An AMC Search research engineer and Australian Maritime College PhD student has been awarded the annual prize for best paper presented to the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), Australian Division.
Shaun Denehy is lead author on the paper Mooring arrangement design to minimise berthed ship motions due to a passing ship, which was awarded the Walter Atkinson Award for Best Written Paper presented at a RINA-supported conference or in a RINA publication.
Judging the papers on its purpose, importance to Australia, originality, rigor and comprehensibility, it was deemed to be the best presented in Australia for the year to June 2016.
Shaun received his award in person at the annual Sydney Marine Industry Christmas event on 1st December. It was presented by the President of the Australian Division of RINA, Professor Martin Renilson, who praised the paper for its application to industry.
"Shaun's work is a very good example of a piece of applied research which is of great benefit to the Australian industry."
The prize-winning paper details how the researchers—including Jonathan T Duffy, Dev Ranmuthugala and Martin R Renilson—used physical, scale model experiments to understand how port layouts impact the way that berthed ships are affected by passing ships.
Undertaking research in AMC’s Model Test Basin facility, the researchers were able to present different mooring arrangements to minimise berthed ship motions and recommend maximum safe speeds for passing ships.
Shaun explains how the award demonstrates the excellence of the research undertaken in this area at AMC.
“It’s really an honour to be recognised in this way,” explains Shaun, “especially as the award was totally unexpected!”
“The research we do here at AMC into the challenges ships face in restricted water port environments is among the best in the world, and our findings help vessel owners and port operators increase safety, efficiency and optimise port design.”
The research is part of Shaun’s PhD studies into berthed ship—passing ship interaction in restricted waters. He uses numerical and experimental modelling to understand how ship interactions are effected by port layouts and different passing ship scenarios.
His consultancy for AMC Search, the commercial arm of AMC, sees him apply this expertise to help businesses using AMC’s facilities to optimise operations and designs and innovate.
Published on: 09 Dec 2016
