Why does a ship need tug boats to help in land in the harbor?

Question

Why does a ship need tug boats to help in land in the harbor?

Answer 1

Like what some people said there is Sand Barges in the harbor

So if you owned a harbor you would have to hire tug boat operators or you would get no cargo. And how would you Manouver a 1 million ton Cargo boat in a Couple football field wide space?

Answer 2

because the bigger the ship, the bigger it's turning radius.

the tug boats are there to provide in-place turns, side-to-side movement and slow pier approaches/departures.

Answer 3

Legal matters and lack of knowledge of captain on what their ship will do.   I worked with one captain who was able to bring his ship into the pier against a strong current without a tug better than most people can park a car.

Answer 4

Because they can't maneuver under their own power in confined spaces.

For the average ship to be able to turn it needs to be moving forwards (or backwards) in order to get water to move over the rudder with sufficient pressure to make the directional changes.

Some newer vessels do have directional thrusters installed as well as the main screws, but even still they would probably need tug assistance to dock.

Answer 5

Tidal currents, or the natural current of a river, can push the hull of a ship easily. Even if there is no current, the steering (rudder) does not give a ship good maneuverability in small areas. The tug keeps the ship going where wanted.

Answer 6

for safety reasons, they make it a rule to tug the ship to land on harbors,,the person responsible for this job is the port captain,, because he was the one familiar about the rules and regulations of the port,,aside from that he got a good knowledge of the ports characteristics like,current flows, water depths ,waterway traffics,etc.. and other factors that might endanger the ship..

Answer 7

too tight to maneuver, they are NOT even allowed to come NEAR  port by themselves, Command of the ship is given over to the "Harbor Master", when he get's aboard, he has "LOCAL KNOWLAGE", and directs the Tug captains, we don't need ships slamming into piers with cargo and people.

Answer 8

Some ships are not equipped with bow and stern thrusters.  A bow thruster is located in the front of the ship.  It helps "push" the ship to port or starboard.  If the ship does not have a bow thruster a tugboat is there to help push the ship into dock.  Tugboats are also called out on stand by just in case the of emergencies.  A 1000 ft. ship does not turn on a dime and can be tricky of dock.  Tug boats are there to help.

Answer 9

because Liz.. a ship is to big.. try steering a small boat into a shore line .. it drifts all over the place.. so imagine a huge ship..it would not be able to stop when it reaches a dock... also there would be sand bars in low water.. and a ships captain could not see such things way up there