Opinion Bow Truster Effect on Ship's Headway

by Capt. Hugues Cauvier - published on 14 July 2022

When the bow thruster has been in operation for a while, pilots often notice that the ship not only turns but also gains speed. But why is this? Opinion by Capt. Hugues Cauvier.

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Opinion A Corrected Version on Positioning of Pivot Point

by Capt. Santosha K. Nayak - published on 18 November 2020

Understanding the fundamentals of the pivot point is highly required for understanding the alteration of the courses. Pivot point is an imaginary point on the vessel which turns on a circular path on the perimeter of vessel’s turning circle when the vessel makes a turn. The knowledge about the position of the pivot point in a manoeuvring situation provides the ship handler with the information on the geometry of motion of the ship.

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Opinion Scientific Fact: The ‘traditional’ understanding of the ship’s pivot point is wrong!

by Tim Cummins, Harbour Pilot, Portsmouth International Port - published on 9 July 2020

In fact, the pivot point that we “see” is a trick of the eye, it looks like the ship is rotating about this point but in fact it is elsewhere, a point that you cannot see.

Related content

Video Bow thruster effect on ship's headway 1

by Capt. Hugues Cauvier - published on 14 July 2022

What is causing the forward motion of a stopped vessel using continous bow thruster action?
by Capt. H. Cauvier

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Video Hugues Cauvier: Understanding the ship's pivot point (complete video)

by Capt. Hugues Cauvier - published on 3 September 2024

This video has been recut and edited by the creator Hugues Cauvier. Previously there were three episodes, which have now been combined into one.

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Video How to Launch a Pilot Boat–Behind the Scenes at Point Hope Shipyard

published on 20 June 2025

Welcome to Point Hope Shipyard in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. In this video, I follow the float off of the Pacific Navigator, a hardworking pilot boat that serves the Port of Victoria and Ogden Point. We watch as the vessel is pulled along the marine railway, rotated on the turntable, and positioned onto the cradle. Once secured, the cradle lowers to float-off depth, and the Pacific Navigator fires up her engines for a short harbour spin before returning to duty. Some segments,...

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Video Wind pure drift encounter - practical experiments for getting useful data

published on 8 July 2022

How to get information for wind & current limits to be potentially encountered by thrusters – or current? - this will be described in this movie:
- Measure Drift speed, due to beam wind with no propulsion;
- Measure drift speed using full thrusters
- Estimate wind & current limits to be potentially encountered by thrusters – or current...
- Finally there is a simple formula as Rule of Thumb: the transverse drift speed is about 7-8% of wind speed!

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Video Maritime Pilot Training VI - Pilot Ladder Training

published on 12 May 2021

Training video VI on the correct use of the pilot ladder

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Video SWATH Technology by Abeking & Rasmussen

published on 17 December 2019

SWATH@A&R – AN IDEA ON THE RISE
Visit company profile: Abeking & Rasmussen
For thousands of years ships have been firmly anchored in human identity. They have benefited and advanced the human kind in countless ways. And yet all along this amazing journey seafarers have been plagued by seasickness, an incessant and relentless nausea caused by the ship’s rolling and rocking. Many experts have tried to find the remedy for the persistent ailment, but always with moderate success.
That is,...

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Article Investigation of ship maneuvering with hydrodynamic effects between ship and bank

by Marine-Pilots.com - published on 12 July 2021

When a vessel navigates in confined waters, such as in a harbour or narrow channel, it is well known among experienced pilots that the ship handling is greatly affected by the hydrodynamic forces and moments acting between ship and bank or sidewall of the channel.

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Video OMC International - Suezmax Tanker - Case Study

published on 14 October 2019

Case Study: An investigation into whether Port of Melbourne and major port user, ExxonMobil, could bring deeper drafted vessels into the channel.

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Video PLA Hybrid Pilot Cutter Leader, sea trials

published on 4 June 2021

The plug-in diesel hybrid pilot boat's hull is be based on the established ‘ORC’ design, a unique ‘beak’ bow design, which gives it unmatched all weather capability and typically uses 40% less diesel per nautical mile than convention hulls.

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Article "SAFE Passage" Journal by Australasian Marine Pilots Institute

by Frank Diegel - published on 10 March 2021

Download PDF here

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