3-N; THESHIPHANDLER'S

GUIDE

Captain R.W. Rowe, FNI

qd b yTheNauticalInstitute In conjunction with, N^ t ^qi--:P--::a-r< -=:a L-=: _/ | . : : : : : . '+ ,z - = , "

- 4 R s N > '

THE SHIPIIANDLER'S GUIDEfor

Masters and Navigating Offlcers,Pilots and Tug Masters

Captaln R.W. Rorre tr'NI

THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

THE SHIPI{ANDLER'S GUIDEPublished by The Nautical Instltute

2o2 Lambeth Road, London SEl 7Lg, EnglandTelephone: +44 (OJ2o7 928 1351

Fax: +44 (Ol2O7 4OI 2AI7Publications e-mail: pubs@nautinst.org

Worldwide web site: http:/ /www.nautinst.org

First edition published 1996Second edition publtshed 2OOO

Copl'right @ The Nautical Institute, 2OOO

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmltted in any form by any means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording or ottrerwlse, wtthout the prior writtenpermission of tlle publishers, except for the quotation of brief passages inre\,'iews.

Atthough great care has been taken \rdth the writing and productton of thisvolume, neither The Nautical Institute nor the author can accept anyresponsibility for errors, omissions or their consequences.

Thts book has been prepared to address the subject of shtphandling. Thisshould not . however . be taken to mean that th is document dealscomprehenslvely witll all of the concerns which will need to be addressed oreven, wher a particular matter is addressed, that this document sets out theonly definitive view for all situations.

The opinions expressed are those of the author only.

Photographs courtesy Howard Smtth Towage and Salvageand Warsash Maritime Centre

Typeset by Javafame Computer Services90 Church Street, Lavenham, Suffolk CO1O 9OT, England

Prtnted in England byThe Repro Company, Hayes Road, Southall, Middlesex UB2 sNB

rsBN I 870077 35 0

THT SHIPIIANDLIR'S GUIDE

CONTENTSPage

Photographa---- . . , . . . . , . , . . . . . . . . .2

... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,G

-.-----.---: .-.-- . . . . ' . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,4

Lirt of Dlagr.m, aDd

AcknowlcalgE.Bt,

Preface

ForGword I

Forcsord 2

Chepter Onc

Chaptr Two

Cheptcr Thrcc

Ch.pter Four

Chrptet Flvc

ChaptGt Sk

Chaptaa Savcn

Chaptcr Etght

Chaptcr lllnc

Chaptca Ttr

Chaptcr Elcvcn

Choptcr Tsclvc

Itrder

s

Rcferencca anal furthor raadhg-------.-----.

Tha Nautlcal hrtitutG.......-.......--..

t.'ztal

ta2

THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 1

LIST OF DIAGRAMS AND PHOTOGRAPHSDescript ion

CIIAPTER ONEr The Pivot Point On Evn

a) shiP stopPedb) making headu'ayc) makiDg sternvaY

Turning Levers and Momenlsa) ship stoppdb) making headrvayc) making sternway

CHAPTER TWO3 Loss o l Slow Speed Contro l . 174 Mainta in ing Slow Speed Coniro l - - - i95 Shaf t /Brake Horse Power" 20

CHAPTER TIIRET6 Transverse Thrust s ' i rh Stern

a) rv i th headwaYbl iv i th s ternrvay

K e e 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - . . . . . . . . . . . - . . . . - - . . . . 1 3

O n E v e n K e e l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4

P o w e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - . . . . . . 2 5

CIIAPTIR7aI

l ot lt 2L 31 4

CIIAPTERl 51 6t 7l a

l 92 02 I

CHAPTER2 42 52 62 7

2 a2 93 0

FOURLateraL Forces when TurningSlo lv Aheai l Turns 1o Starboard 30Ful l Ahead Turns to Slarboard . . . . . . . . " 3 lSlo{ ' Ahead Tur is to Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Slanding Turn i rom StoPped. . . . - - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - - 32El fec i of Shal low water on Turning . . . - - - - - . . - - - - . . . . . . 34Turnnrg in Shal lo \ t water ' ' . 35L a i e r a l M o t i o n . . . . . . . . . . 3 7

a) io advaniagb) to d isadvaniage

FIVE

2a

Effect o l wind Ship StoPPedEffect of Wind wi th HeadvaYEffect of wind lvilh sternu'ay . . 4 0Effc i of Wincl \ t1 th Tr im - . . . . . . - - - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 42

3 94 0

a) wi th headwayb) lv i1h s iernwaY

Graph of wind Forces - Car Carr ier & Tanker ' ' .I o m p a - i - o n o r f o r ' c s I - l d n k e r ' 'I o m p d r l : o n o f F o r , e s 2 ( d r c a t t c t

44

4 6

5 l5 2

CIIAPTER SIX2 2 D r " d { I n g T w o A n ' h o r _23 Drdging one Anchor

SEVENPressure Zones (s impl i f iec l l - - - - - - . . - 56B a n k E 1 f e c t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6Ef fect ot Tdm and Squat . . . . . . . . . . 57Bank Conf igurat ion . . . . . . . " 58

al s teeP s ided banksbl shal low shelv ing banks

P a s s i n g P h a s e L . . . . . . . . . - 6 iPassing Phase 2 62Passing Phase 3 . . . . . . . . . 63

2 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

FiAure Descriptlon fage

3 13 23 3

CHAPTTR343 5

Overtaking - Phase Iovertaklng - Phase 2Overtaking Phase 3

EIGIITEffect of T ide upon Ship Handl ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Worklng in a T ide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

a) with tide from aheadb) wlth tide from asterncl working towards a berthd) working away from a berth

Swirg ing to a Ttde on one Anchor . - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Bends in a Tidal Rive . 78

al with a following tidebl with a tide from ahead

Local Ttdal Anomal ies . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . . . . .79a) sudden changes in directionb) restricting the tidal flow

Ttdal Force at Anchor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82a) deep waterb) shallow water

Longi tudinal Forces on a Tanker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . a4Latera l T idal Forces.- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

al blocklng the tidal flowb) the resultant forces

NIIIIEGraph of Wind Speed and Thruster Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . aaThrust ing when Stopped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

a) Plvot Pointb l creeplng ahead

Thrust ing wi th Headway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92a) straight lineb) turning

Latera l Mot ion to Po.1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . . . . . 951. with Klcks Ahead2. with Astern power

L a t e r a l M o t i o n t o S t a r b o a r d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 7l w i th Kicks Ahead2. Difficulty wlth Astern Power

T h r u s t i n g w i t h S t e r n w a y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 8al pivot polntbl turntng moments

work lng Astern in a channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Io lWork ing Astern to a Berth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1O2

6 7

. . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 4

3 6

3a

3 9

4 04 L

CHAPTER4243

44

45

46

4a49

CIIAPTER5 0

5 2

TENcontrollable Pltch Propellers

a) impeding the rudder with fine pltch settlngsb) creating eddies and currents on zero pitch

Propel ler Shrouds . . . . . - . . - . . . . . . . . . . . - . . . 11 Ial fixed tunnelsb) rotating nozzles

C o n v e n t i o n a l R u d d e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l l 3a) up to 45 degreesb) over 45 degrees

THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 3

Figure D F s r r i p i i o n P a p c

5 3 A l t e r n a t i v e R u d d e r D e s i g n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 4a) f iapsbl shapes

54 Twin Schi l l ing Rudde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - - - 117a) fu l l aheadbl bow to por tc) fu l l asternd) astern: s tern to por t

CHAPTER ELEVEN5 5 T w i n S c r w C o n f i g u r a t i o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 0

a) s ingle ruddersb) propel lers too c lose togetherc) twin rudders and propel lers wl l spread

56 Twin Fixed Pi tch Propel lers Outward Turnin9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . t22al ahead onlybJ one ngine astern

57 Twln Fixed Pi tch Propl lrs Inward Turning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123aJ ahead onlybl one engine asrern

5 a T w i n S c r w T u r n i n g A b i l i l y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . . - - - - - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . t 2 6a) wt th s ternwaybl wi th hadway: one engine asterncl wi th headwayr both engines ahead

CHAPTER ?WELVE5 9 C o n v n t i o n a l T u g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . r 3 0

a) wi thout gob ropeb) wi lh gob rope

6 0 T u g I n t e r a c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - . . . - - - - . . . . . . . r 3 2al forwardb) a{ t

6 l Glr t ing a Convent ional Tug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . r35a) forwardbJ af t

6 2 W o r k i n g a G o b R o p e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 7al secur ingbl l iml tat ions and salety

6 3 U s i n g t h T u g s w e i g h t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . _ . . _ _ _ _ . . . _ 1 3 9al lbrwardb) af t

6 4 T r a c t o r T u g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 l65 Azhuth Slern Dr ive Tug and Azimuth Propel lrs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1436 6 T r a c t o r T u g F o r w a r d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 6

aJ usrng stern towlng poinrb r \ o m e a l l e r n a l i v P s

67 Tractor Tug Af t - . . . . . . . . . - - . . . . . . . . - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l4a68 Work iDg an Azlmuth Stern Dr ive Tu9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . r5r

a) rolwardb) aft

6 9 C h a n n e l E s c o r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . t 5 2a) conventlonal tugs forwardb) t ractor tugs af t

7 0 T u g s o n L o n g L i n e s . . . . . - - . - . . . . . . - - - - - . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 5a) sroppedb) maktng headwayci making sternwayd) tugs balanced

4 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

Ii

Figure Descrlpt lon Page

7 l Tugs Alongside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,57a) wlth head\rayb) wlth sternway

Container Ship Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159a) windageb) manoe'ivre

Movment L Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , , , , . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . , , . . . . . , , , , . . , , , , , , 762a) ship stoppedb) making sternway

Movement 2. DIscussion.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I63a) ehip stoppedb) making sternway

72

73

PHOTOGRAPHSShiphandling with tug assistance.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . , . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . lO

Shlphandling in locks and baslns requlres special ski l ls.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Car carrlerE present a partlcular problem when operatingin windy condit lons ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Manned mode ls a re i dea l l o r r ra ln lng l n sh lphand l tng .padicularly slow speed control vri thout tug assistance ,,, , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-. . . . . . .22

The view aft from a tug showlng the towlng arrangementsd l rec t l y f rom a w inch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

This model shows well the anchoring arrangementswhlch are used to demonstrate dredging techniques.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Shlps and tugs operatlng tn conflned waters have to be awareo f t he e f fec ts o f l n te rac t l on . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . , . . . . . . . 69

Runn ing l i nes asho re a lLe r a success lu l s l e rn be r rh ingus tng tugs and th rus te r comb ined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a6

On smaller shlps masters have to exerclse their shtphandling skills in awide variety of sltuations and frequently in cf l t ical circumstances ... . . . . . . 105

Conventlonal tugs are st l l l used ln many ports of the worId... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

An Azimuth Stern Drive tug demonstrating l ts versati l i ty.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

A Voith Schneider and a conventlonal tug in attendance.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

THE SHIP}IANDLER'S GUIDE 5

ACI(NOItrLEDGTMTNTS

I r rs Nor rHE rNrENrroN of this publ icat ion to make anv attempt at explaining how a shipis berthed, or unberthed, at specif ic quays, docks and terminals That is ent i rely theconcern of the appropriately experienced personnel- The sole object ive in each ofthechapters of ih is 'Shiphandler 's Guide is to discuss how a ship behavs under certainc i r c u m s t a n c e s o r c o n d i t i o n s a n d t o h i g h l i g h t a n y d i f f i c u l t i e s t h a t m i g h t b encountered, as an aid to ship handi ing anywhere in the world.

In the l ight of many years of expe ence in the use of ship simulators and mannedmodels, as an aid for t raining personnel in ship handl ing. i t has been proved manyt imes over that i t is absolutely essent ial to str ike a cr i t ical balance between theoret lcalcontent and pract ical appl icat ion. With this experience in mind, i t has been thedel iberate intent ion throughout this publ icat ion io reduce the complex mathematicaldata of the academic world of ship handl ing to the vry simplest level posslble, sothat i t might be understood more easi ly and appl ied to the pract ical world af loat.

I t is hoped that this pract ical 'Guide'wi l l g ive al l personnel involved in the handl ingoI ships a working knowledge of how a ship behaves, so that in the future they cancome to their own conclusions with respect to a part icular manoeuvre, in terms of i tsfeasibi l i ty or dl f f lcutt ies. This may. for exampl. be part icular ly useful to masterstaking command for the f i rst t ime after a long pertod as chief of f icer, an. l to newpi lots during the tr ipping stage of thir t raining period. I t might also prove a usefulreference book and aid for more experienced personnel. when they are endeavouringto analyse a specif ic manoeuvre, incident or casualty.

I would part icularty t ike to thank my working col leagues at the Warsash Mari t imCentre for their support in this project and Captain M.C. Banbury, FNl, ManagingDirector of Howard Smitb Towage. London. Dr. Ian Dand of Br i t ish Mari t ime Technologyand Captaln P.J.D. Russel l , FNI. London Pi lot , Ior reading ihe iext and for theirconstruct ive comments.

I would l ike to acknowledge and thank the many pi lots and ship masters aroundthe world, that I have worked with over the yars. al l of whom ln some way or anotherhave contr ibuted towards this work. I dedlcate this publ icat ion to them.

The Author

6 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

PREFACI

Captain Goorge Angas' ErC' FNIThe ltirector - Warsaeh Mrtltlme Ccntre

TnE cHALLENcEs rHAT FAcE the international maritlme transport lndustry can only beresolved on an international scale, From which lt follows that no one element of theindustry can succeed without a good understanding and close co-operation with otherelements from within the same lndustry, In order to maintaln and enhance seafarerstandards a good working relationship must exist betv/een the seafarers themselves,their employers. professlonal marit ime bodies and marlt lme trainlng centresthroughout 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 maritlmetralnlng and educatlon centre, providlng courses and consultancy for shippingcompanles and pilots from around the world for many years, has now placed on papersome 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 lsdifferent now, however, is that the level of relationship betv/een these parts of ourmultlfaceted lndustry has changed. Whereas ln the not too distant past mafltimecolleges were seen more as ivory towrs providlng educatlon and tralnlng to flxednational norms, we are now working hard with shlpowners and operators to develop arelatlonshlp in v'rhich v/e are seen as an extenslon of their own opratlon which canmake a meanlngful contribution to the success of a commercial venture. Maritlmecolleges themselves cannot solely rely on state fundlng for their existence and mustDrovlde a Droactive contdbution to ensure that shiD oDerators can maintain theiriperattng costs to a minimum by effective tralnlng and issessment of the crews thatman their ships.

The Warsash Marltime Centre, near Southampton ln England, ls proud to be ableto contrlbute to our industry, not only in direct tralnlng and educatlon but also throughdissemlnatlon of knowledge and experience in books such as this. It ls publicationssuch as these that also demonstrate the close worklng relatlonshlp between maritlmeeducation and traininq establishments and the professional bodies. The NauticalInsti tute, for example,"ls faclt i tat ing the dissemlhailon of knowledge by providingvery effective publications that reach all parts of the world. We hope that you, thereader of this book, will obtain both pleasure and knowledge from it and that it willbe a valuable cont bution to the develoDment of vour skill as one of the world'sseafarers.

THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 7

FOREWORD I

Captain E.H. Beetham, FNIPaet President, The Nautlcal Institute

l r rs A Joy ro LooK Ar A BooK on ship handl ing that presents lhe behaviour of ships insuch a pract ical way. 'Why" we may ask ourslvs "was i t not presented h this waybefore?"

I think the answer l ies in the last ing inf luence of the tradi t ional approach thatdoes not always meet the needs of iodays mariners. In the days of sai l , when cert i f icatesof competency were introduced. there was instruct ion and examinat ion on how toavoid dangerous si tuat ions and how to turn wind, t ide and weather to best advantage.

Those who sat their cert i f icates in more recent t imes demonstrated thelr shiphandl ing abi l i ty with wooden models. Text books i l lustrated standard si tuat ions withthe plan view of a pram dinghy. No damage was suf lered by i ther ships or quays andshal low water effects were notably abseni.

Having been trained to handle modeis the off icer was not introduced to thegeometry of a turning ship. the changing pivot point or the hydrodynamic inf luencesthat can make the end result so di f ferent to the intended manoeuvre. We wre nottrained to control a moving ship in a conf ined area.

The Royal Navy, by contrast, had a pract ical solut ion to the problem by makingsure that midshipmen under training handled the cutters. pinnaces and rescue boatawhich gave them both ihe feel and responslbi l l ty at an early stage.

The great worry for the future is that the industry and the armed services wi l lc laim thai l t is too expensive io provide pract ical t raining in shiphandl ing. I i isexpensive. t ime consuming but necessary. The greatest benef i t of this book is that i tlays the r ight foundat ion for understanding the science of the individual factors thalcombine to creat the art of shlphandl ing.

One proposed solut ion to ship handl lng training is to use simulators which areextensively used in the aviat ion industry for pi lot t raining - but whi le valuable forthe seaman, thy rely on visual respons to change. The strength of thts approach isthat ihey can be used to famil iaf ise ihe ship handler wtth vaf ied si tuat ions in a safeenvironment but the weakness of s imulat ion is the absence of a sense of movementthat makes i t di f f icul i to appreciate the interact ive forces. Simulator t ime. costs andavai labi l i ty wi l l inevi tably restr ict the extent of t raining that is possible.

The scale models used at Marchwood and crenoble are probably the most pract icalway of at tempting di f ferent manoeuvres and of learning the basic prtnciples. Thequal i ty of model and simulator traininE rel ies on the dedicat ion of the stal f and theauthor comes from the worthy group wh6 run ihe ship handLng courses ai the WarsashMari t ime Centre.

This book wi l l supplement any simuiaior t raining and wi l l provide guidance for amaster whose ship has to perform an unfamil iar manoeuvre. I t wi l l gtve much easyreading to al low those in control oI ships to ant ic ipate events and to gain an awarenessof rvhy the ship responds in di f ferent ways and whai rnf luences those responses.

I hope this book becomes a standard text for al l those who aspire to control orcommand a ship at sea. I think i t wi l l be of immense value to them.

8 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

FOREWORD 2

Captain P..t.D. Russell, FNI, London PilotPresident. The Nautical Institute

As A pr lor with some 30 years personal experience of ship handl ing i t gives me greatpleasure to contr ibute a loreword to this excel lent t raining manual. The training ofpi lots is f requent ly under scrut iny. No doubt there wi l l be much wri t ten by those whohave never had responsibl l i ty for the safe navigat ion oI a ship to or from a berth as toexact ly how i t should be done. Their v iews wi l l be regarded with som scept ic ism. Thef irst thing most pi lots wi l l do is to go to ihe author 's curr iculum vi tae to read exact lywho is try ing to teach them how to do their job and whether or not the author has thenecessarv experience, in their v iew. io teach them anything. That is an unfortunatefact of l i fe. I t was, in fact. my f i rst react lon when asked to look at the manuscript andI did not f ind the kind of actual ship handl ing experience there for which a pi lotmight be looking. I therefore started to read the manuscript with some considerablescept ic ism,

I very soon ral ised that this book was something special . I became impressedwith ihe clar i ty ol presentat ion and the value of the information col lated for al l p i lotsand those charged with the safe manoeuvring of ships. I have. over the years, studiedmany books on ship handl ing and suggest ihat thts book is, wtthout doubt, on of thebest I have come across.

Pi lots remain, I know, of the opinion that ihe very best t raining they can receiveis on the br idge of a ship under the supervision of an experienced pi lot . That system.ho$rever, does have a couple oI weaknesses that this book can help to al leviate. Thef lrst weakness is that some of the very besl pl lots may b a joy to watch in act ion butmay not necessari ly be good teachers. The second weakness ls that there are si i l lmany pl lots around who look upon ship handl lng as some kind of art whereby theyinst inct ively respond and react f rom xperince to the movement oI the ship. Theymay, in fact, go through a highly successful career doing just that. rather than ful lyunderstanding the science behind those react ions and reasons for their need. Thisbook wi l l not only help them better to understand their 'art but perhaps avoid someof the more dramatic responses by al lowing them to be proact ive instead of react ive.The Shiphandler 's Guide wi l l a lso enable them to bcome better at passing on relevantinformation to the next generat ion.

I congratulate Bob Rowe on his thoughtful work and have no hesi iat ion incommending this book to anyone with an interest in ship handl ing.

THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 9

. - . .,iiff;ir

d;;'ji1,wr* 2

ltl'

Shiphandring with tug asslstance

10 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL AND INTRODUCTION TO THE PIVOT POINT

GetreralTHE sKrLL oF A cooD sHTPHANDLER should never be underest imated. This is becaus theycan achieve consistency in performance and control even though no two dockings areever exact ly the same. Simi lar ly the range of var iable considerat ions which have to betaken into account when planning, predict ing monitor ing and manoeuvring meansthe shiphandler is constant ly having to reassess progress.

The competent shiphandler has to be aware of wind and \ teather, crrrent andt ldal change;. In most brth approaches, shal low water and interact ion effects wi l la lso have to be taken into account.

There ls th range. type, avai labi l l ty and eff ic lency of tugs to be considered Also.the avai labi l t ty and-apt i tude of the personnel on each ship has to be assssed fortheir abi l i ty to handle to$r l ines and mooring l ines Al l these factors effect shipmanoeuvres \{hich in a t idal regime have to be completed within l imited t ime windowslso adding to the sense of anxiety should anything go wrong.

We can start to se that the qual i t ies demanded of a good shiphandler areconsiderably greater than those required in other modes of t ransport . They must becompetent ln

- the sense that they are trained and knov/ what they lntend to achleve

Tht must be able to exercise judgement and be f lexible in their out look to adjust tochanging circumstances. They must be able to communicate effct ivelyi they must beable 6 slay calm under pressure and solve problems with authori ty when the sihrat ionrequires i t , and they have io be experlenced.

Shiphandl lng is tamwork and for teamwork to be successful there has to be aeeneral understandinA amongst pi lots. masters. tug masters ships ol f icers and dock"masters

about ihe p-r incipl is of shiphandl ing and the factors which inf luencemanoeuvrlng.

In a percept ive art lc l by Jul ian Parker, Secretary of The Nautical lnst i tute, hepointed out that words and sentences f low in a sequence, whereas fbe need in;hiphandl ing is to have an awareness of the whol picture during manoerrvres- I t isone of the reisons I bel ieve, why i t ls so di f f icul t to convey the essence of shiphandl ingln a wri t ten text,

My approach to thls book has been di f ferent. Each si tuat ion is based upon aaiaErarn wtrtcfr contains the essent ial information for v isual is ing the part icular pointbei;p made. I have then added the text to explain ln more detai l how the forcesreprdsented in a stat lc diagram interact when the ship is moving or being manoeuvred.

As I indicated earl ier there ls much more to ship handl ing than a book can conveyFor this reason I do not think i t ls appropriate to try and describ how to approachberths ln specif ic ports or how to plan a part icular estuarial passage. That level ofdetai l musa remain the responsibi l i ty of the senlor pi lots who best know the localareas and provide the detal led training necessary

I do however, bel ieve that by having a clear ly prepared set of diagrams to i l lustratethe key factors in shiphandl ing readers wi l l come to have a better understanding ofthe pr lnclples involved.

Thes pr inciples are based upon a number of moving lnf luences some intrnall ike thrust and the posit lon of the Pivot point, some external l ike wlnd and interact ion.I t is these moving var iable forces that have to be mastered and the f l rst plac to startls the Divot Doint.

l lTHE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE

The Pivot Point

Shtp StoppealFig. r(a)

Maklng HeadwayFig. r(b)

Making SternwayF t S . 1 ( c )

Turlirg Levert

Veeeel StoppedFtg .2 (a )

Making HeadwayF ia .2 (b )

Making SternwayF is .2 (c )

Unless stated otherwise, each example assumes a shipon even keel, ln calm condit ions and st i l l water. ln thlssl tuat ion no forces are lnvolved and the ship has a pivotpoint colncldlng with its centre of gravlty, approximatelyamidships.

Two forces now come into play. Firstly, the forwardm o m e n t u m o f t h e s h i p a n d s e c o n d l y , l o n g i t u d i n a lreslstance to the forward momentum. crated by the waterahead of the ship. These two forces must ul t imately str ikea balance and the pivot polnt moves forward. As a roughguide l t can be assumed that at a steady speed the plvotpoint will be approxl'nately 25 ora|/a ofthe ship's lengthfrom forward.

The si tuat ion is now total ly reversed. The momentumof sternway must balance longitudinal resistance, this timecreated by the watr astern of the ship. The plvot polntnow moves aft and establ ishes i tsel f approximately 25%or a t /4 of the shlp's length from the stern.

Although not intendd. some publications may give theimpression that the pivot point moves r ight af t withsternway. This ls clear ly not correct and can sometimesbe misleading. I t should also be stressed that other factorssuch as acceleration, shape ofhull and speed may all affectthe position of the pivot point. The arbitrary figures quotedhere. however, are perfect ly adequate for a simpl andpract ical worklng knowledge of th subjct.

More important. perhaps. than the position of the plvotpolnt. ls the effct its shifting nature has upon the manyturning forces that.can inf luence a ship. These are -rudder force, t ransverse thrust, bow thrust. tug Iorce,interactlve forces and the forces of wind and tide,

l f we look at the ship used in our xample, we can seethat i t has a length overal l of 160 metres. I t is stopped inthe water and tv/o tugs are secured fore and aft, on longI ines, through centre leads. I f the tugs apply the samebol lard pul l of . say, 15 tonnes (t) each, i t is to a posit ion80m fore and aft of the pivot polnt. Thus two equal turnlngIevers and moments of 80m x l5t ( l200tm) are createdresult ing ln even lateral motion and no rate of turn,

With the ship making steady headway, however, thepivot point has shi f ted to a posit ion 40m from the bow.The forward tug is now working on a very poor turninglever of 4Om x f5t t600tm). whi lst the after tug ls worklngon an xtremely good turnlng lever of I20m x l5t { t80otmj.This results in a swing of the stern to port .

The efficiency of the tugs wlll change totally when, bycontrast. the ship makes sternway. Now the plvot pointhas moved aft to a posltlon 4Om from the stern. The forwardtug ls worklng on an excel lent turning lever of 120m x l5t(1800tm1 whi lst the after tug has lost l ts ef f lc iency to areducd turning lever of 4Om x l5t (60otm). This nowresults in a swing of the bow to porl

12 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

Fig. f The Plvot Point

a) ship stopped On Even Keel

b) making headway

-T

* r

c) making sternway

f.ig.2 Ttrrning Levers and Moments

a) ship stopped

15 tonne

b) making headway

On Even Keel

c) making sternway

14 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE

SumEary

Note

This simple method can also be used as an aid tounderstandlng many pract ical aspects of shiphandltngsuch as rudder, propel ler and thruster eff lc lency, the effectof wind, t m, interact lon and tug posit ioning. In each ofthe fol lowing chapters which dlscusses thse part icularsubject areas i t is a useful basis from which to start !

The ful l hul1 form of the average merchant ship is usedthroughout this guide ln terms of length to breadth rat ioand general prof i le.

The guide does not cover unusual c ircumstances whichmay b expedenced when conslderlng less common vesselssuch as f ine l ined, high speed warships, non displacementcraft and vessels with exceDtional Drof i les.

Il:

I

I

t

in locks end basina requlres speclal skillBfihtphenrlllag

THE SHIPHANDLER'S GUIDE 1 5

Getreral

Speed

CHAPTER TWO

SLOW SPEED CONTROL

T H E . - | | M A f r o \ o r c D L D d n d k n o w i n g $ h e n t o r e d u c F s p e e dr \ h e n a D D r o a c h i n q a b e r r h i s n o l a l w a y s e a s y C o n f i d e n ( ec a n o n l v c o m e w r i h e Y p e r i e n ' e O n v e r y l a r g e - h r p _ s u c has VLCas. some guid;nce may be avai lable from rel iabled o p p l e r l o g s . b u l o n m a n v s h r p s a d o p p l e r l o g l s n o la v ; i l a b l e . i n a n v c a s e t o l a l r e l i a n ' e u p o n i n s l r u m e n i a l l o nis not wise and is no subsi i tuie for erperience. A pi loti u m p l n q f r o m o n e s h i p r o a n o l h e r ' s o m e l i m e s s c v e r a l? u r : n e 6 n e d u l y p e r r o d h a < l o d e v e l o p a f e P l ' f o r L h e l v p eof shi ; he boards and dr ive i t by the seat oi his pants"

Many casualt ies ar proven to occur as a direct resultof excesslve speed. l ts ef fect can be insidious and a maslermav f ind thaa i t is di f f icul t to keep up with vents whicha r e h a p p e n i n g t o o q L l j c k l ) E I f e c l i v c c o n l r o l o I L h e ' h r p' a n b ; s l o w I b u l i n e x o r a b l v l o s r ' A g a i n s l I h i s a r ecommercial pi"ssure". on masters and pi lots al ike fore x D e d r e n l p a s s a g e s a n d I u r n r o u n d t i m e s W h i l s r t h e r e. r i a r g u m e n r t . i i h e r w a y . L h e l a r e c l e a r l y n o t I o m p d r i b l ea n d J x p e r i e n c e h a s s h o w n t h a t a l a s t p i l o t i s n o tnecessai i ly a good pi lot - just a lucky onel

I t is therefore desirable to balance a safe and effect ives o e e d o l a p D r o a c h a g a i n s L a r e a l i s t i c l l m c s c a l e l r w o u l dh ; L r n w i s e . i o t " x a * - p t e , l o c o n d u t t a r h r e e m r l e r u n - l n a la speed of one knot. Three hours would stretch anyone spat iencel

I t is, of cours. impossible to give exact f igures Ther e o u i r c m e n r i s d l c L a l e d l o a l a r g e d e g r c e b y v a r i a b l e [ a c i o r