Berthed ship-passing ship interaction: A case study for the port of Newcastle

Newcastle Port Corporation (NPC),in collaboration with the Australian Maritime College (AMC), recently undertook a study to investigate the effect of a passing ship on the forces and motions on a berthed ship. The study was conducted as part of the ongoing planning and development process for the port of Newcastle. The effectof widening and deepening the existing channel and the effect of developing further shipping berths has been studied in order to determine whether the proposed changes will exacerbate the motions currently experienced by a Cape size ship berthed at Dyke 5 in the Steelworks Channel,Newcastle, Australia.

Forces and moments induced on the berthed ship by a passing ship were determined using physical scale model tests in the Model Test Basin at the AMC. These forces and moments were used as input to a mathematical model,which accounts for the dynamics of the ship and the mooring line and fender forces, to predict the surge, sway and yaw motions in the time domain as the moving ship passes the berthed ship.

Results for a Cape size passing ship configuration are presented and clearly show that the proposed modifications to the existing arrangement have a significant effect on the motions experienced by a berthed ship due to a passing ship.