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Maritime Safety Using e-Navigation Technologies

Info: 5284 words (21 pages) Example Literature Review
Published: 9th Dec 2019

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Tagged: TechnologyHealth and Safety

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

It has widely been accepted that more than 80% of all high consequence marine disasters have been the result of human error. Accidents related to navigation continue to occur despite the development and availability of a number of ship- and shore-based technologies that promise to improve situational awareness and decision-making. Some of the currently used technologies are:

Automatic Identification System (AIS), Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS), Integrated Bridge Systems/Integrated Navigation Systems (IBS/INS), Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA), radio navigation, Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) systems, Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) and the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS).

These technologies are able to reduce navigational errors and failures to a large extent, Some more applications include benefits in areas such as search and rescue, pollution incident response, security and the protection of critical marine resources, such as fishing grounds. These also contribute to efficiencies in the planning and operation of cargo logistics, and provide information about sea, port and forwarder conditions.

This project deals with how mobile communication plays an important role in achieving safety in the maritime industry and also study different types of e-navigation systems currently used.

In this project I will start with the history of marine accidents and then will study the compelling need for e-navigation which was conceptualised by IMO to avoid such accidents. And finally the current status of e-Navigation systems will be analysed based on applications and ship requirements.

INTRODUCTION

Mariners require information related to the planning and execution of voyages, the assessment of navigation risk and compliance with regulation. This information needs to be accessible from a single integrated system. Shore users also need information related to their maritime domain, including static and dynamic information on vessels and their voyages. Hence , this information should be provided in an internationally agreed common data structure. Such a data structure is necessary for the sharing of information among the shore authorities on both regional as well as international basis.

Thus came the concept of e-Navigation. The concept of e-Navigation was proposed in 2006 by IMO Member States as a combination of harmonisation, collection, integration, exchange and presentation of maritime information. But the generic electronic marine navigation already exists in many forms and hence should not be confused with this specific IMO initiative.

e-Navigation encompasses in itself various things such as : integration of ship sensors, supporting information , a standard user interface , and a comprehensive system for managing guard zones and alerts. It provides automated and standardised reporting functions for optimal communication of ship and voyage information. This includes safety related information that is transmitted ashore, sent from shore to ship borne users and information pertaining to security and environmental protection to be communicated amongst all users. Reporting requirements should be automated or pre-prepared to the extent possible both in terms of content and communications technology.

CORE OBJECTIVES OF e-NAVIGATION :

It facilitates safe and secure navigation of vessels with regard to hydrographic meteorological and navigational information and risks;

It facilitates the vessel traffic and management from shore/coastal facilities

It facilitates communications, including data exchange, among ship to ship, ship to shore, shore to ship, shore to shore and other users etc

It also provides opportunities for improving the efficiency of transport and logistics

It supports the effective operation of contingency response, and search and rescue services

It demonstrates defined levels of accuracy, integrity and continuity appropriate to a safety critical system

It also integrates and present information onboard and ashore through a human interface thus maximizing navigational safety benefits and minimizing any risks of confusion or misinterpretation on the part of the user;

It integrates and present all the information onboard and ashore to manage the workload of the users, while also motivating and engaging the user and supporting decision-making;

It incorporates training and familiarization requirements for the users throughout the development and implementation process;

It also facilitates global coverage, consistent standards and arrangements, and mutual compatibility and interoperability of equipment, systems and operational procedures, so that it can avoid potential conflicts between users

Literature Review

According to the international maritime organization, Since 1959 a whole series of measures have been introduced, in the form of conventions, recommendations and other instruments. The best known and most important of these measures are conventions, three of which are particularly relevant to navigation. These are the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS); the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREG); and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978

The SOLAS encompasses various aspects of ship safety, including construction, fire protection, life-saving instruments, radio communications, safety of navigation, the carriage of cargoes and safety measures for high speed craft. Measures dealing with the safety of navigation . Apart from Conventions, IMO has also issued a series of resolutions and codes, including guidelines on navigation issues and performance standards for ship borne navigational and radio communications appliance. Some are simply recommendations – though such is their wide acceptance that they effectively mark international guidelines – while others are referred to by pertinent Regulations of specific Conventions, thereby giving them the same weight as the Convention Regulations themselves.

Since the invention of radio at the closing stages of the 19th century, ships have used Morse code for distress and safety telecommunications. But a requirement was felt for ship and coast radio stations to have and use radiotelegraph equipment, and to listen to a common radio frequency for Morse encoded distress calls after the sinking of the liner RMS Titanic in the North Atlantic in 1912. The U.S. Congress enacted legislation soon after, requiring U.S. ships to use Morse code radiotelegraph equipment for distress calls. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), currently, a United Nations agency, followed suit for ships of all nations. Morse encoded distress calling has saved thousands of lives since its commencement almost a century ago, but it had limitations such as it required skilled radio operators spending many hours listening to the radio distress frequency. Its range on the medium frequency (MF) distress band (500 kHz) is limited, and the amount of traffic Morse signals can hold is also limited.

For these reasons, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), started looking at ways of recuperating maritime distress and safety communications. In 1979, a group of experts accepted a resolution calling for development by IMO of a Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) to provide the communication support needed to execute the search and rescue plan. This system, was based upon a combination of satellite and terrestrial radio services, and has changed international distress communications from being primarily ship-to-ship based to ship-to-shore based. This was the termination of Morse code communications.

Navigational errors and failures were a noteworthy element in over half of the merchant shipping accidents that merited an investigation in the years from 2002-05. Further studies have shown both that the number of accidents is escalating, and that 60 per cent of these accidents were caused by human failure. The combination of navigational errors and human failure indicate a potential failure of the larger system in which ships are navigated and controlled. So a need for electronic means for communication was felt and e-navigation was born.

The synchronized collection, integration, exchange, presentation and analysis of marine information onboard and ashore by electronic means to augment berth to berth navigation and related services for safety and security at sea and protection of the marine environment.

Advantages of mobile communication over the earlier versions of marine communication:

Mobile communication channels support a range of communication functions including: public correspondence, inter ship and ship-to-coast, coast-to-ship, port operations, calling and various safety purposes. Safety functions include distress, search and rescue, ship movement, navigation (bridge-to-bridge) communications, and maritime safety information broadcasts.

These tools help in increasing the efficiency of the vessel performance. The connectivity can be ship to ship and ship to shore with the help of these mobile communication systems.

RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS

Ship radio communications entered a innovative era on 1 February 1999 with the full implementation of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS); an integrated communications system using satellite and terrestrial radio communication systems. 

http://www.imo.org/OurWork/Safety/RadioCommunicationsAndSearchAndRescue/Radiocommunications/PublishingImages/gmdss.jpg

Under the GMDSS, all passenger ships and all cargo ships over 300 gross tonnage on international voyages are required to carry specified terrestrial and satellite radio communications equipment for sending and receiving distress alerts and maritime safety information, as well as for general communications.

STATISTICS ON SHIP ACCIDENT IN INDIA

Fatal and Non-Fatal Injuries in Major Ports of India

(2006 to 2009)

Ports

2006

2007

2008

2009

Fatal

Non- Fatal

Fatal

Non- Fatal

Fatal

Non- Fatal

Fatal

Mumbai

7

50

3

39

4

44

0

J.N. Port

0

7

0

11

3

6

1

Kandla

7

5

3

5

7

2

4

Mormugao

1

10

1

7

2

7

1

Kolkata

1

36

3

25

4

22

4

Paradip

2

9

1

9

0

4

3

Vishakhapatnam

3

4

1

5

1

5

1

Chennai

11*

5*

8

10

7

4

4

Cochin

2

15

0

13

2

9

0

New Mangalore

2

7

1

4

1

3

1

Tuticorin

0

9

2

7

2

10

4

India

36

157

23

135

33

116

23

 

Marine Accidents and Casualties Involving Indian Ships on Indian Coast and Indian Seafarers

(2005 to 2007)

Marine Accidents

2005

2006

Ships

 

Collisions

12

5

Groundings

8

7

Fire/Explosion/Sinking

5

1

Total

25

13

Seamen

 

Accidental Death

45

26

Suicide

1

Nil

Natural Death

4

19

Injured

5

12

Missing

25

12

Total

80

69

Number of Ship Wrecks on Coast of India

(2005 to 2007)

Year

2005

2006

2007*

State-wise Number of Accidents, Persons Injured and Killed by Drowning (Boat Capsize) with Inland Water Transport Operations in India

-2004

States/UTs

No. of Accidents

Drowning (Boat Capsize)

No. of Persons Injured

No. of Persons Killed

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Andhra Pradesh

22

0

0

0

20

2

Arunachal Pradesh

2

0

0

0

1

1

Assam

90

0

0

0

86

16

Bihar

49

1

1

2

35

43

Chattisgarh

9

0

0

0

9

2

Goa

0

0

0

0

0

0

Gujarat

11

0

0

0

11

1

Haryana

38

0

0

0

32

6

Himachal Pradesh

0

0

0

0

0

0

Jammu and Kahmir

0

0

0

0

0

0

Jharkhand

1

1

0

1

1

0

Karnataka

25

4

0

4

28

0

Kerala

15

0

0

0

15

3

Madhya Pradesh

9

0

0

0

4

17

Maharashtra

6

4

1

5

8

4

Meghalaya

0

0

0

0

0

0

Mizoram

0

0

0

0

0

0

Orissa

15

5

2

7

14

13

Rajasthan

42

0

0

0

32

12

Tamil Nadu

13

0

0

0

28

21

Tripura

3

0

0

0

3

0

Uttar Pradesh

48

6

2

8

44

28

Uttaranchall

3

0

0

0

2

1

West Bengal

16

4

6

10

12

7

India

417

25

12

37

385

177

EXISTING ISSUES AND TRENDS IN THE MARITIME INDUSTRY LED TO

THE CALL FOR e-NAVIGATION

There is an increasing instruction by coastal states to seek more information from vessels transiting waters under their jurisdiction, adjacent waters and beyond, to handle the risks they pose and to have a positive means of communicating with them;

There is an increasing inclination by port and coastal states to implement more rules/requirements for vessels arriving in and/or transiting waters within their jurisdiction;

There is an increasing propensity between coastal states for regional co-operation;

The volume of information being exchanged among ships and shore organisations is increasing;

Environmental concerns and future regulatory requirements are expected to continue to acquire ever-higher importance;

Security concerns are continuing to have an force on maritime and other modes of transport;

Diversification of port services (e.g. pilotage, linesmen, tugs, etc…) will increase;

therefore synchronization of allied services will become increasingly important;

capability of marine personnel will continue to vary and skill fade for infrequently used skills is an acknowledged factor;

The use of new technology may necessitate changed training requirements and functioning procedures;

The use of formalised and more and more precise systems to manage traffic at sea and in ports will grow;

even though additional Global Navigational Satellite Systems (GNSS) services (e.g. Galileo) will become available and robustness will increase, such space-based systems will also be vulnerable to jamming and unintentional interference;

Ship design and technology will continue to develop;

There will be increasing demands for rapid and predictable transportation and cargo handling schedules;

The magnetism of inland waterways as a means of transportation will increase;

THE COMPELLING NEED FOR e-NAVIGATION

There is an apparent and compelling need to equip the master of a vessel and those ashore accountable for the safety of shipping with modern, proven tools to make maritime navigation and communications more reliable and user friendly and thereby reducing errors.

Current Status of maritime Communication

Marine communication has changed severely in the past few years. With technological developments, what was once only feasible for emergency crews and large international companies is now practical enough to be used by anyone needing to stay connected away from shore. In fact, satellite marine communication is now comparable to the price of international hotel phone calls.

More and more leisure and business vessels are equipping themselves with satellite-enabled broadband access and global phones.

e-Navigation Systems :

Seven key components of a safe and comprehensive e-navigation policy defined by IMO have been seen as the basis of developing e-Navigation, they are appropriate both onboard and ashore:

  1. Electronic charts and weather information
  2. Electronic positioning signals
  3. Electronic information on vessel route, course, manoeuvring etc.
  4. Transmission of positional and navigational information
  5. Display of information
  6. Information reporting, prioritisation and alert capability
  7. Transmission of distress alerts and maritime safety information

e-Navigation systems should be flexible and take into account issues of data validity, plausibility and integrity for the systems to be robust, reliable and dependable. Requirements for redundancy, mostly in relation to position fixing systems, should be considered.

e-Navigation systems should bear decision making, improve performance and prevent single person error. To do so, shipboard systems should contain analysis functions that support the user in complying with regulations, identifying risks, and avoiding collisions and groundings as well as the calculation of Under Keel Clearance (UKC) and air draughts. Shore based systems must support environmental impact analysis, forward planning of vessel activities, hazard/risk assessment, reporting indicators and incident prevention. Deliberation should also be given to the use of analysis for incident response and recovery, risk assessment and response planning, incident detection and avoidance, risk mitigation, preparedness, resource (e.g. asset) management and communication.

Source : http://www.thsoa.org/hy07/09_01.pdf

E-Navigation and its Applications

It is envisioned there will be at least three broad momentous outcomes from e-Navigation that are currently being used as the basis of establishing user needs. These are represented by ship based systems, shore based systems and a communications infrastructure as outlined a follows:

Onboard navigation systems will be developed that benefit from the integration of ship sensors, additional information, a standard user interface, and a comprehensive system for managing guard zones and alerts. Core elements of such a system will include high integrity electronic positioning, Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC) and an analysis potential to reduce human error, actively engaging the mariner in the process of navigation while preventing distraction and overburdening.

The management of vessel traffic and related services from ashore will be enhanced through better stipulation, coordination, and exchange of comprehensive data in formats that will be more easily understood and utilised by shore-based operators in support of vessel safety and competence.

An infrastructure intended to enable authorised seamless information transfer onboard ship, between ships, between ship and shore and between shore authorities and other parties with many attendant benefit

Types of Mobile Communication Systems

Automatic Radar Plotting Aid

C:UsersBishakhanewDesktopARPA.JPG

A marine radar with Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA) ability can create tracks using radar contacts. The system can compute the tracked object’s course, speed and closest point of approach (CPA), thus knowing if there is a danger of collision with the other ship or landmass.

A typical ARPA gives a presentation of the current circumstances and uses computer technology to predict future situations. An ARPA assesses the risk of collision, and enables operator to see proposed manoeuvres by own ship.

While many different models of ARPAs are available on the market, the following functions are usually provided:

True or relative motion radar presentation.

Automatic acquisition of targets plus manual acquisition.

Digital read-out of acquired targets which provides course, speed, range, bearing, closest point of approach (CPA, and time to CPA (TCPA).

The ability to display collision assessment information directly on the PPI, using vectors (true or relative) or a graphical Predicted Area of Danger (PAD) display.

The ability to perform trial maneuvers, including course changes, speed changes, and combined course/speed changes.

Electronic Chart Display and Information System

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/ECDISTA.jpg/500px-ECDISTA.jpg

An Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) is a computer-based navigation information system that complies with International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations and can be used as an alternative to paper nautical charts. IMO refers to similar systems not meeting the regulations as Electronic Chart Systems (ECS).

Application:

ECDIS provides continuous position and navigational safety information. The system generates audible and/or visual alarms when the vessel is in proximity to navigational hazards.

VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICES

VTS are shore-side systems which range from the provision of simple information messages to ships, such as position of other traffic or meteorological hazard warnings, to extensive management of traffic within a port or waterway.

Generally, ships entering a VTS area report to the authorities, usually by radio, and may be tracked by the VTS control centre.

Ships must keep watch on a specific frequency for navigational or other warnings, while they may be contacted directly by the VTS operator if there is risk of an incident or, in areas where traffic flow is synchronized, to be given advice on when to proceed. Conventionally, the master of a ship has been responsible for a ship’s course and speed, assisted by a pilot where necessary. Ships close to a port would announce their arrival using flag signals.

With the development of radio in the late 19th century, radio contact became more important. But the development of radar during World War Two made it possible to accurately monitor and track shipping traffic.

VTS was particularly appropriate in the approaches and access channels of a port and in areas having high traffic density, movements of noxious or hazardous cargoes, navigational difficulties, narrow channels, or environmental sensitivity.

AUTOMATIC IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS

The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is an automated tracking system used on ships and by Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) for identifying and locating Vessels by electronic means exchanging data with other nearby ships and VTS stations. AIS information supplements marine radar, which continues to be the chief method of collision avoidance for water transport.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Ais_dcu_bridge.jpg/300px-Ais_dcu_bridge.jpg

http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png

An AIS equipped system onboard a ship presents the bearing and distance of nearby vessels in a radar-like display format.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/AIS_Manche_Est.png/400px-AIS_Manche_Est.png

http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png

A graphical display of AIS data onboard a ship.

Voyage Data Recorders

Passenger ships and ships other than passenger ships of 3000 gross tonnage and upwards constructed on or after 1 July 2002 must bear voyage data recorders (VDRs) to assist in accident investigations, under regulations adopted in 2000, which entered into force on 1 July 2002.

Like the black boxes carried on aircraft, VDRs enable accident investigators to reconsider procedures and instructions in the moments before an incident and help to identify the cause of any accident.

http://www.imo.org/OurWork/Safety/Navigation/PublishingImages/vdr.jpg

Performance standards for VDRs were adopted in 1997 and give details on data to be recorded and VDR specifications. They state that the VDR should continuously maintain sequential records of preselected data items relating to status and output of the ship’s equipment and command and control of the ship. The VDR should be installed in a self-protective capsule that is brightly coloured and fitted with an appropriate device to aid location. It should be entirely automatic in normal operation.

AIS transponders

http://www.imo.org/OurWork/Safety/Navigation/PublishingImages/ais.jpg

Automatic identification systems (AISs) i designed to be capable of providing information about the ship to other ships and to coastal authorities automatically

The regulation requires AIS to be fitted aboard all ships of 300 gross tonnage and upwards engaged on international voyages, cargo ships of 500 gross tonnage and upwards not engaged on international voyages and all passenger ships irrespective of size. The obligation became effective for all ships by 31 December 2004.

Ships built-in with AIS shall maintain AIS in operation at all times except where international agreements, rules or standards provide for the protection of navigational information.

The regulation requires that AIS shall:

provide information – including the ship’s identity, type, position, course, speed, navigational status and other safety-related information – automatically to appropriately equipped shore stations, other ships and aircraft;

receive automatically such information from similarly fitted ships; · monitor and track ships;

Exchange data with shore-based facilities.

Applications and limitations

Collision avoidance

AIS is used in navigation primarily for collision avoidance. Due to the limitations of VHF radio communications, and because not all vessels are equipped with AIS, the system is meant to be used primarily as a means of lookout and to determine risk of collision rather than as an automated collision avoidance system, in accordance with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Ships_AIS_display_with_lists_of_nearby_vessels.jpg/220px-Ships_AIS_display_with_lists_of_nearby_vessels.jpg

Vessel traffic services

In busy waters and harbors, a local Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) may exist to manage ship traffic. Here, AIS provides additional traffic awareness and provides the service with information on the kind of other ships and their movement.

GSM – Global Systems for Mobile Communications

GSM is deemed 2G technology, wherein both the signalling and speech channels operate digitally, as opposed to its 1G analogue network predecessor.

Advantages:

It enables subscribers to use the services almost anywhere in the world, as long as the mobile phone, or Mobile Station (MS), has multi-band capabilities and is able to switch between the major GSM frequency bands.

Principle of GSM: It employs the Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) principle, by the different frequency bands for the uplink and downlink. Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) divides the frequency bands into 200 kHz Radio Frequency (RF) channels, and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) divides each RF channel into eight timeslots to form a TDMA frame, giving eight full-rate physical channels for user voice and data per RF channel.

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)

GSM’s capabilities were extended in 2001 with the launch of the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) which uses GSM’s radio resources more efficiently in its provision of a packet-switched mobile data service.

Principle of GPRS: It works on the basis of Packet-switching which optimises the use of radio resources wherein they are only used during actual transmission and reception of data to and from any MS, as opposed to a dedicated, circuit-switched channel for each MS, as is the case with GSM. Data applications used on MSs generally create traffic that is busty in nature, i.e. their bit rates vary considerably with time.

Advantages of GPRS:

GPRS enables several of these data connections to be multiplexed to a GSM physical channel.

GPRS is generally designated a 2.5G technology and was designed to operate over the GSM infrastructure, alongside existing GSM services. The main advantage of GPRS is its provision of multi-slot allocations in the TDMA frame for a single MS, when transmitting/receiving data. According to the GPRS coding scheme being used, the data rate per timeslot ranges from 9.05-21.4 kbps, giving a theoretical maximum rate of 171.2 kbps when all eight slots are allocated to an MS. According to the current radio conditions, the Link Adaptation (LA) mechanism of the network selects which of the four GPRS coding schemes (CSs) is to be employed. The coding schemes are termed CS-1 to CS-4, shown in table 5 below.

Comparison between GSM and GPRS

GSM

GPRS

Standard bearer of the 2G technologies

An upgrade over the basic features of GSM with 2.5 G

Lower data speed

Much higher data speeds

WLAN technologies: Wireless Local Area Network

Another kind of mobile communications used for shore data connections are WLAN technologies which can be compared as follows:

Comparative study

WLAN Standard

Operating Frequency(GHz)

Maximum Data Rate (Mbps)

802.11a

5.0

54

802.11b

2.4

11

802.11g

2.4

54

802.11n

2.4 & 5.0

300

WLAN Standard

Advantages

Disadvantages

802.11a

Greater throughput

operates in the licensed range of 5 GHz and is therefore not subject to interference from other devices

suffers a reduction in access point coverage areas and greater signal attenuation

802.11b

Most widely implemented

Lowest data rate & operates in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz frequency range and can therefore be subject to interference

802.11g

extends the data rate capability of the 802.11b standard to the same as that offered by 802.11a

operates in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz range

802.

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