Stability of Ships

The Stability conditions of watercraft are the various standard loading configurations to which a
ship, boat, or offshore platform may be subjected. They are recognized by classification societies such
as Det Norske Veritas, Lloyd's Register and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). Classification
societies follow rules and guidelines laid down by International Convention for the Safety of Life at
Sea (SOLAS) conventions, the International Maritime Organization and laws of the country under
which the vessel is flagged, such as the Code of Federal Regulations.
Stability is normally broken into two distinct types: Intact and Damaged
Intact stability
The vessel is in normal operational configuration. The hull is not breached in any compartment. The
vessel will be expected to meet various stability criteria such as GMt (metacentric height), area under
the GZ (righting lever) curve, range of stability, trim, etc.
Intact conditions
Lightship or Light Displacement
The vessel is complete and ready for service in every respect, including permanent ballast, spare parts,
lubricating oil, and working stores but is without fuel, cargo, drinking or washing water, officers,
crew, passengers, their effects, or any other variable load. [1][2]
Full load departure or full displacement
Along with all the Lightship loads, the vessel has all systems charged meaning that all fresh water,
cooling, lubricating, hydraulic and fuel service header tanks, piping and equipment systems are filled
with their normal operating fluids. Crew and effects are at their normal values. Consumables
(provisions, potable water and fuel) are at 100% capacity. Ammunition and/or cargo is at maximum
capacity. The vessel is at its limiting draft or legal load line.
Standard condition
This is only for military vessels. Along with all the Lightship loads, the vessel has all systems
charged meaning that all fresh water, cooling, lubricating, hydraulic and fuel service header tanks,
piping and equipment systems are filled with their normal operating fluids. Crew and effects are at
their normal values. Consumables (provisions, potable water and fuel) are at 50% capacity.
Ammunition and/or cargo is at 100% capacity. This condition is normally used for range and speed
calculations.
Light arrival
Along with all the Lightship loads, the vessel has all systems charged meaning that all fresh water,
cooling, lubricating, hydraulic and fuel service header tanks, piping and equipment systems are filled
with their normal operating fluids. Crew and effects are at their normal values. Consumables
(provisions, potable water and fuel) are at 10% full load. Ammunition and/or cargo is at 100%
capacity.

Damaged stability
The vessel in the assessed "Worst Intact Condition" is analytically damaged by opening various
combinations of watertight compartments to the sea. The number of compartments and their location
are dictated by IMO regulations, SOLAS conventions, or other applicable rules. Typically these
conditions are identified by the compartment(s) damaged ex: "Hold #3 and Water Ballast Tank 4 Port"
FACTORS AFFECTING STABILITY

Suspended Weights
Use of Ships Gear
Loads on Fishing Gear
Free Surface Effect
Practical Aspects of Stability
Water on Deck
Bilging
Structural Changes
Angle of Loll

Suspended Weights
When a weight is lifted by a crane or derrick, the centre of gravity of the weight will be
immediately transferred to the point the weight is suspended from (the head of the crane or the end of
the derrick or boom). This occurs the instant the weight is lifted and from that point on the centre of
gravity will not change further no matter how high the weight is lifted.

We will now consider

the sequence of events
that occur when a
vessel lying port side
to a wharf discharges a
heavy weight from the
starboard lower hold
by means of the
vessels crane.

Lifting

As soon as the weight is clear of the deck and is being borne by the crane head, the centre of gravity
of the weight appears to move from its original position, to the crane head (g to g 1). In Fig 4.3 G the
original position of the vessels centre of gravity, moves upward to G 1 parallel to gg1. The centres of
gravity will remain at G1 and g1 during the whole of the time the weight is being raised.

As the crane begins to swing the centre of gravity of the weight will remain at the head of the crane
(g1). The vessels centre of gravity (G1) will begin to move out towards G2, parallel to the movement
of weight and the vessel will begin to list.
Lowering
The crane has now swung over to plumb the wharf and the boom is lowered. The crane head has
moved from g1 to g2 and since the weight is suspended from the crane head, its centre of gravity will
have also moved from g1 to g2. The vessels centre of gravity has also moved parallel to the weight,
from G1 to G2. Maximum list will be experienced at this point.

Landing
The wire is now lowered and the weight is
landed on the wharf. It is in effect being
discharged from the crane head and the vessels
centre of gravity will move from G2 to G3 in a
direction directly away from g2. G3 is therefore
the final position of the vessels centre of
gravity. The net effect of discharging the weight
is a shift of the vessels centre of gravity from G
to G3, directly away from the centre of gravity of
the weight finally discharged (g1).
It should be clear now that a vessel must have adequate stability before suspending weights
from its derrick or crane. If the shift in the CG of the vessel is large enough to make it unstable, the
vessel will take up an angle of loll. The angle of loll will be increased further due to the list caused by
the suspended weight. In extreme cases, the vessel may even capsize.
Loads on Fishing Gear
When towing trawls or other fishing gear, the force exerted by the tow will be felt at the point of
suspension, as shown in diagram Fig 4.7. This is the equivalent of a weight acting at the point of
suspension. If the point is high above the deck, such as occurs when towing from a boom end, then
the movement of G1 towards the point of suspension may be large. This can have a detrimental effect
on stability. The same situation applies when gear is being lowered or lifted on board, using booms or
powerblocks. If a vessel has good stability these operations should present no problems. If stability is
poor, then steps should be made to improve stability.
If gear becomes foul when towing, there will be two effects:
1.

Dynamic effect - the vessel will heel over because it will be still trying to move ahead.

2.
Static effect - as long as there is any strain on the gear, the circumstances will be the same as
described above, i.e. the vessel will heel. The angle of heel will be less than that caused by the
dynamic effect.
All strain should be taken off the gear as quickly as possible by stopping the engines and if possible,
slacking away on the trawl winches. If necessary, stability should be improved before action is taken
to free the gear.
Further information about Loads on Fishing Gear can be obtained from the Trim and Stability
Booklet.
Free Surface Effect
All liquids in partially filled tanks have a free surface, which is free to slop backwards and forward
with the motion of the ship. This free surface effect can cause a serious stability problem if the
movement of the liquid is not contained. You might like to conduct a simple, practical experiment to
demonstrate F.S.E. for yourself:
(a)

Take a flat tray with raised sides and partially fill it with water. (A flat baking pan will work.)

(b) Now hold it level, supported by the palms of your

hands, held horizontal at arms length and at shoulder
height.
(c) Now gently raise your right hand a few centimetres.
As the water runs to the left of the tray/pan you will feel a
marked increase in weight, tending to push your left hand
down further and so aggravate the condition.
This is Free Surface Effect (F.S.E.). A ship reacts in the
same way. It first rolls slightly to a small angle of heel as
a result of the wave forces. The internal forces of the shifting water in slack tanks then increase the
list further as the liquid flows to the low side. If this F.S.E. causes the vessel to list so that its deck
edge is immersed below the waterline, it could well capsize. Fig 4.8 shows a vessel with a partially
filled tank. Free surface effect reduces the size of GM. Therefore the size of GZ is reduced, and
consequently the ability of the vessel to return to the upright position is reduced.

Free surface effect is at a maximum in tanks which extend right across the breadth of the vessel. By
partitioning the tank longitudinally, the flow of liquids to the low side when the ship is heeled can be
restricted. It is not removed completely, but the F.S.E. can be reduced to acceptable limits. Obviously,
correct loading and ballasting of the ship is also important, but this is an operational consideration and
not a design one. Practically all tanks, with the exception of the fore peak ballast tank, are
longitudinally subdivided for this reason.
Tank subdivision is effected by a continuous watertight divider extending in a fore and aft direction
to each end of the tank and vertically from the inner bottom of the tank to the underside of the tank
top.
Fore peak tanks are usually narrow and do not present a very large free surface problem. For this
reason, it is unusual to find any longitudinal subdivision in them.
Where tanks are not longitudinally divided by a watertight divider, there are usually longitudinal wash
bulkheads which act as baffle plates. While these do not stop the sideways motion of fluids in the
tank, they are designed to retard the flow so that the heeling force created by the free surface effect is
out of phase with the rolling of the vessel. This tends to damp the vessel's rolling instead of
aggravating it, which can be quite beneficial.
The depth or quality of the liquid in the tank does not affect the free surface to any great degree. Free
surface area is the main factor. Only a completely empty or completely full tank will have zero free
surface.
Practical Aspects of Stability
Water on Deck
If water is shipped on board, then the effect is three fold. Firstly a weight is added high up in the
vessel, thus reducing stability. Secondly, that water has a free surface effect, which will further reduce
stability. Thirdly, the added weight causes the vessel to sink further in the water, thereby reducing
freeboard, and reducing seaworthiness. Freeing ports are provided on deck, so that the water shipped
on board can be cleared rapidly. These freeing ports should never be blocked.

Bilging
You may recall from Section 2 that reserve buoyancy is the volume of watertight hull areas above the
waterline. As weight is added to a vessel and it sinks in the water, the volume of space above the
waterline decreases. When this space (reserve buoyancy), is gone the vessel will sink.
If part of the engine room or the vessels hold is above the waterline, then providing that they are
enclosed they will contribute to the vessels reserve buoyancy. Hence, the reason that all watertight
doors are to be kept closed (except for access), at all times.

It is necessary to have a certain reserve buoyancy as,

when in a seaway with the ends or middle
unsupported, the vessel will sink down to displace
the same volume as it does in smooth water. This
could result in the vessel foundering.
If a vessel is damaged, and water can enter a
compartment which was previously watertight, the
compartment is said to have been bilged. When a
compartment is bilged the buoyancy provided by the
underwater volume of that compartment is lost, as is
the reserve buoyancy of the enclosed volume above it. Before bilging, the reserve buoyancy was the
entire enclosed volume above the original waterline. After bilging it is the enclosed volume above the
new intact water plane area.
If this compartment is to one side of the centre line then the vessel will take up an angle of list.
Depending upon the location of the compartment, the vessel may also trim by the bow or stern. In any
case, draught will increase, freeboard and therefore reserve buoyancy will decrease and the effect is
always to reduce stability.
In case of flooding, the biggest danger is the loss of watertight integrity and the subsequent loss of
internal buoyancy from the damaged areas. Your immediate action in this case should always be to
close all watertight doors through the vessel to prevent further loss of buoyancy. It may be possible in
some cases to bring the damaged area out of water deballasting the vessel or providing a list on the
opposite side to the damage.
Structural Changes
If a vessel is changed structurally, for example if a new wheelhouse is added or if an extra mast or
winch is installed, the effect on stability is exactly the same as though these items were added
weights. Because structural changes are usually complex and old material is often taken off the vessel
as well as adding new material it is a survey requirement that all of the vessels stability is reworked
after structural changes have taken place.
Angle of Loll
The term loll describes the state of a vessel which is unstable when in an upright position and
therefore floats at an angle to one side or the other. If disturbed by some external force, caused by
wind or waves, the vessel may lurch to the same angle of loll on the opposite side. Loll is quite

different from list, being caused by different circumstances and requiring different counter measures
to correct it and it is therefore most important that the mariners should be able to distinguish between
the two.
Fig shows how an unstable vessel takes up an angle of loll. Note that M is not on the centre line when
the vessel is in the lolled position.
To correct for loll the following procedure should be observed.
First verify that it is loll and not list. Lists are caused by shifting of cargo or uneven distribution of
fuel, water or cargo. If none of your cargo has shifted and your fuel and water tanks are more or less
even on both sides, then you should suspect that your vessel has loll. You must lower the centre of
gravity. There are two options open to you

(i)
You can take ballast. If you do so, (and if your vessel has ballast tanks that you can fill) then
you should begin by pressing up tanks on the low side first. This will initially make your angle of loll
worse because you are adding weight on the side to which the vessel is leaning and you are
introducing a free surface (if you are ballasting on an empty tank). This is still safer than ballasting the
high side first, because that could cause the vessel to flop-over to the other side, and possibly capsize.
By introducing ballast you lower the centre of gravity. If you are pressing up half-filled tanks, you are
still lowering the CG and removing the free surface. The only negative effect of adding ballast is that
it will increase your draft, reduce your freeboard and reserve buoyancy wit the result that your vessel
will ship water at a much smaller angle of heel.
(ii)
The second option open to you is to remove the cause. A loll does not suddenly occur. It is a
result of decreasing stability which is caused by the progressive raising of the centre of gravity of the
vessel. This can only occur if you are loading weights on deck, and using fuel or water from low
down in the hull (where most tanks are located anyway). You would have felt the vessel becoming
progressively more tender and the roll period, and angle of roll steadily increasing. You may have
been catching a load of fish - your brine tanks full and a large load of fish on deck. Too much weight
high up. In these circumstances you may have to jettison cargo. This may be a painful decision, but
the cargo is no use to you when your vessel is upside down!

Other factors:
While comparing center of gravity vs center of buoyancy will tell you the instantaneous forces acting
on a ship to (hopefully) right it, a ship's static roll stability is more a question of the righting tendency
across the range of roll angles that a ship may encounter. That is, how vigorously does the ship try to
turn itself upright once perturbed, across it's entire operating range?
Not to make it sound overly simple, but the main factors affecting static stability are: 1) the height of
the ships center of gravity (CG) and 2) the shape of the hull.
Height of CG is reasonably self-explanatory. The shape of the hull takes a little more consideration.
As a ship tilts to one side, the shape of the submerged volume changes. In a very narrow ship, it
doesn't change a whole lot-- think of a kayak-- and thus the center of buoyancy doesn't shift outboard
very much. Thus the buoyant force doesn't have a large leverage arm to couple with the ship's weight,
acting down through the CG. And so the ship rolls easily.
Conversely when a wide, shallow barge tips to the side, now the submerged portion (cross-section)
quickly starts to look like a triangle rather than a rectangle. The center of buoyancy shifts outboard
rapidly and now there is a large leverage arm tending to right the ship. Therefore our wide barge is
difficult to roll, and has "greater static stability" than our skinny kayak.
Dynamic stability concerns 1) shifts in the ships CG as the ship heels over and 2) the effect of wave
action on the center of buoyancy.
CG can shift due to loose cargo or other moveable weights, or especially the "free surface effect" of
liquid in partially filled tanks that sloshes around while the ship rolls.
Center of buoyancy changes dynamically when, for example, the ship heels over into the trough of a
wave... the submerged volume toward the heeling side is less than it would be in calm flat water. As
the ship struggles to right itself the wave passes on to its peak, and suddenly you have a surplus of
bouyancy on the heeling side which (again hopefully) will snap you upright. That anaylsis gets more
complicated still when you get into harmonics, i.e. the ship has some momentum when returning to
the upright position, so if you hit waves at just the wrong time you'll get no reserve buoyancy to
counteract that momentum. You can go as deep into that subject as you like, including statistical
analysis of wave spectra and so on.