The New Year Wave in a seakeeping basin: Generation, propagation, kinematics and dynamics

In the past years the existence of freak waves has been affirmed by observations, registrations, and severe accidents. One of the famous real-world registrations is the so-called “New Year Wave” recorded in the North Sea at the Draupner jacket platform on January 1, 1995. Since there is only a single point registration available, it is not possible to draw conclusions on the spatial development in front of and behind the point of registration, which is indispensable for a complete understanding of this phenomenon. This paper presents the temporal and spatial development of the “New Year Wave” generated in a seakeeping basin. This extreme sea state is measured at different locations in the tank, in a range from 2163 m (full scale) ahead of to 1470 m behind the target position—520 registrations altogether. The focus lies on the detailed description of a possible evolution of the “New Year Wave” over a large area. The group velocity, wave propagation and energy flux of this wave group as well as the wave kinematics and dynamics are analysed. As a case study a Ro/Ro vessel has been investigated in the “New Year Wave”, with special emphasis on the vertical bending moment. ► This paper presents the evolution of the “New Year Wave” in a seakeeping basin. ► A hybrid wave generation tool is used for the reproduction of the wave sequence. ► The temporal and spatial evolution including wave kinematics and dynamics are discussed. ► Finally, a Ro/Ro vessel encountering the “New Year Wave” is investigated. ► The model tests show that the impact on ships is severe.