Class 2 (2nd Engineer) SC&S 📅 Oct 2025

Exam Question

(a) Describe how the force on the ship's bottom and the GM vary when grounding takes place. (6)

(b) A ship of 8,000 tonnes displacement takes the ground on a sand bank on a falling tide at an even keel draft of 5.2 metres. KG 4.0 metres. The predicted depth of water over the sandbank at the following low water is 3.2 metres. Calculate the GM at that time, assuming that the KM will then be 5.0 metres and that the mean TPC is 15 tonne. (10)

Reference Answer

(a) When a ship grounds, the forces on the bottom and the metacentric height (GM) change depending on the grounding's nature and the ship's position on the seabed.
If the ship grounds on a level bottom:
A ground reaction force acts vertically upwards from the seabed. This force counteracts part of the ship's weight and alters the distribution of buoyancy forces.
The ship’s centre of gravity (G) may appear to rise relative to the metacentre (M) because the upward ground reaction reduces the buoyancy force acting on the underwater volume.

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