Safety at Sea has been foremost in every mariner’s mind since the first Polynesian pushed his dugout canoe into the surf. Would he find his destination and reach it without incident? Would he be cast away upon some hidden reef? Would a sudden tsunami consume him? Would he ever see his family again? In reality, these are the very same questions every man and woman who has ever gone to sea in any capacity, has quietly mused to themselves.
We continually witness pleasureboat, commercial, and military accidents and loss of life at sea. With today’s technology, it’s inconceivable that each one of those accidents could not have been avoided. But, consider this, what if a captain or OD had a “situational-awareness assistant” at his/her side, continuously informing them of every ‘situation’ within a variable set radius (5 mile zone, for instance) of any ship/object that may pose a potential hazard? Such a ‘zone report’ would consist of:
Vessels operating within the zone, specifying their courses and speeds, CPA, and identifying any that could create a risk of collision -
Recommended appropriate immediate evasive action should the risk of collision exist -
Course information such as SOG, distance, bearing and ID of next navigation aid, time to turn to new course, time to reach destination, arrival time to destination –
Proximate weather conditions including wind speed and direction, visibility, temperature, rainfall, fog –
Sea conditions including wave height, current, direction/speed, surface temperature –
Surface hazards including sea life, icebergs, cargo containers barely afloat, and other flotsam/jetsam (that would be) reported by vessels along the route –
Ancillary information including fuel range, propulsion/auxiliary machinery on line, height of bilge water, fresh water levels, watch time remaining, cargo hold temperatures, inclinometer patterns, and any number of other parameters.
The amalgamation of information from these sources (and others), provides safety input to the VNav system:
Consider how GPS apps work in your vehicle. Among the numerous selections are WAZE, GoogleMaps, IMap and others. Initially, they all give identical location information based upon GPS signals. Select your destination, and receive time and direction guidance. These apps work seamlessly, and provide the data you need to traverse from point A to point B over the road. Simple. Some apps go even further, and utilize ‘crowd-sourcing’ to allow users to input safety information in real time that may be useful to others in the same vicinity. Police, accidents, stranded cars, road and traffic slowdowns are commonly reported by travelers. From a safety aspect, that information is very useful, because it’s transmitted in ‘real time’.
The algorithms incorporated into the VNav system are designed to be operationally selective, and voice reports are based upon the ranking of each parameter within the sampled base. While the yachtsman or ship operator can manually or verbally select the information desired, the system continuously samples all bases, and if any exceed their pre-programmed safety threshold, that information is immediat
Anonymous
SeaWaze & VNav -The Sea State of Safety at Sea
Safety at Sea has been foremost in every mariner’s mind since the first Polynesian pushed his dugout canoe into the surf. Would he find his destination and reach it without incident? Would he be cast away upon some hidden reef? Would a sudden tsunami consume him? Would he ever see his family again? In reality, these are the very same questions every man and woman who has ever gone to sea in any capacity, has quietly mused to themselves.
We continually witness pleasureboat, commercial, and military accidents and loss of life at sea. With today’s technology, it’s inconceivable that each one of those accidents could not have been avoided. But, consider this, what if a captain or OD had a “situational-awareness assistant” at his/her side, continuously informing them of every ‘situation’ within a variable set radius (5 mile zone, for instance) of any ship/object that may pose a potential hazard? Such a ‘zone report’ would consist of:
Vessels operating within the zone, specifying their courses and speeds, CPA, and identifying any that could create a risk of collision -
Recommended appropriate immediate evasive action should the risk of collision exist -
Course information such as SOG, distance, bearing and ID of next navigation aid, time to turn to new course, time to reach destination, arrival time to destination –
Proximate weather conditions including wind speed and direction, visibility, temperature, rainfall, fog –
Sea conditions including wave height, current, direction/speed, surface temperature –
Surface hazards including sea life, icebergs, cargo containers barely afloat, and other flotsam/jetsam (that would be) reported by vessels along the route –
Ancillary information including fuel range, propulsion/auxiliary machinery on line, height of bilge water, fresh water levels, watch time remaining, cargo hold temperatures, inclinometer patterns, and any number of other parameters.
The amalgamation of information from these sources (and others), provides safety input to the VNav system:
o VIS - https://cgmix.uscg.mil/VISInformation.aspx?VISOption=
o AIS - https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/automatic-identification-system-ais-integrating-and-identifying-marine-communication-channels/
o NOAA weather - https://ocean.weather.gov/marine_areas.php
o NOAA charting - https://www.noaa.gov/charting
o MarineTraffic - https://www.marinetraffic.com
o VesselTrackingSystem - http://info.genscape.com/vesseltracker
o Offshore Buoy Data - http://www.buoyweather.com/map/maine-to-massachusetts
o Ocean Currents - http://www.oceanweather.com/data/ and https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-60.00,0.00,364
o Communications - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz_7_1vESeI
o BVS Weather - http://www.tototheo.com/product/bon-voyage-system-bvs-delivered-by-navtor
o Ship Security Reporting System - https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-piracy-marine/how-ship-security-reporting-system-ssrs-helps-to-improve-maritime-security/
o GMDSS - https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/introduction-gmdss-global-maritime-distress-safety-system/
o LRIT - https://www.marineinsight.com/maritime-law/the-long-range-tracking-and-identification-lrit-system-tracking-and-monitoring-ships/
o VMS - https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/vessel-monitoring-system-ship-tracking-with-a-difference/
o AMVER - https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/what-is-automated-mutual-assistance-vessel-rescue-system-amver/
o GIS - https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/what-is-vessel-management-system/
o ECDIS - https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/what-is-electronic-chart-display-and-information-system-ecdis/
Consider how GPS apps work in your vehicle. Among the numerous selections are WAZE, GoogleMaps, IMap and others. Initially, they all give identical location information based upon GPS signals. Select your destination, and receive time and direction guidance. These apps work seamlessly, and provide the data you need to traverse from point A to point B over the road. Simple. Some apps go even further, and utilize ‘crowd-sourcing’ to allow users to input safety information in real time that may be useful to others in the same vicinity. Police, accidents, stranded cars, road and traffic slowdowns are commonly reported by travelers. From a safety aspect, that information is very useful, because it’s transmitted in ‘real time’.
The algorithms incorporated into the VNav system are designed to be operationally selective, and voice reports are based upon the ranking of each parameter within the sampled base. While the yachtsman or ship operator can manually or verbally select the information desired, the system continuously samples all bases, and if any exceed their pre-programmed safety threshold, that information is immediat