Shallow-water

For manoeuvring, deep water can be

assumed to have a depth of more than five
times the ship's draught; at three times the
draught, the shallow-water effects become
significant, and as depth decreases from
twice the draught these effects increase
rapidly. Water depth thus influences
manoeuvring at time and misinterpreting
its effects can be disastrous.
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Shallow Water
The ships float in water because of one simple
reason. There is no net force acting on the ship.
Now it is not that there are no forces acting on
the ship. But all these forces are equal and
opposite in nature.

APPLI ED RESEARCH I NTERNATI ONAL SHI P SI MULATOR & BRI DGE Slide No. 3 of 14
TEAMWORK
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What is SQUAT
• Squat is the decrease in ship’s under keel clearance
when it moves in shallow water because of low
pressure created under the ship. This low pressure
is created under the ship because of Bernoulli's
theorem. https://youtu.be/Inh1LY4T7Vo

APPLI ED RESEARCH I NTERNATI ONAL SHI P SI MULATOR & BRI DGE Slide No. 4 of 14
TEAMWORK
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SQUAT
• Now as the pressure at the bottom of the ship
decreases, ship need to react in some manner
to compensate that. Remember we said, ship’s
float because net force acting on the ship is
zero.
• This drop in pressure is compensated by the
sinkage of the vessel as the direction of this
force (low pressure) is downwards.

APPLI ED RESEARCH I NTERNATI ONAL SHI P SI MULATOR & BRI DGE Slide No. 5 of 14
TEAMWORK
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Squat varies as per following

factors:

• Ship’s speed: Squat is directly proportional to

the square of speed.(SOG or STW?).
• Block co-efficient: Squat directly varies with
CB.Block-Coefficient-of-ship.jpg
• UKC : inversely proportional.
• Blockage factor (S): affects the squat.
Blockage factor is a ratio of ship’s immersed
cross section to the cross section of water
within the canal.

APPLI ED RESEARCH I NTERNATI ONAL SHI P SI MULATOR & BRI DGE Slide No. 6 of 14
TEAMWORK
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EFFECT OF SQUAT ON TRIM OF VESSEL

Block coefficient = 0.7 (Bodily sinkage)

Block coefficient < 0.7 (Down by the stern-Fine form)
Block coefficient > 0.7 (Down by the head-Full form)
For finer form vessels(container/war-ships) the
effective low pressure will be aft of the midship. This
will cause the stern to sink more than the bow and will
result in stern trim.
For full form vessel the low pressure would be
forward of the midship as the bow obstructs flow of
water. This will cause the vessel to trim by head.

APPLI ED RESEARCH I NTERNATI ONAL SHI P SI MULATOR & BRI DGE Slide No. 7 of 14
TEAMWORK
 Squat (Fine-form ship)
Stationary ship with small UKC

Ship in dynamic condition (Grounding at stern)

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Factors affecting squat

Blockage factor of the canal and narrow channel

• In a canal, Apart from having shallow water

beneath, even the sideways water flow is restricted.
This creates additional low pressure which affects
the squat.

• Blockage factor is a ratio of ship’s immersed cross

section to the cross section of water within the
canal.

APPLI ED RESEARCH I NTERNATI ONAL SHI P SI MULATOR & BRI DGE Slide No. 9 of 14
TEAMWORK
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Factors affecting squat

• We can calculate the blockage factor by this formula
• Blockage factor = b x h / B x H

APPLI ED RESEARCH I NTERNATI ONAL SHI P SI MULATOR & BRI DGE Slide No. 10 of 14
TEAMWORK
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Factors affecting squat

• Blockage factor of less than 0.100 represents
open sea like conditions and hence no
blockage factor.
• Blockage factor of 0.265 represents narrow
channel.

APPLI ED RESEARCH I NTERNATI ONAL SHI P SI MULATOR & BRI DGE Slide No. 11 of 14
TEAMWORK
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Formula to calculate squat

Squatmax =  v (In open waters)
Cb
100
2

Squatmax = K  100  v (In confined channel)

Cb 2

Where K = {6 x Blockage factor (S)} + 0.4

S= bd
B H

Squatmax = Cb
50  v 2 (In confined channel)
• Above is simple formula which is used by most of
the navigators and is the most simplified version of
Dr. Barrass’s formula.

APPLI ED RESEARCH I NTERNATI ONAL SHI P SI MULATOR & BRI DGE Slide No. 12 of 14
TEAMWORK
Factors affecting Squat
• Water-way width in addition to limited depth
also affects the squat of a vessel adversely.
• Uneven pattern of the seabed will also affect
the squat.

• Presence of another vessel in a channel also

affects the squat of a vessel adversely.
Effects of Shallow water :
• Bow wave increases.
• Steering becomes sluggish.
• Depth and under-keel clearance reduces.
• Turning ability deteriorates (Turning radius
increases).
• May experience an increase in vibrations.
• Limits the speed. Ship response to changes in
engine speed is slower.
• Stopping distance increases.
• Load on main engine increases due excessive
resistance on the bow.
 CONCLUSION
• Squat is not a theoretical term. It is a real
practical phenomenon experienced on ships
moving in shallow waters. Ship owners have
lost millions of dollars because of grounding of
ships.
• Squat has been used to advantage in 2010
when “Allure of the Seas” used squat to
advantage for passing under a bridge.
• It is of utmost importance that we incorporate
shallow water effects in our passage plans to
avoid any untowardly incident.