Analysis of Assumed Mooring Arrangement for Maritime Class Ship

An assumed but routine mooring arrangement for a standard Great Lakes ship--in this case a Maritime Class vessel--is analyzed to ascertain what wind conditions would be sufficient to establish the sequence necessary to cause parting of one line, followed by parting of second and third lines and, finally, by full failure of the mooring arrangement. Wind-tunnel tests on a model of the ship are reviewed, and application of the minimum potential energy principle used in the analysis is illustrated.