Design of a semisubmerged swath research and survey ship

Variable draft is shown to be an essential feature for a research and survey SWATH ship large enough for unrestricted service worldwide. An ongoing semisubmerged (variable draft) SWATH can be designed for access to shallow harbors. Speed at transit (shallow) draft can be comparable to monohulls of the same power while assuring equal or better seakeeping characteristics. Seakeeping with the ship at deeper drafts can be superior to an equivalent SWATH that is designed for all operations at a single draft. The lower hulls of the semisubmerged SWATH ship can be devoid of fins. A practical target for interior clear spacing between the lower hulls is about 50 feet. Access to the sea surface for equipment can be provided astern, over the side, or from within a centerwell amidships. One of the lower hulls can be optimized to carry acoustic sounding equipment. A design is presented in this paper for a semisubmerged ship with a trial speed in excess of 15 knots, a scientific mission payload of 300 tons, and accommodations for 50 personnel. 1. SEMISUBMERGED SWATH TECHNOLOGY A single draft for the full range of operating conditions is a comon feature of typical SWATH ship designs. This constant draft characteristic is found in the SWATH ships built by Mitsuil” , most notably the KAIY03, and the SWATH T-AGOS4 which is now under construction for the U.S. Navy. The constant draft design for ships of this size (about 3,500 tons displacement) poses two significant drawbacks. One is that the draft must be at least 25 feet to satisfy seakeeping requirements. This draft is restrictive for access to many harbors that would be useful for research and survey functions. The second is that hull and column (strut) hydrodynamics generally result in the SWATH being a larger ship and having greater power requirements than for an equivalent monohull. The ship size and hull configuration, together with the necessity for a. President, Blue Sea Corporation b. President, Alan C. McClure Associates, Inc. stabilizing fins, usually leads to a higher capital cost than for a rougher riding, but otherwise equivalent, monohull. The distinguishing feature of the semisubmerged SWATH ship is variable draft. Sufficient allowance for ballast transfer is made to enable the ship to vary its draft under all load conditions. The shallowest draft is well within usual harbor limits and gives the lower hulls a slight freeboard. It also permits transit in low to moderate sea conditions using less propulsion power than is needed by a constant draft SWATH. The semisubmerged SWATH gives more design flexibility to provide for deep draft conditions that strike a balance between operating requirements and seakeeping characteristics. Intermediate “storm” drafts can be selected that are a compromise between seakeeping, speed, and upper hull clearance to avoid slamming. A discussion of these and other tradeoffs in semisubmerged SWATH ship design for oceanographic applications is given in a paper by Gaul and McClure’ . A more general discussion of design tradeoffs is given in a later paper6. The semisubmerged SWATH technology gives rise to some notable contrasts with constant draft SWATH ships. For any propulsion power applied, the semisubmerged SWATH has a range of speed that depends on draft. Highest speeds are obtained at minimum (transit) draft. Because the lower hull freeboard is small at transit draft, seakeeping at service speed can be made equal to or better than an equivalent monohull. The ship is designed for maximum speed at transit draft so the lower hull form is more akin to a surface craft than a submarine. This allows use of a nearly rectangular cross section for the lower hulls which provides damping of vertical motion. For moderate speeds at deeper drafts with the highly damped lower hull form, the ship need not be equipped with stabilizing fins. Since maximum speed is achieved with the columns of the water, it is practical (struts) out to use two c. President, Omega Marine Engineering Systems, Inc. d. Joint venture of Blue Sea Corporation and Martran Consultants, Inc. columns, rather than one, on each lower hull. The four column configuration at deep drafts minimizes the variation of ship motion response with change in course relative to surface wave direction. The width of the ship and lack of appendages on the lower hulls increases the utility of a large underside deck opening (moonpool) amidship. The basic Semisubmerged SWATH Research and Survey Ship design has evolved from requirements first stated by the Institute for Geophysics of the University of Texas (UTIG) in 1984. Blue Sea McClure provided the only SWATH configuration in a set of five conceptual designs procured competitively by the University.  The design was further refined to meet requirements posed by the U.S. Navy for an oceanographic research ship. The intent of this paper is to use this generic design to illustrate the main features of semisubmerged SWATH ships.