INDISPENSABLE COMPONENTS OF A PRACTICAL COLLISION-FREE SYSTEM

On vessels where the basic decision-making rests in the hands of the man on the bridge, the following controllable elements are not only necessary to marine safety, but are also sufficient to assure it, provided full advantage is taken of the range of control actually at the disposal of the system engineer: 1. A set of agreed upon conventions governing vessel behavior in the various environments it encounters e.g., rules of the road. 2. A radar of sufficient sensitivity and accuracy that would detect and locate, during periods of reduced visibility, moving and stationary objects of concern situated above the surface of the water (and similarly with sonar for submerged objects). 3. A means of communication between ship bridges (B2B) to exchange intentions and information, in conjunction with communications conventions elaborated to the degree necessary to optimize the exchange. 4. A means of radar identification that will relate the originator of the B2B message to the specific blip on the radar screen of the vessel receiving it. 5. Mechanical and electronic aids, where necessary, to assist in proper interpretations of the incoming data and the decision-making consequent thereupon. 6. Sufficient reliability of the equipment to gain the confidence of those making the decisions. 7. Sufficient training and backup of the decision-makers.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Presented at the April 24-26th 1972 New Orleans RTCM Assembly Meeting. Volume 1-Papers AA and A thru F-Marine Traffic Systems, Volume 2-Papers G thru L-Safe Ship Operations, Volume 3-Papers M thru Q-Maritime Satellite Systems, Volume 4-Papers R thru Z-Trends in Maritime Communications. SOLD ONLY AS A COMPLETE FOUR VOLUME SET $10.00 PER SET.
• Corporate Authors:

  Radio Technical Commission for Marine Services

  P.O. Box 19087
  Washington, DC  United States  20036
• Authors:
  • Hurwitz, I
• Publication Date: 1972-4-24

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridges (Ships); Communication; Communication systems; Crash avoidance systems; Navigation radar; Radar beacons; Radar beacons; Radio; Very high frequency
• Old TRIS Terms: Bridge to bridge communications; Vhf communications
• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00033708
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Radio Technical Commission for Marine Services
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 15 1973 12:00AM