AI

S(Aut
omat
icI
dent
if
icat
ionSy
stem)
TheShi pborneAut omat i
cIdent if
icat
ionSy stem ( AI
S)isav esseltracking
system capableofcommuni cat i
ngnav i
gationi nformati
onaut omat i
cally
betweenAI Sequi ppedv esselsandcoast alauthor i
ti
es.I
tisacol l
ision
avoidance system t hatgi
vesi nformationall t
heshi psinyourarea, their
speedandcour sesandhowt ocont actthem ( name, cal
lsi
gn,MMSI ).This
i
nformat i
oni spublicall
ybroadcastonVHFr adiowhi chcanbepi ckedup
ei
therbyot hershipsorbyshor e-
basedr eceiver s.

AISprovidesat oolforimprovedsaf etyandcoll

i
sionavoidance.Since2004,
theInter
nationalMar i
ti
meOr ganization(I
MO)hasi nst
it
utedcarr i
age
requir
ement sforvesselsaffect
ingbot hworldwi
deandl ocalshipping
traf
fi
c.Thesecar ri
ager equi
rement sapplytocommer ci
al v
esselssubject
totheSaf et
yofLi f
eatSea( SOLAS)conv ent
ion

TheAI
Ssy
stem consi
stsoft
hef
oll
owi
ng:

1.DedicatedAntennaworki
ngonVHFf
requency
2.Receiverandtransmi
tt
er
3.Processor
4.Displ
ayscr een

Pr
inci
ple

AISiswor ki
ngont heVHFf r
equency.Thedataaretransmitt
edbyusi
ng
STDMA( sel
f-
organizi
ngti
medi vi
sionmulti
pleaccess).
TheSTDMAuses
thepreciseti
mingoft heGPSsignaltosynchroni
semul t
ipl
edat
a
transmissi
onfrom manyuser sonasingl
enar rowbandchannel.

Eachshi
ptransmit
sandreceiv
esdat
afrom al
lshi
pswi
thi
nanareacal
led
theCELLoftheshi
p.Thesizeoft
hecel
ldependupont
hetraf
fi
cdensi
ty.

I
nSTDMA, eachmi nut
eoft i
meisdi v
idedinto2250t i
mesl ots.Eachslotis
of26.
67mi l
li
secondsandcontains256bi t
sofdat a.Therate,of
tr
ansmissi
on,i
s9600bi t
spersecond. Theselecti
onoft i
mesl otforaship
i
sautomaticandonar andom basis.
Whenashi pentersacell,t
hef r
eeslot
wi
l
lbeoccupi
edbyt
hatshi
p.

Toavoi
danyover
lapping,
ahi
ghl
yst
andar
dti
mer
efer
encei
srequi
red,
whi
chispr
ovi
dedbyt heGPS.

Wor
king

AISisf i
tt
edwithtwor eceiv
ers,onet r
ansmi t
terVHFDSCr ecei
verStandard
mar i
neelectr
oniccommuni cati
onlinkprovi
dingt hev ari
ousinputdata.The
AISt r
ansmissi
onuses9. 6kbGMSKFM ov er25or12. 5kHzchannel usi
ng
HDLCPacketcont r
ol.EachAI Stransmitsandr eceivesov ert
wor adi
o
channel t
oavoidinterf
erenceproblems.Eachst ationdet ermi
nesitsown
transmissi
onslotbasedont hedatalinktr
affichistoryandknowl edgeof
futureacti
onsbyot herstat
ions.

AI
SMessage

AI
Sdat
afal
l
scat
egor
ies:

a)St
ati
cdat
a

b)Dy
nami
cdat
a

c)Voy
ager
elat
eddat
a
d)Saf
etyr
elat
eddat
a

St
ati
cDat
a:

1.I
MONumber
2.—Callsi
gnandname
3.—Lengthandbeam
4.—Typeofship
5.—Locati
onofposi
ti
onf
ixi
ngant
enna

Thest
ati
cdat
aissentev
erysi
xmi
nut
esunl
esschanged.

Dy
nami
cDat
a:

1.Ship’
sposi t
ion
2.Ti
mei nUTC
3.Courseov erground
4.Speedov erground
5.Heading
6.Nav i
gati
onst at
us
7.Rateofturn
8.Angleofheel
9.Pit
chandRol l

Voy
age-
rel
ateddat
a:

Thi
sinf
ormat
ioni
sent
eredmanual
l
ysentev
erysi
xmi
nut
es.

1.Shi
p’sdr
aft
2.Dest
inat
ionandETA
3.Rout
eplan

Saf
etyr
elat
edmessages:

Thesafet
ymessagesarenor
mal l
ysentinthet
extfor
m andmaybe
di
rect
edtoonestat
ionorvar
iousstat
ionsandsentonl
ywhenrequi
red.
Pur
pose

Toimprovet hesaf
etyofnavi
gati
onbyassi
sti
ngi ntheeffi
cientnavi
gati
on
ofship,
protecti
onoftheenvi
ronment,
andoperati
onofVessel Tr
aff
ic
Serv
ices(VTS),bysati
sfy
ingt
hef ol
l
owingf
unctionalrequi
rements:

(
1)I
nashi
p-t
o-shi
pmodef
orcol
l
isi
onav
oidance;

(2)Asameansf
orl
i
ttor
alSt
atest
oobt
aini
nfor
mat
ionaboutashi
pandi
ts
cargo;
and

(
3)AsaVTSt
ool
,i
.e.shi
p-t
o-shor
e(t
raf
fi
cmanagement
).

Ty
pesofAI
S

Ther
ear
etwot
ypesofAI
S.(
1)Ty
pe‘
A’,
(2)Ty
pe*
B

Class‘A’
AISuni
tbroadcaststhef ol
l
owinginfor
mati
onevery2to10
secondswhil
eunderway,andev ery3mi nut
eswhil
eatanchoratapower
l
ev el
of12.5wat
ts.Theinformationbroadcasti
ncl
udes:

 MMSInumber–uni quer eferenceableidentifi

cati
on
 Nav igati
onst atus–notonl yar e“atanchor”and“ underwayusi ng
engine*cur rentlydefi
ned, but“ notundercommand”i sal socurrentl
y
defined.
 Rateoft urn–r i
ghtorlef t,0to720degr eespermi nuteSpeedov er
ground- 1/10knotr esolut i
onf rom 0to102knot s.
 Posi ti
onaccur acy–di fferentialGPSorot herandani ndi
cationifRAIM
processingi s.beingusedLongi t
ude–t o1/ 10000mi nuteandLat i
tude
–t o1/ 10000mi nute
 Cour seov erground–r elati
vet otruenor t
ht a1/10thdegr ee
 TrueHeadi ng–0t o359degr eesder iv
edf rom gyroinput
 Timest amp–Theuni ver salti
met onearestsecondt hatt hi
s
i
nfor mationwasgener at ed
 Typeofposi ti
onf i
xingdev i
ce–v ari
ousopt ionsfr
om di f
ferent
ialGPS
toundef ined
 Draughtofshi p-1/10met erst o25.5met ers[note“airdraught”isnot
provided]
 Dest inat
ion–20char act ersar eprovi
ded
  Est
imat
edt
imeofAr
ri
val
atdest
inat
ion–mont
h,day
,hour
,andmi
nut
e
i
nUTC.

TheCl
assBi
snear
lyi
dent
ical
tot
heCl
assA,
exceptt
heCl
assB:

Hasareport
ingrat
elesst
hanaClassA(e.g.ev
ery30sec.whenunder14
knot
s,asopposedtoever
y10sec.forCl
assA)

 Doesnottransmi
tthev essel’
sIMOnumberorcal lsi
gn
 Doesnottransmi
tETAordest i
nat i
on
 Doesnottransmi
tnavigationalstatus
 I
sonl yr
equir
edtoreceive,nottransmit,
textsaf
etymessages
 I
sonl yr
equir
edtoreceive,nottransmit,
appli
cati
onidenti
fi
ers
(bi
narymessages)
 Doesnottransmi
trateoft urni
nf or
mat i
on,maxi
mum pr esentst
ati
c
draught
.

Funct
ional
i
ty

Thesy
stem shoul
dbecapabl
eofoper
ati
ngi
nanumberofmodes:

1.an“ autonomousandcont i
nuous”modef oroperationinallareas.Thi
s
modeshoul dbecapabl eofbeingswitchedto/from oneoft he
foll
owingal t
ernatemodesbyacompet entauthority;
2.an“ assigned”modef oroperat
ioninanar easubj ecttoacompet ent
authorityresponsibl efortr
affi
cmoni t
oringsucht hatthedat a
transmi ssionintervaland/orti
mesl ot
smaybesetr emotel
ybyt hat
authority;and
3.a“ poll
i
ng”oracont roll
edmodewher ethedat atransferoccursin
responset ointerr
ogat i
onfrom ashiporcompet entauthority

Per
missi
bleI
nit
ial
i
zat
ionPer
iod

Thei
nst
all
ati
onshoul
dbeoper
ati
onal
wit
hin2mi
nofswi
tchi
ngon.

Li
mit
ati
onofAI
S

1.Smal
lcr
aft
smaynotbefi
tt
edwit
hAI S
2.AI
Smighthav
eswi
tchedof
fonothershi
p
 3.Err
oneousdat amighthaveent
ered
4.Accuracyofdatarecei
veddependont
heaccur
acyofdat
atr
ansmi
tt
ed
5.Err
orinsensor’si
nputdata,
6.Fai
lureofsensorstoprovi
dedata
7.Cellofvessel
maybef ull

Pr
ecaut
ionswhi
l
eusi
ngAI
Sincol
l
isi
onav
oidance

1.AISisanaddit
ionalsourceofnavi
gat
ional
inf
ormat
ion.I
tdoesnot
repl
aceothernavaidsShouldrel
ysol
elyonAIS.
2.WatchesmustbekeptasperSTCW. I
tdoesnothav
eanyi mpacton
thecompositi
onofwat charr
angement.
3.Swappingoftarget
s.

UseofAISi
ncolli
sionav
oidanceAsanant
i-
col
l
isi
onai
d,t
heAI
Shast
he
fol
l
owingadvant
agesoverradar
:•

I
nfor
mat
ionpr
ovi
dedi
nnearr
eal
-t
ime•

Capabl
eofi
nst
antpr
esent
ati
onoft
argetcour
seal
ter
ati
ons•

Notsubj
ectt
otar
getswap•

Notsubj
ectt
otar
getl
ossi
ncl
utt
er•

Notsubj
ectt
otar
getl
ossduet
oabr
uptmaneuv
ers•

Ableto"
detect
"shipswi
thi
nVHF/FM coverage,
incl
udi
ngi
nsome
ci
rcumst
ances,ar
oundbendsandbehindisl
ands.

Whenusingt heAISf oranti-

colli
sionpurposesiti
simport
anttoremember
thatt
heAISi sanaddi ti
onalsour ceofnavigati
oninf
ormati
on.I
tdoesnot
repl
aceothernav i
gationalsystems.TheAI Smaynotbegi vi
ngacomplete
orcorr
ect“pict
ure”ofshi ppingtraff
ici
ni t
sv i
ci
nit
y.TheuseoftheAI
Sdoes
notnegatetheresponsi bi
li
tyoft heOOW t ocomplywit
hallcol
li
si
on
regul
ati
onrequirement s,especiall
ythemai nt
aini
ngofaproperl
ook-
out.
Theprudentnavigatorusesal laidsavai
labletonavi
gatet
heship.
 Whatki
ndofinf
ormat
ioni
sAI
S-
t
ransmi
tt
ed?
Aswi
tchedononboar
dAI
Str
ansponderk
eepst
rans
mit
ti
ngi
nfor
mat
i
onevenwhent
he
subj
ectv
esseli
sanchor
ed.Thei
nfor
mat
ioncont
ainedi
neachAI
S-dat
apacket(
ormessage)
canbedi
vi
dedi
ntot
hef
oll
owi
ngt
womai
ncat
egor
ies
:

Dynami
cInf
ormat
ion(
suchi
nfor
mat
ioni
saut
omat
ical
l
ytr
ansmi
tt
edev
ery2t
o10seconds
dependi
ngont
hevessel
'
sspeedandcour
sewhi
l
eunder
wayandev
ery6mi
nut
eswhi
l
e
anchor
edf
rom vessel
sequi
ppedwi
thCl
assAt
ransponder
s)

 Mar
it
imeMobi
l
eSer
viceI
dent
it
ynumber(
MMSI
)-auni
quei
dent
if
icat
ionnumberf
oreach
v
essel
stat
ion(
thev
essel
'
sfl
agcanal
sobededuct
edf
rom i
t)

 AI
SNav
igat
ional
Stat
us(
readmor
eont
hesubj
ect
)

 Rat
eofTur
n-r
ightorl
eft(
0to720degr
eespermi
nut
e)

 Speedov
erGr
ound-0t
o102knot
s(0.
1-knotr
esol
uti
on)

 Posi
ti
onCoor
dinat
es(
lat
it
ude/
longi
tude-upt
o0.
0001mi
nut
esaccur
acy
)

 Cour
seov
erGr
ound-upt
o0.
1°r
elat
ivet
otr
uenor
th

 Headi
ng-0t
o359degr
ees

 Bear
ingatownposi
ti
on-0t
o359degr
ees

 UTCseconds-t
hesecondsf
iel
doft
heUTCt
imewhent
hesubj
ectdat
a-packetwas
gener
ated.

St
ati
c&Voy
ager
elat
edI
nfor
mat
ion(
suchi
nfor
mat
ioni
spr
ovi
dedbyt
hesubj
ectv
essel
'
s
cr
ewandi
str
ansmi
tt
edev
ery6mi
nut
esr
egar
dlessoft
hev
essel
'
smov
ementst
atus)

 I
nter
nat
ional
Mar
it
imeOr
gani
sat
ionnumber(
IMO)-not
ethatt
hisnumberr
emai
nst
he
 sameupont
ransf
eroft
hesubj
ectv
essel
'
sregi
str
ati
ont
oanot
hercount
ry(
fl
ag)

 Cal
lSi
gn-i
nter
nat
ional
radi
ocal
lsi
gnassi
gnedt
othev
essel
byhercount
ryofr
egi
str
y

 Name-upt
o20char
act
ers

 Ty
pe(
orcar
got
ype)-t
heAI
SIDoft
hesubj
ectv
essel
'
sshi
pty
pe

 Di
mensi
ons-appr
oxi
mat
edt
othenear
estmet
re(
basedont
heposi
ti
onoft
heAI
SSt
ati
on
ont
hev
essel
)

 Locat
ionoft
heposi
ti
oni
ngsy
stem'
sant
ennaonboar
dthev
essel

 Ty
peofposi
ti
oni
ngsy
stem (
GPS,
DGPS,
Lor
an-
C)

 Dr
aught-0.
1to25.
5met
res

 Dest
inat
ion-upt
o20char
act
ers

 ETA(
est
imat
edt
imeofar
ri
val
)-UTCmont
h/dat
ehour
s:mi
nut
es

I
tisi
mpor
tantt
onot
icet
hatt
hev
essel
'
scr
ewort
heaccount
abl
evessel
'
sof
fi
cershoul
d
makesur
ethatt
heypr
ovi
det
hesy
stem wi
tht
hecor
recti
nfor
mat
ionr
egar
dingal
lst
ati
cand
v
oyage-
rel
atedf
iel
ds.

Not
eal
sot
hatCl
assBt
ransponder
str
ansmi
tar
educedsetofdat
acompar
edt
oCl
assA
(
IMOnumber
,Dr
aught
,Dest
inat
ion,
ETA,
Rat
eofTur
n,Nav
igat
ional
Stat
usar
enoti
ncl
uded)
.
Ther
epor
ti
ngi
nter
val
sfr
om Cl
assBt
ransponder
sar
eal
soscar
cercompar
edt
othoseof
Cl
assAt
ransponder
s(30secondsmi
nimum)
.

Doppl
erLog–Pr
inci
ple,Wor
king,
SpeedandEr
ror
s
Dopplerl
ogisaninstrument,usedinships,
tomeasureshi
p’srel
ati
ve
speedwithwater(
inwhi chiti
strav
ell
ing)bytheuseofDoppler
eff
ectsontr
ansmitted/r
eflect
edsoundwav es.

Pr
inci
ple

Doppl erl
ogi sbasedont hepri
ncipl
eof
Dopplershi
fti
nf requencymeasur ementi .e.appar entchangei nfr
equency
recei
vedwhent hedi stancebetweensour ceandobser verischangi
ngdue
tothemot i
onofei t
hersour ceorobser verorbot h.InDoppl erl
ogan
observeri
smov i
ngwi thasour ceofsoundt owardsar efl
ecti
ngplane,then
therecei
vedfrequency .Bymeasur ingther eceiv
edf requencyandknowi ng
thevalueoftr
ansmi ttedfrequencyandv elocityofsoundi nseawater,
the
speedofthev esselcanbedet er
mi ned.
Speedovergr
ound&Speedoverwat
er
Generally,
Doppl erlogcanr eceiveechoesfrom seabedonl yupt odepthsof
200met er
sorso.Howev er,beyondthesedept hs, aweakerechoi s
avail
ablefrom al ayerbetween10t o30met r
esbel owt hekeel.Thespeed
ofthev essel canbedet erminedasear l
ierbuti nthiscase,i
twi l
lbewith
respecttot hislay erandnotwi threspecttogr ound.Thisiscalled“speed
overwat er”simi l
art othatobtainedfrom othert y
pesofl ogsment i
oned
earl
ier.I
nt hiscase, t
heeffectofcur r
enthast obeal l
owedf ortogetthe
speedmadegoodbutt her efl
ecti
onsf r
om al ayerdeepdownel imi
natethe
eff
ectofdist
urbancescausedbythev
esselit
sel
fandt
heef
fectofsur
face
curr
entscausedbywi ndandwavemotion.

Whent hesignalofechosounderi
sbouncedofftheseabed,thespeed
i
ndicatedwillbeinr
elat
iontothef
ixedseabedandwill
,ther
efore,
bespeed
overtheground.

At
hwar
tshi
pSpeed

Theuniquefeatur
eofsomeoft heDoppl erl
ogistoprovi
deathwar
tshi
p
speedoverground,whichwasnev erpossibl
ebyanyot herl
ogs.To
measuretheathwartshipspeed,addit
ionalt
ransducer
sareemployed.
Thesearecall
eddual axisspeedlogs.

Theintroduct
ionofDopplerl
oghasbr oughtaboutatremendouschangei n
theoutlookandapproachofMastersandof f
icer
satsea.Nav i
gator
swho
neverlookedatnorhadanyrespectforthespeedindicatedbyolderlogs
areusingaccurat
espeedanddr i
fti
ndicatedbyDopplertot hei
radvantage
i
nalltheirmanoeuvr
es.Safet
yofnav i
gationcanbeimpr ovedconsiderabl
y
i
fallshipswereequippedwit
hanoper ati
onalDopplerlog.

Er
ror
soft
heDoppl
erl
og
1.Err
ori ntransduceror i
entation: Thet ransducer sshoul dmakeaper fect
angleof60°wi thr espectt ot hekeel orel set hespeedi ndicat
edwi l
l be
i
naccur ate.
2.Err
orsi nosci l
latorfrequency :Thef requencygener atedbyt he
oscil
latormustbeaccur at eandconst ant ,anydev iationint he
fr
equencywi llresultinthespeedi ndicat edbei nginer r
or.
3.Err
ori npr opagationv el
oci tyoft heacoust icwav e:Thev el
ocityofthe
acoust i
cwav eatt hetemper atureof16° candsal i
nityof3. 4%i s
1505m/ sec,butgener all
yi tist akenas1500m/ secf orcalculati
on.
Thisv el
oci t
ychangeswi thtemper ature, salinit
yorpr essur e.
4.Err
orsduet oshi p’smot ion: duringt hei nterval bet
weent ransmi ssi
on
andrecept i
on,theshi pmaymar ginallyrol lorpitchandt herebythe
angleoft ransmi ssionandr ecept i
oncanchangeandf orat wodegr ee
dif
ferencebet weent heangl eoft r
ansmi ssionandr eception,thenet
eff
ectwi Hbeaner r
orof0. 10%oft hei ndi catedspeedwhi chis
 mar ginalandcanbenegl ected.
5.Errorsduet ot heef fectofr oll
ingandpi t
ching: Theef fectofpi t
ching
wi l
lcauseaner rorint hef orwardspeed, butithasnoef fecton
theat hwar tshipspeed.Si mi l
arly
, r
oll
ingwi llcauseaner rorin
athwar tship, butnoti nfor wardspeed.
6.Errorsduet oi naccur acyint hemeasur ementofcompar i
son
frequency :Thedi fferencei nthef r
equenci esr eceivedbyt hef orward
andaf tt r
ansducer smustbemeasur edaccur at
elyasanyer r
orinthis
wi l
lbedi rectlyreflectedint hespeedoft hev essel.
7.Errorduet osi delobe: Whent hesidel oberecept iondomi nat esover
themai nbeam r ecept i
on, therewillbeaner rorinthespeedi ndicated.
Thiser r
ori smor epr onouncedonasl oppybot t
om, wheret heside
l
obewi llber eflectedatamor efavourableangl eandwi llhavepat h
l
engt hlesst hant hemai nbeam.

8.Ty
peofWi
nd:Chi
nookorFoehn

9.Ther ear esev eral dif

ferentt ypesofwi nd.Onet ypeist hef oehnwi nd.
Thist ypeofwi ndi sachar act eristicofmount ainousar eassuchas
theRockyMount ai nsandt heAl ps.Thewi ndof foft heRocky
Mount ainsi nNor thAmer icai saf oehnwi ndt hati scalledaChi nook
wind.Thewi ndisawar m, dr ywi ndt hatblowsdownt heeast ern
slopeofmostmount ai
ns.
10. Awar m wi ndl i
ket hiscanbr ingr eli
eff rom col dwi nterweat her.
Foehnwi ndsar ef ormedf rom war meranddr ierai rthatf l
owsf r om
aloftorabov e.Thi swi ndhast hesamef orceof
somehur ricanewi nds.Foehnwi ndscanmel tandev apor ateaf oot
(0.3met ers)ofsnowi nlesst hanaday !Ar api dchange
i
nt emper at urecanoccurasar esul toff oehnwi nds.Temper aturesin
Granv il
le, NDi ncr easedby83ºF( 28º C),fr
om - 33º F(-36º C)int he
mor ningt o50º F( 10º C)int heaf ter noonofFebr uary21, 1918
becauseofaChi nookwi ndcomi ngf rom theRockyMount ains!
11. Inaddi ti
ont ocausi ngwar mert emper at ures, f
oehnwi ndshav e
otheri mpact sint hear easwher et heyoccur .Theycancausesnowt o
mel t
, whi chmayl eadt oav alanchesandf l
ashf looding.Foehnwi nds
canal socr eatef irehazar ds.TheSant aAnawi ndsi nSout hern
Californiaar eanexampl eoff oehnwi ndst hathav ecausedl arge
forestf i
resbecauset hewi ndcausest hefirest obur noutofcont r ol
.
 Anot herbadaf fectofthiswar m winddependsont heti
meofy ear
thatitoccur s.Finall
y,i
ft hewar mf oehnwi ndsoccurafterspr
ing
planting,theseedsmi ghtnotsur vivebecausethewi ndhaspar ched
thesoi l
.
12. Sincet hi
swi ndisf oundi nmount ai
nousareas, f
oehnwindscan
bef oundal lov erthewor ld.InPol and,afoehnwi ndis
caledhal
l nywi atr.I
nRomani a,thi
swi ndisnamedaust r
uandin
Switzerlandi ti
scal edf
l av ogn.Finall
y ,
intheAndest hefoehnwi nd,
caledapuel
l che, comesof fthewest ernsi
deoft hemount ai
ns.

COLREGS–THE4STAGESOFA‘
CLOSEENCOUNTER’

1.Nor
iskofcol
l
isi
on-
-dowhat
every
oul
i
ke

2.Ri
skofcol
l
isi
oni
dent
if
ied-
-st
andi
ngoni
scompul
sor
y

3.Givewayvessel
ident
if
iedasnott
aki
ngact
ion-
-st
andonv
essel
has
opt
ionoftaki
ngacti
on

4.Givewayv
essel
cannotav
oidcol
l
isi
on-
-st
andonv
essel
mustt
ake
act
ion.

Thepr obl
em i
sident
if
yingwheny
oucr
osst
hel
i
nebet
weent
hedi
ff
erent
phases.

Thef ir
stonei srelat
ivel
yeasy.Wehav elegalprecedentt hatsay s
si
xmi lesi sinphase1.Butatsomedi st
ancelessthan6mi les,wemov e
i
ntophase2.I fyouwantt obesur
eofstayi
ngwithinthelaw, Iwoul d
suggestthatitmakessensetoregardi
tasstar
tingat6mi les, becausewe
havenopr ecedenttosuggestt
hatphase1last
sanyl ongerthant hat.

Sowhendoesphase2end?It
'sverydi
ff
icul
ttobecer
tai
nwhensomeone
dr
ivi
ngacompl
etel
ydi
ff
erentvesselmi
ghtbeexpect
edtohav
etaken
acti
on,part
icularlyforsomeonewi t
hnosi milarexper i
ence.Many
recr
eati
onal y
ot ters(sai
l andpower )areinclinedt oexaggeratethel ackof
manoeuv r
abili
tyofashi p: weallhearst
oriest hati
ttakesXmi lesfora
supert
ankertost op,butfor gett
hatinacol l
isionsituati
on,wear enot
usuall
yexpect ingt heGl obticTokyot odr iftt oahal t
:wear epr obably
tal
ki
ngaboutaf ew thousandt onsofgener alcargov esselalter i
ng
coursebyf iveort endegr ees--somet hingt hattakesonlyaf ew t ens
ofseconds,andt hatcanbecompl et
edi nj ustacoupleofshi p-l
engt hs.

Thereisquiteal otofr esearchthatsuggeststhatinship-shi

p
encounter
s,mostwat chkeepersregar
dthi
sopt i
onalgi
vewayphaseas
beginni
ngatabout2mi lesorso.Buti nshi
p/smallcraftencounter
sit
coul
dbev er
ymuchl ess:wecannotbecer tai
nthatweareintophase3
unti
lwearewellwithi
ntwomi les.

Acoupl eofminutesaft
erwecr ossthetwomileranger
ingontheship's
radar,herwatchkeeperstar
tstorunoutofopti
ons.Butwe(insmallcraf
t)
don't
.Whenashi pisaf ewhundredy ar
dsaway,hecan'
tdoany t
hingabout
i
t---butwecan.Wear etheninthefourt
hphase,whereavoi
dingacti
onis
compul sory...aswellascommonsense.

Thepr oblem i
st hatmanypeopl eseem t
othinkthatatf ourmi l
es
theyarest i
l
linphase1,butt hatat2mi l
estheyareal r
eadyi nto
phasethreeorf our.Theship,OTOH,maywel
lhavealt
eredcour seby
fi
vedegreestogoast er
nofyouwhenhewassti
llsi
xmilesaway .By
alt
eri
ngcourse"t
ogoast er
nofhim"atthr
eemil
es,youmightbenegat i
ng
theeff
ectofhisacti
on.

WhenShouldOff
iceronWat
ch(
OOW)
Cal
ltheShi
p’sMaster
?
TheOffi
ceronWatch(OOW)whenondut yi si
nchargeoft heshi
p’s
navi
gat
ionandsafet
y.Whil
eonthebridge, heist
her epresent
ati
veofthe
shi
p’smasterandmustcar
ryoutal
ltheor dersasputf ort
hbythelatt
er.

Whil
enav i
gati
ngtheship,
theoff
iceri
nchargehastot akeindependent
deci
sionstoensureasmoothpassageoftheship.Howev er,ev
eryshippi
ng
companypr ov
idesali
stofsi
tuat
ions,
whereint
heof f
iceronwat chmust
cal
ltheshi
p’smast
ert
othebr
idget
oav
oidanyki
ndofdangerf
ort
heshi
p.

Thesei
nstr
uct
ionsar
egi
veni
ntheshi
pboar
doper
ati
onal
procedur
es,
andi
t
i
simperat
ivef
orever
yOOW t
ofol
lowt
hem.

Bel
owi sthecheckl
i
stofsi
tuat
ions,
wher
eint
heof
fi
ceronwat
chshoul
d
cal
ltheship’
smaster

 Dangert
otheshi
pbecauseoft
raf
fi
cormov
ementofot
hershi
ps

 Dangert
oshi
porshi
p’sst
abi
l
itybecauseofheav
yweat
her

 Mal
funct
ioni
ngofal
armsorsi
gnal
l
ingequi
pment

 Onencount
eri
ngr
est
ri
ctedv
isi
bil
i
ty

 Di
ff
icul
tyi
nmai
ntai
ningapr
opercour
se

 Br
eakdownofpr
opul
sionsy
stem,
steer
inggear
,ormachi
ner
y

 Mal
funct
ioni
ngofr
adi
oequi
pment

 Dur
ingmanoeuv
ring

 Onsi
ght
ingl
andornav
igat
ionmar
kthatcant
urnoutt
obedanger
ous

 Br
eakdownofessent
ial
nav
igat
ional
equi
pment

 Onencounter
ingnav
igat
ional
hazar
dssuchasr
ocks,
iceber
gs,
or
shi
pwrecks

 Fai
l
uret
osi
ghtl
andornav
igat
ionmar
k

 Suddenchangei
nsoundi
ngorr
eadi
ngsati
nappr
opr
iat
eti
me

 Onencount
eri
ngsuspi
ciousshi
porboatheadi
ngt
owar
dst
heshi
p

 Onrecei
vi
ngemer
gencyori
mpor
tantmessagef
rom near
bypor
tor
shi
p

 Onencount
eri
nganysuspi
ciousf
loat
ingobj
ecti
npi
racyaf
fect
edar
ea
  Apartfr
om theabovement i
onedsit
uati
ons,
theoffi
ceri
ncharge
shouldal
way scal
lthemast eri
ncaseofanemergencyorwhenin
doubtaboutaparti
cularsi
tuati
on.

 Onceontheship,
themast
erwouldtakethecont
rol
oft
heshi
p.Thi
s
hastoberecor
dedint
heship’
slogbook.

St
em thecur
rentmeanstomakeheadwayagai
nstt
hecur
rent
.Insi
mpl
e
words,i
tmeanstopr
oceedagai
nstt
hedir
ect
ionoft
hecur
rent
.

Foll
owingarethemai nreasonsforit:
 Helmisstil
lusabl
eev enwhent heship’
sspeedov ergroundiszero.
 Speedisreducedtoaccept abl
elevel
s,duetooppositecurr
ent,whichi
s
favor
ableforusaswewantt oreducethespeedasweappr oachthe
anchori
ngpositi
on.Butast hespeedisreduced,t
hev essel
’
s
manoeuv r
abil
it
yissti
llgoodduet otheopposit
ecurrent.
 Iti
salsodonesot hatanchorchaincangetlaidupinsteadofpil
ingupat
oneplaceonly.

 WhatAr
e“LetGo”and“ Wal
kBack”
Shi
pAnchor
ingMethods?
 Anchori
ngisoneoft heveryfrequentoperationsonboar dshi
ps.A
numberofvari
ablesandext ernalfact
orsinfl
uencet hedurati
onand
l
ocati
onofananchor ingoperation.Whil
et het ypeofseabedisof
utmosti
mportancedur i
nganchor ing,
softmuddygr oundsorclay
bott
omsarebestpr efer
red.Itshouldbetakencar ethatt
heanchori
ng
bott
om isf
reeofpowerl ines,submarinecabl es,pi
peli
nesorrocks.

 Vari
ousmet hodsonanchor ingincludeconsiderat
ionofdir
ect
ionand
str
engthofwind, cur
rentandtidalstream.Of t
engoodlocal
knowledgehelpsamar i
nerdeterminer equi
redmanoeuvresand
acti
onstobet akenwhi l
eanchoring

 Thet
womostpr
eval
entmet
hodsf
oranchor
ingar
e–
  i
)LetGo

 i
i
)Wal
kbackUnderPower

 1)LetGo: Thismet hodisusedi nov erawi der angeofv essel s

i
ncludingsmal lercraftsandpl easurey achtstolar gerv essel swi t
h
tonnagev ar
yingupt o1,00,000GT.Thepr i
nciplefol l
owedi nt his
met hodistoletgoorl ettheanchorsl ipwithcabl eunderi t
sown
weightfrom thehawsepi pe.Thewei ghtont hecabl e,windl assbr ake
holdingpowerandmoment um oft hev esselaref act or
st obe
controll
edbyt hev esseltoensur etheanchordi gsi nandt hecabl ei s
subsequentlylaidtoext endbackwar ds.Whi l
eappr oachi ngt he
anchoringpositiont hespeedoft hev essel overgr oundi sbr oughtto
zerousingengi nesandhel m andatt hesamepoi ntanchoral ongwi t
h
thecableisallowedt orunoutunderi t
sownwei ght.

 Oncet hef l
ukest ouchthebot tom orchai nt
ouchest hegroundthe
enginesar emov edast ernoraheadaccor di
ngtot heprev
aili
ng
conditionsofwi ndandcur renttoat t
ainasternmoment um wi t
h
respectt oground,whichwi llstr
etchthecable.Itcanbepai dunder
controlledappli
cationofbrakest ocont rolt
helengthofcablef r
om
runningoutcompl etel
y.Oftenundersuchcondi t
ionscombi ned
effectsofwi ndandcur rentvessel wil
ltendtoswi ngandfallaster
n
aswel l.

Attent
iontobepai dtot hepreferreddirecti
onofswi ngandt he
anchoronwhi chsi detobeused.Car eshouldal sobet akent onot
all
owt heful
lcabl etorunoutunderwei ghtortoal l
owt hecabl eto
pil
eupwhi chcanr esultisdevelopingkinkort wisti
nt hecabl e.
Duringapproacht oanchoringgr oundsi ti
sagener alpracticeby
shipmasterstol owertheanchort owat erlevelsothatwhent he
brakesarereleasedt hecabl esispaidoutf reel
y .Af
teral ongsea
voyagesomet imest heanchormi ghtgetstucki nhawsepi peandnot
rel
easedownf rom thehawsepi peunderi tsownwei ght.Asa
proacti
veandgoodseamanshi ppr acti
ceoneshoul dal way scheck
theconditi
onoft hewindlassbr akelinerbeforeuse.

Onsev
eraloccasi
ons,of
tenonol
dships,
duet orepeat
edusebrakeli
ners
wer
efoundcompletel
ywornoutorbel
owr equi
redthi
ckness,
consequent
ly
reduci
ngthebraki
ngpowersi
gnif
icant
lywhi
chledt
ocablerunni
ngout
completel
yunderi
tsownweightr
esult
ingi
nlossofanchorandcabl
ebot
h.

Unevenl oadsorexcessi veast ernmoment um afterapplyingbrakes

candamaget hewi ndlassandi t
sseatandf oundation.Engines
shoul
dbeusedt ocount ertheexcessi vemoment um oft heshipand
thestateoft hev essel l
oadedori nball
astshouldbeal way skeptin
mindwhi l
eusi ngengi nes.Prolongedkicksmi ghtdev el
opsuf f
ici
ent
moment um inal oadedv esseltodraganchororev ensnapt hecable.
Aloadedv esselisfoundt obemor eresponsi
vet oeffectsofcurrent
orti
dewher easav essel i
nbal l
astdrif
tssubstanti
allyduet owind.
Combi nedef fectsanddi rectionsoflocalconditi
onscanbehel pful
whil
edoi ngpr eparationf oranchor i
ng.

2)Wal kBackMet hod:Mostofthecompanieshav etheirowngui deli

nesfor
anchoringlargeshipssuchasVLCC’ SorULCC’Swhi chshouldbef ol
lowed
withoutfail
.Wal kbackmethodofanchoringisrecommendedandused
most l
yonv essel’sabove1,
00,000GT.Thewor kingprinci
pleisthesame
howev ercableispaidoutusingthewindl
assataf ixedspeed.Upon
approachingt heanchori
ngpositi
onthespeedupongr oundoft hev esseli
s
broughtgraduallytozeroandtheanchorisloweredinwat er.

Asi tt
ouchest hebot t
om mor elengthi
spaidandengi nesar egivenastern
todev el
opslightasternmov ementt ol
aythecabl enicelyast hef l
ukesof
theanchordi gintheseabed.Thi smethodusual lyi
sofl ongerdur ati
onthan
theletgomet hod; howeveritprovi
desshipmast er
’swithbet tercontr
ol
overtheamountofcabl epaidandwei ghtupont hewi ndlass.Itisimportant
thatcorrectassessmentbef orehandofti
dal conditi
ons,gust ywindsor
strongcoastalcurrentsaremadebyshi pmast ertoaccommodat eforthe
mov ementofv essel asthecableispaidout.Ingener aldesignspeedof
windlassisabout30- 35feet/min.,
whichisappr oxi
mat ely0.3knot sover
theground.

Alsoawi ndlassisdesignedtoli
ftupto3- 4shackl
esalongwi t
htheweight
oftheanchor .Walkbackmet hodpreventspil
i
nguport wist
ingofcable,
whichispaidunderpowerandt husprovi
desbet t
ercontr
oltomast eror
pi
lottoensur etheanchorholdsinanddoesnotdr ag.Howev erspeedover
groundofv esselmustbedi l
i
gentlycontr
oll
edtoav oi
dexcessiveloadson
windlass,whichisbeingusedwi t
hgearengaged.
Howdoyoumakeouti
ftheAnchori
s
dr
aggi
ng?
I
tcantakesometi
met or
eal
izetheAnchorisdraggi
ng,despi
tet
heshi
p
dr
if
ti
ng.Avigi
l
antbr
idgewat
chis,ther
efor
e,essenti
al.

1.Bywat chi ngt hebear i

ngoft wof ixedl ight sorobj ectsi nl i
ne.Beam
bearingsar ethebest .Iftheychange, theshi pi sdraggi ng.
2.Bydr oppi ngt hedeepseal eadont othebot t
om, andnot ingifittr
ails
aheadoft heshi p.
3.Byobser v ingt heanchorcabl eifshecomest ol ongst ayt henshor t
stayandt henl ongst ayr epeat edlymeansshei sdr aggi nganchor .
4.Theshi p’ssi deagai nstthewi ndhasn’ tchanged.
5.hecki
ngt oseet hereisnos l
ackingofchai nsj ustbeforeashi p’ssideagai
nstthe
windt ur ns
6.Bypl ottingt heposi tionoft hev essel andconf irmingt hatt heposi ti
on
iswithi nt heswi ngingci rcle.(Themostcur rentlyreli
abl ewayof
checki ngwhet hert heanchori sdr aggi ngi st ocareful l
ymoni tort
he
vessel ’
sposi tionbyv i
sual andel ectroni cmeanst oconf ir
m whet herit
remai nswi thinaswi ngi ngci rcl
edef i
nedbyt hescopeofanchorcabl e
andt hedi stancef rom thef orecast l
et ot hebr i
dge.I fitdev iat
esf rom
thecircl e, t
heshi pisl i
kelyt obedr aggi ngitsanchor .Rel ianceshoul d
notbepl acedonasi nglemet hodoff ixingtheshi p’sposi ti
on.Cross-
checkwhenev erpossi blewi t
hanal ter nat i
vemeans. )
7.Checki ngwhet hert her ear eext raordinar yvi
br ati
onst hrought he
anchorchai ns.
8.Checki ngt hecour ser ecor derincasei tdoesnoti ndicat ea“ f
igure-of-
eight”mot i
onl ocus.
9.Thebowcannotst andagai nstthewi nd.

Aship’
sanchordr
agsduetotheimpactofext
ernalf
orcesoni
twhi
chexceedst
he
hol
dingpoweroft
heanchorandcabl
e.

VoyageDataRecor
der(
VDR)ona
ShipExpl
ained
TheI
MOdef
inest
heVoy
ageDat
aRecor
derasacompl
etesy
stem,
i
ncludinganyit
emsrequi
redtoi
nter
facewiththesourcesofinputsignal
s,
thei
rprocessi
ngandencodi
ng,t
hefinalr
ecordingmedium,theplayback
equipment,t
hepowersuppl
yanddedicatedreserv
epowersour ce.

Akintothe‘Bl
ackBox’onairplanes, aVoyageDataRecor
derisan
equipmentfit
tedonboardshipst hatrecor
dthevari
ousdataonashi
p
whichcanbeusedf orreconstructionofthevoy
agedetai
lsandvi
tal
i
nformationduri
nganaccidenti nvesti
gati
on.

Infor
mat i
onisst oredinasecur eandr etr
ievablefor
m, relati
ngt othe
positi
on,movement ,phy si
cal status,commandandcont rol ofashipover
theperiodandf oll
owi ngani ncident .Thisinformati
onisuseddur ing
anysubsequentsaf etyinvestigat i
ontoident i
fythecause( s)oftheinci
dent
.
Asidefrom i
tsusagei naccidenti nvesti
gation,i
tcanalsobeusedf or
preventi
vemai ntenance, performanceef fi
ciencymonitor i
ng, heavy
weatherdamageanal ysis,
acci dentav oi
danceandt r
ainingpur posesto
i
mpr ovesafetyandr educer unni ngcosts.

Under
standi
ngVDR

Asment i
onedearli
er,aVDRorv oyagedatar ecorderisaninstrumentsaf el
y
i
nstalledonashi pt ocont i
nuouslyrecordvi
tal i
nformationrel
atedtothe
operationofav essel.Itcontai
nsav oi
cerecordingsystem foraper i
odofat
l
eastl ast12hour s(forVDRsi nstal
ledpost-July2014, t
heperiodofthe
i
ntegrat eddetai
lsrecordedi s48hour saspert heMSCResol uti
on333. 90).
Thisrecor dingi
srecov eredandmadeuseoff orinvesti
gati
oni neventsof
accident sinacompr essedanddi giti
sedformat .

Aship’sVDRisf arsuper
iort
oabl ackboxofanaeropl
aneasitstor
esa
var
ietyofdataandt hatt
oofornotlessthanaperi
odof12hours.Thedat
a
r
ecordscov er
ingthelast12hoursareconti
nuousl
yoverwr
it
tenbythe
l
atestdata.

AVDRi scapabl
eofwithst
andi
ngheav
yweather,
col
l
isi
ons,f
ir
esand
pr
essurecondit
ionsev
enwhenashipisatadept
hofsever
almeter
sin
water
.
HowVDRwor
ks?

TheVDRcanbecl
assi
fi
edt
ocont
ainf
oll
owi
nguni
ts,

–theDataColl
ecti
onUnit(
DCU)(
fi
tt
edont
hebr
idget
hatpul
l
sindat
afr
om
al
lthei
ntegr
atedsour
ces),

–aDat aRecordingUni t(DRU)( f

it
tedont hemonkeyi sl
andt hatst oresall
ofthedat athatisr ecordedv i
atheunitwithi
nt hewheel house)and
micr ophonest orecor dbridgeaudio.TheDCUcont ainst heDat aPr ocessor
Unit,interf
acemodul esandbackupbat teri
es.Itcollectsdat af rom sensor s
asr equiredbyt heI MOandI ECstandards.Thebat ter i
essuppl ypowert o
theDCUt orecordbr idgeaudi ofor2hi ncaseofamai nshi p’spower
fai
lure.Thef lashmemor yi ntheDRUst oresthedat acomi ngf r
om t heDCU.
Thedat acanber etri
ev edbyusi ngplaybacksof t
war efori nvestigationafter
aninci dent.TheDRUcomponent sareembodi edint hepr otectivecapsul e.
Thecapsul eensur essur vivalandrecoveryofther ecor deddat aaf teran
i
ncident .

Theflashmemor yint
heDRUst oresthedat acomingfrom theDCU.The
datacanber etr
ievedbyusingplaybacksoftwarefori
nvesti
gationaft
eran
i
ncident.TheDRUcomponent sareembodi edintheprotect
ivecapsul
e.The
capsuleensuressurvi
valandrecoveryoftherecordeddataafteran
i
ncident.

TheDCUcont ainstheDataProcessorUni t
,inter
facemodul esandbackup
batteri
es.I tcollect
sdatafrom sensorsasr equiredbyt heIMOandI EC
standards.Thebat t
eri
essupplypowert otheDCUt or ecordbri
dgeaudio
for2hr si ncaseofamai nship’spowerf ai
lure.Thef l
ashmemor yinthe
DRUst or est hedat acomingfr
om t heDCU.Thedat acanber etr
iev
edby
usingplay backsof t
warefori
nv esti
gati
onaf t
erani ncident.TheDRU
component sar eembodiedinthepr ot
ectiv
ecapsul e.Thecapsul eensur
es
surviv
al andr ecoveryoft
herecor deddataafterani ncident.

Thedatat
hatiscoll
ectedorpulledinfrom al
lthei
ntegr
atedsour
cesis,as
menti
onedabove,keptinthestoragecapsuleandholdsinf
ormat
ionforthe
12hours(
or48hour s)precedi
ngi tandconti
nuousl
yrefr
eshedasthe
voy
ageprogr
esses.
Thereisalsoar ecor
dbut t
onpr ovi
dedinthebri
dgeuni
tsothataf
ter
pushingbutton(sayduringstart
ingofanyinci
dentl
i
kecoll
i
sionor
groundi
ng),therecorderwil
lstartr
ecordi
nganewsetofinformat
ionfr
om
thatperi
odoft i
me.

Thecapsul
ement ionedaboveisav er
yst
urdyuni t
,capableofwithstandi
ng
shockandpressuresassoci
atedwithamarinemi shap(coll
i
sion,groundi
ng,
badweatheretc)
.Itmightbeafloat
-fr
eearrangementaswi ththeHRUor
att
achedwiththeEPIRBforsimult
aneousrelease.

TheVDRatl
eastmustr
ecor
dthef
oll
owi
ng:

 Dat
eandt
ime(
SVDR)
Shi
p’sposi
ti
on(
SVDR)
Speedandheadi
ng(
SVDR)
Br
idgeaudi
o(SVDR)
 Communi
cat
ionaudi
o(r
adi
o)(
SVDR)
Radardat
a(SVDR)
ECDI
Sdat
a(SVDR)
Echosounder
 Mai
nal
arms
Rudderor
derandr
esponse
 Hul
lopeni
ng(
door
s)st
atus
 Wat
ert
ightandf
ir
edoorst
atus
Speedandaccel
erat
ion
 Hul
lst
resses
 Wi
ndspeedanddi
rect
ion

S-
VDR

TheSVDRi snot hingbutasimpl

ifi
edVDR, t
hatrecordsinformationthatis
onlyabsol utelynecessaryanddoesnotrecordinformati
onasext ensiveas
theVDR.Nat urall
y,i
tismorecosteff
ecti
veandmor einusageonboar d
mer chantshi ps.TheconceptofSVDRcanbebestunder stoodby
compar i
ngt hedat abelowwitht
hatoftheVDR.Mandat oryinfor
mat ionto
ber ecordedi nanSVDRar emarkednexttothecat egor
yabov e.Thel ast
twoi nterf
acesofRadarandECDI Smayber ecor
dedonl yifthereare
standar dint
er facesavail
abl
e.
Gener
alOper
ati
onalRequi
rement
s

TheVDRshoul dconti
nuousl ymaintai
nsequentialrecordsofpre-sel
ect
ed
dataitemsrelati
ngtothest atusandoutputoftheshi p’sequi
pmentand
commandandcont r
oloftheshi p.Topermitsubsequentanalysisof
factorssur
roundinganincident,themethodofr ecordingshoul
densur e
thatthevari
ousdataitemscanbecor rel
atedindat eandt i
medur ing
playbackonsuitabl
eequipment .

Thesystem shouldincludef uncti

onstoper
form aperf
ormancetestatany
ti
me,e.g.annuall
yorf oll
owi ngrepai
rormaint
enanceworktotheVDRor
anysi
gnal sourceprovidingdatat ot
heVDR.Thistestmaybeconducted
usi
ngthepl aybackequipmentandshoul densurethatal
lther
equireddata
i
temsar ebeingcorrectlyrecorded.

Mai
ntenance

Aswi thallnavi
gat ionalequipment,checksandmai ntenanceareimpor tant
forproperoperat i
onofanyel ectr
onicsystems.Onlyqualif
iedpersonnel
shouldwor kinsidet heequi pment.Asfarasr out
inechecksareconcer ned,
examinet hecabl esf orsignsofdamageandal socheckthatall
connectionsarer igid.Thebat t
eryshouldber epl
acedeveryfouryears,the
backupbat ter
ymustber eplacedwithnewonebyaqual i
fi
edservice
engineer.Regulation18. 8ofSOLASChapt erVstatestherequir
ement sf or
maintenance.Acer tifi
catestat
ingthattheresult
sofsucht est
swer e
sati
sfactoryistober etai
nedonboar d.

Under
wat
erAcoust
icBeacon

Thisbeaconcanbeseeni nt hecapsul
eont hemonkeyi sl
andandisfit
ted
asahomi ngdevicetolocatethecapsuleafteramishap.I
tisatt
achedtoa
bracketonthecapsul
e.Triggeredbyimmer sioni
nwat er
,theygi
veout
pulsesint
heultr
asonicthatcanbedet ect
edbyai r
borneorshipbor
neunits.

Thei
mpor t
anceoftheVDRcannotbestressedenough.Whi
leiti
salways
i
neveryseafar
er’
sbestendeavourt
hatamishapdoesnotoccuratall
,i
tis
i
mperati
vetoknowt hei
mpor t
anceofaVDRi nsuchasit
uat
ion.

I
tisi
mpor
tantt
ounder
standt
hatt
heVDR/
SVDRi
snotj
ustawayt
orecor
d
 dataf
oruselateronduringaccidenti
nvesti
gati
onbutitgivest
hetrai
ner
s
aswellasthetrai
neestounderstandreall
if
esituati
onsatseaandthe
waystheycouldbecombat tedtofurt
herpreventanyfutur
emishaps,
enabl
i
ngbet t
erpracti
calapproachtowardsshipoperati
onsatsea.

Cor
iol
i
sef
fect
/
ˌkɒr
ɪˈəʊl
ɪs/
noun
PHYSI
CS
noun:Cor
iol
i
sfor
ce
1.aneffectwherebyamassmovi ngi
nar otat
ingsystem exper
iencesaforce(heCor
t i
oli
s
for
ce)act i
ngperpendi
cul
artothedir
ect
ionofmot i
onandt otheaxisofrotat
ion.Ont he
eart
h,theef f
ectt
endstodef
lectmovi
ngobjectstotherighti
nthenorthernhemi sphere
andtot helef
tint
hesouther
nandi si
mpor t
antintheformati
onofcycl
onicweat her
syst
ems.

Defi
nit
ionofCor
ioli
sforce.:anappar
entfor
cet
hatasaresul
toft
heearth'
srot
ati
on
def
lectsmovi
ngobjects(suchasproj
ect
il
esorai
rcur
rent
s)tot
herighti
nthenort
her
n
hemispher
eandt othelefti
nthesout
hernhemi
spher
e.

TheEar t
hspinsoni t
saxi
sfrom westtoeast.TheCori
oli
sforce,ther
efor
e,act
sina
nort
h-sout
hdirect
ion.TheCoriol
i
sforceiszeroatt
heEquat or.ThoughtheCori
oli
s
for
ceisusefuli
nmat hemat
icalequat
ions,t
hereisact
uall
ynophysi calf
orcei
nvol
ved

Thedefl
ecti
oni
sgr eatestatt
hepolesanddecr
easestozeroattheequator
.
TheCoriol
i
sEffectcanbeseeni nacti
oni
nthegeneralci
rcul
ati
onoftheatmospher
e.
Thewindsatal
llati
tudestothenor
thof0°defl
ectt
otheri
ghtofthei
rint
endedpathin
t
heNor t
hernHemispher e

APPARENTWI
ND/TRUEWI
ND

Theissueofwi
nddi
rect
ionandst
rengt
hbecomescompli
cat
edassoonasaboatst
art
st omove.
Tel
lt
alesandwi
ndvanesonmastheadsonl
yindi
cat
ethetr
uewindwhenaboati
sstat
ionar
y.

Assoonasi
tst
art
stomovet
heyr
eac
ttoacombi
nat
ionofwi
ndandt
heboat
’
smovement–
appar
entwi
nd.
Whati
s"appar
entwi
nd"?
Appar
entwi
ndist
hewindyouca
nfeel
whe
nonaboa
t.T
hiswi
ndi
sdi
ff
ere
ntf
rom
ther
ealwi
nd,a
swe '
regoi
ngt
osee.

ndv
Realwi ersusAppar
entwi
nd

Wewi
l
ldi
sti
ngui
shbet
ween:

 Real
wind:t
hewi
ndobs
erv
edonstea
dyground
 Appar
entwi
nd:t
hewi
ndfeel
edonaboa
twhi l
emov
ing

Theset wowi ndsmaydi ff

erqui
tealot
.Thehi ghertheboatspeed,thehi
gher
they'l
ldif
fer.Asi mpleexampleiscyl
cing.I
fy ouri
deabi cyclewithnor eal
wind,y ouf eelanapparentwindwhichi sexactlyopposedt oy ourspeed
direct
ion.Ifyour i
deabicyleat20km/ hfaci
nga10km/ hwi nd,youfeelan
apparentwi ndwhi chi
s20+10=30km/ h.Andwi tha10km/ hr ealwindfr
om
rear,t
heappar entwindi
s20-10=10km/h.

SomeMat hs.
..
Appa
rentwindist
hea
ddi
ti
onoft
wov
ect
ors
:

 Real
windve
ctor
 Spe
edwindvect
or:
theoppos
it
eoft
hes
pee
dve
ctor

 Tr
ueandAppar
entWi
nd
 Therearetwokindsofwind;t
rueandapparent
.Wecallt
hewi ndthatbl
ows
acr
osst hel
andorwat er,
thetr
uewind.Thi
sisthewindt
alkedaboutinthe
weatherfor
ecastof10-15knotsf
orinst
ance.I
tist
hewindwef eelwhenwear
e
outsi
deatrestandnotmov i
ng.

 Asy oumightguesst heot

herki ndofwind,apparent,i
st hewindthatisgenerated
byourmov ementi ncombinati
onwi t
ht hetr
uewi nd.Theonl yti
met hereisno
apparentwindiswhenwear eatrestandonlyfeeli
ngt heef f
ect
soft hetruewind.
Whenwemov eandt hewi
ndal somov esthetotalwindwef eel
istheapparent
wind.Stat
ionaryobject
sonlyfeeltr
uewi ndwhileallobjectsinmotionfeel
apparentwind.

 Let
’st
alkaboutsomeexampl
esandst
artwi
tht
hesi
tuat
ionwher
ether
eisno
 tr
uewind.Thi
sisadaywheniti
scompl
etel
ycal
m wi
thnodet
ect
abl
ewi
nd
speedwhenwearestandi
ngsti
l
l.

 I
nthi
sil
lust
rat
ionwehavecal
m condi
ti
onssowemot oraheadat5knot
s
pr
oduci
nganapparentwi
ndof5knotsfrom st
rai
ghtahead.

 Ont
henextday
,ti
edupatt
hedock,
wehav
eat
ruewi
ndof10knot
sconst
antbl
owi
ng
acr
ossourpor
tbeam.

 Nowi
ndf
rom ourboat
’sf
orwar
dmot
ion.Thet
ruewi
ndi
s10knot
sandt
hat
’swhatwe
f
eel
ont
heboat
.Whathappenswhenwegosai
l
ing?

 Luckyus!Thewi
ndwi
l
ljustbl
owusof
fthedock.Wer
aisesai
l
sandmov
eaheadona
closer
eachat5knot s.Weknowthetruewindis10knot sand,
sincewewil
lbemoving
forwar
dwewi llbeproduci
ng5knotsofwindourselves.Howdot hesecombine?Weare
combiningourboatspeedanddi
recti
onwiththetruewi ndspeedanddir
ect
ion.

 Weseet
hecombi
nedef
fect
soft
het
ruewi
ndandourboat
’smot
ionf
orwar
d.Thi
s
pr
oducest
heappar
entwi
nd,
whatweact
ual
l
yfeel
whi
l
esai
l
ingont
heboat
.Boat
s
 al
way
ssai
li
ntheapparentwi
nd.Her
e,not
etheapparentwi
ndi
sstr
ongert
hant
het
rue
wi
nd(t
hear
rowi
slonger)andi
scomingfr
om fur
thertowar
dst
hebow

Whatifwefal
lof
fthewindandheaddownonarun?Let
’sseewhatt
hecombi
nat
ionofboat
speedanddir
ect
ional
ongwitht
hetruewi
ndpr
oducenow.

Aswet ur
nawayf rom thewindtheboatslowsdown.Itslowsdownbecausetheappar
entwind
dropsandt hesail
sbecomel esseffi
cient
.Inthi
ssimpleexamplewear
egoi ngint
hesame
dir
ecti
onast hewindsowej ustsubt
ractourboatspeedfrom t
hetr
uewindspeedandthat
givesusthecorrectapparentwindspeed.Ifwehaveawi ndspeedi
ndi
catoraboar
ditwoul
d
showt hesamer eading.
 Tr
ueWi
ndv
s.Appar
entWi
nd

Thewi
ndasi
tnat
ural
l
ybl
owsi
scal
l
edt
he"
tr
uewi
nd.
"

Thewi
ndy
ouf
eel
whi
l
esai
l
ingi
sref
err
edt
oast
he"
appar
entwi
nd.
"

Theapparentwi
ndisnotf
rom t
heexactsamedi
recti
onasthet
ruewi
nd
becauseofthewi
ndgener
atedbythefor
wardmotionoft
heboat.

Theappar
entwi
ndi
sal
way
ssl
i
ght
lyf
orwar
doft
het
ruewi
ndwhen
under
way.
LandBr
eeze

Alandbreezeisamovementofai
rof
fthelandontot
hewatert
hatoccur
s
aft
ersunsetastheai
rcool
sovert
hel
and,sinks,
andfl
owsofft
heland
ontot
hewar mersea.

SeaBr
eeze

Aseabreezeisamov ementofai
rof
ftheseaont
othelandaf
tersunr
iseas
theai
rheatsandr
isesoverthel
and,
pull
i
ngtheai
rontothel
andoffofthe
cool
ersea.

Radi
ati
onFog

Ov
erl
andatni
ght
.

Causedbyt
hegr
oundcool
i
ngt
heai
rbel
owt
hedewpoi
nt.

Usual
l
ynotpr
esentwhent
her
ear
ehi
ghwi
nds.

Usual
l
ybur
nsof
fwi
tht
hemor
ningsun.
 Adv
ect
ionFog

Causedwhenwar
m,moi
stai
rmov
esov
ercool
land.

Canoccurwi
thheav
ywi
ndsandi
nanyseason.

Usual
l
yper
sist
entandpr
olonged.

GPS–Er rors
GPScont ainser rorsandt heref or
ey ourposi tionshoul dal way sbechecked
viaot hermet hods.( See‘ Posi ti
onf i
xing’lateroni nt hissect ion. )
Error st hatoccurwi t
hi ntheGPSuni t:
 Sy stemat i
c:Someer rorsarecausedbyt hechangi ngsat elli
tegeomet ry.
Thi si scal ledDi l
utionofPr ecision(DOP) .Forat hree-dimensi onal fi
x,you
needf oursat ell
ites.Ideal l
y,oneoft hesat ell
itesshoul dbedi r ectly
ov er head, wit ht heot hert hreesepar atedby120degr eesofazi mut h.An
arrangementot hert hant hisi dealsituati
onwi ll
causeDOPi naccur acy.A
goodv alueofHDOP( Hor i
zont alDOP)i sbet weent woandf our ,
v al
uesi n
excessoft hissi zear eofpooraccur acy–y oucancheckt hev aluesont he
GPS.
 Env ironment al errors:Moi stur eandsal tintheai r,poorweat hercondi t
ions
orl ight ning.
 Ionospher icdel ay :Signalsf rom satel l
i
tesbendonent eringt hei onospher e
(thisi sal soknownasr efract i
on)andt heirspeedv ari
es.( Thei onospher eis
theout erregi onoft heEar t
h’sat mospher e.
)
 Mul tipather ror :Asat elli
tesi gnal mayber eflectedof fthewat er,oroff
met al objectsonboar dy ourv essel.Thi smaycauset heGPSr eceiver
ant ennat orecei vet hesi gnal bytwoormor epat hs.
 Recei verer ror s:Mi smat chofsat ell
i
t esignals.
 Sel ect i
v eAv ai l
abi l
ity:SAi sthemi l
it
ar y’
sabi l
itytoscr ambl et heGPS
readi ngs.Att het imeofwr i
ting, t
heUSAi snotscr ambl ingt hesi gnal(the
SAwast urnedof fin2000) .DGPS( Di f
ferentialGPS)wasdev elopedt o
reduceSA.
 Commoner
ror
sinusi
ngt
heGPS:

Commoner rorsinusi ngt heGPS:

 Offset :Themai nposi tionf i
xi
nger r
oroccur swhenusi ngt heGPSi n
combi nat ionwi t
hol derchar t
s.Thecor rectof fsetfrom t hechar tneedst o
beappl iedt ot heGPSr eading(see‘ Char tEr r
ors’ear l
ierint hissect ionf or
fulldet ails) .
 Ensur ey ourGPSset ti
ngsmat cht hespher oidofy ourchar t.TheGPSi s
usual lyoper atedonaspher oidcal l
edWor l
dGeodet icSpher oid84( WGS84) .
Int hepast ,chartshav ebeenbasedonv ariousspher oi ds,e.g.,Aust ralian
Geodet icDat um 1966( AGD66) .Youmustchecky ourchar tt
of indout
whet heri tisbasedonWGS84orAGD66( f
orexampl e)andsety ourGPS
accor dingl y.
 Magnet icorTr ue:Youcansel ectMagnet icorTr ueset tingsf orbear i
ngs
andcour ses.Ensur ey ouhav esel ectedy ourpr eferredset tingbef ore
compl et i
ngt hesecal cul ati
ons.(See‘ Truet oCompassorCompasst oTr ue’
underChar ts,earli
eri nt hissecti
on. )
 Measur ement s:Ar ey our eadingst atut emi l
esornaut icalmi lesf ordi stance?
Checky ouruni tissett onaut i
cal miles.
 Measur ement s:Ar ey our eadingknot sf orspeed?Ensur ey ourGPSi sset
cor rect ly.
 Measur ement s:Tor educeer rors,checky ourGPSi ssett odegr ees,
mi nut esanddeci mal sofami nutei nst eadofseconds–t omat chy our
char ts.
 Locat ion: Followt hemanuf acturer’
si nst ructionswhenmount i
ngy ourGPS.
Obst ruct ionscanaf fectt hesignal andt heGPSuni tcanaf fecttheshi p’
s
compass.
 InputEr ror s:Doubl echeckt heco- or dinat esthathav ebeeni nput tedbyy ou
i
nt ot heGPS.Asksomeoneel set or eadandcheckt henumber st oo.