A long, top-opened tank of a rectangular cross section equipped with a towing carriage that runs on two rails on either side. The towing carriage can either tow the model or follow the self-propelled model and is equipped with computers and devices to register or control speed, propeller thrust and torque etc.
The towing tank of HSVA enables such tests as: resistance, propulsion and tracking tests, horizontal planar motion testing, flow observation (paint and underwater TV), wake measurements (axial or 3-d laser velocimetry), propeller open water tests, seakeeping tests (in regular or irregular waves), measurement of forces and pressures acting on hulls or offshore structures, rolling tests, mooring tests.