The Radiocommunication Support Decision System to Use in Distress Situations for Captains of Small Non-conventional Vessels Operating in the Caribbean Sea Area

Abstract

The paper presents the concept of a Radio Communication System to support the decision of the captain of a small non-conventional vessel including a yacht sailing in the waters of the Caribbean Sea in a dangerous situation requiring a call for RCC assistance. This is important to enhance boating safety in the area, where, due to the reduced and non-overlapping accessible areas of the A1 and A2 communications zones, calling for RCC assistance using common VHF/MF radio equipment is limited. In the event of danger to life and property on a yacht, the ability to contact Marine Rescue Centers is a primary concern. This paper presents a model of an intelligent system for supporting the captain in making the right navigation decision, in a dangerous situation, based on the method of artificial neural networks ANN. The article presents an example of numerical simulation of operation of the discussed system of Radio Communication decision support, assuming a specific position of the small non-conventional vessel in distress, with reference to the existing communication areas A1, A2 in the Caribbean Sea. The result of the simulation is related to the calculation of the distance to the nearest zone, enabling the establishment of communication with the marine Rescue Center to distress call, the value of the new corrected course of the small non-conventional vessel and the time of arrival at the above-mentioned zone.