Prediction of the maneuvering characteristics of a ship at the design stage can be done by means of model tests, computational simulations or a combination of both. The model tests can be realized as a direct simulation of the standard maneuvers with the free running model, which gives the most accurate results but is also the least affordable, as it requires a very large tank or natural lake, as well as the complex equipment of the model. Alternatively, a captive model test can be used to identify the hydrodynamic characteristics of the hull, which can be used to simulate the standard maneuvers with the use of dedicated software. Two types of captive model tests are distinguished: circular motion tests (CMT) and planar motion mechanism tests (PMM). The paper presents an attempt to develop a computational method for ship maneuverability prediction in which the hydrodynamic characteristics of the hull are identified by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The CFD analyses presented here directly simulate the circular motion test. The resulting hull characteristics are verified against the available literature data, and the results of the simulations are verified against the results of free running model tests. Reasonable agreement shows the large potential of the proposed method.

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