is based uoon

exlensive research b] rhe classil'ca,ion socieries. Ir
is f;om lhis that we can establish the safety
parameters within which to operate when dredging
anchors.
Letting Go
Dredging Two Anchora

Fig.22
.
The amount of cable in the waier should not
exceed lrl2 s depth of water lsomP cour'es quote 2

x depthl. If t-hls figure is exceeded th€ anchor is
likely to dig in and commence holding walk our Ihe anchors
. in'siu, ru'it.t rhin ler'Lh.m go on lhc brake This
The desilin <peFd ola wrndlass glp\y in gear is
affords ini"lLi -".r' more control-or"r the operarion
aboul Jo leel ;inure trhrch ic approximalely 3 guarding aoainsr lhe crew stre\\rng up \ht btake
shrp speed (he
minules a shackle. This ls eqLral ro a \trith w(o$g aiount of cable out, or worse still.
9'O:q k"."1: over thc ground' ias<uming lhe lrK Ietting th€ cabl€ run .-"V. i"."r"C the pilot with l2
snacKle or r c fathoms / 90 feet / 27 2rn) shackles out on both anchorsl
. Dredqinliis remarkably effective at etiminating the
The windlass is only designed to lift the dead
weight of the anchor and four shackles' two malor oriblEms that occur when berthing
without tugs: firsilv control of heading and secondly
lf, rherelore. lhe amount ol cable In ihe waler doec control over speed The;ffecl of dredAing ctn be
not ixceed ltl2 x depth. we have a safety factor
seen in figure 22 Theshlpis conaucLing a dreO"ge
\r'hich eudrds dqainsl -peeds in excesc of O 3 knol'
wir n rwo anchors worklng inro a porl iia" t.r'ni"e
becaLlse the inchors ivill nor drg in and hold. buL po.iiron By dredging the rwo anchors the
drag {some companres (he
use 0.5 knots) Drvor poinl is broughr righr forward belwecn
When the amount of cable exceeds 1'l' x depth the lwo ioi"arii".". This gi;es thi ship a much lmproved
sDeed musr be below o 3 knors especially if Ihe
and eicett.nr sr"ering" lever. The small weighl ol rhe
g.rt
wtndlass ii in ot rhe brake is screwed up The lwo anchors. draggrng along on lhe sea bed is also
anchor will mosl , "ti.T"fu ais rn and artempl lo hold
lhe lull weight of lhe snrp. surprisingl} ellecrive rn cbntiolltng rhe speed ot the
ship Even whilsl mainialnlng dead sloi revolutions.

Each shtpPing coDpany has itt own dpecific
the ship may gradually siow aown"and stop This in
etandtag ordcrl fo; anchoring large shlps snd the3c
should 5e adhered to at all tim€s' turn ensures that the plvot o.-in, *rnuin. folward and
On smallcr.hrps. when prlols are purrrng out rhal lateral resislance which ivo'-,ta orfrer"i.e
oppose turnlng ablliLy ls also kepl lo$ throughout.
anchor" lor dredqing purposes ir i( cusiomarv lo lel
The net result is an ability to keep the speed down'
-on
go wr(n rnr anchor the brake On large shlps but at the same time use main power more
however' wlln ,r.rtno*" "qr.,ip*."t and cre$'s of mixed efficiently' when co"tioiritrg ft.uar"g with kicks
ahead. The bow can virtually
nationality and "ro"Oifitv. ii may be appropriate ro
Fig.
22
Drcdgingi Turo Anchors
NOTE
a) Speed MUST be-low
b) MAXIMUM Cable Dept! x 2
c) Underkeel clea.rance must be

at least 20% of Dardmum
loaded draft
Speed remains lovt
P = Ptvot Polnt between

two anchors [T)
--:,iii:
l5um
THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 5I
F'ig. 23
Dredgiing One Anchor
h
tl
=
P Pivot Point
=
Pf Back Spdng Effect
Excellent tutning lever

Thls model ,howB wcll the .nchoritrg arrangomcnta which are
u6ed to demon3trate ahedglag technlquet
be driven on the anchors. to the desired position and. more to the

point. ii will remain there. At the same time. the old enemy. speed, is
kept well under controll
Some masters may express concern, as to whether the two

anchors b€ing dredged wili foul each other, while the ship is turning.
The answer to this is no, because lf the ratio ofcable to d€pth ofwater
is conect. one anchor slmply cannot reach the cable of the other.
They should also be easy to recover once alongside,
experience of dredging one anchor than two. the qriestlon
Dredglng Onc is frequently asked,
'Why
dredge two anchors?". The
Anchor answer is relatively simple, because dredging one anchor
Fig.23 only achieves 50% of the effect. which could otherwise be
gained by dredging two anchors. lt is not
a
Generally speaking, because pilots and masters have mor€
THE SHPHANDLER'S GUIDE 53
Important Points when DrcdEiing
posslbie to use anything llke the sam€ amount of power

aor positioning the bow and the speed is nowhere near as
easy to contlol,
By usrnq one anchor. parri.ularly on large beamed shiDs. rt

io the hull. that the ship's under keel clearance should be at
should bF remembered (hal Ihe pivot polnt i s mo;ed out to
least 20% of that vessels maxlmum loaded draft.
(see
the ship's side figure 23) This creat€s an effective
.
turning moment PT in much the sam€ manner Do not lot the shtP stoP too early. This lets the anchor:
as a back spring, ;hich can qulte clearly be felt and needs
constani count;r helm to correct. This can be irritating if a flukes drop and dtg in and it then takes substantial power
straight line approach is desired On the other hand. if a to get the ship underway again.
Iarge turn in confined waters, is necessary prlor t o
.
ber;hinq. then this tendency can obviously be utilised and Do not lct the €p€cal build up. This pushes the Divot Doint
turned io eredL advanrage. wjth lhe \rngle anchor being back to its normal position. bonsequently the anchors
ceas€ to be effective and ate of no rise-
viFwed elliclively a. a back spring. The validily of rhis
should be considered when deciding whether to deploy one .
ot two ancnors, Do not cxceed 11/z r dePth. Itispossible howev€r'
especially on small ships, to'feel'the anchors and adjust the
There is a very fine line between the succ€ss or failure of a amount of cable accordingty.
dredging operation. The followtng points ar€ crucial in
ord€r to achieve the desired resultsi- .
Keop the wctght on the aacho.t. Backlng the ship will take
. the weight off the cables and they become ineffective.
lllainteh the normel tlow speed of epproach prior to lettlng
go, or walking out' thc anchors. iI the ship is stopped. the . Avoid rudhtng thc
anchors will dig ln and it is then difficult to get underway oPeration, particularly swinging, on
pentle
out of large ships. There should only be a and steady
agaln. The ship may also drift badly Position
strain on the cable[s)i the iratroeuvre being slow but very
. effective
Welk the enchord out aa Gerly as podslble. This €ives
sufficient time to get th€ feel of the ship before ihe trerth is .
Once h podltion on the berth. slack back the cables as the
r€ached. It is recommended i f practicabl€, in order to avoid
underwater damage tension in them is sufficient to pull the shlp back.
Introduction
Bank Effect FIg. 24 a\d 25
Squat
Fig.26
THE
!_rLM'INrERAcrroN'(see
referencesl which to date
has probably been seen
by thousands of
sealarers, is without
doubt extremely good
value. Despite its age the
content is sti1l good and
very rel€vant. This is
another area where
manned model training
excels in giving officers
every opportunity to take
ihe shlp models in close
to a bank, or another
model, at va ousspeeds
and experience the
elfects of interaction for
real. The models are very
strong. having survived
some spectacular
colllslons and groundings
over the years, and as
such this is the best way
to gain invaluable
experience, better than
one day. too late on a
real shipl
When a ship is making

headway. a positive
pressure area builds up
lorward of the pivot point,
whilst aft of the pivot
poini the flow of water
down the ships side
creates a low pressure
(see
area figure 24). This
area extends out Irom the
ship and in de€p, open
water. clear oI other
traffic, is not a problem.
If however the ship

commences to close a
vertlcal obstructlon, such
as a shoal or canal bank,
the area experiences
some degre€ of
restriction and the ship
will be influenc€d by the
resultant forces whlch
bulld up. It is olten
thought that the positive
pressure at the bow is
the main problem.
probably because of the
tendency to relate most
channel work to the bow
and heading. Looktng at
figure 25, it can be seen
that whilst the pressure at
CTIAPTTR SEVEN the bow is important. it is only worklng on a short
turning
INTERACTION lever forward ofthe pivot point, The low pressure or
suction area is. on the other hand, working well aft
of the pivot point and consequently is a very strong
force.
As a result of these two forces which hav€

developed. the stern of the ship is likely to be
sucked into the bank. It can be very difficult to
break out of its hold, the ship requiring constant
corrective rudder and power, sometimes hard over.
in order to control heading.
Excesdive speed BuBt bc avoidoal as, yet again, it

'balrk
ls a crucial fector ln creatiag a effect'
probloE, beceuce the magnitude of the forcca
varled wlth the cquare of thc 6hipa Bpeed or weter
flow.
So far we have only considered a vertical

obstruction in the viciniiy of the ship. Should it also
be running in shallow water. wlth a depth of lesr
thaa twice thc alraft, an additional obstruction
exlsts whlch can serlously
compound ihe problem. This is illustrated in figure
26 where the ship is running on an even keel with
a small under ke€i clearance. Therefore water
which would normally pass under Ihe shlp rs
ce\erely
restrrcled,
This results in two things. Flrstly, the water being

forced under the bow at a higher speed than
normal creates a low pressure and loss of
(see
buoyancy figure 26a1. Secondly. the buildup
olwater ah€ad ofthe ship increases

Flg. 24 Pressure Zones (simplified)
Low pressure area
Low pressure area
Fig. 25 Bank Effect
Suction area High pressure area 56 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE
Fig. 26 Effect of lfin and Squat

80
l,o$r' preaeure O 20 40 60 IOO l2om f
----l----l----l-----t-----t----+-----F----t-----f--1----.1-----l
Normal steerlng l€v€r
Excesslve
Iongltudrnal reslstance
c)
Rapid sh€€r
may develop
O 20 40 60 aom #
Reduced steering lever
THE SHIPTIANDLER'S GUIDE 57
Filg. 27 Bank
Conflguration
a) steep sided banks
tow
{
-rl I I
-T'
b)
shallow shelving banks
+- -- -,''="'
Shallow Water Fig. 27(al and (bl

reported of large
shlps running in
shallow water and
expefiencing bow
sinkage of up to 2
metresl
The ship s wave

system, catching a
shlp up as it slows in
shallow water, may
also affect trim for a
short tlme and
enhance sinkage at
the bow.
ln addition to the
possibility
ofgrounding forward
there also exists the
possibillty of losing
control and sheering
violently out of a
channel. If the
helmsman allows a
small swing to
develop, longitudinal
pressure forc€s will
be brought round
onto the exposed
bow {see figur€ 26c)
and this wlll ln turn
encourage a violent
swing in the same
directlon as the
helm. Count€r helm
to correct the swing
may bc sluggish
because. ds we
have seen, the
sreering
lever is r€duced.
Once the ship does
respond. it may now
sheer violently the
other way. A chain
reaction then sets in,
with the ship
sheering badly from
one side to the other
and failing to
respond comectly to
the helm. The effect
can be extremely
rapid. with the ship
out of the channel
and aground in just a
few minutes.
Elceaalvc Bpecd ia
thc maln contributirg
factor utrd€r rrch
circumstence and
redlced cpecds are
longitudinal resistance and pushes the plvot point eaaentlel to evold

back liom P to PP and the steering lever is reduced yiolotrt
such forces bullding up.
{see figure 26b). The shlp will now squat by the
bow'which in turn makes the problem even worse. Trim is also important and in some dlstricts th€
Several cases have been pilotage authority may refuse to handle certah
ships iI they are trimmed by the head and may
even request a small trim by the stern. The latter
does, ln any case. improve the steedng lever and
therefore the handling of a ship. It may also be
intended as an allowance for squat by the bow and
is very much a decision based upon local
knowledge and experience.
It should. however, be noted that when a ship is

trimmed by the stern it is posslble. with propeller
action, for the loss of buoyancy due to low pressure
under the hull. to accentuate the stern trim. It
'surorised' (har
manv observers to find our a la rge
passenger \ eisel I ravelling at speed ln shallow
water grounded at the stern.
It would be wrong to lmply that bank effect is only

experienced within the domain of canals and rlvers
with steep sided banks. as illustrated ln figure 27a.
To a ship running in shallow water, with adjacent
but gently shelving mud or sand banks, such as low
lying estuarial areas. figure 27b, the effect can be
far more insidious and violent.
There are many cases, in the archives of casualty

investigation, where groundings and collisions have
occurred ln such areas, due to drastic Ioss of
control, whllst the ship was under the combined
influence ofboth shallow water and bank €ff€ct.
One noticeable feature in some of these casualtles

ls the tendency of the master immediately to
reduce revolutions. or even stop the engine. when
faced with the
THE SHIPHANDLER'S CUIDE 59

Ship to Ship Interaction
Paeeirg
Phase I
Fig.28
Phase 2
Fig.29
Phase 3
Fig.30
ship sheering the wrong way and apparently lailing

to respond to progr€ssively larger angles of helm.
Hard over rudder and a healthy kick ahead are
essential to regaining
These are of course generalities and every event is As Lhe two bows approach each other, the
dictated by its own unique sel of circumstances combined bow pressure zones between them will
build up and encourage the r€spective bows to turn
It is clcar that Eany shlpa work daily in shallow away from each other. Helm may be required to
weter without any problems whatsoever. JuBt check the swing.
occasionally, however, all the ingrcdlente of Fhallow
weter, bank effect, €xcesslge speed and poor trim With the t$.o shlps nearly abeam of each othei:, a
coDe together ard comblne in an indldloirc manrrcr combined lo$. pressure. or suction area exists
to create another casualty. between lhem and, iI the vessels are loo close
together, there is every likelihood of them being
It is clear thus far that a great deal of caution needs sucked together in a collision- Literallyl
to b€ shown when operating in narrow and shallow
waters It almost goes without saying that extr€me At this stage the bow of €ach ship will also begln to
care is needed, if. intentionally or otherwise. smell the low pressure area astern of the other. It is
another ship is brought into this dangerous usual to feel this turning in towards the other ship
scenario, with involvement ln an overtaking or as you pass and it is helpful because it ls also back
passing situation. lt is essential to be aware of the towards the centre of the channel.
forces
Having previously turned in towards the centr€ of
the channel. the opposiie now occurs. As the two
ln the interests of both simpllclty and clarity the sterns pass each other, they are drawn together by
sequence of events during a m€etlng end on' the low pressure area between them and this has a
manoeuvre are lllustrated wlth three diagrams. tendency to realign the ships wlth the channel.
It is important at thls stage, ivhen meeting another These effects are not always very noticeable.
ship, not to vrork over to the starboard side of the because the ships often pass through the pressure
chann€l too early or too far. If the ship gets too zones fairly quickly, even at relatively slow sPeeds.
close to a shoal or bank it can experience bank The effecis however should ahvays be anticipated
effect and unexpectedly sheer across the path of and used correctly io advantage. corrective helm
the approaching ship with appalling being applied when necessary.

-
Fig.28 Passing Phase I
J
2. Both ship's bows may

be pushed apart
//
1. Mafrtalning a centre of channel approach positlon
THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 6T

-
Fig. 29 Passin$ Phase 2 D
62 THE NAUTICAI
+ INSTITUTE
+
T
+
Assists boih ships

io regain channel centre
-
Fig. SO Passing Phase I
/i
Assists botl ships
to steady in channel centre

63
THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE

Ovcrtaking
Phas€ 1
Fig. 3 r
Phase 3
Figure 33
Phase 2
Fig.32
The ship to be
overtaken
should not
move ov€r to
the starboard
side of the
channel
without first
considerlng
th€
consequences
of bank effect
and the
danger of
shearlng
across the
path of the
ov€rtaking
vessel. Thls
particularly
applies to
smaller
vessels, which
will easily be
influenced by
a larger ship.
As ship A
approaches
the stern of
ship B its bow
pressure zone
wlll put
pressure on
the rudder of
ship B causing
lt to shear
across the
path of the
overtaking
vessel.
The overtaklng
ship A will also
feel the low
pressure area
astern of B
and exhibit a
tendency to
turn in towards
th€ stern of the
other shiP.
Shlp B may
expedence an
increase in
speed, as it is
virtually
pushed along
by the
pr€ssure zone
of the
overtaking
ship.
'overtaking' Thc6€ con be very powerful forces, eld lt noy

Similarly for the sake of clarity, the
requirc full rudder ard poscr to couateract theDt
operation is also dlscussed with just three
With the two ships abeam of each other, a powerful
illustrations.
pressure zone exists between their bows and a low
pressure area between their sterns. Thes€
comblne to produce a strong turning lever which is As the overtaking ship passes the other vessel.
trying to swlng the bows away from each other. ship B. may be influenced by the effects of two
Thls is a powerful force and vlgorous correctlve powerful forces. Firs y on one side, bank eff€ct and
measures may again be needed. secondly, on the other slde, th€ low pressure ar€a
of the passing vessel. This can comblne as a very
In addition to the turning forces, th€re is also an strong turning force and require bold correctlve
underlying suctlon area between the tv/o shlps action.
which will, lf they are allowed to g€t too close, draw
th€n inexorably alongside of each other. If this The rudder of ship A may be adversely eff€cted
does happen. shlp B is normally dragged along with positive pressure, as it passes through the
wtth shlp A and unless they both slow down pressure zone around the bow of the overtaken
together, to relax the suction area between them, it shlp B, partlcularly if that ship is large. This can
is especialty difficult to g€t the two ships apart cause ship A ship to turn unexpectedly across the
again. path of the overtaken ship.
At this stage shtp B may revert to lts orlglnal As ship B is drawn towards the suctlon area of the
propeller speed and appear to slov/ down in passing shlp, it may experlence a noticeable
relatlon to the other vessel. increase ln sp€ed.
FiE.
31
-
Overtaking Phase I
-Ll
r -l
ll
Ship B wlll expedence

an lncrease ln speed
THE SHIPIIANDLER'S GUIDE 65

FiE. 32
-
Overtakin$
Phase 2
Strong tu+ing force

___i
INSTITUTE
7i:,
...i.ti
iN. '\i.
66 THE NAUTICAL
-
Fig. AS Overtaking
Phase I Strong
turntrg force
NB.
Ship B wtll increase speed
THE SHIPTIANDLERS GUIDE 67

General pointg Summary
The following
general points
.
should be noted ,'
Drior to the
manoeuvre each
in
shiP remainB
the '.entre
of the
chennel for a long
a3 posaible Failure to do so could expose either ship to bank €ffect, Ieading to a sheer across the
path oI the oncoming ship. or grounding
.
sDeed dho[lal bc low to reduce thc intetactive f;rcea. Ther. ie, lhen prenly ol rcserve power lor the
use of corrective kicks ahead .
. _duiing
if the 3htP3 pa3s from deep to dhallow water at anv time the manoeuvr€, the forces will
inirease drastic;lly and extreme caution should be exercised.
.
thc smaller of two shlPB anal tugs' are likely to be the most seriously affectcal Large ships should be
aware of this and adjust their sp€ed accordingly
.
lipure" 28 lhrough J3 illusrrale IhF anrrcipaled sfieers that miy develop throughout each manoeuvre
and the maximum corrective helm that may be requlred, in this case 35''
.
the engines should be brought to dead slow ahead for the'manoeuvre particularly turbine or fixed
oiLch propeller "hips. .o Lhal power i' in"lanLly ivaltabte io conrrol Lhe chlp wrlh kir ks ahead-
.
on .ompletion ol the manoeuvre edch <hrp should ..oa,n rhe.enlre of rhe channel as quichly a s
poisible to avoid any furtherance of bank effect
.
it should be appreciated that pilots who are engaged in canal work all the time become very
specialised in this area and iheir advice should always be sought when in doubt
It should be stressed that in thes€ notes. as with all lhe Dreceding chdplers. etery ellorr has been
made to strike r tatance le_ir.een uhaL i" considcred essenlial lheoreiical content and practical
application The notes were oiginally intended to be supplementary to manned model work which
'hands
support and put into practice much of the content by giving indivlduals, follow up on practical
experience

tl
'r,
I
r ' ,t-'
,t
'f^.
t.
tt -
Shlps and tugB opcratinal ln conflnGd watera havG to bG aware of th€ offcct.
ol Interectlon

General
The effeqt of a tlde upon a shiP'E handling

charactesittica
Fip.34
Worklng in a Tlde
CHAPTER TIGIIT
EFFECT OF' TIDE

pERsoNNEL drift of Lhe shrp wilh iugs. an"hors. or moorings. ir
To rHosE that have been able to gain can be handled in much same wav as normal wllh
experience tn handlrnP a ship wirhin a ridal disirici ll (see
may seem surprising ihar a hlgh proporlion ol Ihose no parlicular advcr\e effects figure 34).
less experienccd The imDortant difference lies in the fact that the
officers olten express concern as to how a tide or area of war"r A B C D. lhal encompa.se. a vessel s
current will affect th€ handling characteristlcs of a
ship Whilst on the one hand it is possible to offer manoeuvre durinp dnv specrri. perlod ol lrme ls
easy explanations concerning the effect of the iide,
it is on the other hand difficult, b-ecause the tidal moving en mas\e roeeth'er $ith the ship, (hroughour
rhe duration of that -inoeuute. During tbis period
flow ln and around jetties and waterways can be although the handling of the ship is not actually
extremely complex This is therefore a matter oa affected the ship is, relative-to any fixed obiect such
intlmate local knowledge and only an experienced as a buoy or jetty being camied away from thd
startinp Dosition of the intended movement- This
senior pllot can offer advice concerning the can be ouile a Eiqe drslance. ll for exdmple it takes l
handling of a ship in such sp€cific locations 5 mlnures lo turn a-ship short round 'n a 2 knor rlde
It should atso be borne in mind that a mass of water Lhe ship will hdve lravelled /r a mile over the ground
on the move is several hundred times denser than and aown sLream, durine the
air and thus bv comparison is capable of generating cour(e of (har
movemenl.
forces of enormous mapnitude. In vlew oI this, any
attempt at simolilvinE thicomplicaLed lormulae lr is lmporrant. lherefore. thar the shiphandler
whi.h are used t o caliulaie iidal torce; I\ Lrnwise. as as\esses rhe tidal strength and direclion with somc
cdre. Drior to rhe commen.emenl of any
iL can ea\rly resulr l n misleadlnE and polenirally
manoeuvre. in order 1 o ascerLain il Ihere Is
dangerous under esiimations. cufficienr Ilme and space to complete
ol
lor a morF deLaii"d analysis +e.ilic ridal problems
and the forces involved lt may be necessary to seek With the obvious exception ol difficult and compl€x
the advice oi specrallsLs in rhe lield of hydrod) tidal situatlons. when the tlde flows across a berth
namics. for exampl€, it may often be found that the tide can
The understandable belief that the tide will have an be used
adverse effe(r upon rhe handling characlerisrics of
a ship r: to some exlenr a misconceplion Provided a .
lEProve slow sPGeal control.
shlp is clear of anv external features whtch might
obstruct the tide, such as sliallow water, n€arby .
cfeate leteral motion.
shoals or man made structures.
and no attempt is being made to restrict the tidal

Fig. S4 Effect of Tide upon Ship Handling
r:,;_-***:--- .....-..:.t-.::._:._.: j::: j:
j_r *_,
3
THE SHIPTIANDLER'S GUIDE 7I

With the tide from ahead
Fig.35(al
With the tlde from Fig.35(bt
Working across a tlde Fig.35(cl & (d)
By using low revolutions or short kicks ahead in

order to maintain a small amount ofheadway
through the water' and into the tide. it is possible to
balance the ship's headway against the tide and
keep the plvot polnt forward. even though the ship
is making very little speed over thc e follo!f,tng tide. If practicable it i3 alway. preferable
grould. This retains a good steering lever and to atem the tldc !
positive control over the ship. but at a considerably
lower speed over the ground than would otherwise If a reasonable balance has been achieved
be normal. In general terms thls is known as between the tidal stream and th€ ship s speed
atemmlng the tlde'. through the water, so that the shlp s spe€d over the
work the
ground is minimal. i t becomes posslble to
Whiist stemmlng the tide in this manner it is helpful
to keep an eye on the bearing of a fixed object on tide and create sidev/ays or 'leteral motloa'. This
the beam, or €ven better a transit ol two lixed can often b€ achieved by using rudder angle alone.
objects on or near the beam, to enable the balance but if that ls not enough, a short kick ahead can be
between headway and tide to be more carefully used to ease the tlde around onto the appropriate
monitored. If the ship starts to fall back wiih the tide bow, The resultant of the two vectors, tidal stream
it may in fact be siopped in the wat€r, this will move headway will then be noticeable, as the
the plvot point back amidships and the ship s head and shlp's
will be less €asy to control until headway through ship starts to work or 'crab'across
the water is resumed. the tlde. To stop
or correct this sideways driIt, it wlll be necessary to
This ls a most unsatisfactory situation and one bring the ship's head back around into the tide, so
where 1t is extremely difficult to maintain positive that it is once again dead ahead.
control of the ship. In this example, the ship is
running with a 1.5 knot tlde from astern. ln order to When using the tide in this way it is very important
maintain headway over the tide, or through the not to be imoatlent and Dut the tide too far around
water and so keep the pivot point forward. the ship on the bow. This will create good lateral motion but
would have to be running at a speed over the if the angle of the tide upon the bow is too large, it
ground which is considerably higher than the speedmay require too much time, power and clear
of the tide. This will often be far too fast! distance ahead. to bring the ship's head back up
into the tide. There may, for example, be
To reduce the persistent htgh speed over the insufficient water with which to do this in,
ground, it will be necessary to put the engines particularly in the close proximity oI a berth. lt is
astern, perhaps frequently or for long periods of therefore better to Dut the tide fine on the bow and
time and back the ship hard agalnst the tide. whilst then wait to see if it is havins the deslred effect,
doing this the pivot point will mov€ alt and the ship rather than rush the manoeuvre!
is purely at the whim o f transverse thrust,
It can be vcry difficult to keep control of e dhlp with
Fig. 35 Working in a Tide
Headway
\,("
1.5 knots
a) with tide fIom
-i
,t.
b) witl
trde from
astern lii
.ff\
\i\ \ii\
1.5 knots Headway
t'*
) J'r
l"j l \
Tide
d) working away from a
THE SHIPTIANDLER'S GUIDE 73
Swinging Anchor
Fig.36
Position 1
on atl
From the
foregoing it is
clearly
desirable to
stem the tide
for the majority
of tidal
operations.
whenever that
is posslble. An
inbound ship
wtth a following
flood tide may
ther€fore be
faced wlth the
need
to'swlng'and
turn through
l80' to stem the
tide prlor to
proceeding to
its allocated
berth.
In a wide, open
waterway, with
sufflcient room
down tlde, it
may be
possible to turn
a ship short
round without
the aid of
anchors, or
tugs. If
however thls
has to be done
ln a narrow,
restricted
waterway.
perhaps vrith
llmited space
downstream, it
\r.lll be
n€cessary to
keep a tight
control over the
shlp s positlon
at all times and
this can only b€
achieved by
swinging on an
anchor. The art
'3winging
oI or
turning on a
tide to one
anchor has
been practlsed
by mast€rs and
pllots in the
coastal trades
for many years
past. Correctly
done it makes
By working the ship across a tidal iandler n€eds to develop a keen. an otherwise difficult and dsky
stream ln this manner. the tide is sensitiv€'feel' for the movement of manoeuvre a relatlvely relaxed
really being used as a sort of'poor the ship. virtually drifting lt lnto th€ and easy one.
man's tug'and in tidal work, more deslred position.
than anywhere els€ th€ shlp Thlr B.noeuvre can only be
Goralucted lf thc rlvol bcal ld clear . an anchor, it may also be useful to
under keel clearence,
of obstructlon3 end thls ls a consider the followlng points ......
mdtter ol local knowlealgc. .
strength of current.
. ptan to conduct the swing ln a
' direction that favours transverse
This manoeuvr€, like atl others. tYPe of bottom
will obvlously be open to . cnglne thrust when golng astern, if that lt
individual interpretation and wlll tYPe of Power av.lleble ls practicable.
dep€nd, not only upon expedence . . to
alz. of chlp. endeavour llet thc rpecal
and skill of the shlp handler, but
also .. .. . down to the minimum for steerage
amoult ol rooD avelleble fot turr,
way. when approaching the
.
the deptb oI ater. When working a ship lnto position, swtnging
prior to letting go and swinging on
certain that the
.
ensure there is ample sPacG rhip 13
ior the around in dudng the turn. canted tbc rtght vay, so that
stern to swing the tide correcL quarrer to
assisl lhe lurn,
. is on the
before letting go make
.
at the hatant of lGtting go, the aPeGd oYer the
ground rLould be a, low a3 po3slble and before
the brake is applied the engines should already be
going astern. to ease the weight on the windlass.
74 THE NAUTICAI- INSTITUTE
FfE. 36 Swinging to a Tide on One Anchor 4
!
..,
'i\i/ iv
..., I
i(
)
!
\
M
,lil
I'il
\l'l
THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE
Fig.36
Position 2
Local llnowledge
Fig.36
Position 3
Once the
anchor is out
and on the
brake, even
though it may
not be holding,
il should be
suflicient to
keep the pivot
point right
forward. so that
the tide can
good
$'ork on a
rurning lF\cr
and slarl Io
!\{rn8
the ship
around Fouerer.
il ir doesnr feel
ac ri lt r5
working. il may
b e prudent to
veer a little
more cabl€. As
the stern
swings around,
and it is usually
surprisingly
slolvly, the main
propulsion can
be used either
ahead or astern
to ensure that
the stern is
swinging clear
oI any
obstructions
and that the
ship is
generally in a
good position.
At some stage,
it should be
r€membered
that a lot ol
weighr may be
coming onLo
lhe windlas<. a:
it tdkes rhe tull
wFighr or rhe
5hip on rhe
tide: ll is usuallv
necessary to
come ahead
with the main
propulsion and
appropriate
rudder i.e. kicks
ahead, not onlv
to assist the
turn but also to
ease the weight
This is probably the most cdtical part ofthe on the windlass
manoeuvre and it is important to s€t this up
correctly. Thereafter it all becomes much more Once the ship is stemming the tide, it is quite easy
relaxed. to keep controt. whlle the windlass ts put in gear
and the anchor recovered, and then th€ vessel can
proceed as required. .
bridges.
The amount of cable veered is very dependent . gtstion
power outlets.
upon depth, type of bottom and size of ship. For
. jetttea.
further information concerning the safety
.
parameters when working anchors consult chapter aea iahnda,
6. .
large rbm'6.
Whilst the handling characteristics of a vessel are
not actually affected by a tlde, if a ship is in clear, There can be many areas throughout a tidal district
undisturbed and relatively deep flowing water, the $.here the tidal flow is complex and dangerous to
opposite is the case when a ship has to operate in the unwary. An unexpected change in the tidal
or near an area where the tide is influenced by conditions can have a rapid and devastating effect
natural constraints and man made obstructions upon the handling of a ship.
such as -,,.,,
Experienced pilots working in such areas develop
. specific skills based upon intimate local knowledge
bend6 in !'ivers,
of their own district and this is an important part of
. the pilots job. The advice of these specialised pilots
choals.
. should always be sought and it is well beyond the
entraaccs to canata alal rivers. scope of this publication to cover the multitude of
. complex tidal problems that exist
moles, gtoyncs alral breakwatcra.
.
lock entraaccs end approachet,
Bende in a Tldal River
With a following tide Fig.37(a)
Rapid changee in tidal direction

Fip.3a(a)
With a tide from ahead Fig.37tb)

areas where the
tide may be of
differing strengths,
perhaps running
very rapidly on the
outside of the bend
but relalively
weaker on the
inside of the bend.
If a relatively large
ship is rounding a
bend in a channel.
with a sirong
following tide, it is
possible for the
ship to be
positioned so that
the strong tide is
['orking on the after
body of the ship.
whilst only the
weaker tlde ls
influencing the fore
body. With the pivot
point forward the
strong€st tide is
thus worklng on a
good turning lever
and a turning force
of conslderable
magnltude is
cr€ated.
A rhip cen react

both violcntly and
rapidly to thts force
and it ahould never
be undereatimateal
I
Whilst it may be
anticipated and
correct€d with a
kick ahead of full
power, somelimes
lhis will not be
sufflclent to
counteract the
large force involved
and the ship wlll
continue to swing
around. with a
serious possibllity
of subsequently
going aground.
Assuming there is
a choice. ii may be
prudent to keep to
the outside oI the
bend, so that the
ship is ahvays in
the area of stronger
flowing tlde. lf it is
wilhin the many pilotage districts of the world. necessary to put
There may, however, be some value in looking al a the stern into a strong following tide, it should only
few common examples, be done with extr€me caution!
The bends in a tidal river are a good example of When a ship, again relatlv€ly large, ls negotiating a
bend in a channel, this time with the tide from
ahead, it is also possible to gel into a position
where the ship is influenced by tides of differing
strength. In this example it is the ship s bow that is
now lnfluenced by the very sirong tide while the
alter body of the ship is in the area of relatively
weaker tide. This creates a turning moment which
is opposing the iniended turn and if it is not
anticipated with appropriate helm and power, it can
surprise the unwary and the vessel may not come
around in suflicient time to clear the bend, without
the risk of grounding.
If lt is practicable it is better to keep to the inslde of

a bend, so that the bow does not enter the area of
stronger tide at any time durtng the turn.
Unfortunately this is often the shallow slde of the
bend as w€ll and this may be prohibitive to a larger
vessel with a draft restraint.
There are occasions when a ship is required to

pass close to shallow areas or man made
structures, where the tide may change rapidly in
direction over a very short distance. If a ship is
proceeding at slow speed this can hai.e a very
serious consequences for the handling of that
In the exampie in figure 38a, a ship is passing

close to the end of a jetty and an area of shallow
water, with the ship's head already canted to
starboard to allow for the set and drift of the tide.
As the shoal comes abeam the ship suddenly
loses ihe influence of the tide forward, but

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3-N;

Captain R.W. Rowe, FNI

THE SHIPIIANDLER'S GUIDE

THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

Telephone: +44 (OJ2o7 928 1351

First edition published 1996

Copl'right @ The Nautical Institute, 2OOO

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

The opinions expressed are those of the author only.

Photographs courtesy Howard Smtth Towage and Salvage

Typeset by Javafame Computer Services

THT SHIPIIANDLIR'S GUIDE

Lirt of Dlagr.m, aDd Acknowlcalg€E.Bt,

-.-----.---:.-.-- ....'.............7 ......................,4

THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 1

LIST OF DIAGRAMS AND PHOTOGRAPHS

Turning Levers and Momenls

2 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

Propeller Shrouds ..... -..-...........- ... 11 I

THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 3

53 Alternative Rudder Designs .................................................... 114 a) fiaps

4 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

IiFigure Descrlptlon Page

Car carrlerE present a partlcular problem when operating

Manned models are ideal lor rralnlng ln shlphandltng.

The view aft from a tug showlng the towlng arrangements

This model shows well the anchoring arrangements

Shlps and tugs operatlng tn conflned waters have to be aware

Running lines ashore alLer a successlul slern berrhing

THE SHIP}IANDLER'S GUIDE 5

Ir rs Nor rHE rNrENrroN of

6 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

TnE cHALLENcEs rHAT FAcE the

The Warsash Marltime Centre, near Southampton ln England, ls proud to be able to

THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 7

8 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

Captain P..t.D. Russell, FNI, London Pilot

THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 9

Shiphandring with tug asslstance

10 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

GENERAL AND INTRODUCTION TO THE PIVOT POINT

Shiphandllng is t€amwork and for teamwork to be successful there has to be a eeneral

THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE l l

Shtp Stoppeal Fig. r(a)

Maklng Headway Fig. r(b) Making Sternway FtS. 1(c)

Veeeel Stopped Ftg.2(a)

Making Headway Fia.2(b)

Making Sternway Fis.2(c)

Unless stated otherwise, each example assumes a

These are - rudder force, transverse thrust, bow

12 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 13

a) ship stopped 15 tonne

14 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

The full hul1 form of

The guide does not

This simple method can also be used as an aid

Loss of Control Fig.3

fihtphenrlllag in locks end basina requlres

speclal skillB THE SHIPHANDLER'S