MB shipbuilders & Engineering Works

The Types of Ship Motions at Sea and Their Effects

When cargo ships travel across the sea they are subjected to six types of ship motions due to wave action.

There are six general types of ship motions
The six types of wave action motion are constantly applied to the ship in varying degrees as it travels across the water. This complex interaction of motions is why sailors often find it difficult to walk on a deck.

Ship motions occur along the vertical, transverse or longitudinal axis, or around the center of gravity for the ship. They are made up of three lateral movements and three rotations. The six ship motions are:

Heaving: vertical movement
Swaying: transverse movement
Surging: longitudinal movement
Rolling: longitudinal rotation
Pitching: transverse rotation
Yawing: vertical rotation