Tag: e-navigation

The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has announced its intention to develop options for the withdrawal from global paper chart production by late 2026 to increase focus on its digital navigation products and services.  

Gregor Stevens, Master Mariner, Senior Marine Advisor, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), mentions that one of the key root causes of navigation failure is a lack of situational awareness; reliance on electronic navigation aids is not enough and only if combined with proper look-out, crew members onboard can achieve full appraisal of the situation.

Although bringing up some important gains for shipping, the slow regulatory framework and the costs associated with the development of technology will not allow autonomous ships to mature and be integrated in maritime operations in the next 10 years, speakers agreed during the virtual 2022 SMART4SEA Forum in February.

UK Maritime issued the fifth version of its Code of Practice for the Maritime Autonomous Ship Systems (MASS) suggesting nine principles for responsible and ethical behaviour in relation to the design, manufacture, distribution, operation, maintenance and final disposal of these systems.

During the past decade, a large body of research has accumulated with respect to autonomous ship concepts, and, more recently, several full-scale trials have been undertaken. Research on this topic has reached a level of maturity where their technical feasibility has been proven with available technologies on, for example, autonomous navigation.

Coast Guard has a variety of drones at its disposal, both cutter-based and on land, while their use keeps increasing due to severe weather events.

During another SMART4SEA Talk held by SAFETY4SEA back in June 2021, industry experts from ORCA AI shed light on the issue of shaping safer navigation with the help of artificial Intelligence, while discussed the opportunities that such AI-based navigation presents for collision avoidance.

On 9 March 2021, Singapore ratified the Convention on the International Organization for Marine Aids to Navigation. In fact, Singapore is the first country to do so shortly after it signed the Convention on 1 March 2021.

Port of Antwerp is about to lauch a new shipping guidance system, named as "Vessel Traffic Services" (VTS) in an effort to boost safety and smooth vessel traffic at the port.

In today’s smart environment, e-navigation remains a controversial subject of discussion, with some supporting that its aim is to assist operations, while others believe that seafarers may find it difficult to trust an autonomous system.