TOWARDS THE NAVIGATIONAL SAFETY STANDARD IN CLOSE PROXIMITY UNDERWAY LIGHTERING MANEUVERS OF TWO SHIPS

The development of a generalized navigation safety standard for ships performing underway lightering maneuvers in close proximity has been considered from an operational viewpoint. In general, it is well known that the safety and efficiency of a maritime operation between two ships at close range represents a challenging and demanding task to mariners. The main reason is related to unfamiliar maneuvering behavior of the involved ships and consequently a poor decision-making process due to lack of knowledge and understanding of ship-to-ship interaction effects. Operational challenges in ship-to-ship lightering can be reduced through an increased knowledge and understanding of the hydrodynamic interaction effects. This paper discusses how to perform the lightering maneuver in the final approach phase until the lateral distances are reduced to the fender diameter. Visualization of 'Collision Danger Zones' due to hydrodynamic interaction is proposed to be introduced in a decision-support tool to assist the pilot/master to control the approach phase of the ship-to-ship operation and thus improve the overall operational safety.