Energy Catalyst 3103-9952 Caravel Press 10.61552/EC.2025.008 2025.008 Hydrodynamic Assessment of Floating Dock Behavior: A Case Study in Bahonar Port, Bandar Abbas https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1627-1991 SamaeiSeyed Reza samaei@srbiau.ac.ir https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4873-6426 GhahfarokhiMohammad Asadian Department of Marine industries, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran 10102025 1 104 112 5 September 2025 30 September 2025 10 October 2025 © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Caravel Press. 2025 This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 licence.

Floating marine structures have become increasingly prominent due to their adaptability, ease of installation, and cost-effectiveness compared with traditional fixed docks and breakwaters. Serving functions such as wave attenuation and vessel berthing, these systems are particularly suitable for regions affected by tidal variations or soft seabed conditions. This study provides a detailed hydrodynamic assessment of modular floating docks developed for Bahonar Port in Bandar Abbas. The investigation began with the geometric modeling of pontoon modules using CATIA, followed by dynamic simulations in ANSYS AQWA to analyze wave–structure interactions. The analysis concentrated on the principal motion responses—heave, roll, and pitch—under various wave incidence angles. The results show that increasing pontoon draft decreases the system’s natural frequency, whereas wider pontoons effectively reduce heave amplitudes due to enhanced hydrodynamic inertia. Furthermore, the optimal alignment of the dock relative to prevailing wave directions markedly lowers environmental loading. Overall, the findings demonstrate that articulated multi-hull floating docks can substantially reduce vertical displacements and improve stability, particularly for highspeed vessel operations. The Response Amplitude Operator (RAO) analysis further clarifies the motion characteristics of the system across a wide range of sea states, offering valuable insights for the design of resilient and efficient floating dock structures

 Floating docks Hydrodynamic analysis Multi-hull systems Pontoon draft Wave interaction J. Zhang, M. C. Ong, and X. Wen, “Dynamic and structural analyses of floating dock operations considering dock-vessel coupling loads,” Ocean Engineering, vol. 310, p. 118622, Jul. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2024.118622. 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2024.118622 J.-M. Liang, Y. Liu, Y.-K. Chen, and A.-J. Li, “Experimental study on hydrodynamic characteristics of the box-type floating breakwater with different mooring configurations,” Ocean Engineering, vol. 254, p. 111296, Apr. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2022.111296. 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2022.111296 V. A. Gran, Z. Jiang, and Z. Pan, “Hydrodynamic Analysis of Floating Docks with Alternative Geometries for Floating Wind Turbine Installation,” in Volume 6A: Ocean Engineering, Virtual, online: American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Aug. 2020, p. V06AT06A057. doi: 10.1115/OMAE2020-18756. 10.1115/OMAE2020-18756 J. Song, H. Imani, J. Yue, and S. Yang, “Hydrodynamic Characteristics of Floating Photovoltaic Systems under Ocean Loads,” Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, vol. 11, no. 9, p. 1813, Sep. 2023, doi: 10.3390/jmse11091813. 10.3390/jmse11091813 F. A. Al-Sairafi, J. Zhang, C. Jiang, A. I. Almansour, and B. Saleh, “Enhancing hydrodynamic performance of floating breakwaters using wing plates,” Water, vol. 16, no. 13, p. 1779, Jun. 2024, doi: 10.3390/w16131779. 10.3390/w16131779 C. Wan, Y. Niu, C. Yang, and L. Johanning, “Hydrodynamic performance of a hybrid floating power dock combining Multi-Cantilever type buoys,” Marine Energy Research, vol. 1, no. 1, p. 10005, Jan. 2024, doi: 10.70322/mer.2024.10005. 10.70322/mer.2024.10005 Y. Li, N. Ren, X. Li, and J. Ou, “Hydrodynamic Analysis of a Novel Modular Floating Structure System Integrated with Floating Artificial Reefs and Wave Energy Converters,” Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, vol. 10, no. 8, p. 1091, Aug. 2022, doi: 10.3390/jmse10081091. 10.3390/jmse10081091 T. Takeuchi, T. Utsunomiya, K. Gotoh, and I. Sato, “Quantitative Wear Estimation for Mooring Chain of Floating Structures and its Validation,” in Volume 6: Ocean Space Utilization, Glasgow, Scotland, UK: American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Jun. 2019, p. V006T05A017. doi: 10.1115/OMAE2019-96750. 10.1115/OMAE2019-96750 Y. Li, N. Ren, W. Cai, Y. Liu, and J. Ou, “Experimental Investigation of the Hydrodynamic Characteristics of A Modular Floating Structure System Integrated with WEC- Type Floating Artificial Reefs,” China Ocean Eng, vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 1082–1090, Dec. 2024, doi: 10.1007/s13344-024-0085-z. 10.1007/s13344-024-0085-z D.-L. Xu, H.-C. Zhang, S.-Y. Xia, et al., “Nonlinear dynamic characteristics of a multi-module floating airport with rigid–flexible connections,” Journal of Hydrodynamics, vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 815–827, Oct. 2018, doi: 10.1007/s42241-018-0089-3. 10.1007/s42241-018-0089-3 K. Xu, K. Larsen, Y. Shao, M. Zhang, Z. Gao, and T. Moan, “Design and comparative analysis of alternative mooring systems for floating wind turbines in shallow water with emphasis on ultimate limit state design,” Ocean Engineering, vol. 219, p. 108377, Nov. 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2020.108377. 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2020.108377 Y. E. Nazligul and D. Yazir, “Comparison of automated mooring systems against existing mooring systems by using the IF-TOPSIS method,” Ocean Engineering, vol. 285, p. 115269, Jul. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2023.115269. 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2023.115269 M. Perkovič, “Advances in navigability and mooring,” Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, vol. 12, no. 9, p. 1601, Sep. 2024, doi: 10.3390/jmse12091601. 10.3390/jmse12091601 S. A. Sirigu, M. Bonfanti, E. Begović, C. Bertorello, P. Dafnakis, G. Giorgi, G. Bracco, and G. Mattiazzo, “Experimental investigation of the mooring system of a wave energy converter in operating and extreme wave conditions,” Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, vol. 8, no. 3, p. 180, Mar. 2020, doi: 10.3390/jmse8030180. 10.3390/jmse8030180 E. Hennø and H. Schøyen, “A lean approach to comparing the mooring systems of Suezmax tankers,” Journal of Marine Science and Technology, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 956–974, Oct. 2024, doi: 10.1007/s00773-024-01030-2. 10.1007/s00773-024-01030-2 X.-Y. Ni, X.-M. Cheng, B. Wu, J. Ding, Y.-L. Ye, and Z. Sun, “Performance analysis of the mooring system of a two-module scientific research and demonstration platform,” Journal of Hydrodynamics, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 901–914, Oct. 2021, doi: 10.1007/s42241-021-0080-2. 10.1007/s42241-021-0080-2 J. Cui, X. Chen, and P. Sun, “Numerical investigation on the hydrodynamic performance of a new designed breakwater using smoothed particle hydrodynamic method,” Engineering Analysis with Boundary Elements, vol. 130, pp. 379–403, Sep. 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.enganabound.2021.05.007. 10.1016/j.enganabound.2021.05.007 J. Guo, H. Tan, J. Liu, W. Feng, Z. Peng, Y. Liu, and J.- H. Cui, “Numerical simulation and analysis of UUV docking with a seabed moored floating dock,” Ocean Engineering, vol. 313, pt. 3, p. 119528, Dec. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2024.119528. 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2024.119528 Y. Liu, N. Ren, J. Ou, and Y. Li, “Experimental and numerical studies on dynamic performances of the hybrid modular floating structure system,” Marine Structures, vol. 104, p. 103878, Oct. 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.marstruc.2025.103878. 10.1016/j.marstruc.2025.103878 J. Zhang, X. Wen, A. Kniat, and M. C. Ong, “A comparative analysis of numerically simulated and experimentally measured static responses of a floating dock,” Ships and Offshore Structures, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 329–346, 2025, doi: 10.1080/17445302.2024.2336670. 10.1080/17445302.2024.2336670 C. Ji, X. Bian, S. Xu, J. Guo, and F. Huo, “Numerical study on the hydrodynamic performance of floating breakwaters with complex configurations,” Ocean Engineering, vol. 273, p. 114032, Apr. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2023.114032. 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2023.114032 X. Zhang, J. Hu, and B. Hong, “Dynamic response computation of single-point mooring of product tanker based on AQWA,” in Proceedings of the International Conference on Coastal and Ocean Engineering (ICCOE), IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, vol. 527, no. 1, p. 012010, July 2020, doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/527/1/012010. 10.1088/1755-1315/527/1/012010 J. Ding, Y. Yang, J. Yu, M. Bashir, L. Ma, C. Li, and S. Li, “Fully coupled dynamic responses of barge- type integrated floating wind–wave energy systems with different WEC layouts,” Ocean Engineering, vol. 313, pt. 1, p. 119453, Dec. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2024.119453. 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2024.119453 A. G. Abul-Azm and M. R. Gesraha, “Approximation to the hydrodynamics of floating pontoons under oblique waves,” Ocean Engineering, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 365–384, Apr. 2000, doi: 10.1016/S0029-8018(98)00057-2. 10.1016/S0029-8018(98)00057-2 E. Masoudi and L. Gan, “Diffraction waves on general two-legged rectangular floating breakwaters,” Ocean Engineering, vol. 235, p. 109420, Sep. 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2021.109420. 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2021.109420