Investigating Passing-Ship-Induced Loads on Moored Ships in Confined Waters Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Abstract

: As environmental regulations from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) become increasingly stringent, the adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled vessels has accelerated, highlighting the need for safe and efficient LNG bunkering infrastructure. To ensure secure simultaneous operations (SIMOPS) during bunkering, it is essential to evaluate the hydrodynamic loads exerted on moored ships by passing vessels in confined waters. This study investigated these interactions using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier – Stokes simulations with an overset mesh, implemented in STAR-CCM+, were validated against benchmark model test data obtained from the International Conference on Ship Manoeuvring in Shallow and Confined Water. The numerical analysis examined surge, sway, and yaw responses of moored ships, along with free-surface elevations and pressure distributions. Parametric studies systematically explored the effects of passing ship speed, lateral clearance, water depth, and quay wall gap. The results show that hydrodynamic loads increase sharply with higher passing speeds, shallower water depth, and reduced separation distances, while quay wall effects remain relatively minor. These findings demonstrate that moored ship safety is highly sensitive to operational and geometric parameters of passing ships. This research provides quantitative insights for developing practical design and operational guidelines to ensure safe SIMOPS in ports.