ON THURSDAY 9 January the bulk carrier MV LMZ Phoebe sailed from Saqr Port, United Arab Emirates, with a draft of 12.78m.
This made it the first ship to use the newly installed Dynamic Underkeel Clearance System provided by OMC International.
RAK Ports commissioned the DUKC system for Saqr Port, which became live on January 1, 2020.
The system is to allow vessels to load more cargo and take advantage of enhanced tidal windows, thereby loading deeper and allowing more time on the berth.
DUKC seeks to optimise the amount of cargo that any vessel can load by determining the maximum safe sailing draft for that vessel, given the conditions on the day.
This is achieved by digitally replicating the port with DUKC
The DUKC incorporates detailed modelling of the shipping operations, numerical analysis of ship motions, hydrodynamic models, channel survey data, and the assimilation of real-time and forecast environmental conditions.
