A parametric investigation of the influence of seakeeping on research vessel design

In recent times, the science mission requirements that drive research vessel design have required research vessels to be truly multi-disciplinary in capability. The primary requirement in the design of a true multi-mission platform is the operability of the platform in its several applications. Seakeeping is hence a very significant design discriminator in research vessel design. In this paper, the impact of seakeeping requirements in the determination of available design space for a notional 21^st century research vessel, RV21, is investigated. The results of these investigations are expected to aid in the development of a rational seakeeping design doctrine for research vessels