In the present dissertation, the hydrodynamic and hydro-elastic characteristics of ship hull and plate vibrations are analyzed using theoretical and numerical methods. The wave forces are determined using a suite of methods which include the Froude-Krylov method for incident wave forces, Wagner's method and ABS rules for the slamming wave force, and numerical methods for nonlinear wave radiation forces. Finite difference methods are developed to determine the wave forced vibrations of ship hull plates which are modeled using a range of plate theories including nonlinear plate theory with and without material damping and orthotropic plate theory for stiffened hull plates. For small amplitude deformation of thin plates, a semi-theoretical superposition method is used to determine the free and forced vibrations. The transient ship hull vibration due to whipping is also analyzed using the finite difference method. Results, in the form of deformations and stress distributions, are obtained for a range of scantling and wave parameters to identify key parameters to consider in ship structural design. / by Fnu Lakitosh. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web.