The Effect of Channel Geometry on Ship Operation in a Port

This paper deals with the effect of lateral banks on ships operating in a port environment. A series of semi captive, steady state model tests have been conducted with the model constrained in surge, sway and yaw to enable the measurement of the resultant sway force and yaw moment. The effect of vessel draught, bank height, water depth, bank slope and ship to bank distance on sway force and yaw moment are discussed. Regression analyses have been conducted on the experimental data in order to predict both bank induced sway force and yaw moment, the results of which are compared to experimental data.