Effects of steady wave forces on course-keeping manoeuvres of full- and model-scale ships moving obliquely in short waves

ABSTRACT We investigated the effects of the steady wave force variations generated by oblique motions upon ship manoeuvre estimations, using a numerical simulation that incorporated only steady wave forces into a three-degrees-of-freedom conventional modular mathematical model in calm water. The investigation was conducted for a very large crude carrier undergoing course-keeping manoeuvres in regular short waves. The steady wave forces in the simulation were provided via two methods, depending on the experimental data and the presence or absence of a ship drift angle. The simulation was validated via a free-running model test; this involved various rudder effectiveness conditions for the ship model and full-scale ships, both with and without engine limits. Through this validation, we showed that the steady wave force variations generated by oblique motions are non-negligible when accurately estimating the manoeuvres of full-scale ships in short waves, although they are negligible for ship models.