SHIP MANOEUVRING

Manoeuvring Diagram / Turning Circle Diagram

 The turning circle is the roughly circular path traced by the ship’s
centre of gravity (COG) during a full 3600 turn with constant
rudder angle and speed.
 Throughout the turn, her bow will be slightly inside the circle
and stern a little outside the circle.
 Due to some side slip, when the helm is first applied, the circle
does not link up with the original course.
 During the turn, the vessel suffers some loss of speed.
After turning through 900, about 1/4th of her original speed is lost.
After turning through a total of 1800, about 1/3rd of the original
speed is lost. Thereafter, speed remains roughly constant.

 Right handed propeller will have circle to port slightly shorter in

radius than circle to starboard. This is due to transverse
 thrust.
 The dotted track super-imposed on the first circle is the turning
circle of a similar vessel, but having twin-screws, one going
ahead and one going astern, at equal revolutions.
 Manoeuvring diagram uses certain terms that are defined below:

1. Advance: It is the distance travelled by the COG of the

ship, along the original course, measured from the time the
rudder is put over until the vessel’s head has turned by 900. It
is about 3 to 4 times the ship’s length.
2. Transfer: It is the distance travelled by the COG of the ship,
measured in the direction perpendicular to that of the
original course, from the original track to a point where the
vessel has altered her course by 900.
3. Tactical Diameter: It is the distance travelled by the
COG of the ship, measured in the direction perpendicular to
the original course, from the time the rudder is put over until
the ship has altered her course by 1800. It is the greatest
diameter traced by the vessel from commencing the turn to
completing the turn. It is about 4 times the ship’s length.
In simple words, it is the ‘transfer’ for 1800.
4. Final Diameter: It is the diameter of the circle that is
ultimately traced by a ship that continues to circle with a
constant rudder angle. It is the internal diameter of the
turning circle.
5. Drift Angle: It is the angle between the ship’s fore & aft line
and tangent to the turning circle. Greater the drift angle,
smaller is the turning circle.

PIVOT POINT
 The point on the centerline about which the ship turns when the
rudder is put over is called the Pivot point.
 When the ship is stationary/stopped, the pivot point is almost the
 same as the COG (about midship). However, when the vessel
goes to anchor, pivot point moves right forward, effectively
holding the bow in one position.
 Just when the ship starts getting underway, due to initial
resistance, the pivot point moves about 1/8th L from the forward
and settles at 1/4th L from the forward when under headway.

 Under sternway, the pivot point is about 1/4th L from the stern.
 At the pivot point, the drift angle is zero.
 Ship handling greatly depends on knowing the location of the pivot point.

LATERAL FORCES THAT AFFECT TURNING:

Rudder Force – it is the force exerted by the ship’s rudder which
attempts to turn the ship and drive it forward.
Lateral Resistance – As a ship commences a turn and thereafter, for
the duration of the turn, the ship is sliding sideways, resulting in a
large build up of water resistance, all the way down the ship’s side.
This force opposes the rudder force and is called the lateral
resistance.
The balance between these two forces plays a crucial part in shaping
all turning circles.

Effect of Displacement on Turning Circle

 Loaded ship will have increased draft and displacement.

Because of this, more underwater exposed area on the ship
side will result in more lateral resistance.
 When the same rudder force is used for a loaded ship and a ship
in ballast condition, the rudder force used for the loaded ship will
have to overcome more lateral resistance. Hence, turning circle
of the loaded ship will be more than that of the same ship in
ballast condition.
 A loaded vessel will be slow in answering to helm making her
sluggish in gathering way whereas a light vessel will be sensitive
to her helm allowing better steerage.
 Also, ships with greater draft and displacement will be more
 affected by the current. Turning in a moderate to strong current
with a high displacement will cause the turning circle to be
elliptic in shape.

Effect of Trim on Turning Circle

Trim of the vessel influences the turning circle. Let us consider a vessel
with trim by stern and the same vessel with a trim by head. Normally,
vessels have a trim by the stern for better steerage, to develop
maximum power and have improved headway. It is unusual for a ship
to be trimmed by head in normal circumstances.

TRIM BY STERN TRIM BY HEAD

Pivot point is further aft than that if Pivot point is further forward than that
she was on Even keel. if she was on Even keel.
Vessel’s turning circle will be larger. Vessel’s turning circle will be smaller.
Vessel will develop maximum power Vessel will not develop full power and
and steerage is better. will be difficult to turn.

Effect of List on Turning Circle

 The effect of list on turning circle is such that the vessel will
turn more readily towards the high side. That means the
vessel will have a smaller turning circle on the high side. The
effect of list is to hinder turn in the direction of list and assist a
turn away from the list.
 In twin screw ship, low-side engine will be more effective than
the other engine.

Effect of Speed on Turning Circle

 Turning circles are both speeds i.e. full ahead and slow ahead are
identical.
 When the speed is higher, larger rudder force is used in order to
counteract the larger lateral resistance. When the speed is
slower, lateral resistance is less. Thus, lesser rudder force is
used.
 In other words, the hydrodynamic forces that counteract the
 turn are proportional to the force exerted by the rudder.
 For any turn with a constant RPM, the rudder force and lateral
resistance will always achieve same balance. Hence, the turning
circles will be identical.
 However, the rate of turn will increase with increase in speed. In
case where the ship’s speed is increased during the turn (RPM
not kept constant), the diameter of this accelerating turn is
significantly less than a turn at constant RPM.

Effect of Shallow Waters on Turning Circle

 When a vessel turns in shallow waters, her turning circle is

bigger. This can be explained considering a vessel turning to
starboard in shallow waters.

1. In shallow waters, as the stern of the ship begins to turn to port,

the water pressure building on the port side is more than that in
the deep waters. This is because there is less room
available under
the keel; hence
there is
restriction of
water flow.
2. The rudder
force has to
overcome a
larger lateral
resistance and
is therefore less
efficient.
3. Also, at the
bow, because
of reduced
UKC, the water
which would
normally pass
under the ship
gets restricted.
 This results in
build-up of
pressure – both
at the head of
the ship and
port bow. This
pressure
pushes the
pivot point abaft
thus reducing
the turning
lever.

 Due to the above effects, the ship rapidly looses rudder

efficiency that is available in deep waters and hence, the
turning circle in shallow waters is larger (almost twice) than
that in the deep waters.

STOPPING THE SHIP

The most common method of reducing a ship’s speed and stopping her
is simply by putting the engines astern. This is not a very efficient
method as the ship’s propeller is not very effective when going astern.
Also, by using this method, the ship’s heading will change significantly,
as much as 900. To avoid this, the ship can be swung to port prior putting
the engines astern (for a right handed propeller). A large alteration of
course or round turn can also assist in stopping the vessel.

Stopping Ability of a vessel is judged using a full astern-crash stop

manoeuver. It is measured by the ‘track reach’ and ‘head reach’
realized in a stop engine / full astern manoeuver till the ahead speed
changes sign i.e. the vessel starts going backwards or stops dead in
the water.

‘Track reach’ is defined as a

distance along the vessel’s
track that the vessel covers
from the moment the ‘full
astern’ command is given until
the ship changes the sign of
the ahead speed or stops
dead in the water. Track
reach is usually less than 15 L.
It can be less than 20 L but
never exceed 20 L.

‘Head reach’ is defined as

the distance along the
direction of the original course
measured from the moment
the ‘full stern’ or ‘stop
engine’ command was given
until the ship the ship is
dead in the water.

Stopping distance is
defined as the minimum
distance that a vessel may be
seen to cover to come to rest
over the ground. Normally,
stopping distances are
provided from full ahead to
stop engine and from full
ahead to crash full astern
i.e. crash stop.
The vessel’s manoeuvring diagram must indicate head reach for the
vessel in loaded and ballast conditions. The stopping distance of a ship
is very important as it helps the Master to estimate the time and distance
required to bring the ship to a complete stop in case of emergencies.
One must keep in mind that, a large alteration of course or a round turn
can lessen the head reach considerably. As the vessel changes heading
by 900, about 1/4th of her original speed is lost. When the vessel changes
heading by 1800, about 1/3rd of her original speed is lost. The advance
for a full round turn is roughly 3 to 4 times the ship’s length whereas the
head reach can be 10-15 times the ship’s length when the engines
 are put astern.

Rudder Cycling

Rudder cycling is a very effective method of stopping the ship while

maintaining her directional movement. It uses the resistance of water on
underwater hull area to reduce the speed of the ship. Let us consider a
vessel proceeding at full ahead and needs to stop.
With Port side safer than starboard side; we must carry out the following actions:
 Put the rudder hard to
port. When the ship has
turned to 200 from the
original course, put the
telegraph to half ahead.
 When the ship’s
0
heading is 40 from the
original course, put
rudder hard to stbd.
 When the ship’s
heading just starts to
turn to starboard side,
put the engines on slow
ahead.
 When the ship’s heading
has returned to original
course, put rudder hard
to port.
 When the ship just starts
to turn to port, put the
engine to dead slow
ahead.
 When the ship’s
heading returned to
original course, put the
rudder hard to
starboard to check
some of the port
swing. When the ship still
 has some rate of turn to
port, go full astern on
engines to stop the
ship. Subsequently,
put rudder to midship
and stop engines.

Rudder cycling will stop the ship at considerable lesser distance. We

can use this method for both slowing down and stopping the ship.
However, we must be careful not to lose control of the vessel.

Effect of size, displacement, trim, speed and UKC on stopping distances:

Size – A large vessel will carry her away further than a smaller
vessel. Hence, stopping distance for a large ship will be more than
that for a smaller vessel.
Displacement – Deeply laden vessel carries her way longer than a
light vessel. Hence, stopping distance for a laden vessel is more than
that of a light vessel.
Smooth & Fine Shaped Hull – Vessel that has recently come from a
dry dock will have a smooth hull means less resistance. Hence,
stopping distance for such vessels will be more than for those with a
fouled hull. Also, ships with fine shaped hulls will carry their way longer
than vessels that are beamy or rectangular.
Trim –A vessel with trim by head will have reduced propeller immersion
which will lessen propulsion efficiency. Hence, we can say, a
vessel will have greater stopping distance when trimmed by head
than when she is trimmed by stern.
Speed – A vessel will have greater stopping distance at high speed as
she will take her way further than when at slow speed.
UKC – Vessel in shallow waters displaces water which is not so easily
replaced, therefore leading to a state of partial vacuum. The vessel
takes longer time to respond to helm and engine movements become
sluggish. Therefore, a vessel carries her way longer in shallow waters
increasing the stopping distance.
TRANSVERSE THRUST

 The thrust of a propeller blade is divided into two components:

(i) Fore and aft component
(ii) A very small athwardship component

 The latter is called

transverse thrust or
starting bias which
is caused by the
wheeling effect
and helical
discharge.
 For a right handed
propeller, while
going ahead, the
bow cants to port,
the swing
decreases as
way is gathered.
While going
astern, the bow
cants strongly to
stbd and will
continue to do so
until correcting
helm is used.

MANOEUVRING BOOKLET
It is recommended that manoeuvring information in the form of a
‘Pilot Card’, ‘Bridge Poster ’ and ‘manoeuvring booklet’ should be
retained on board ships. Such information should include
comprehensive details on the following factors affecting ship’s
manoeuvrability, as obtained from construction plans, trials and
calculated estimates.
1. Ships general particulars
2. Listed main manoeuvring features – Main engine, type and
number of units, together with power output; the number and
type of propellers, their diameter, pitch and direction of
rotation; the type and number of rudders; bow and stern
thruster units (if fitted), type and capacity.
3. Hull particulars – Profiles of the bow and stern sections of
the vessel and the length of the parallel middle body (respective
to berthing alongside).

4. Manoeuvring characteristics in deep and shallow

waters – Curves should be constructed for shallow and
restricted waters to show the maximum squat values at
different speeds and blockage factors, with the ship at
variable draughts.
5. Main engine – Manoeuvring speed tables established for
loaded and ballast conditions from trials or estimated; stating
critical RPM.
6. Wind forces and drift effects – The ability of the ship to
maintain course headings under relative wind speeds, should
also be noted; together with the drifting effects on the vessel
under the influence of wind, when the vessel is without
engine power.
7. Turning circle test results - from trials or estimates for various
loaded and ballast conditions; reflecting ‘advance’ and
‘transfer’ and the maximum rudder angle employed in the test,
together with times and speeds at 90°, 180°, 270° and 360°;
details should be in diagrammatic format with ship’s outline.
Data may refer to only stbd turn, unless there is a significant
difference between the Port and stbd turn.
8. Acceleration and speed characteristics –
Presentation of speed performance when the ship
accelerates from a stopped position and deceleration from
full sea speed to a position of rest, for loaded and ballast
conditions.
9. Stopping capabilities – Should include following track
stopping distances: Full astern from Full sea speed / Full man.
speed / Half Ahead / Slow Ahead Stop Engine from Full sea
speed / Full man. speed / Half Ahead / Slow Ahead Relevant
time intervals for stoppages should
also be recorded.

Any other relevant information considered useful to manoeuvring & handling

capabilities of the vessel should be included in the ‘Manoeuvring Booklet’.