The paper presents a systematic study of the structural loads induced by abnormal waves on a containership. This work is a follow-up of a previous investigation that explored the possibility of using freak, abnormal or episodic waves as additional wave load conditions to be considered in the design of ship and offshore platforms. In the previous work, a procedure was developed and implemented to adopt deterministic time series of wave elevation, which may include abnormal waves, as reference design conditions to calculate the wave induced structural loads on ships. An application example was presented for a containership subjected to a wave trace that was measured in a storm in Central North Sea during a severe storm.rnIn the present paper, the same procedure is applied to obtain the wave induced structural loads on a containership, but a systematic investigation is carried out by using a large set of wave traces. These wave traces, which have been measured at different occasions and different places, include abnormal waves. In this way it is possible to assess the influence of the length and shape of the abnormal wave on the wave induced structural loads. Additionally, the influence of the abnormal wave height, wavelength and steepness on the ship responses is also carefully examined. Finally, and based on the ship responses to all wave traces, some statistics are produced, regarding the ship responses and structural loads induced by abnormal waves.
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