Author(s)

W. Galor

Abstract

Existing ports are expected to service ships greater than those for which they were designed. The main restriction is the depth of port waters. The under keel clearance of a manoeuvring ship determines ship movement safety. In Polish ports, maximal keel clearance is fixed as determined by port law, but it is possible to change the maximum ship draught depending on the present and predicted conditions regarding the water level. This paper presents an assessment of navigational risk as a combination of impact against the ground and the results of ship hull damage. The results of this research can be used to improve ship movement safety in order to optimize the exploitation of ports. Keywords: navigation, ships safety, port water areas, manoeuvring. 1 Introduction The main goal of navigation is to handle the ship in accordance with the aims of their movement when the required parameters of this process should be retained. Realization of this goal depends on the assurance of suitable levels of ship safety during their manoeuvring. This is achieved by controlling ship movement along a planned trajectory. However, various factors may affect ship motion. The process of safe movement is called a safe navigation; there are many notions of safety navigation. It may be qualified as a set of states of technical, organizational, operating and exploitation conditions and a set of recommendations, rules and procedures, which when used to handle ship navigation minimize the possibility of unwanted events whose consequence may be loss of life and health, material losses as a consequence of damage, or losses of ship, cargo, port structures or environmental pollution. The factors result from ship functioning and the specific man – technology – environment system. It means that in some conditions a certain ship trajectory

Keywords

navigation, ships safety, port water areas, manoeuvring.