On the development of guidance system design for ships operating in close proximity

An international joint-industry research project for studies of hydrodynamic, control and operational aspects related to ship-to-ship (STS) operations has been initiated by the Norwegian Marine Technology Research Institute and received the funding from the Norwegian Research Council and industrial partners. The background for the project is an anticipated future demand for STS studies and the necessity to improve the mathematical models for multiple ship maneuvering in close proximity in order to further enhance quality of training on ship-handling simulators of operative key personnel involved in STS operations. A major objective with the ongoing research is to develop a decision support and guidance system for the ship navigation officers that can contribute to the operational safety and efficiency. Experienced Mooring Masters conducting lightering operations suggest that accurate information of relative distance and speed would assist in conducting a safe approach of the service ship towards the ship-to-belightered. The short-range distance measurement system RADius developed by Kongsberg Seatex AS of Norway has been proposed as one suitable technology platform towards a decision-support and guidance system for STS operations. A control strategy is proposed based on the availability of a relative distance sensor which can provide sufficient measurement accuracies.