Rogue Waves: Results of the MaxWave Project

Abstract

Safety of shipping is an ever growing concern. In a summary on shipping safety Douglas Faulkner investigates the causes of shipping casualties [1] and concludes that the number of unexplained accidents are far too high in comparison to other means of transport. From various sources, including insurers data over 30% of the casualties are due to bad weather ( a fact that ships should be able to cope with) and a further 25% remain completely unexplained. The European project MAXWAVE aimed at investigating ship and platform accidents due to severe weather conditions using different radar and in Situ sensors and at suggesting improved design and new safety measures., Heavy sea states and severe weather conditions have caused the loss of more than 200 super cargo vessels within the last 20 years [1]. In many cases single 'rogue waves' of abnormal height as well as groups of extreme waves have been reported by crew members of such ships. The European Project MAXWAVE deals with both theoretical aspects of extreme waves as well as new techniques to observe these waves using different remote sensing techniques. The final goal is to improve the understanding of the physical processes responsible for the generation of extreme waves and to identify geophysical conditions in which such waves are most likely to occur. Two dimensional sea surface elevation fields are derived from marine radar and space borne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. Individual wave parameters like maximum to significant wave height ratios and wave steepness are derived from the sea surface topography. Several ship and offshore platform accidents are analyzed and the impact on ship and offshore design is discussed. Tank experiments are performed to test the impact of designed extreme waves on ships and offshore constructions. This article gives an overview of the different work packages performed.