Forensic research into the loss of ships by means of a Time domain simulation tool

The present paper describes forensic research in to the loss of the trawler MFV Gaul. The research focuses on water ingress through openings in the vessel when operating in a hind cast sea state. The ship, environmental conditions and basics of the FREDYN time domain simulation tool are described. Simulation results are discussed which clearly indicate that certain combinations of heading, speed and resulting water ingress can be threatening to the survivability of the ship. Scale model test results confirm these findings. Finally, a possible loss scenario is presented.