I think there is no disagreement between your various points of view, just a semantic issue. The usual frame for the study of any mass dynamic motion is the second degree dynamic equation, itself directly derived from the Newton law :
m X°° + d X° + k X = Fd
, which can be describe as :
Inertia force + damping force + restoring force = driving (external) force(s)
From this general frame, 3 particular cases :
m X°° + k X = 0 : free undamped oscillating system ("free ideal spring" of which period is T = 2 pi (m/k)^0,5 )
m X°° + k X = Fd : forced undamped oscillating system
m X°° + d X° + k X = 0 : free damped oscillating system
, with here a usual difficulty : the physical damping phenomena usually involved is not linear, cannot be reduced to just d coefficient.
The study of the dynamic of marine vehicles is certainly one of the most difficult thing because :
- you have to consider the 6 degrees of freedom (x, y, z, pitch, roll, yaw) in the most general case,
- the expression of Fd forces are extremely complexed even within linear approaches, and the real response of a hull on real waves cannot always be reduced to the domain where the linear approach is valid. That means that the most extreme forces to consider for a design can be (are) usually outside the linear domain.
For a lot more on that subject, a quite old but reference document is the "Bhattacharya Dynamic of Marine Vehicles"
Bhattacharya Dynamics of Marine Vehicles https://fr.scribd.com/doc/44416872/Bhattacharya-Dynamics-of-Marine-Vehicles