The 1975 Seakeeping Symposium dealt with problems associated with designing ships in relation to performance in a seaway. Substantial elements of the problems noted in the symposium report reflected the difficulty of characterizing the physical phenomena involved (seaway representation and resulting ship motions), and the need for an acceptable means of converting the basic physical phenomena into performance‐ based design decisions.
In addition to the basic rigid body motions of concern to the Seakeeping Symposium, the dynamic at‐sea environment includes several design‐controllable elements. It is these elements which this paper addresses.
As used herein, the term “environment” includes, in addition to ship motions and other aspects of operating in a seaway, structural influences and electromagnetic radiation. For each of these elements of the environment, a summary of the range of environmental effects which might be encountered by men and equipment on modern surface warships is presented, together with a synopsis of how these environmental effects can be influenced by design.
The basic conclusions of the paper are: (1) that follow‐ups to the Seakeeping Symposium are needed; and (2) that their scope should be expanded to include all aspects of the dynamic at‐sea environment.