High-fidelity analyses are conducted in this study to evaluate the prediction accuracy and hydrodynamic characteristics of a surface ship in shallow and confined waters. A series of static drift simulations are performed for a model-scale container ship in calm water across a range of water depths, drift angles, and ship speeds. The predicted forces, moments, sinkage, and trim are compared with experimental data, showing reasonable agreement with average relative errors of around 3% for the hydrodynamic forces. Key findings include the dominance of frictional resistance component in axial force across all conditions and the nonlinear increase in sway force and yaw moment with decreasing water depth and increasing drift angle, influenced by intensified hull-tank bottom interaction and asymmetrical flow patterns. The study also shows that reducing water depth amplifies sinkage and trim due to localized low-pressure regions along the hull. Detailed flow field analyses are also carried out, providing insights into key underlying flow physics. The contours of dynamic pressure and wall shear stress on the hull surface partly explain the trends observed in hydrodynamic forces and ship motions. Effects of water depth on the axial velocity contours and wake patterns are also demonstrated, with shallower waters causing stronger flow separation in aft body and larger wake regions.