Innovative Uses of a Modified SWATH for Ocean Engineering

The increasing acceptance of the SWATH as a practical design concept is evidenced by the number of new designs currently in progress throughout the world. In this paper several innovations are proposed to enhance both the structural integrity and seakeeping ability of the SWATH to further increase its acceptability. Next, several ocean engineering design concepts are proposed which combine SWATH with ellipsoidal and pyramidal geometries to realize improvements in space utilization and at-sea operations over more conventional design approaches. Finally, it is shown that SWATH designs can provide unique and significant benefits in the areas of ocean energy systems, offshore oil exploration and recovery, and commercial and military shipping. The practical issues of design for fabricability and of cost will also be discussed.