LAUSR

The East China Sea, where both the strong Kuroshio Current and powerful low pressures exist, is an inevitable ocean area for various ships sailing between Japan and other Asian and European countries. The safety and economics of such shipping behaviors are often affected by the strong dynamics of the environmental matrix. The wave conditions are usually significant under high ocean winds, leading to interaction between waves and currents. In this study, the third generation wave model SWAN are used to study the wave propagation and wave-current interaction, following by its effects on the ship navigation discussed. Significant interaction between the strong Kuroshio Current and high ocean waves as well as its effects on ship safety have been found by calculations of certain wave parameters, such as significant wave height (SWH), average wave period (AWP), mean wave direction (MWD), wave length (WLEN), frequency and directional spreading.