Maneuvering in a Port Water Area

The building of new ports is restricted by natural conditions of sea water area and the required great financial effort. The existing ports are expected to handle ships bigger than those for which they were designed. The main restriction in serving these ships is the depth of port waters which directly affects the safety of a maneuvering ship. The under keel-clearance of a maneuvering ship in the port water area should be such that a ship moves safely. The undesired impact against the ground can damage the ship hull and block the port. Therefore, there is a need to develop a scientific method of specifying the safe under-keel clearance such that the safety of a ship will be maintained for different conditions. The article presents an assessment of navigational risk as a combination of the probability of ship impact against the ground and the result of hull damage