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The influence of tidal currents is a very important factor in port planning. The normal orientation of harbor facilities is usually designed to be parallel with the main direction of tidal currents to accommodate larger-sized vessels. However, there are still many ports that do not necessarily satisfy this fundamental rule, especially in small ferry berths. This study describes the present situation of Japanese ports under strong tidal currents. First, meteorological and oceanographic parameters have been observed to understand the properties of seawater and tidal currents. This observation revealed the existence of a complicated water density environment with strong tidal currents around OK Island in Japan. To evaluate a difficulty of ferry berthing, it is essential to take ship motion into consideration. This new numerical simulator makes it possible to reproduce motions of a berthing ship in tidal currents and winds while applying maneuvering forces. With this system, ship motions can be accurately reproduced, which makes it possible to quantify berthing criteria. The analytical methods presented here could be used for the planning of ports with strong tidal currents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sea states, such as waves, tidal currents, and wind are important factors for safe and economic ship navigation. In previous papers of Xia et al. (2006a, 2006b) single factor generated by low pressure was studied independently. The objective of this paper is to study how ship navigation is affected by the combined effects of these factors. For clarification, simulations of two representative typhoons were conducted, and the results were compared. Numerical simulations of tidal currents, waves, and wind were applied to provide high-resolution information, which was then used to simulate ship navigation. Estimation of ship position was found effectively by comparing the results from these two cases and using the proposed numerical navigation simulation method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]