Comparison of the Impact on Piloting Performances of Extreme Wind Forces under Variable Conditions of Ship Class and Stability, Channel Width and Channel Bank Forces.

摘要

The experiment examined the ship handling performance of pilots transiting a narrow waterway under severe wind conditions and attempted to discern the variability in that performance which could be attributed to wind level and direction, ship class and stability, channel width, channel banks, as well as pilot background. Three classes of vessels were used (two tankers and an LNG) and three levels of wind were employed, including conditions between 40 and 65 knots. It was found that the pilots on the LNGs had significantly more difficulty than when the tankers were being conned. When transiting through a channel with vertical banks, less difficulties were encountered than with the same channel without banks. Differences in channel width affected the pilots on the LNG to a greater degree than those pilots who conned the tankers. Overall, the pilots were shown to be capable of overcoming the wind-based instabilities and, therefore, differences in performance that were noted due to other causes, such as ship characteristics. The LNG vessel was shown to have an exceptionally high level of directional stability at high wind levels. (Author)