On a ship closely moving along a canal bank (or a shallow area), certain forces are operating which make the ship yaw away from the bank This phenomenon, the suction effect of canal banks on ship behaviour, is caused by the differences between the reverse flow and water level drop at both sides of the ship. The yawing of the vessel from the bank can be prevented when the ship makes an angle to the direction in which she is sailing (the so-called drift angle), and when the rudder is put in the direction of the bank.
In this article these phenomena are discussed in more detail, and also explained by some of the results of model studies carried out by the Delft Hydraulics Laboratory and commissioned by the Governmental Public Works Department (Rijkswaterstaat).
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