Model of Optimal Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre on the Basis of Electronic Data Collection

Abstract

This article offers a model of an optimal collision avoidance maneuver which complies with the Collision Avoidance Rules and can be efficiently applied to navigation at sea. The model is based on electronic data collection with a navigation simulator NTPRO-1000 (Transas, Russia). The authors note that the Collision Avoidance Rules themselves to not provide adequate guarantee for avoiding collisions, particularly since 90% of collisions are caused by human errors other than noncompliance with the Rules. The authors report on their model results with rudder angles of 35 degrees and 10 degrees. The research findings confirm that the collision course decisively affects the reliability of general conclusions, as it directly depends on the relative speed of the target observed and on the fact that the algorithm of the maneuver can be developed by dividing the radar screen into sectors. The authors conclude that although the model can offer new approaches in the choice of collision avoidance strategies, a radical decrease of actual collisions will not occur until additional navigation and training for navigating officers becomes the standard.