The article presents the analysis of simulation research results of the newly designed ferry ‘Piast’ entering the modernized Ystad Port. The ship simulation model has also been described. After real time simulations the Monte Carlo method of underkeel water supply evaluation has been applied to assess the probability of ferry’s collision with the bottom. The results may be used in risk assessment of ships entering ports

Abstract Efficiency and safety of maritime navigation depends very much on weather conditions. Since, in majority of cases, severe weather conditions are related with atmospheric fronts, it is crucial for meteorological support to provide a profound analysis and precise forecast of atmospheric fronts development and dissipation areas. The paper presents a method of determining the areas of frontogenetic and frontolytic zones worked out with the use of the results of research concerning the frontogenesis and frontolysis processes. The method is based on extensive analysis of the values of the frontogenetic function and the Q-vectors’ divergence

The paper describes the present state of the regulations concerning ship stability and it has been concluded that stability criteria including design requirements are insufficient for assuring safety. The main cause of the majority of stability casualties (about 80%) are operational factors that are related to human factor. The author suggests applying a risk analysis adopting a holistic approach to stability safety as an alternative of the future stability requirements currently under development. This approach fits into the concept of goaloriented approach to safety that is now recommended by the Marine Safety Committee. The author discusses also how human errors could be dealt with in risk analysis and he provides an example of risk contribution tree based on a casualty recor

The paper presents the problem of the wind influence on a ship during the turning manoeuvre and the influence on this manoeuvre. Attention has been paid to the necessity of attaching larger attention to the influence of the wind during the turning manoeuvre. The analysis of the wind influence on this manoeuvre has been conducte

The article presents multi-component composite model of the sea surface which generalizes the standard twoscale model (small-scale gravity-capillary waves lying on the large-scale gravity waves). The suggested model considers the non-resonant backscatter from large-scale breaking gravity waves and resonant backscatter from the steep wavelets of meso-scale spectrum (meso-waves). The multi-component composite model differs from the standard two-scale composite model in that it involves the non-resonant components against the background of “macro-breaking” large-scale waves, or in the form of “micro-breaking” steep mesowaves. The main goal of this paper is to stimulate further analysis of the angular, frequency and polarization characteristics of the resonant and non-resonant backscatter mechanisms in order to distinguish between them

Navigation in restricted basins is connected with evaluation of vessel’s safety level, especially during anticollision manoeuvres. The paper presents the factors, which have influence on anticollision manoeuvres in restricted area. The results of the researches concerning overtaking manoeuvres carried out on reduction models for a VLCC ship are presented as well

The method of manual and automatic definition of the compass error with the help of radar has been described. The article presents the mathematical description of accuracy of the offered methods and the ways of increasing the accuracy

The paper presents results of investigation concerning wind field over sea in the case of a limited network of direct meteorological measurements. Wind speed, direction and vertical profile are input data for numerical models of sea waves. The data are derived from measurement results made by means of meteorological radars with Doppler channel and acoustic systems. Wind field forecasts are presented as horizontal and vertical cross-section of the atmosphere obtained with the use of data from UMPL and COAMPS mesoscale models

The complexity of the navigation process and necessity of ensuring a possibly high level of safety, with continually growing vessel traffic intensity, ships’ tonnage and speeds developed at sea, call for research on navigational decision support systems. This article presents the assumptions and a model of such system design. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has been used for system modelling. The UML allows presenting the designed system from various perspectives in a manner easily perceived by its future users as well as its creators: analysts, designers and programmers. The developed model provides a basis for building a prototype of the designed system of navigational decision support on the sea going vessel

The problem of continuous position availability is one of the most important issues connected with human activity at sea. Because the availability of the electronic navigational systems can be limited in some cases (for example during military operations) we should consider additional methods of gathering information about ship's position. In this paper, one of these methods is presented, which is based on extraction of specific features from radar images – characteristic points of the coastline

Vessel stability in a harbour is perceived as a less important problem than stability at sea. Cargo operations are regarded as safe to vessel stability. However, analyses show that stability accidents at harbour can be as dangerous to a vessel and a crew as open-sea accidents. An analysis of the reasons of stability accidents during cargo operations is presented in this article, as well as an analysis of vessels stability safety during typical cargo operations carried out in harbours and in emergency cases

This paper presents the general outline of European Network for Maritime Surveillance (ENMS). Establishing such a network constitutes one of the main tasks of the Integrated Maritime Policy of the European Union, which is now being developed. The relations of that future network with the already existing Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Information System (VTMIS) of the European Union, as well as with the already developing Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) system and with the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS) have also been shown

Navigators’ support systems have been introduced on the sea going ships and in the vessel traffic centers. Those systems had been until recently used for manually performed tasks like: equiring, monitoring, information reception etc. Nowadays, supporting systems may concern much wider areas, especially areas in which knowledge about work, behaviour, regulations etc. is required. An example of such a system could be a prototype of navigational decision support system being built at the Maritime University of Szczecin. The article presents a definition of navigational knowledge, its representation and function in navigational decision support system

The article presents the guidelines of an internet based GMDSS course. It has been prepared by a group of experts from ten European countries, among others lecturers from the Maritime Academy of Szczecin. The project EGMDSS has been worked out within the framework of European Union Leonardo da Vinci Programme

The author presents his considerations on the role of a ship’s captain in a situation when the ship is under control of pirates and terrorists and negotiations are being conducted. The paper contains a suggestion of how the captain should behave while negotiating with hijackers