PORT REVEL SHIPHANDLING

ESCORT TUGS

NOVEMBER 2011

THIS DOCUMENT MAY BE FREELY USED PROVIDED THAT IT BEARS THE WORDING COPYRIGHT PORT REVEL .

E s c o r t T u g P o r t R e v e l w i t h Voith Schneider Propulsion:

Sogreah - Port Revel Shiphandling

Escort Tugs

ASD Escort Tug with Z-Peller:

Sogreah - Port Revel Shiphandling

Escort Tugs

Escort tugs are meant to cope with potential emergencies. They are usually tethered to the assisted ship for speeds up to around 10 knots. In case of emergency, their action may be to brake the assisted ship as quickly as possible, and/or to steer the assisted ship away from an obstacle. B r a k i n g c a n b e c a r r i e d o u t i n a d i r e c t mo d e , i . e . b y p u l l i n g i n l i n e w i t h t h e a s s i s t e d s h i p , o r i n a n i n d i r e c t m o d e , i . e . b y u s i n g t h e t u g s h u l l a s a paravane to produce a towline force. When should they use one mode or the other ?

C r o w l e y s Nanuq

Sogreah - Port Revel Shiphandling

Escort Tugs

At slow speed in a narrow canal with a bridge, direct braking and steering will be used.

Sogreah - Port Revel Shiphandling

Escort Tugs

Example of indirect braking of a 200 000 dwt tanker with a large escort tug. The paravane effect of the tug induces large towline forces which increase with speed.

Sogreah - Port Revel Shiphandling

Escort Tugs

Obviously, the steering component increases with a larger towline angle.

Sogreah - Port Revel Shiphandling

Escort Tugs

In a direct steering mode, the tug is pushed back into the wake of the assisted ship by the water flow W when the speed is more than 4-5 knots. Above this speed the tug is unable to move sideways against the water flow W. The steering component is thus reduced due to the small towline angle. At higher speeds the indirect steering mode is increasingly effective .

Sogreah - Port Revel Shiphandling

Escort Tugs

The steering force is obtained with the VSP going astern with the levers and applying wheel to generate a side thrust so as to rotate the tug. Hydrodynamics of the hull and skeg generate a significant towline force at speeds above 4-5 knots. Modern tug design provides high indirect pulling forces at speeds as low as 2-3 knots. Hence indirect pulling can nowadays be used over a wide range of speeds.

Sogreah - Port Revel Shiphandling

Escort Tugs

Trials performed with the Port Revel manned models (see p. 5) have demonstrated the trends as shown above: Braking: >> Direct mode: at speed V=0, the braking force is the Bollard Pull, set for these trials at 60 t. The braking force increases slightly with V; this reflects the increase of the drag of the tug pulling in line . >> Indirect mode: the braking force increases more significantly with V as the drag of the tug is much larger because of its moving sideways and with a small towline angle. Steering: >> Direct mode: at speed V=0, the steering force is again the Bollard Pull. The steering force reduces with V as the tug cannot stay at a large angle because of the water flow pushing it back into the wake of the assisted ship. >> Indirect mode: at speed V=0, the steering force is obviously nil. The steering force increases significantly with V as the drag of the tug is much larger because of its moving sideways and with a large towline angle. Conclusion for steering: V < 4 knots: go for direct mode V > 4 knots: go for indirect mode

Sogreah - Port Revel Shiphandling

Escort Tugs