Collision Avoidance of Vessels by Predicting the Maximum Start Time of a Divergence Maneuver

Abstract

The issues of collision avoidance of vessels are becoming increasingly important in the contemporary world due to the increase in the number and dimensions of vessels. In situations of dangerous convergence, various types of interaction between vessels are possible. The methods of compensating for situational disturbance are selected depending on the level of its danger. For this purpose, it is necessary to build an analytical model for forming the area of inadmissible positions in such a way that its boundary corresponds to the zero probability of a vessel collision. The main characteristics of the danger are the distance and/or time of the shortest convergence. The article proposes a characteristic of the maximum time for the start of a divergence maneuver, which determines the possibility of its safe implementation. A method for predicting this maximum start time of a divergence maneuver is considered taking into account the ratio of the speeds of the maneuvering vessel and the target. Analytical model for the implementation of the proposed method is given. The proposed method provides the operator of the vessel traffic management system (VTMS) with the opportunity to make timely decisions to collision avoidance of vessels. In addition, automatization of VTM can provide significant assistance for the development of future unmanned shipping, ensuring safety navigation.