An automatic control system for ship harbour manoeuvres using decoupling control

This paper presents a new application of the decoupling control to automatically control large ships in harbour areas. A multi-term nonlinear mathematical model is adopted to express ships´ manoeuvring motions. The method for designing the automatic control system is briefly described. Computer simulation results for a very large crude carriage on a simple berthing manoeuvre are given to verify the design method. Excellent effects of the automatic control system are proven by very good simulation results of the ship motions during 180 deg. turning manoeuvres under various strong wind conditions. Simulation results also show robustness of the automatic control system against parameters´ uncertainty.