Experimental and numerical study of ship-to-ship interactions in overtaking manoeuvres

The study on close-quarter manoeuvring of vessels is of great importance for the safety and efficiency of maritime operations. In this paper, the hydrodynamic interactions between two vessels in moderate-speed overtaking manoeuvres are studied. Computational investigation by free-surface panel method is performed, and the results are assessed against experimental measurements from towing-tank model tests. The influences of overtaking speed and the speed difference between vessels on the hydrodynamic loads are studied. It is found that the free-surface deformation, on account of the blockage effects of the bodies, wave-making properties of the vessels, and the interference of unsteady wave patterns between the vessels, considerably affects the hydrodynamic interactions. In addition, it is also discovered that the influence from the unsteady heave and pitch motions of the hulls on the hydrodynamic loads can be non-negligible. Furthermore, it is found that the slower vessel to be overtaken generally experiences larger loads with more variation than the overtaking vessel. The loads on both vessels become more similar to those of a steady-state di-hull system when the speed difference between vessels is small.