Wind and Current Forces Page 1 of 1

WIND AND CURRENT FORCES

Introduction
Pilot, how many tugs do you think you will
need? A daily routine question from the
tug companies or from the tug control
station In most cases the reply to this
question is not so difficult and most of the
times a pilot acts from his own
e!perience with regard to the num"er and
the power required #owe$er, with regard
to the "ig ships it may in certain situations
sometimes "e difficult to determine what
minimum of tugs and tug power is
required or to determine whether the
a$aila"le num"er of tugs or tug power of
the tug"oat companies is sufficient
%upport of the practical e!perience in
such situations "y more information a"out
the forces of wind and current affecting
the ship and which must "e compensated
"y the tugs, may "e of importance, eg
when maneu$ering in unfa$ora"le
conditions with "ig containerships,
carcarriers, deep&draught tankers,
"ulkcarriers, etc
'he following chapter is intended for this
category 'he author reali(es that much
of the following information is in practice
not always essential, "ut could certainly
"e welcome in a num"er of cases, this
also in $iew of the fact that e$en captains
and shipping agencies are not always
con$inced of the necessity of the use of
the num"er of tugs as ad$ised "y the
pilot
A few remarks beforehand
In the first place a few remarks regarding)
- the ship*
- the maneu$ers*
- the kind of lug assistance and type of
tug
The ship
In connection with the required num"er of
tugs it is naturally of importance to know
what the manoeu&ra"ility of the ship is,
like the engine power, type of propeller or
propellers, type of rudder+s,, a$aila"ility of
a "ow thruster and-or a stern thruster,
etc .f further importance is the draught,
fore and aft, the windage and in the
framework of this chapter the lateral area
a"o$e the water and underwater
The maneuvers
As soon as the tugs ha$e "een made fast
the maneu$ers at arri$al may "e in the
main di$ided into three episodes)
1
st
the part of the maneu$er where"y
the ship may still ha$e a reasona"le
speed*
/
nd
the phase during which the ship0s
speed is more limited, as it will ha$e
to "e stopped within a short
distance*
1
rd
the part of the arri$al maneu$er
during which the ship has practically
none or a $ery little speed ahead or
astern It may then ha$e to "e
swung around or to "e moored
directly
With a ship that is lea$ing a similar
procedure takes place, naturally in
re$ersed order
With a ship that still has a reasona"le
speed, eg 2 to 3 knots, the forces of
wind-current can, depending on the
a$aila"le maneu$ering space and per&
mitted speed, often for a greater part "e
compensated "y the ship0s own
maneu$er, like steering at a drift angle
4ue to the ship0s speed the tugs0 effecti&
$eness cannot "e $ery high in that
circumstances #owe$er, the more the
ship0s speed is decreased, the greater
the influence of wind and current will "e
and consequently the more important the
efforts of the tugs
%o it is especially the a"o$e&mentioned
third phase of the maneu$ers which will
"e looked into in order to determine the
required tug power Particularly with a
stopped ship the e!ternal forces of wind
and current can hardly or only to a $ery
small e!tent "e compensated "y
maneu$ers of the ship itself, unless the
ship has a "ow thruster or a stern thruster
"y which compensation is partly or
entirely possi"le 'he tugs can on the
other hand work most effecti$ely in this
situation Apart from the pre$iously
mentioned three phases there can "e
specific situations at certain ports, where
for a shorter or longer distance the speed
will necessarily ha$e to "e too slow with
regard to eg windy conditions, "y which
the e!ternal forces then get an influence
on the ship to such an e!tent that an
optimum effort of the tugs is required For
these kinds of situations with often a
limited maneu$ering space, the required
tug power can "e calculated and will "e at