Estudo preliminar da estabilidade transversal e da dinâmica de uma embarcação regional que naufragou na Amazônia

Abstract

Several ship accidents have occurred over the years in the Amazon region, causing negative environmental, economic and social impacts. Although there are no details of the causes of all accidents that occur in the region, some shipwrecks have detailed accounts of what may have happened, making it possible to open discussion topics based on technical evidence. The present work presents a preliminary technical study of a vessel that sank in the Amazon region, analyzing some stability and movement factors with a possible contribution to the occurrence of the accident. The first phase of the study presents the problem of accidents on regional cargo and passenger vessels, describing several cases that occurred in the Brazilian Amazon. Subsequently, a shipwreck case study was considered to carry out the technical analysis, whose first stage of study consisted in generating a three-dimensional geometry that resembled the vessel's hull. Therefore, an intact transverse stability analysis was carried out, verifying the effects of different drafts and positions of the center of gravity. Finally, a critical stability condition was selected to evaluate the vessel's roll movement when subjected to the interaction of regular waves with different amplitudes. The results obtained demonstrated that inadequate combinations of draft and weight distribution can reduce the restoration capacity in calm water conditions. In this situation, some wave conditions, even those with low amplitude, can aggravate the problem due to amplifications of the roll movement and water shipping the deck. It is suggested that in situations where vessels operate with little freeboard, which are common in the Amazon region, there is a risk of shipping water, which can flood internal spaces if there is no adequate sealing of the deck, further compromising the survivability of the vessel. It is hoped that the present study can be extended to evaluate the possible causes of other accidents with regional vessels.