The maneuvering indices K for ship's turning ability and T for ship's course keeping ability are very important values to evaluate the maneuvering chanacteristics and the motions of a vessel. When a vessel is built in the shipyard they carry out many kinds of sea trials including Z test trials to compute the numerical values of maneuvering indices. They carry out Z test during the sea trial period but they generally make only the graphs of heading angles showing the first, second and third overshoot angle without calculating the numerical values of indices K and T. They normally do not calculate the numerical values of K and T because the calculating and processing methods are a little bit complicated ones and ship owners and the masters of the vessel generally do not require the shipyard to calculate the values and submit the results to them. For this reason, the authors studied on more simplified testing and calculating method and carried out both of the actual sea trial tests of usual Z tests and more simplified tests using the training vessel Saeyoodal of Mokpo maritime university and calculated K and T indices from both trials. The calculated values from both trials are coincided with each other very well and the results were good and satisfactory.

It is very important and necessary for safe maneuvering and piloting of a VLCC to know the quantity of her sinkage and trim changes in advance when she enters into shallow water area from deep sea. It is already well known that the quantity of sinkage and trim of a vessel change when she navigates between the sea areas of different depths. In this paper, the authors induced five mathematic formulas to compute the quantity of hull sinkage and trim changes arising from the different conditions and speeds of vessels and sea depth. Also they checked and examined the conditions of 131 VLCC class vessels with the over all lengths between 200 to 360 meters and evaluated mean values of Cb, Lpp/B, Lpp/dm, the trim and mean draft(dm) of them according to the different groups of length and loaded conditions. Using the calculating math formulas and loaded conditions, the authors math tables to find the quantity of hull sinkage and trim changes due to the different size, condition and speed of vessels and the depth of sea.

Nowadays LNG has been beginning to take the place of petroleum as fuel all over the world and VLCC of LNG will take the same sea routes that had been used by VLCC tankers of petroleum in the last part of the 20th century. The transportation of LNG by a VLCC include more dangerous nature of sea peril than that of petroleum. We already know the dimensions of a disaster a LNG tanker could bring about in the case of the LNG tanker, Yuyo-Maru No. 10 in the Tokyo Bay of Japan in 1974. From the point of safety when we construct a LNG base or LNG pier in the base, the appropriate government authority and constructing company had better take sea pilots or some ships handling experts to participate in a prior consultation of the design of the project. A G/T 100,000 ton LNG base and pier were completed in November of 1996 in Inchon harbour in Korea and VLCC of LNG of G/T 100,000 ton class have been entering into the base ever since. This study was started and completed In comply with the requisition of the Sea Pilot Association of Inchon harbour in advance of the opening of the LNG base. As the entrance and exit channels leading to Inchon harbour were constructed in the years of 1930s, it was one of the most pressing works for Inchon sea pilots in 1996 to certify the method of safe passing maneuvering of a G/T 100,000 ton of LNG tanker through the Pudo narrow channel prior to commencing actual piloting of the VLCC of LNG. The authors made some mathematical models computing maneuvering of a vessel changing her course with her control surface through a narrow channel and computed maneuvering of a G/T 100,000 ton of LNG tanker and also made maneuvering simulations of the vessel by a desk-top simulator. The results of computations and simulations are well coincided with each other in qualitative aspects to assure safe passing of the VLCC of LNG.