A web based solution to track trawl vessel activities over pipelines in Norwegian Continental Shelf

Abstract

Vessel activities such as trawling and anchoring potentially affect pipeline integrity. Therefore, the detailed information about the trawl activity in the area is essential for accurate assessment of pipeline, where to inspect and where to implement corrective intervention, based on up to date trawling intensity and equipment used. The main contribution of this paper is to present a detailed analysis of trawling vessels activities based on the automatic identification system (AIS) data combined with DNV GL ship register, data from HIS Maritime World Register of Ships and information gathered on the trawl equipment. In this aspect, an interactive web-based solution has been designed and developed to monitor and track trawl vessel activities in the Norwegian Continental Shelf which can be used for assessing integrity of pipelines. Data Analysis and visualization techniques have been utilized to transfer high-dimensional data by encoding it as visual objects contained in graphical presentations. The extracted knowledge result in the density mapping, vessel tracking, computing crossing points of trawl vessel paths, computing a buffered polygon around the pipeline for the chosen threshold and cross-over statistics of pipeline and vessels, etc. The use of such a framework is mostly advantageous for the port authorities, marine transportation, relevant fisheries management authority, etc.