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HORIZON TANKERS LIMITED

NAVIGATION & COMMUNICATIONS
S.A.
PROCEDURES MANUAL (CIMS-05)
Controlled Copy – Approved By The Issued on 01/10/2008
DPA Revision Ref 00

16 NAVIGATION IN RESTRICTED WATERS

When navigating, particularly in restricted water, (channels, rivers, ports) always shall be kept in mind
ship-handling basics as per Chapter 9 of this Manual.
In shallow waters particular attention should be given to the squat phenomenon (see paragraph below), the
decrease of speed and the poor response to helm.
The Master shall ensure that:
 All pertinent details are carefully and continuously monitored.
 All requirements are fully understood by watch Officers.
When a Pilot is onboard, plan for restricted waters portion of passage shall be reviewed with Master/Pilot
prior to starting of the passage.
Following information shall be clearly marked on charts:
 Courses and time.
 “No-Go” areas.
 Conspicuous objects for parallel indexing.
 Hazards minimum distance arcs.
 Light sectors.
 Local tidal flow peculiarities
 Critical points during passage.
 Pilot embarkation/disembarkation position
 Vessel-tug rendezvous position.
 Anchorages.
 Local Navigation Warnings.
 Alternative routes and/or anchorages.

16.1 Role of the OOW

The Bridge OOW is responsible to advise the Master and the Pilot (when under pilotage) if the vessel is
"Off Track". He shall continue with his duties when Bridge manning has been increased due to Master's
orders. Additional personnel are used only for tasks for which they were summoned.
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HORIZON TANKERS LIMITED
NAVIGATION & COMMUNICATIONS
S.A.
PROCEDURES MANUAL (CIMS-05)
Controlled Copy – Approved By The Issued on 01/10/2008
DPA Revision Ref 00

16.2 Squat

16.2.1 General introduction/Definitions

When a ship proceeds through water, she pushes water ahead of her. In order not to leave a “hole” in the
water, this volume of water must return down the sides and under the bottom of the ship. The streamlines
of return flow are speeded up under the ship. This causes a drop in pressure, resulting in the ship dropping
vertically in the water.
As well as dropping vertically, the ship generally trims forward or aft. The overall decrease in the static
under keel clearance, forward or aft, is called Ship Squat. It is not the difference between the draughts
when stationary and the draughts when the ship is moving ahead.
If the ship moves forward at too great a speed when she is in shallow water, say where this static even-keel
under keel clearance is 1.0 to 1.5 metres, then grounding due to excessive squat could occur at the Bow or
at the Stern.
For full-form ships such as Super tankers or OBO vessels, grounding will occur generally at the BOW. For
fine-form vessels such as Passenger Liners or Container Ships the grounding will generally occur at the
STERN. This is assuming that they are on even keel when stationary. It must be generally, because in the
last two decades, several ship types have tended to be shorter in LBP and wider in Breadth Moulded. This
has lead to reported groundings due to ship squat at the bilge strakes at or near to Amidships when slight
rolling motions have been present.
It can be stated that if we can predict the maximum ship squat for a given situation then the following
advantages can be gained:
1. The ship-operator will know which speed to reduce to in order to ensure the safety of his/her
vessel. This could save the cost of a very large repair bill. It has been reported in the technical
press that the repair bill for the QE2 was $13million plus estimation for lost Passenger bookings of
$50million!! In Lloyds Lists, the repair bill for the “Sea Empress” had been estimated to be in the
region of $28million. In May 1997, the repairs to the “Sea Empress” were completed at Harland &
Wolff Ltd of Belfast, for a reported cost of £20million. Rate of exchange in May 1997 was of the
order of £1 = $1.55. She was then renamed the “Sea Spirit.”
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HORIZON TANKERS LIMITED
NAVIGATION & COMMUNICATIONS
S.A.
PROCEDURES MANUAL (CIMS-05)
Controlled Copy – Approved By The Issued on 01/10/2008
DPA Revision Ref 00

2. If the ship grounds due to excessive squatting in shallow water, then apart from the large repair
bill, there is the time the ship is “out of service”. Being “out of service” is indeed very costly
because loss of earnings can be as high as £300,000 per day.

3. When a vessel goes aground there is always a possibility of leakage of oil resulting in
compensation claims for oil pollution and fees for clean-up operations following the incident.
These costs eventually may have to be paid for by the Ship owner.
4. A ship going aground in a river can seriously curtail traffic flow of vessels in a Port and, of course,
revenue for the Port Authority. By knowing the relationship between speed and maximum squat,
Harbourmasters can greatly reduce the possibility of such an incident occurring.
Summarising, it can be stated that because maximum ship squat can now be predicted, it has removed the
“grey area” surrounding the phenomenon. In the past ship-pilots have used “trial and error”, “rule of
thumb” and years of experience to bring their vessels safely in and out of Port.
 It should always be remembered that the quickest method for reducing the danger of grounding
due to Ship Squat, is to reduce the ship’s speed.

16.2.2 Indications of squat effects

Signs that a ship has entered shallow water conditions can be one or more of the following:
1. Maximum Ship Squat increases.
2. Mean bodily sinkage increases.
3. Ship will generally develop extra trim by the bow or the stern.
4. Wave-making increases, especially at the forward end of the ship.
5. Ship becomes more sluggish to manoeuvre - To quote a pilot, “almost like being in
porridge.”
6. Draught indicators on the Bridge or echo-sounders will indicate changes in the end
draughts.
7. Propeller rpm indicator will show a decrease. If the ship is in “open water” conditions i.e.
without breadth restrictions, this decrease may be up to 15% of the Service rpm in deep water. If the
ship is in a confined channel, this decrease in rpm can be up to 20% of the Service rpm.
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HORIZON TANKERS LIMITED
NAVIGATION & COMMUNICATIONS
S.A.
PROCEDURES MANUAL (CIMS-05)
Controlled Copy – Approved By The Issued on 01/10/2008
DPA Revision Ref 00

8. There will be a drop in speed. If the ship is in open water conditions this decrease may be
up to 35%. If the ship is in a confined channel such as a river or a canal then this decrease can be up
to 75%.
9. The ship may start to vibrate suddenly. This is because of the entrained water effects
causing the natural hull frequency to become resonant with another frequency associated with the
vessel.
10. Any Rolling, Pitching and Heaving motions will all be reduced as ship moves from deep
water to shallow water conditions. This is because of the cushioning effects produced by the narrow
layer of water under the bottom shell of the vessel.
11. The appearance of mud could suddenly show in the water around the ship’s hull say in the
event of passing over a raised shelf or a submerged wreck.
12. Turning Circle Diameter (TCD) increases. TCD in shallow water could increase 100%.
13. Stopping distances and stopping times increase, compared to when a vessel is in deep
waters.
14. Effectiveness of the rudder helm decreases.
15. Width of the wake increases considerably.
When navigating in shallow waters and particularly when the ratio of the charted depth and vessel’s
draught is less than 1,30 (e.g. charted depth of water 13.0 meters, vessel's draft 10.00 meters, Ratio = 13,0:
10,0 = 1,30) the Master should take into consideration the squat phenomenon.
Squat is the decrease in the under-keel clearance in shallow water condition and usually has its maximum
values at the bow and the stern. While the vessel is proceeding, at a certain speed, she pushes water ahead
of her, causing a drop in pressure around the vessel, which is resulting in a vertical drop of the vessel in
the water.
At the same time the vessel trims forward or aft. The combined effects of the vertical drop and trimming
are the total squat experienced at one end of vessel.
Squat depends on many variables, which differ, not only from vessel to vessel, but also from place to place
and it is almost impossible to be accurately predicted and therefore a considerable allowance should
always be made by vessels in shallow waters.
The main factor-affecting squat is the vessel's speed. Squat varies approximately with the square of speed.
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HORIZON TANKERS LIMITED
NAVIGATION & COMMUNICATIONS
S.A.
PROCEDURES MANUAL (CIMS-05)
Controlled Copy – Approved By The Issued on 01/10/2008
DPA Revision Ref 00

Another factor if the block coefficient of the vessel corresponding to the actual draft. Squat varies
proportionally to the block coefficient, which means the more box-shaped the vessel, the more squat will
result. Squat will vary if the vessel is in “open shallow waters” or “confined shallow waters”.
Confined shallow waters are the waters where we have breadth and restrictions, as in narrow channels and
rivers. A factor related to the above is the “Blockage Factor”, (the immersed cross-section of the vessel’s
amidships section divided by the cross-section of the river or channel).
The importance of the squat phenomenon is directly linked with the safety of navigation and therefore the
Navigating Officers should give to this phenomenon the attention required.
Various formulas have been developed to obtain approximate squats. Those given below can be used by
Navigating Officers to enable them to obtain an indication of the values that the squats can reach.
 When the vessel is in Confined Shallow Waters: S = CB x (V2: 50)
 When the vessel is in Open Shallow Waters: S = CB x (V2: 100)
 (Where: S = Squat in meters, CB = Block coefficient, V = Speed in knots)