The Development Of The Support System For Tugs Operation

Abstract

Most of the work-load of ship's operator using tugboats is t,o execute the complex information processing such a s the collection, analysis, decision making and to control tugboat ~eparat~ely. We developed the support system t,o decrease their work-load and to improve t,he efficiency of tugboats operat,ion. The system is developed based on t,he ship maneuvering characteristics, human ch~wacteristics and man-machine interface. The effectiveness of proposed support system has been confirmed by examining the operation of tugboat using the ship-handling simulator. As a result, the efficacy of the support system t,hat we developed has been clarified. 1. The state of the s h p m a n e u v e ~ g using tugboats The ship maneuvering using tugboat,^ is one of the most hfficult handling in comparison with other ship-handing. Especially, the clLfficulty increases when a large ship does docking by using tugboats. There a re two causes of the ciifficulty I t is relat,ed to the docking maneuver and the operation of tugboats. The details a re as following, (1) Df icul ty on the docking maneuver: First of all. the special motion such a s the transverse movement without turning. the oblique movement and the rotating is necessary for docking. These motions are not required in normal navigational situation. The fluid dynamic resistance t,o the transverse motion is bigger than the longitudinal motion in case of general hull form. and Transactions on the Built Environment vol 53, © 2001 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509