Sailing Route Research Articles

Breaks in the Arctic ice cover: from observations to predictions

Breaks (ruptures) and cracks is the distinguishing feature of any ice cover in the Arctic seas during the cold season and in the whole Arctic Basin throughout a year. The formation of them is a consequence of macro-deformation of the ice thickness. Investigating of the ice breaking in the Arctic begins with single visual observations during the ice aerial surveys in the 1940s and continues till nowadays using regular information from artificial Earth satellites. Processing of big volumes of satellite data and creating climatological datasets on breaks became possible owing to the development of algorithms for automatic identification of the ice breaks in images. Interpretation of the satellite images is based on the fundamental difference between physical properties of breaks and the surrounding consolidated ice. Algorithms for automatic recognition of ruptures using satellite data obtained in different wavelength ranges, including the use of artificial intelligence, are currently being developed. The main characteristics of breaks which are usually analyzed are as follows: the summarized area of them and its ratio to the total area of the ice field, the mean and maximum widths as well as the total length. The temporal and spatial variability of these characteristics is also considered. Such information is needed for solving problems of improving models of ice cover dynamics and modeling the interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere at high latitudes. A specific feature of publications of the Russian authors on this topic is the practical use of the results obtained for hydrometeorological support of navigation in ice. For the navigation purposes, the dominant orientation of the ruptures on the way of ships is of greatest importance. Operational and prognostic information about the orientation and extent of ruptures, including distribution of them in an ice field are the key data for choosing the optimal sailing route in the Arctic.

Correction: The Preliminary Investigation on the Origin and the Sailing Route of Bidong Shipwreck, Malaysia

Correction: The Preliminary Investigation on the Origin and the Sailing Route of Bidong Shipwreck, Malaysia

The Preliminary Investigation on the Origin and the Sailing Route of Bidong Shipwreck, Malaysia

The Preliminary Investigation on the Origin and the Sailing Route of Bidong Shipwreck, Malaysia

A Method for Clustering and Analyzing Vessel Sailing Routes Efficiently from AIS Data Using Traffic Density Images

A vessel automatic identification system (AIS) provides a large amount of dynamic vessel information over a large coverage area and data volume. The AIS data are a typical type of big geo-data with high dimensionality, large noise, heterogeneous densities, and complex distributions. This poses a challenge for the clustering and analysis of vessel sailing routes. This study proposes an efficient vessel sailing route clustering and analysis method based on AIS data that uses traffic density images to transform the clustering problem of complex AIS trajectories into an image processing problem. First, a traffic density image is constructed based on the statistics of the preprocessed AIS data. Next, the main sea route regions of traffic density images are extracted based on local image features, geometric structures, and spatial features. Finally, the sailing trajectories are clustered using the extracted sailing patterns. Based on actual vessel AIS data, multimethod comparisons and performance analysis experiments are conducted to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. These experimental results reveal that the proposed method displays potential for the clustering task of challenging vessel sailing routes.

TPS-Genetic Algorithm for Real-Time Sailing Route Planning based on Potential Field Theory

Real-time route planning is always a difficulty in maritime traffic. Route planning must take into account the complex meteorological environment. Route planning based on meteorological environment real-time update is the basis of route feasibility. Based on potential field theory, this paper proposes a TPS - Genetic algorithm for real-time route planning of sailing ships. On the basis of genetic algorithm, combined with the characteristics of route planning, the turning point sorting operation is added to improve the calculation efficiency, and further improve the real-time performance of route planning. Simulation experiments are established and compared with A* algorithm. The experimental results show that the potential field theory can accurately express the dynamic changes of Marine meteorology, and the path planned by TPS - Genetic algorithm is more suitable for real-time navigation environment. TPS - Genetic algorithm can be applied to ship navigation system, which can further adjust the potential energy base and plan routes according to the needs of shipping companies.

Energetic and Ecological Effects of the Slow Steaming Application and Gasification of Container Ships

One of the short-term operational measures for fuel savings and reducing CO2 emissions from ships at sea is sailing at reduced speed, i.e., slow steaming, while the gasification of the ship represents an important mid-term technical measure. In this study, the energetic and ecological benefits of slow steaming and gasification are studied for a container ship sailing between Shanghai and Hamburg. Resistance and propulsion characteristics in calm water are calculated using computational fluid dynamics based on the viscous flow theory for a full-scale ship, while the added resistance in waves is calculated by applying potential flow theory. The propeller operating point is determined for the design and slow steaming speeds at sea states with the highest probability of occurrence through the investigated sailing route. Thereafter, the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are calculated for a selected dual fuel engine in fuel oil- and gas-supplying modes complying with IMO Tier II and Tier III requirements. The results demonstrate a significant reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for various slow steaming speeds compared to the design speed at different sea states, and for the gasification of a container ship. For realistic weather conditions through the investigated route, the potential reduction in CO2 emissions per year could be up to 11.66 kt/year for fuel oil mode and 8.53 kt/year for gas-operating mode. CO2 emission reduction per year due to gasification under realistic weather conditions could be up to 22 kt/year.

Emission Abatement Technology Selection, Routing and Speed Optimization of Hybrid Ships

This paper evaluates the effect of a large-capacity electrical energy storage, e.g., Li-ion battery, on optimal sailing routes, speeds, fuel choice, and emission abatement technology selection. Despite rapid cost reduction and performance improvement, current Li-ion chemistries are infeasible for providing the total energy demand for ocean-crossing ships because the energy density is up to two orders of magnitude less than in liquid hydrocarbon fuels. However, limited distance zero-emission port arrival, mooring, and port departure are attainable. In this context, we formulate two groups of numerical problems. First, the well-known Emission Control Area (ECA) routing problem is extended with battery-powered zero-emission legs. ECAs have incentivized ship operators to choose longer distance routes to avoid using expensive low sulfur fuel required for compliance, resulting in increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The second problem evaluates the trade-off between battery capacity and speed on battery-powered zero-emission port arrival and departure legs. We develop a mixed-integer quadratically constrained program to investigate the least cost system configuration and operation. We find that the optimal speed is up to 50% slower on battery-powered legs compared to the baseline without zero-emission constraint. The slower speed on the zero-emission legs is compensated by higher speed throughout the rest of the voyage, which may increase the total amount of GHG emissions.

A novel method for joint optimization of the sailing route and speed considering multiple environmental factors for more energy efficient shipping

Energy saving and emission reduction have attracted a great deal of attention in the maritime industry. The optimization of a ship's energy efficiency can reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions effectively. However, most of the available studies only focus on either the sailing speed or route optimization, and the interaction between speed and route under the influence of multiple environmental factors was not accounted properly. In this paper, a novel joint optimization method of the sailing route and speed, which considers the interaction between route and speed as well as multiple environmental factors, is proposed to fully exploit the energy efficiency's potential. Moreover, a joint optimization model of the sailing route and speed, which is based on an energy consumption model that considers multiple environmental factors, is established. Next, a solution algorithm for the joint optimization model is investigated in order to achieve joint decision-making with regard to the sailing route and speed. Finally, a case study is conducted that demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the proposed method can achieve the optimal sailing route and speed under complex environmental conditions, as well as a reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of about 4%.

Route and speed optimization for liner ships under emission control policies

Pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matters (PM) generated by shipping industry are increasing in recent years. In order to control the ship emission pollution, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has established the Emission Control Areas (ECAs). In the fierce competition of the shipping market, liner shipping companies are looking for strategies to maintain their core competencies under the emission control policy. To achieve this goal, this paper first proposes a bi-objective mixed integer linear programming model, aiming to optimize sailing routes and speeds within and outside the ECA while minimizing the total fuel cost and SO2 emissions. Then, a new algorithm is developed to solve the proposed model by combining the two-stage iterative algorithm and fuzzy logic method based on ∊-constraint. Finally, this paper compares and analyzes the navigation plan of a real sailing route considering and not considering the effects of ECA. Some experiments are conducted to analyze the effects of fuel cost, decision makers, and ECA boundaries on the total fuel cost and SO2 emissions. The results indicate that the proposed model and algorithm can contribute to save fuel cost and reduce SO2 emissions under the ECA policy and provide different Pareto optimal solutions. Thus, the effectiveness of the model and the efficiency of the algorithm are validated.

Analysis of investment level and marina certification in the process of raising safety standards on the West Pomeranian Sailing Route

Analysis of investment level and marina certification in the process of raising safety standards on the West Pomeranian Sailing Route

Utjecaj vjetra na organizaciju jedrenjačke plovidbe na hrvatskom dijelu Jadrana

The paper is about characteristics analysis of major winds across the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea and their impact on organization of sailing ship navigation from prehistory until mid nineteenth century. Research area was divided into northern, middle and southern part of eastern Adriatic, and parameters for three prevailing winds – bora, jugo and mistral, were observed over four climatological seasons and also over annual average values on 18 main meteorological and climatological weather monitoring stations. Information generated from such data was intertwined with archaeological findings from the eastern Adriatic coast and historical writings that witness sailing across the area. Historical writings that were used consist of itineraries and some of the earliest nautical pilots written as a navigational aid for the area of the eastern Adriatic. The prime goal was to determine if there is a correlation between reconstructed sailing routes that existed in times when information about landscape and surrounding occurrences and processes (wind in this case) was collected by observation and contemporary measured data. It was also important to determine if navigation was affected by advances in nautical technology, particularly ship hull and sail construction, and navigation equipment.

Wind influence on sailing ship navigation across Croatian part of Adriatic Sea

The paper is about characteristics analysis of major winds across the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea and their impact on organization of sailing ship navigation from prehistory until mid nineteenth century. Research area was divided into northern, middle and southern part of eastern Adriatic, and parameters for three prevailing winds – bora, jugo and mistral, were observed over four climatological seasons and also over annual average values on 18 main meteorological and climatological weather monitoring stations. Information generated from such data was intertwined with archaeological findings from the eastern Adriatic coast and historical writings that witness sailing across the area. Historical writings that were used consist of itineraries and some of the earliest nautical pilots written as a navigational aid for the area of the eastern Adriatic. The prime goal was to determine if there is a correlation between reconstructed sailing routes that existed in times when information about landscape and surrounding occurrences and processes (wind in this case) was collected by observation and contemporary measured data. It was also important to determine if navigation was affected by advances in nautical technology, particularly ship hull and sail construction, and navigation equipment.

Utjecaj vjetra na organizaciju jedrenjačke plovidbe na hrvatskom dijelu Jadrana

U radu se analiziraju obilježja glavnih vjetrova na hrvatskom dijelu Jadrana i njihov učinak na organizaciju jedrenjačke plovidbe od prapovijesti do sredine 19. stoljeća. Područje proučavanja podijeljeno je na sjeverni, srednji i južni Jadran, a obilježja triju prevladavajućih vjetrova – bure, juga i maestrala – promatrana su kroz četiri klimatološka godišnja doba i godišnji prosjek za osamnaest glavnih meteoroloških i klimatoloških postaja. Dobiveni podatci dovedeni su u vezu s arheološkim nalazima s istočne obale Jadrana te historiografskim zapisima koji svjedoče o jedrenjačkoj plovidbi tim prostorom. Korištene historiografske zapise čine putopisna svjedočenja i neki od prvih peljara pisanih kao pomoć pri navigaciji istočnim Jadranom. Cilj rada je utvrđivanje korelacije između rekonstruiranih plovidbenih ruta iz razdoblja kada su informacije o prostoru i prostornim pojavama i procesima, u ovom slučaju vjetru, prikupljane opažanjem i suvremenih izmjerenih podataka. Nastojalo se utvrditi na koji je način na organizaciju plovidbe uvjetovanu vjetrom utjecao napredak tehnologije u obliku poboljšanja konstrukcijske izvedbe plovila i navigacijske opreme.

An Improved Flower Pollination Algorithm for Optimal Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Path Planning Problem

Path planning of Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) is a rather complicated global optimum problem which is about seeking a superior sailing route considering the different kinds of constrains under complex combat field environment. Flower pollination algorithm (FPA) is a new optimization method motivated by flower pollination behavior. In this paper, a variant of FPA is proposed to solve the UUV path planning problem in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) space. Optimization strategies of particle swarm optimization are applied to the local search process of IFPA to enhance its search ability. In the progress of iteration of this improved algorithm, a dimension by dimension based update and evaluation strategy on solutions is used. This new approach can accelerate the global convergence speed while preserving the strong robustness of standard FPA. The realization procedure for this improved flower pollination algorithm is also presented. To prove the performance of this proposed method, it is compared with nine population-based algorithms. The experiment result shows that the proposed approach is more effective and feasible in UUV path planning in 2D and 3D space.

Ice retreat in the Russian Arctic seas and assessment of the availability of the Northern Sea Route from satellite passive microwave observations

This paper presents data on the sea ice area decline in the Northern Hemisphere and in the Russian Arctic seas, on the Northern Sea Route in particular, calculated from passive microwave satellite data. Observations show that the Arctic sea ice has reduced by an average of 5% per decade from November 1978 to the present day. It is noted that, since 2007, the highest sea ice area variability has been observed, which increases the uncertainty of the forecast of the ice coverage in the Arctic seas and thus increases risk for ships in ice-covered waters of northern seas. It is demonstrated that the decrease in summer sea ice area, observed at the end of the melt season, is much more intense than the total decrease in the Arctic sea ice area. On average it is 13% for September for the Arctic as a whole and from 24 to 40% per decade for the seas of the Russian Arctic. The study of changes in the ice conditions in the Northern Sea Route has been carried out for one of the optimal sailing routes. The results indicate a decrease in the ice concentration on the route in the summer months and almost complete route opening in September for the period from 2008 and 2012. It is shown that data from microwave radiometers can be used in the study of ice conditions in the Kara Gates and Vilkitsky Strait. The ice concentration reduction in both water channels is indicated. In the Kara Gates it is 15% and in the Vilkitsky Strait it is 9.5% per decade.

Neolithic Voyages to Cyprus: Wind Patterns, Routes, and Mechanisms

ABSTRACTRecent archaeological evidence from Cyprus shows that humans first arrived on the island at around 12,000 calibrated years BP. Visits to Cyprus intensified and resulted in settlement of the island during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A beginning around 11,000 cal BP. Later occupations of the Cypro Pre Pottery Neolithic B from around 10,500 to 9000 cal BP are more numerous and testify to intensive connections with the mainland. Cyprus as an island could have been reached only by seafaring. We examined the possible routes for sailing from the mainland to Cyprus and back to better understand the relationship between the island and the mainland during these periods. The factors that were examined were: sea level; options of available watercraft; sea conditions and currents; navigational skills; sailing routes; and prevailing seasonal and diurnal wind regimes. Because the present wind pattern is understood to generally resemble that of the Terminal Pleistocene pattern, it is suggested that the optimal sailing route and season from the mainland to Cyprus by Neolithic navigators was from southern Turkey between April and October. A passage westward or northwestward from the Levant coast to the southern coast of Cyprus cannot be ruled out. Their return trip was from the east or southeast of Cyprus to the Levant coast. This counter-clockwise Neolithic sailing pattern to Cyprus enabled permanent human settlement of the island and contacts with the mainland.

Pristine Arctic: Background mapping of PAHs, PAH metabolites and inorganic trace elements in the North-Atlantic Arctic and sub-Arctic coastal environment

As the ice cap of the Arctic diminishes due to global warming, the polar sailing route will be open larger parts of the year. These changes are likely to increase the pollution load on the pristine Arctic due to large vessel traffic from specific contaminant groups, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A well-documented baseline for PAH concentrations in the biota in the remote regions of the Nordic Seas and the sub-Arctic is currently limited, but will be vital in order to assess future changes in PAH contamination in the region. Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) were collected from remote sites in Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway and Sweden as well as from urban sites in the same countries for comparison. Cod (Gadus morhua) was caught north of Iceland and along the Norwegian coast. Sixteen priority PAH congeners and the inorganic trace elements arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead were analysed in the blue mussel samples as well as PAH metabolites in cod bile. Σ16PAHs ranged from 28ng/g dry weight (d.w.) (Álftafjörður, NW Iceland) to 480ng/g d.w. (Ísafjörður, NW Iceland). Mussel samples from Mjóifjörður, East Iceland and Maarmorilik, West Greenland, contained elevated levels of Σ16PAHs, 370 and 280ng/g d.w., respectively. Levels of inorganic trace elements varied with highest levels of arsenic in mussels from Ísafjörður, Iceland (79ng/g d.w.), cadmium in mussels from Mjóifjörður, Iceland (4.3ng/g d.w.), mercury in mussels from Sørenfjorden, Norway (0.23ng/g d.w.) and lead in mussels from Maarmorilik, Greenland (21ng/g d.w.). 1-OH-pyrene was only found above limits of quantification (0.5ng/mL) in samples from the Norwegian coast, ranging between 44 and 140ng/ml bile. Generally, PAH levels were low in mussels from the remote sites investigated in the study, which indicates limited current effect on the environment.

Del Golfo de Corinto al cabo Cefirio: el viaje de los locrios y la fundación de Locris Epicefiria

Although since the Bronze Age we have the evidence that the Aegean and the Mediterranean where crossed by Greek and Aegean people establishing different sailing routes, it will be during the Archaic Greek period that an intensification of the movements of Greeks towards the West in connection with trade and the foundation of colonies will take place. The objective of this paper is to reconstruct the Locrians’ journey towards the south of Italy to found a colony, Epizephyrian Locris and to find out the possible routes that they could had followed considering that in addition to coastal navigation they practiced the open-sea navigation with the aid of the latitude-sealing techniques and the stars observation.

Norðvegr – Norway: From Sailing Route to Kingdom

Along the West-Scandinavian coast, agrarian settlements, which are found along fjords and in valleys, are separated from each other and from the lands to the east by high mountains. Thus, seafaring was the main mode of communication from the Stone Age onwards. Unlike the coasts of Britain, Ireland and continental Europe, this 1000 km long coastline is littered with thousands of islands, islets and reefs, which create a protected coastal sailing route – the Norðvegr – from which the kingdom took its name. The author discusses this sailing-route's significance for the creation of the kingdom as well as for the Viking incursions in Britain, Ireland and the Continent c. 790–1050.

Sailing Path Optimization Analysis with Uncertain Sea Conditions along Upwind-downwind Triangle Course

How to select an optimal sailing route with uncertain sea state information is a key to win. In this paper, firstly the roles of sea environmental parameters for sailboat sailing are analyzed based on hydromechanics principles. And then two-dimension sailing environmental model is set up for upwinddownwind triangle course based on course setting requests. And then the optimal sailing route is planned based on leg division and heading decision fuzzy comprehensive evaluation. Finally, considering the standard of sea conditions required in yachting area, simulations and data analysis indicate the effect of uncertain sea conditions in yachting arena on racing path optimization. The results will guide athletes and instructors to train scientifically.