On the Novel Fast Ocean Platform

The mission of the large trans-ocean fast ship is to transport the high-valued and time-sensitive goods punctually at reasonable price. Accordingly, the speed reduction, additional resistance or slamming, which are caused by the large amplitude of ship motions, should be restricted completely. Some seaworthiness, such as no speed reduction and absolutely no slamming, is especially required for ships running fast in ocean waves. The final intention of the study is to compare the transport efficiency, including accuracy of time schedule and transport quality like damage of goods caused by slamming, among three types of ship hulls, i.e. mono-hull, catamaran and trimaran. As a first step, a “Resonance-Motion-Free SWATH (RMFS)” hull is considered as an example of catamaran type in the present work. As a result of very small water plane, the restoring moments are near zero for this type of hull, which leads to free of resonance in the pitch responses. Experiments in towing tank and calculations based on potential theory are carried out to examine hydrodynamic forces and motion responses in waves. The results are compared with those of typical mono-hull and trimaran ships. The predominance of RMFS regarding seaworthiness will be pointed out in the conclusion.