Ship Performance in Actual Seas

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Ocean Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 August 2025 | Viewed by 3472

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples “Federico II”, 80138 Napoli, NA, Italy
2. Department of Hydro and Aerodynamics, Force Technology, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Interests: CFD ship hydrodynamics; CFD verification and validation procedures; high-speed craft; ship design; ship maneuvering and seakeeping
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden
Interests: ship hydrodynamics; ship design; shipping sustainability and digitalisation; high speed craft
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The analysis of ship performance in actual sea conditions involves studying how vessels interact with factors such as wave height, wind forces, currents, and environmental elements to understand their influence on operations, efficiency, safety, and overall functionality. It is crucial to evaluate ships’ propulsive performance in both calm seas and seaway conditions. This has become increasingly important due to stricter regulations set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The focus on operational efficiency highlights the significance of predicting a ship's speed in actual seas relative to its engine power, which is a crucial performance indicator for enhancing efficiency. To effectively manage sea conditions, it is necessary to prioritize crew and cargo safety and optimize fuel efficiency based on data derived from on-board monitoring systems combined with weather data. Recent progress in computational resources and algorithms has enabled the possibility of analyzing these data using more sophisticated approaches, such as implementing Machine Learning (ML) algorithms and/or using physical models derived from towing tank tests or Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations.

This Special Issue intends to publish the latest progress and achievements in research regarding the performance prediction and analysis of ship performance in actual sea conditions based on sea trial results, on-board monitoring systems, and real-time data, CFD, ML, and hybrid techniques. We invite papers on topics including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Full-scale resistance and propulsion in calm water and in waves;
  • Performance prediction and analysis with combined CFD, EFD, on-board data, AI, ML, etc.;
  • Motion and derived responses in waves;
  • Ship hydrodynamics in wind, waves, and/or in restricted/confined waters;
  • Intact stability and damaged stability in actual sea environments;
  • Scale effects and full-scale ship hydrodynamics;
  • Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Index (CII) assessment and ship rating strategy improvements.

Prof. Dr. Simone Mancini
Prof. Dr. Abbas Dashtimanesh
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • ship performance and propulsion
  • ship hydrodynamics in wind and waves
  • ship scale effects
  • machine learning (ML)
  • supervised and data-driven algorithms
  • artificial neural networks (ANN)
  • computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations
  • semi-empirical model
  • CII and EEXI

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 11154 KiB  
Article
Three-Dimensional Numerical Simulation of the Vortex-Induced Motion Response of Semi-Submersible Platforms Under Wave-Current Coupling Effect
by Yankun Yin, Jin Yan, Chushan Deng and Dapeng Zhang
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2025, 13(3), 550; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13030550 - 12 Mar 2025
Viewed by 164
Abstract
The vortex-induced motion response of semi-submersible platforms can result in fatigue damage to the mooring and riser systems, thereby compromising production safety. Consequently, investigating the characteristics and mechanisms of vortex-induced motion response under complex marine environments holds significant importance in the field of [...] Read more.
The vortex-induced motion response of semi-submersible platforms can result in fatigue damage to the mooring and riser systems, thereby compromising production safety. Consequently, investigating the characteristics and mechanisms of vortex-induced motion response under complex marine environments holds significant importance in the field of offshore engineering. This study utilizes the SA-DES numerical simulation method to establish a fluid-structure coupling model that simulates the vortex-induced motion of semi-submersible platforms under uniform flow and wave-current interactions, with a focus on key parameters such as response amplitude, frequency, and fluid forces. To ensure the accuracy of the simulations, the numerical model aligns with the physical model tests in terms of dimensions and environmental conditions. The numerical results demonstrate a strong correlation with experimental data under both uniform flow and wave-current coupling conditions, confirming the model’s validity. The results reveal a significant “LOCK-IN” phenomenon occurring within reduced velocity (dimensionless velocity, the ratio of velocity to characteristic length) range of 6 to 8 under uniform flow conditions, with the response amplitude at an incoming flow angle of 45° exceeding that at 0°. In wave-current coupling conditions, the response amplitude is generally lower than that observed under uniform flow, indicating that the presence of waves attenuates the vortex-induced motion. Furthermore, the frequency of the vortex-induced motion is found to be similar to the natural frequency of the platform’s transverse motion, suggesting that the vortex-induced motion may be attributed to a resonance phenomenon induced by pulsating lift force from vortex shedding. These findings validate the effectiveness and accuracy of the SA-DES numerical simulation method in predicting the vortex-induced motion of semi-submersible platform. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ship Performance in Actual Seas)
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21 pages, 6382 KiB  
Article
Hydrodynamic Performance of High-Speed Craft: A CFD Study on Spray Rails
by Muhammad Sulman, Simone Mancini, Rasul Niazmand Bilandi and Luigi Vitiello
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2025, 13(3), 438; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13030438 - 25 Feb 2025
Viewed by 314
Abstract
In high-speed crafts, whisker spray increases viscous resistance by enlarging the wetted surface near the stagnation line. Spray rails (SRs) mitigate this issue by redirecting water flow, reducing the wetted surface, and lowering overall resistance. This study investigates the effect of SRs on [...] Read more.
In high-speed crafts, whisker spray increases viscous resistance by enlarging the wetted surface near the stagnation line. Spray rails (SRs) mitigate this issue by redirecting water flow, reducing the wetted surface, and lowering overall resistance. This study investigates the effect of SRs on the hydrodynamic performance of the C1 hull of Naples Systematic Series (NSS), focusing on the systematic variations in size, number, and placement. Numerical simulations, validated with towing tank results, were conducted using STAR CCM+ 2306. Mesh independence analysis was also performed to optimize computational efficiency. Key findings highlight the critical role of SR design in performance optimization. Wider SRs (e.g., three per side, 0.96% LWL) reduced resistance by up to 8.5% at high speeds (Fr= 3.26), but slightly increased the resistance at lower speeds (~2%) due to a larger wetted surface. Narrower SRs (e.g., three per side, 0.48% LWL) achieved resistance reductions of up to 4.6%, while configurations with multiple SRs (e.g., three per side, 0.72% LWL) outperformed single-rail designs by reducing resistance up to 4%. Placement near the chine proved more effective than near the keel, offering a 4% additional reduction in resistance. Additionally, SRs generated lift, raising the hull, and reducing immersion. The study underscores the importance of optimizing SR size, number, and placement to enhance hydrodynamic efficiency, particularly for high-speed operations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ship Performance in Actual Seas)
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20 pages, 15268 KiB  
Article
Automatic Reading and Reporting Weather Information from Surface Fax Charts for Ships Sailing in Actual Northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans
by Jun Jian, Yingxiang Zhang, Ke Xu and Peter J. Webster
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2024, 12(11), 2096; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12112096 - 19 Nov 2024
Viewed by 924
Abstract
This study is aimed to improve the intelligence level, efficiency, and accuracy of ship safety and security systems by contributing to the development of marine weather forecasting. The accurate and prompt recognition of weather fax charts is very important for navigation safety. This [...] Read more.
This study is aimed to improve the intelligence level, efficiency, and accuracy of ship safety and security systems by contributing to the development of marine weather forecasting. The accurate and prompt recognition of weather fax charts is very important for navigation safety. This study employed many artificial intelligent (AI) methods including a vectorization approach and target recognition algorithm to automatically detect the severe weather information from Japanese and US weather charts. This enabled the expansion of an existing auto-response marine forecasting system’s applications toward north Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, thus enhancing decision-making capabilities and response measures for sailing ships at actual sea. The OpenCV image processing method and YOLOv5s/YOLO8vn algorithm were utilized to make template matches and locate warning symbols and weather reports from surface weather charts. After these improvements, the average accuracy of the model significantly increased from 0.920 to 0.928, and the detection rate of a single image reached a maximum of 1.2 ms. Additionally, OCR technology was applied to retract texts from weather reports and highlighted the marine areas where dense fog and great wind conditions are likely to occur. Finally, the field tests confirmed that this auto and intelligent system could assist the navigator within 2–3 min and thus greatly enhance the navigation safety in specific areas in the sailing routes with minor text-based communication costs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ship Performance in Actual Seas)
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25 pages, 27177 KiB  
Article
Bollard Pull and Self-Propulsion Performance of a Waterjet Propelled Tracked Amphibian
by Taehyung Kim, Donghyeon Yoon, Jeongil Seo and Jihyeun Wang
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2024, 12(10), 1863; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12101863 - 17 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1167
Abstract
This paper describes the unique full-scale bollard pull and self-propulsion tests of a large amphibious tracked military vehicle with two waterjet propulsors. To provide a reference for the self-propulsion and cavitation performance, a series of sea trials and bollard pull tests were performed [...] Read more.
This paper describes the unique full-scale bollard pull and self-propulsion tests of a large amphibious tracked military vehicle with two waterjet propulsors. To provide a reference for the self-propulsion and cavitation performance, a series of sea trials and bollard pull tests were performed in a military sea bay and in a large test basin, respectively. Good overall agreement between the sea trial and the computation was observed in the speed–power relationship. The cavitation-induced breakdown phenomenon was further explored via numerical simulations. The results indicated that the uncertainties in the numerical results were dominated by the scales of vapor bubbles. The analysis showed that the selection of the vapor bubble scale factors of 1.0 for growth and 0.05 for collapse were in good agreement with the experimental results. Rapid performance breakdown occurred when sufficient suction side-attached cavities were extended into the blade mid-chord and tip-board regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ship Performance in Actual Seas)
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