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LIGHT HOUSES
Navigating in the Fog
DrUdayDokras
B.Sc., B.A. (Managerial Economics), LLB. Nagpur University,India
Graduate Studies,Queen’s University, Canada
MBA (CALSTATE,USA)
Graduate Diploma in Law, Stockholm University,Sweden
Ph.D (Management) Stockholm University, Sweden
CONSULTANT- Gorewada International Zoo, Nagpur,India- Largest Zoo and Safari in Asia

Many years ago, people decided to explore the waters by boat. During the day they could find
their way back to the landing place by looking for a pile of rocks that had been left there. These
were the first daymarks. But how could they find their way home at night? Since much of the
shoreline looked very similar, friends had to light a bonfire on a high point to guide them to the
right landing area. Still later they used a pole or a tripod to hang a metal basket containing a fire
as a method of signaling. Our first lighthouses were actually given to us by Nature herself.
Sailors sometimes used landmarks such as glowing volcanoes to guide them. In the Ancient
World, trading ships were eventually built enabling navigators to sail long distances to buy and
sell goods. In the days of wooden ships with sails, the wind and waves could easily push them
against the rocks and wreck them.

And so, the need for lighthouses as warning signals arose. One of the Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World was a lighthouse - the famous Pharos of Alexandria, Egypt. It is the first one that
is recorded in history and was built about 280 B.C. Those records tell us that it was the tallest
one ever built -450 ft. (comparable to a 45 story skyscraper) and used an open fire at the top as a
source of light. Can you imagine being the keeper, climbing to the top to light the fire, and then
forgetting the matches or whatever was used in those days to start a fire? This fantastic structure
survived for 1500 years until it was completely destroyed by an earthquake in the 14th Century.
Slave labor was used to build it, and it took twenty long years to complete. It was a three part
tower with a square base, a second story with eight sides and a narrow, taller; round third story.
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At night they believe its lighted fire could be seen for thirty miles, whereas by day it produced a
column of smoke for a daymark. Today we call people who study (or are interested in)
lighthouses pharologists. The name comes from that famous lighthouse. Wood fires were the
earliest illuminants. As lighthouses proliferated, lamps powered by coal, whale oil, kerosene and
other fuels became commonplace. One of the most novel lighthouse inventions, the Fresnel lens,
came along in 1822 and used a network of prisms to magnify a small amount of light and cast a
beam over distances of 20 miles (32.18 kilometers) or more. The lens was widely used across the
pond, but under Stephen Pleasant, who oversaw lighthouses from 1820 to 1852, U.S. lighthouses
were equipped with low-cost alternatives. Soon after the establishment of the Lighthouse Board
in 1852, all lighthouses in the United States were equipped with Fresnel lenses.

What is a lighthouse? It is nothing but a tower with a bright light at the top, located at an
important or dangerous place regarding navigation (travel over water). The two main purposes of
a lighthouse are to serve as a navigational aid and to warn boats of dangerous areas. It is like a
traffic sign on the sea. Although we often think of a lighthouse as a tall, white conical tower,
there are many, many variations of design. Depending on its location, it might be tall (where the
land was very flat) or short and squat (where there was a high cliff or rocky coast). It could be
square, octagonal (with eight sides), conical (like an ice cream cone upside down), cylindrical
(like a very fat pipe), or even like a skeleton. You might find the lighthouse standing alone,
attached to the building where the lighthouse keeper lives, or connected to the keeper's quarters
by an enclosed walkway. Sometimes the lantern room is built into the roof of the keeper's house.
Location: They can be found in a variety of places, on rocky cliffs or sandy shoals on land, on a
wave swept reef in the sea, and at entrances to harbors and bays. They serve to warn the sailor of
dangerous reefs beneath the sea or perilous rocky coasts on land, and to guide ships into a safe
harbor or back out to sea. So the message of the lighthouse might be - STAY AWAY,
DANGER, BEWARE, or COME THIS WAY. Every lighthouse tells the mariner, "This is
exactly where you are."

Universal: Each country, unless landlocked, has several coastlines used by ships from around
the world. The USA for instance is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the East, in the West the
Pacific Ocean, and in the South, the Gulf of Mexico. But we also have another very important
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area of coastline where the land meets the sea, the Great Lakes. All of these four areas bordering
our country need and have lighthouses, as well as some of our more important navigable inland
waterways.
Daymark and Night mark: Before they had all the sophisticated technology of today - loran,
radar, sonar, on ship electronics, radio beacons, etc. - ships near shore in the daytime would use
lighthouses as a landmark. This use gave them an additional name - a Daymark. Imagine that you
are the captain of a ship sailing along the coast. You need some landmarks to help you find your
position. When you look on shore, you see a tall red brick tower. Then you sail about forty miles
down the coast and you see another round red brick tower -just like the first one. How would you
know where you are?

A classic example given is the portion of the Virginia and North Carolina coast in the 1870's. To
help the mariner determine his location the Lighthouse Board (which was in charge of
lighthouses from 1852-1910) issued an order to have each lighthouse painted in different colors
and/or designs. This is the best example of DAYMARKS we can see today.

Nighttime is the most dangerous time to navigate, and the main reason lighthouses exist. One
cannot see colors or patterns at night in pitch darkness, cloudy nighty covering the moon or
moonless nights -but definitely one can see lights. However, unless there was some way to make
each light different, you could have the same problem. Early on, multiple lights (that is, two or
three together) were built. Building double or triple lighthouses was one way to help the sailors
at sea determine their location, but it was a very expensive way to do it. Mounting a group of
lights on a rotating framework made it possible to produce a special signature (the first flashing
characteristic) for each lighthouse, so they could be easily told apart. The invention of the
Fresnel lens in 1822 was probably the most important discovery in lighting technology. As well
as enabling man to produce an unlimited number of flashing combinations, it also intensified
(brightened) the light so it was much more helpful to the mariner, and could be seen at greater
distances. The Fresnel (pronounced "Frey Nel") lens can be compared to a huge lamp shade
except that it is made of hundreds of pieces of beautiful, specially cut glass. It surrounds the
lamp bulb, but differs from a lamp shade, which concentrates the light downward. This lens, due
to its special design, and because it is made of glass, intensifies the glow from the light. It takes
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the rays of light which normally scatter in all directions and bends (refracts and reflects) them,
focusing them into a single beam of light, which shines out in a specific direction. Fresnel lenses
are of two types: Fixed - which shows a steady light all around the horizon and Revolving -
which produces a flash or a characteristic. The number of flashes per minute depends on the
number of flash panels and the speed at which the optic (lens) revolves. Different periods of
darkness and light produce a unique flash pattern for each light. For example, a light can send
out a flash every five seconds, or it might have a fifteen second period of darkness and a three
second period of brightness, or any number of other combinations. The individual flashing
pattern of each light is called its

Characteristics: Mariners have to look at a light list or a maritime chart which tells what light
flashes that particular pattern and what color the light is as well. Then they are able to determine
their position at sea in relation to the land. Fresnel lenses come in seven commonly used sizes
(called orders). The larger ones (1st order), used on major seacoasts, flash a more powerful beam
which shines as far as twenty one miles out to sea. Sixth order lights, the smaller ones, are used
in bays where they don't have to shine as far or as brightly. Most look like a beehive or barrel;
some have bull's-eyes and can contain from two to twenty four different panels. Those with the
fewest flash panels (two) are called clamshell or bivalve lens. A clockwork type mechanism
(which had to be wound by hand every few hours before the advent of electricity) is used to
make these revolving lenses rotate around the lamp itself to produce the flash. The movement of
the lens is timed precisely so the bull's-eye panel will pass by when a flash is due. These lenses
are really beautiful works of art; most contain hundreds of prisms - pieces of specially ground,
cut and polished glass which, when arranged in a certain way, bend (reflect and refract) the light.
Thus all the rays of the light are collected and redirected into a single pencil beam of light. This
makes it much brighter and more effective. The lenses themselves can weigh as much as four
tons. Another way to distinguish lights is through the use of color. Although most lights have a
white lamp, some do use red and others green lights, as well as combinations of the colors.
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Fog: What happens in fog when the light isn't visible? Have you ever been out in a car on a dark,
stormy, very foggy night? You know how difficult it is to see other cars on the road. Now,
picture yourself sailing along a black- looking sea in a thick pea soup fog with no stars shining or
moonlight visible. The windshield wipers are working overtime, but the view of the light from
the lighthouse is being blocked by the fog. In situations like this there is another method of
notifying the mariner using sound. It is called a foghorn. The first one was used in 1719 at
Boston light and it was, of all things, a cannon. Can you imagine being a lighthouse keeper and
having to fire the cannon every hour when there was fog? During a long spell of fog you
wouldn't get any sleep. Later they tried various other means of making a noise for warning. Fog
bells were used as well as steam whistles and reed trumpets and sirens. The sounds they gave out
were generally low pitched and very mournful - almost like a wail. Each one emitted a specific
number of blasts every minute so it could be told apart from all others. Today, an automatic
sensor which detects moisture in the air turns on the fog signals when needed. There are also
soundless fog signals called radio beacons (an electronic device). These fog signals were not
placed everywhere. Although some places experience no fog problems, fog warning devices are
very necessary in New England, on the Pacific Coast, and in Alaska. What fuels were used to
produce light? The main source of power for the light today is electricity, although in some
places they use acetylene gas.
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For thousands of years before the electric lamp bulb was invented by Thomas Edison in 1879,
different fuels were used to illuminate the lamps. First, it was wood and coal for fires, then bales
of oakum and pitch, and rows of candles. Later lamps were lit using various fuels - sperm whale
oil (produced by cooking the blubber of the whale), lard oil (from animal fat), kerosene (a fuel
like gasoline with a petroleum base), etc. When they first designed a lighthouse with an enclosed
lantern room it was possible to use candles for light. One lighthouse used 60 candles! Most used
far fewer candles which were sometimes arranged in a circular candelabra or a chandelier with
two tiers, or on a frame. Next came spider lamps which consisted of a shallow brass pan
containing oil with either four, eight or more wicks usually arranged in a circle, but other shapes
such as a rectangle were also used (since a spider has eight legs, the first one probably had eight
wicks!).

Two very important discoveries occurred in the late 1700's. The parabolic reflector was a bowl-
like device with a small oil lamp in the center. The light from the lamp was gathered and focused
into a beam. This was similar to putting a mirror behind a flame. Thus the first really efficient
lighthouse was created. Think of a flashlight which has a silver reflector behind the tiny bulb to
increase the brightness of the light. It is based on the same principle. The invention of the hollow
wick oil lamp (the Argand lamp) resulted in a light which was seven times brighter than a candle.
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This lamp was used with various types of fuel inside the Fresnel lens until the electric light bulb
was invented. The first lighthouse ever to use electricity in this country was the Statue of Liberty
in 1886. Yes, this special symbol of freedom was used as a lighthouse in New York harbor for
the first fifteen years of her existence. When were the first lighthouses built in our country? In

colonial times, before we became an independent nation, men realized the need for lighthouses at
the major ports to help guide ships into the harbors, to prevent them from crashing, and thereby
losing their precious cargoes. So, the first lighthouses were built by the colonies (which were
called states when we became the United States of America). In those days the ship owners had
to pay a fee (toll) for the use of the lights which helped cover the costs of their construction and
maintenance. Each ship which passed by a A - 8 lighthouse on its way into or out of a port paid a
tax based on the weight of the cargo it was carrying. They paid a penny for each ton of goods on
board ship. You have to remember that in those days a penny was worth a lot more than it is
today. Once we gained our independence from Great Britain and the federal government took
charge in 1789, this fee was eliminated. What is the difference between a lighthouse and a light
station? A lighthouse is the tower itself containing the lantern room with the lamp which shines
its light. A light station (which is usually onshore, but occasionally on offshore islands) is the
property containing all of the outbuildings (as many as eight) of the "station", as well as the
lighthouse tower itself. There were usually separate living quarters, depending on the number of
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lighthouse keepers and assistants living there. Besides these, there would probably be an oil (or
fuel) house, a barn, a boat house, and a fogsignaling building. What duties did lighthouse keepers
perform? Before the days of electricity, they had to light the lamp at sunset and extinguish it at
sunrise. During an 8 hour watch at night they had to climb the stairs in the tower one to three
times a night to check on the light and wind the weights that operated the clock. Some
lighthouses have as many as two hundred steps! Keepers earned the name "wickie" because one
of their chores was to trim the burned lamp wick, so it wouldn't smoke and dirty the lens. The
brass in the building had to be shined, and all the windows cleaned. Often it took a whole day to
clean and polish the lens alone. It was very important to keep both the lens and the lantern room
windows clean so the light would not be diminished (lessened) in any way. A daily log had to be
kept detailing everything from the weather to the amount of fuel consumed. Keepers also had to
tend to the mechanism used to operate the fog signal. During the year many items had to be
painted. Keepers and their families were kept very busy. What is the most important aspect of the
lighthouse? Of course it is the light that shines out from the lantern room at the top which
encloses and protects the lens. This lantern room is made of metal and glass which is divided into
sections by pieces called astragals. Usually the astragals are vertical (up and down), but some are
diagonal.
Redundancy: Today, all of the lighthouses in any country have been automated, with very few
exceptions but they too will be converted to electricity. Many of the lighthouses are now no
longer needed because of advances in technology, and they have been or are being turned over to
various government agencies or non-profit local organizations to maintain and administer. It is
important to keep them in good condition for future generations to learn about their place in the
history of our country. They also need protection from vandalism and threats of erosion.

Tourism: And it is a special experience to be able to climb the stairs just as the keepers did and
picture what life was like in times past. Why are people interested in lighthouses? The word
"lighthouse" represents a variety of ideas and emotions...beauty, romance, isolation, fear, danger,
security, sacrifice, home, etc. Lighthouses are usually stunning buildings in spectacular
surroundings. Lighthouse stories epitomize some of the classic themes used by storytellers
throughout history. The technology is interesting, the buildings are beautiful, the stories of the
lighthouse keepers are fascinating. The keepers were a group of regular people who selflessly
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staffed isolated stations to help ensure the safety of others. All of these aspects combine to
explain the growing popularity of lighthouses. It is important to save these buildings and their
stories for the future.
In 1886, the Statue of Liberty became the first lighthouse powered by electricity, and served as a
lighthouse in New York Harbor for 15 years. Most lighthouses had gone electric by the 1930s
after access to electrical lines expanded. Electrical lines led to a series of inventions, including
automated time clocks, devices to replace burnt-out light bulbs and improved radio
communications technology, propelling lighthouses down the path toward automation
[source: Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy].
Manned lighthouses had grown rare by the 1960s, when the Coast Guard implemented the
Lighthouse Automation and Modernization Program. There were fewer than 60 manned
lighthouses by the end of the decade. The modern lighthouse is a bare-bones structure comprised
of an automated beacon atop a steel skeletal tower. Today, there is only one manned lighthouse
in the United States.

The second purpose is to serve as a reference to mariners. An individual lighthouse distinguished

itself with its day mark -- the color schemes and patterns on the tower -- and its light signature.
For example, a lighthouse might emit two flashes every three seconds to distinguish it from a
lighthouse that emits four flashes every three seconds. Even today, if the GPS goes on the fritz,
crews reference light lists to plot a course -- those regional indices of lighthouses and their
distinguishing traits.
At points before their automation in the 20th century, lighthouses had to accommodate
cumbersome systems as well as a light-keeping staff to keep shining 24 hours a day. In addition
to a lighthouse, a complete light station might include a fog signal building, a boathouse, living
quarters for the keeper and his family and a separate oil house to cordon off the flammable
agents that powered the lamps.
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The Elements
"Finally the ship as a means of transport can be considered as an element in a geographically
dispersed social, political and economic system. Warships impose political will by force; cargo
vessels exist in a system of commerce; while passenger carrying vessels give clues to social
classes and structure. Social status may also exist within the ship, for
example, segregation between officers and seamen."[4] Prior to being wrecked, the ship would
have operated as an organised machine, and its crew, equipment, passengers and cargo need to
be considered as a system. The material remains should provide clues to the functions
of seaworthiness, navigation and propulsion as well as to ship-board life.

"When a ship is wrecked, it suffers many changes of state until the remains eventually
reach equilibrium with their environment. Initially, the wrecking process changes it from the
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human organised form of a working vessel to an unstable state of structure and artefacts
underwater. Natural forces act upon it during the wrecking process and continue to act until
equilibrium is reached. Heavy items sink rapidly, lighter items may drift before sinking, while
buoyant items may float away completely. This causes a filtering and scrambling of the material
remains. The sudden arrival of a structure on the seabed will change the currents, often resulting
in new scour and deposition patterns in the seabed."[3] Once underwater, chemical processes and
the action of biological organisms will contribute to the disintegration. At any point in these
processes, humans may have intervened, for example by salvaging items of value.

Therefore the archaeology of shipwrecks is the field of Archaeology specialized most

commonly in the study and exploration of shipwrecks.[1] Its techniques combine those of
archaeology with those of diving to become Underwater archaeology. However, shipwrecks are
discovered on what have become terrestrial sites.[2]
It is necessary to understand the processes by which a wreck site is formed to take into account
the distortions in the archaeological material caused by the filtering and scrambling of material
remains that occurs during and after the wrecking process.

Goodwin Sands is a 10-mile (16 km) long sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying 6
miles (10 km) off the Deal coast in Kent, England. The area consists of a layer of approximately
25 m (82 ft) depth of fine sand resting on an Upper Chalk platform belonging to the same
geological feature that incorporates the White Cliffs of Dover. The banks lie between 0.5 m (1 ft
8 in) above the low water mark to around 3 m (10 ft) below low water, except for one channel
that drops to around 20 m (66 ft) below.[2] Tides and currents are constantly shifting the shoals.
More than 2,000 ships are believed to have been wrecked upon the Goodwin Sands because they
lie close to the major shipping lanes through the Straits of Dover. The few miles between the
sands and the coast is also a safe anchorage used as a refuge from foul weather known as The
Downs. Due to the dangers, the area – which also includes Brake Bank – is marked by
numerous light vessels and buoys. Hidden just beneath the water's surface at high tide, the Sands
are one of the most dangerous spots in the English Channel. In late November 1703, when
southern Britain saw the worst natural disaster in its history, a massive cyclone now known as the
Great Storm, more than 1,000 seamen died on the Goodwin Sands.
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Notable shipwrecks include HMS Stirling Castle in 1703, VOC ship Rooswijk in 1740,
the SS Montrose in 1914, and the South Goodwin Lightship, which broke free from its anchor
moorings during a storm in 1954. Several naval battles have been fought nearby, including
the Battle of Goodwin Sands in 1652 and the Battle of Dover Strait in 1917.
When hovercraft ran from Pegwell Bay, Ramsgate, they used to make occasional trips over the
Sands, where boats could not safely go.

History
The dangers posed to shipping by the Goodwin Sands have long been recognised and the earliest
record of a warning light being used on the Foreland relates to a Brother Nicholas de Legh, who
hung a white light from cliffs near St Margaret-at-Cliffe a little to the north.[3] 17th and 18th
century

South Foreland as seen from the sea.

The first pair of lighthouses at South Foreland was built in 1635 by Sir John Meldrum.[3] (He
also built the first North Foreland Lighthouse, 15 miles to the north, the following year.) The
light at this time was provided by an open fire burning in a brazier on the roof. Responsibility for
the lighthouses (and rights to the associated light dues) were passed to a Robert Osboldston in
1643, and then in 1715 to Greenwich Hospital.
In 1730 one William Knott began a period of service as lighthouse keeper at the Lower
Lighthouse. Over the next 175 years five generations of the Knott family would serve as
lighthouse keepers at South Foreland, making them 'probably the longest dynasty of keepers
anywhere in the world'.[5]
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In 1793 the Upper Lighthouse was rebuilt with an oil lamp and parabolic reflectors in place of
the brazier; the Lower Lighthouse was similarly rebuilt two years later (as a two-storey building,
whereas the Upper Lighthouse was three storeys). John Yenn was the architect.[3]
19th century

South Foreland Lower Lighthouse in 2012

In 1832 the Corporation of Trinity House purchased the lease for the South Foreland lights from
Greenwich Hospital. Ten years later the Upper Lighthouse was heightened and refurbished with
a multi-wick oil lamp and a first-order fixed dioptric optic, manufactured by Henry-Lepaute of
Paris. Then, the Lower Lighthouse was entirely rebuilt, in 1846, and provided with a fixed array
of fifteen Argand lamps and reflectors.[6] The architect and engineer for both these projects
was James Walker.[7] At the same time new accommodation for the keepers was built alongside
each tower.

In the 1850s Michael Faraday, scientific adviser to Trinity House, was exploring the feasibility
of electric light being used in lighthouses; several different solutions were proposed. In
1857 Frederick Hale Holmes demonstrated his magneto-electric apparatus to Faraday, proposing
its use in conjunction with carbon arc lamps. The initial trial was conducted at South Foreland
Upper Light, which thus became the first lighthouse to use electric light.[8] The South Foreland
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trial began in December 1858 and continued until early 1860; afterwards Holmes's

equipment was installed on a more permanent basis in Dungeness Lighthouse, in 1862.

(Meanwhile, at South Foreland that year, experimental use was being made of a Drummond
light at the high lighthouse; however, 'the results were not satisfactory' with regard to its
potential for lighthouse illumination.. In 1871 Souter Lighthouse became the first to be designed
and built for electric operations.
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No two lighthouses have been built the same. Early lighthouses used whatever materials were
available locally: wood, brick, stone, concrete, reinforced steel and cast iron. Some lighthouses
are placed onshore overlooking the water, while some are built offshore on reefs or patches of
rocks. Even the height of the tower changes from one lighthouse to the next depending on the
view from the water. A lighthouse overlooking a 100-foot (30.48 meter) cliff, for example,
wouldn't need to be built as tall as one positioned closer to sea level.
There are regional similarities in construction, however: Lighthouses built in the Outer Banks of
North Carolina are built in intervals so that if a ship maneuvering down the coast lost sight of
one lighthouse, it would find the glow of the next one

The History and Technology of Lighthouses

Lighthouses have been around since ancient Egypt. The Tower of Hercules, built by the Romans
in northern Spain during the first century A.D., remains the oldest functioning lighthouse in the
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world [source: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]. And as
maritime trade expanded, so did the presence of lighthouses around the world, from China to
Indonesia to Africa to Estonia. Famously, the Stevensons, a Scottish family of lighthouse
engineers that counted author Robert Louis Stevenson among its progeny, built 97 lighthouses
along the Scottish coastline and elsewhere.
Lighthouses first appeared in New England in 1716. In 1789, Congress created the U.S.
Lighthouse Establishment to bring lighthouses under federal control. After first earning a
second-rate reputation for the poor quality of its lighthouses, the United States became home to
more than 1,000 lighthouses by 1900. And with more than 120 lighthouses, the state of Michigan
possesses more lighthouses than any other state.

Coney Island Nudist Beach

Rogue Waves: To understand the effects of rogue or freak waves on ships at sea, it is vital to first
develop an understanding of rogue waves in itself, the occurrence of such a phenomenon and the
reason behind such an occurrence.
The occurrence of sea waves is an uncertain phenomenon. That is, if you consider a certain area
of the sea surface, the waves passing through that area would definitely be periodic in nature, but
the parameter of each wave (amplitude, time period, frequency, wave height and wavelength)
will vary at a rate that cannot be determined to any exact measure. o understand that with an
example, let us suppose that a wave of height 10 meters passes through a given area on the sea
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surface at this instance. Then one cannot be sure if the next wave passing through the same area
on the sea surface will have the same height. This natural uncertainty in the nature of sea surface
waves makes it important for us to study sea waves in a probabilistic and statistical approach,
rather than a deterministic approach.
o, we plot the probability of the occurrence of a particular wave height on what is called a
histogram. The horizontal axis representing increasing height of wave and the vertical axis
representing the probability of occurrence of a wave of the corresponding height.

Figure 1: Sea wave spectrum

• he probability of a zero wave height is zero (which is evident, since there is no sea
without a wave)
• The probability of occurrence of extremely high waves is also tending to zero
• The wave height corresponding to the maximum probability is somewhere higher than
zero, in the moderate height region. These are the wave heights we see daily in a normal
sea. The height corresponding to the maximum probability is maximum probable height
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• The average of highest one-third of waves is the significant wave height (Hs). This is
very important, as in, it is considered the reference point of designating a wave as a freak
wave
• Any wave that has a height more than that of significant height is called a rogue wave.
So, as clearly evident, the probability of occurrence of a freak wave is lower, but due to
its height, the energy stored in one freak wave can be high enough to cause damage to
ships
To know what effects rogue waves have on ships, we need to know the motion of a ship in a
wave. When a ship operates in head seas, it experiences pitching coupled with heaving motions.
The more the amplitude of the encountering wave, higher is the pitching and heaving amplitude.
xtreme combined motions of pitching and heaving in ships result in the forward part of the ship
plunging into the sea surface after it encounters a wave. So, in some cases, when the sea state is
high, there is a probability of increased height of waves that a ship may encounter. Sometimes,
these waves may be higher than that corresponding to significant wave height, which is called
freak waves or rogue waves.

The problem with such waves, is that they cannot be predicted, owing to the natural uncertainty
of sea waves.Rogue waves (also known as freak waves, monster waves, episodic waves, killer
waves, extreme waves, and abnormal waves) are unusually large, unexpected and suddenly
appearing surface waves that can be extremely dangerous, even to large ships such as ocean
liners. The following are the effects on ship that occurs because of encountering rogue waves at
sea:
Bow Slamming:
When a ship encounters high waves (especially in head seas), high amplitude pitching and
heaving combined, produces an effect that sends the bow out of the water. As the wave passes
aftward, the bow falls onto the surface (or slams the surface), with high acceleration, resulting in
tremendous slamming forces in the forward structure of the ship.
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Image for representation purpose only

Formation and Propagation of Cracks:

Due to high slamming and pounding forces in the forward structure, the hull at the bow section is
often prone to cracks that can propagate over the entire depth of the bow section.
Buckling of plates:
The shell plates at the bow and the bottom plating upto 25 percent of the ship’s length aft of the
forward perpendicular is subject to effects of slamming which result in buckling of these plates.
Especially the bottom plating in the forward region, because in most lading cases, the ship is in
hogging condition, which maintains the bottom shell in a state of compression. Major augment of
stresses in the bottom plating therefore result in exceeding the buckling stress of the material,
which may be much lower than the ultimate tensile stress.
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Ultimate Failure
When forward structures have been subjected to large number of cycles of freak waves or
slamming forces over a longer period of time, the structure undergoes fatigue. If scantling and
structural surveys are not carried out regularly, then ultimate failure, leading to complete rupture
of bow sections is not an impossibility when encountered with freak waves.
So designers have over the years, developed methods to combat freak waves by incorporating
various factors of safety in structural design. Broadly, we will discuss them under the following
distinctions:
Inclusion in Structural Formulae:
When the scantlings of a ship are calculated in preliminary design phase, designers use empirical
formulae suggested and tested by classification societies. These formulae have been developed
over extensive observation and analyses of statistical data of stressed that ships are subjected to
at sea, and accordingly, factor of safety are considered in determing the scantlings, so as to
prevent failure due to waves that are above the significant height.
Additional Strengthening against Slamming:
The hull girder is additionally strengthened at the bow. Some of the additional structures that are
included are discussed below:
• Panting stringers that run longitudinally, are welded to the sideshell forward of the
collision bulkhead. The height between subsequent stringer is usually 2 to 2.5 meters
• Panting Beams run transversely inside the deck shell, joining the panting stringer to the
centreline wash bulkhead
• Angled pillars are used to support the panting beams at the centreline
• Panting web sections or perforated flats are used after between every one or two panting
stringers. The side frames are end connected to these and the panting stringers via
tripping brackets to ensure smooth stress flow
• Plate floors are used at every frame space ahead of the collision bulkhead
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Figure 2: Additional strengthening of forward structure

Navigational Measures Taken On-Board:

Navigational measures are also taken on board a ship, to combat rogue waves, especially in high
sea states. Remember the initial paragraphs of this article where we discussed about pitching and
heaving motions induced onto a ship? The idea of navigational measures is just to reduce the
pitching amplitudes.
The pitching amplitudes depend on the encountering angle and the encounter frequency. The
encounter frequency is changed by changing the speed of the ship, and the encounter angle is
altered by changing the heading of the ship. Though the latter may not always be feasible on

fixed routes, the former is mostly used to reduce unwanted motions on the higher side.2
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Burhanuddin Dasgupta,2019

The Global Positioning System (GPS) has changed the way the world operates. This is especially
true for marine operations, including search and rescue. GPS provides the fastest and most
accurate method for mariners to navigate, measure speed, and determine location. This enables
increased levels of safety and efficiency for mariners worldwide.
It is important in marine navigation for the ship's officer to know the vessel's position while in
open sea and also in congested harbors and waterways. While at sea, accurate position, speed,
and heading are needed to ensure the vessel reaches its destination in the safest, most economical
and timely fashion that conditions will permit. The need for accurate position information
becomes even more critical as the vessel departs from or arrives in port. Vessel traffic and other
waterway hazards make maneuvering more difficult, and the risk of accidents becomes greater.
 23

Mariners and oceanographers are increasingly using GPS data for underwater surveying, buoy
placement, and navigational hazard location and mapping. Commercial fishing fleets use GPS to
navigate to optimum fishing locations, track fish migrations, and ensure compliance with
regulations.
An enhancement to the basic GPS signal known as Differential GPS (DGPS) provides much
higher precision and increased safety in its coverage areas for maritime operations. Many nations
use DGPS for operations such as buoy positioning, sweeping, and dredging. This enhancement
improves harbor navigation.
Governments and industrial organizations around the world are working together to develop
performance standards for Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems, which use GPS
and/or DGPS for positioning information. These systems are revolutionizing marine navigation
and are leading to the replacement of paper nautical charts. With DGPS, position and radar
information can be integrated and displayed on an electronic chart, forming the basis of the
Integrated Bridge System which is being installed on commercial vessels of all types.

GPS is playing an increasingly important role in the management of maritime port facilities. GPS
technology, coupled with geographic information system (GIS) software, is key to the efficient
management and operation of automated container placement in the world's largest port
 24

facilities. GPS facilitates the automation of the pick-up, transfer, and placement process of
containers by tracking them from port entry to exit. With millions of container shipments being
placed in port terminals annually, GPS has greatly reduced the number of lost or misdirected
containers and lowered associated operation costs.

GPS information is embedded within a system known as the Automatic Identification System
(AIS) transmission. The AIS, which is endorsed by the International Maritime Organization, is
used for vessel traffic control around busy seaways. This service is not only vital for navigation,
but is increasingly used to bolster the security of ports and waterways by providing governments
with greater situational awareness of commercial vessels and their cargo.

AIS uses a transponder system that operates in the VHF maritime

band and is capable of communicating ship to ship as well as ship to shore, transmitting
 25

information relating to ship identification, geographic location, vessel type, and cargo
information -- all on a real-time, wholly automated basis. Because the ship's GPS position is
embedded in these transmissions, all essential information about vessel movements and contents
can be uploaded automatically to electronic charts. The safety and security of vessels using this
system is significantly enhanced.
Finally, with the modernization of GPS, mariners can look forward to even better service. In
addition to the current GPS civilian service, additional additional civilian signals are also
implemented bringing inceased accuracy, more availability, and better integrity for all users.

REFERENCES

1
Lighthouses of the South, Daniel E. Dempster, Elinor De Wire
2. Effects of Rogue Waves On Ships, Soumya Chakraborty | In: Marine Navigation | Last Updated
on October 11, 2019
https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/effects-of-rogue-wave-on-ships/Rogue wave