Stopping characteristics of a ship due to the reverse rotation of its propellers in a shallow water area are investigated. Extensive captive model tests are carried out in order to identify the characteristics of the hydrodynamic forces acting on the ship in its stopping manoeuvres. Experiments on the stopping manoeuvres using a free running ship model are also conducted. The time history of the behaviours of the ship as well as the macroscopic stopping characteristics such as the distance & the time consumed for the stopping are examined through the comparison with the corresponding data obtained in deep water. Finally numerical simulations of the stopping manoeuvres are carried out while using the experimentally determined hydrodynamic forces to see how accurate the prediction can be achieved. The possible causes for the discrepancies (although it is not very large) between the numerical simulation results and the experimental results are discussed.