CASE STUDY: MARITIME TRANSPORT - Marine Technology

FP6UK
Sustainable Surface Transport
CASE STUDY: MARITIME TRANSPORT
SEA-AHED (Simulation environment and advisory system for on-board
help, and estimation of manoeuvering performance during design)
SEA-AHED is a 39 month FP5 project, launched in January 2001, with a total cost of €3.4 m and an EC grant of
over €1.7 m.
Project Description
Large ships have a very great inertia and he time they take to respond to a manoeuvring action (rudder angle,
thruster power, rpm, etc.) is a frustratingly long one. Furthermore, during all that intervening time ships are
affected in very complex ways by large numbers of external factors (wind speed & direction, prevailing currents,
etc.). The art of manoeuvring a ship, particularly in restricted waters is thus a very difficult one involving as it
does the mental ability of predicting accurately in real-time the motion of a very large vessel subject to external
actions. Though errors can be potentially devastating (particularly with passenger ships), once a course of
action has been committed to, very little can be done to change it even if the pilot realises (too late) that he has
made a mistake.
Safety of both the passengers and the ship makes
it essential that the pilot be given the best possible
information regarding the consequences of his
manoeuvring actions; it also demands that he be
automatically alerted with all speed in case of
looming hazards.
Market research of commercially available
systems demonstrated that nothing would provide
the accuracy required (10m to 20m). This project
proposed to producing a system that could more
accurately predict the course of cruise ships than
any current commercial product, by considering
the non-linear and time-varying manoeuvring
characteristics of the vessel, taking account of
wind speed, wind direction, water depth, currents,
actual rudder angles, demanded rudder angles,
thruster performances, etc. Current state-of-the-art
systems generally rely on constant rate models
that do not provide the accuracy necessary for
safe operation. The system will exploit very recent
advances in aerospace and robotics applications
using a technique called the Julier-Ulhmann filter.
It is claimed by the consortium that, for the non-linear models under consideration, this far outperforms the
industry standard extended Kalman Filter, as the manoeuvring characteristics of vessels are automatically
updated.
SEA-AHED has three principal objectives:
• Creation of systems that will enable shipyards and shipowners to assess the manoeuvring characteristics of
vessels at an early stage of design,
• Development of a navigational aid displaying in real-time the vessels current position together with future
predicted or simulated positions and capable of advising the pilot of potential hazards.
• Development of a manoeuvring training aid that will allow crews to replay previous manoeuvres and
demonstrate the effects of alternate actions on the basis of real environmental information.
OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY

Participants
The project is co-ordinated by British Maritime Technology Ltd (BMT) and organised as follows:
Participant Business activity Role in project
BMT, UK Software Developer Prediction & Training Software
Development
Atlas Marine Elektronik,
Germany
Maritime Equipment Manufacturer
and Supplier
Interface development
Cetena, Italy Software Development Enhanced Ship Design Tool
Development
Fincanteiri, Italy Ship Builder End-user of Enhanced Ship Design Tool
P&O Cruises, UK Cruise Ship Operator End-user of Navigation Aid & Training
System
Warsaw University of
Technology
Education/Research/Consulting Prediction Software Development
Enhanced Ship Model
Commercial benefits
Super-cruisers are capable of carrying 4000 plus people. A collision has the potential to produce unprecedented
carnage. The SEA-AHED tools will have the ability to significantly reduce the risk of this happening and will
contribute directly to safety through on-board training, providing a situational awareness, and even predicting
the behaviour of the vessel in situations where some machinery fails.
A demand for at least 2 more vessels by the end-user participants is forecast which would secure approximately
2300 more jobs. The system developers expect in excess of a 300% return in research investment in the 5
years following the completion of the project. This will result from direct sales to similar organisations to the enduser
partners. Cruise ship operators can expect a reduction of approximately €5m per ship in terms of repair
costs over a five year period. Shipbuilders can
expect €0.3m per vessel in direct benefits
through increased efficiency in the design
process, and increased profit due to the ordering
of more vessels (approximately €25m per
vessel) due to increased demand for a product
which can better match a customer’s needs.
The possibilities opened up by research on the
SEA-AHED project may be extended to bulk
carriers, tankers, container ships, Ro-Ros and
fast ferries, by lending itself towards the
development of intelligent cruise control, and
automatic docking for these large vessels. Other
possibilities for future research include prediction
and obstacle avoidance for commercial fixed
wing aircraft, intelligent cruise control for cars,
and automated underwater vehicles.
For further details on SEA-AHED contact: Rory Doyle, British Maritime Technology; 1 Waldegrave Rd.
Teddington, TW11 8LZ; Tel: 020 8943 5544; e-mail:roryd@bmtech.co.uk
For further information on opportunities for maritime and waterborne transport technologies in FP6, contact:
Cliff Funnell – UK FP6 Sustainable Surface Transport (Maritime) NCP
Tel: 01243 552921
e-mail: cfa@marinetechnology.co.uk
Web: http://fp6uk.ost.gov.uk or http://www.marinetechnology.co.uk