Interaction occurs when ships pass too close to each other or come too close to banks or obstructions. There are three main types of interaction:
1) Ship to ship interaction, which can cause ships to veer off course when passing too closely, especially in narrow channels
2) Ship to shore interaction, where a ship passing close to a bank can experience cushioning or suction effects
3) Ship to ground interaction, where a ship in shallow waters can experience increased squat and risk grounding.
Interaction occurs when ships pass too close to each other or come too close to banks or obstructions. There are three main types of interaction:
1) Ship to ship interaction, which can cause ships to veer off course when passing too closely, especially in narrow channels
2) Ship to shore interaction, where a ship passing close to a bank can experience cushioning or suction effects
3) Ship to ground interaction, where a ship in shallow waters can experience increased squat and risk grounding.
Interaction occurs when ships pass too close to each other or come too close to banks or obstructions. There are three main types of interaction:
1) Ship to ship interaction, which can cause ships to veer off course when passing too closely, especially in narrow channels
2) Ship to shore interaction, where a ship passing close to a bank can experience cushioning or suction effects
3) Ship to ground interaction, where a ship in shallow waters can experience increased squat and risk grounding.
Interaction occurs when ships pass too close to each other or come too close to banks or obstructions. There are three main types of interaction:
1) Ship to ship interaction, which can cause ships to veer off course when passing too closely, especially in narrow channels
2) Ship to shore interaction, where a ship passing close to a bank can experience cushioning or suction effects
3) Ship to ground interaction, where a ship in shallow waters can experience increased squat and risk grounding.
Interaction occurs when a ship comes too close to
another ship or too close to a river or canal bank. As ships have increased in size (especially in breadth) interaction has become very important to consider. Most vessels will at one time or another experience some form of interaction with another vessel, perhaps when navigating in shallow water or passing too close to an obstruction. Interaction is the reaction of the ship’s hull to pressure exerted on its underwater volume. Interaction can result in one or more of the following characteristics: 1. If two ships are on a passing or overtaking situation in a river, squats of both vessels could be doubled when both amidships are directly in line. 2. When they are directly in line each ship will develop an angle of heel and the smaller ship will be drawn bodily towards the larger vessel. 3. Both ships could lose steerage efficiency and alter course without change in rudder helm. 4. The smaller ship may suddenly veer off course and head into the adjacent river bank. 5. The smaller ship could veer into the side of the larger ship or worse still be drawn across the bows of the larger ship, bowled over and capsized. In other words there is: 1. a ship to ground Interaction, 2. a ship to ship Interaction, 3. a ship to shore Interaction. Interaction in Narrow Channels
Ship to Ship: When passing another vessel that is moored fore
and aft, interaction between the vessels will often cause the moored ship to ‘range on her moorings’. Also, interaction between ships is experienced when they come very close to one another especially in shallow waters, in a passing or overtaking situation. Ship to Shore: In a narrow channel such as a canal, when a vessel is navigating close to the bank, the interaction is experienced between the hull of the ship and sides of the bank. The vessel may experience the Bank Cushion effect at the bow and Bank suction effect at her stern. Ship to ground: In shallow waters, an increase in squat may be experienced because of the loss of water under the vessel’s keel leading to an interaction between the ship’s bottom and the seabed. This may even bring about the vessel grounding. When a ship is nearing an extremely shallow depth of water, such as a shoal, she is likely to take a sudden sheer, first towards it and then violently away. This is called ‘smelling the ground’. This is also a form of interaction between the ship and ground.
INTERACTION BETWEEN TWO SHIPS
(A) On reciprocal courses, meeting end-on: The period of time in which interaction is allowed to affect both vessels is limited because the effect will last only during the period of passing. When vessels are on reciprocal courses, the length of time that the vessels are actually abeam of each other is short (as opposed to an overtaking situation). No problems arise when both vessels have ample sea room. However, in narrow channels there is the danger of grounding or collision as bows are repelled and sterns pulled towards each other. When navigating in narrow channels, the limits for vessels passing can often be extremely fine. Both vessels must reduce speed in ample time in order to minimise the interaction between ship and ship and ship and bank. Provided a sensible speed is adopted, it should prove unnecessary to alter the engine speed while passing, thus keeping disturbance and changing pressures to the minimum as the vessels draw abeam. In normal circumstances each vessel would keep to her own starboard side of the channel. Good communications should be established before the approach to ascertain exactly when the manoeuvre will start. Efficient port / harbour control can very often ease situations like this simply by applying forward planning to shipping movements
(B) When overtaking another vessel
When two vessels are passing too close to each other on parallel courses, such as in an overtaking situation, interaction may occur when the vessels are abeam, resulting in deflection of the bows and attraction of stern quarters, with dangerous consequences. Overtaking in a narrow channel must naturally be performed at close quarters and hence, it should be avoided as far as possible. If it is executed, it is important that those in charge of both the ships pay careful attention to what is happening and carry out the correct and necessary manoeuvers on the rudder in good time. These manoeuvres may be extremely dangerous, as the overtaken vessel may go out of control on account of her reduced speed and consequent lesser effective rudder. The ship being overtaken should reduce her speed as much as possible while still maintaining steerage way. This will reduce the time required to complete the overtaking manoeuver, reducing the time the overtaking vessel will be abeam and thereby reducing the chances of her becoming unmanageable. The effect is more when there is a large difference in size and displacement of the two vessels. Most dangerous situation is when a large vessel overtakes a smaller vessel. The positive pressure at the bow of the larger vessel acting on the quarter of the smaller vessel being overtaken may cause that vessel to sheer towards or in front of the overtaking vessel. (C) When passing a Moored Vessel:
Interaction between a Moored
vessel and a passing vessel will be such that the moored vessel will surge to and fro in the wash of the passing ship. The speed of the passing ship therefore must be reduced whenever she intends to pass close by say, a river berth. The surging is due to the cushioning and suction effects existing at a passing ship’s bow and stern. The fore-and- aft flow of water down her side must also be considered. Due to the speed of the travelling ship, the moored vessel cannot be considered a fixed object as it will attract or repel the bow or stern of the passing ship. On the contrary, the moored vessel is regarded as a floating object which is subjected to sheering forces. The figures alongside show the movements to which a moored ship will be subjected. In (1) we see that Ship A’s stern is repelled by Ship B’s bow. By the time Ship B reaches (2), Ship A’s starts surging astern. When both the ships are abeam as in (3), the sterns are attracted and bows are repelled. As the ship B proceeds to (4), the bow of Ship A is attracted to the side of Ship B and she surges ahead. Ship A must have her lines tended during the passage of ship B. Ship B must proceed as slowly as possible in order to keep her wave making to a minimum. She must also keep well clear of the other bank so that she does not take a violent sheer into Ship A.