The Challenge of Very Large Container Ships – A Hydrodynamic View

In this paper the past, present and future of container ship design is briefly discussed. Hydrodynamic aspects such as propulsion concepts, rudder cavitation and parametric rolling are included. Current trends in container ship design are demonstrated on the basis of model tests performed at the Hamburg Ship Model Basin (HSVA) throughout the last decades. Alternative concepts to overcome current limits in ship size and speed are given.