Bridge Simulator Study to Determine the Stopping Distance of a Large Container Vessel, by Using Anchors

In March 2024, the large containership ``Dali'' suffered a blackout and complete loss of propulsion and steering while outbound from the Port of Baltimore, USA. The vessel was proceeding at about 9 knots in the critical approach channel to the Francis Scott Key Bridge and subsequently allided with the bridge support [\citealpbib6]. As ship sizes continue to increase while channels and bridges remain largely unchanged, understanding realistic emergency maneuvering and stopping capabilities in confined waters has become increasingly important [\citealpbib1].This paper presents a bridge simulator study to evaluate the emergency stopping distance of a large container vessel using anchors alone as a last-resort measure. A 13,300 TEU container ship model (``Containership 13'') was tested in a standardized simulation environment on a mud seabed. Five exercises were conducted, varying the number of shackles paid out on one or both anchors.