The difference between a Static and Dynamic Mooring Analysis for large container ships in wind MSc project

Safe mooring of large container ships (≥300m, >9,000 TEU) has become increasingly more challenging. Large container ships have a significant side wind area and the combination of bollards located at the quay edge and high mooring deck levels, make that short, steep lines can often not be avoided. This often results in unsafe mooring situations. High line tensions may occur and there is a risk of slipping winches or snapping lines, or even overloading of bollards.
As a consultant for port authorities and terminal operators, Royal HaskoningDHV studies mooring configurations and the behaviour of moored ships in ports and finds possibilities to ensure safer mooring. Till date, still some companies use the result of static mooring analysis in the planning of their operations. As
these container vessels get larger, more unsafe situations can be expected.

The purpose of this internship is to analyse the factor between the maximum mooring line forces found from a static and dynamic analysis for large container ships. This factor is the so-called Dynamic Amplification Factor (DAF). A mooring analysis is the modelling of the behaviour of a moored ship by means of numerical simulations. A computational model accurately represents the behaviour of a moored vessel as a function of their characteristics and the external forcing. Based on an analysis carried out by us, it was found that the DAF for container ships ≥300m (>circa 9,000 TEU) is in the range of 1.5 to 2.5, depending on ship size, wind speed and wind direction. What we to analyse further is how the DAF depends on other relevant parameters, such as ship size, wind area, draft, displacement, underkeel clearance, mooring line material, pretension and mooring configuration. We also want to look at the effect of container stacks, container cranes, etc. on the wind forcing (using the lessons-learnt from Windlass | MARIN).

What do we offer you?:

• Royal HaskoningDHV has a significant track record in DMAs for over 20 years. By working in our office, you can learn much about mooring analysis in port engineering in a short time.
• You will learn how to use engineering software, developed by Marin (DIFFRAC | MARIN, aNySIM XMF | MARIN), that is used in our mooring analyses. We have dedicated workflow for DMAs in place, including cloud computing, pre- and post-processing.
• In our office in Rotterdam, many of our employees in our department are young. You will get the opportunity to learn from their experience of working at an international engineering consultancy firm in port consultancy.

Contact
If you like to take up a challenge in the field of port engineering and mooring analysis, this is your chance!

For additional information please contact:
Dr. Ir. Alex van Deyzen (alex.van.deyzen@rhdhv.com)
Ir. Jeroen van de Sande (jeroen.van.de.sande@rhdhv.com)
Ir. Thijs de Boer (T.M.deBoer@TUDelft.nl)