Ship berthing is a specific maneuver operation. The flow around a berthing ship and the forces acting on the hull are quite different from those for a ship in normal navigation. By solving the unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations, the transient flow field around a ship undergoing unsteady lateral motion is simulated and the varying lateral hydrodynamic force acting on the hull is evaluated in this article. The numerical results obtained with different turbulence models are analyzed and compared with experimental results and other numerical results published in literature, and a turbulence model more suitable for simulation of the viscous flow around a ship undergoing unsteady berthing is determined.