Potentials of e-Navigation – Enhanced Support for Collision Avoidance

The e-Navigation initiative of IMO and IALA has stimulated and inspired a number of ambitious research projects and technological developments in the maritime field. The global transportation of goods is not only facing rapidly growing ship dimensions but also increasing industrial off shore activities, changing the relation between the need of areas for safe and reliable vessel traffic and its availability. Off shore activities is increasingly limiting the available navigable spaces and concentrating traffic flows, especially in coastal waters and port approaches. Enhanced technical systems and equipment with numerous added functionalities are in use and under further development providing new opportunities for traffic surveillance and interaction. Integrated Bridge and Navigation Systems on board modern ships not only support the bridge teams and pilots on board, but also allow for more comprehensive shore-based traffic monitoring and even allow for re-thinking of existing regimes and procedures on traffic management. A sophisticated manoeuvring support tool using fast real-time simulation technology and its application for on board support as well as for its potential integration into enhanced shore-based monitoring processes when linked with the ‘Maritime Cloud’ will be introduced. The potential for contribution to generate harmonized collision warnings will be discussed and explained. This paper is a reviewed and extended version of (Baldauf, Benedict & Gluch, 2014).