Can't see the sea for all the digitalization? Situational awareness in the digital navigation era

by Hari Sundar Mahadevan, Research Scientist, Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services CML

Digitalization and automation are revolutionizing the maritime industry. Technologies used in the industry are constantly improving and evolving to optimize efficiency, safety, and sustainability. Shipping operators and navigators worldwide are increasingly embracing and relying on sophisticated digital systems like the Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). While these technologies offer various advantages - such as real-time data integration, improved data management, and automated updates of navigational charts - adopting new tech solutions brings forth a myriad of challenges, which can paradoxically compromise safety if not managed properly.

With approximately 90% of global trade being conducted via sea routes, the maritime industry's technological evolution directly impacts international shipping efficiency and safety, reports OECD. Advanced navigation systems significantly enhance operational capabilities. However, their complexity, huge amounts of data, and non-intuitive user interfaces can overwhelm operators in stressful scenarios. This creates a disconnect between available information and effective decision-making, increasing the risk of out-of-loop syndrome.

In the domain of maritime safety, recent studies indicate an inverse relationship between system complexity and situational awareness, a concerning trend for an industry where navigational errors can have severe environmental and economic consequences. This has inspired the study and development of innovative training and assessment approaches that specifically address the unique challenges faced by navigators in the digital age. By helping them become better familiarized with the system, situational awareness improves.

Fragmented attention & impeded understanding

Situational awareness - the ability to perceive environmental elements, comprehend their meaning, and project their status into the near future - forms the foundation of safe maritime operations.

This cognitive process occurs across three critical levels. First, perception: gathering sensory data to form a mental image of surroundings, particularly challenging in frequently poor visibility conditions. Second, comprehension: integrating this data with theoretical knowledge to assess the situation's significance, essential when navigating complex waterways. Third, projection: anticipating future developments based on current understanding, crucial when operating in high-traffic shipping lanes.

While driving around on a cycle, we must be aware of our environment, like traffic signals, nearby vehicles, pedestrians, and road conditions, to navigate safely. We process all the visual and auditory cues from the environment, like the color of the traffic signal or the sound of a moving vehicle to evaluate our next move, which could be going straight ahead, changing speed, braking, or manoeuvring around an obstacle to move safely and efficiently. Similarly, navigators must also be continuously aware of their surroundings - just that the scale, speed, environmental variables, navigation systems, decision making and communication are far more intricate and complex.

For navigators working with ECDIS, maintaining situational awareness presents unique challenges. The system's layered information, customizable settings, and manufacturer-specific interfaces can fragment attention and impede comprehensive understanding. This fragmentation is particularly problematic in situations where a rapid response is required.

The SA Tool

To address these challenges, a specialized Situational Awareness Assessment Tool (SA Tool) has been developed, with applications for enhancing maritime safety globally. The tool employs the Situational Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT), specifically adapting it to maritime navigation scenarios. SAGAT uses the freeze frame probe technique to compute the situational awareness (SA) rating.

Here, the manoeuvring task being performed by the participant on the ship simulator is frozen at random intervals, and questions pertaining to the situation are presented to the assessee. The assessee must respond within a fixed duration. The responses are recorded for evaluation and SA score calculation. This technique is applied multiple times for each assessee across different scenarios and questions. The random freeze frame timing makes SAGAT one of the SA assessment techniques with the highest correlation to real performance due to its higher validity and statistical stability.

This approach allows for objective measurement of situational awareness across various ECDIS interfaces and operational scenarios that mirror real-world navigational challenges.

The SA Tool comprises several integrated components. The Tracker Application facilitates communication between the simulator and assessment tools, ensuring accurate tracking of the vessel's position and performance metrics. The User Map Interface visualizes situational awareness questions directly on the electronic nautical charts, providing a geographical context that is especially valuable when training for navigation in complex waterways. The Simulation Control Tool streamlines the management of simulation scenarios by automating processes such as starting, stopping, and freezing the simulation based on participant selections; it assigns predefined scenarios, determines the timing of freeze intervals, and loads scenarios into the ship handling simulator for evaluation. The Question Control Tool manages the dynamic presentation of questionnaires based on scenarios and individual participant experiences.

It presents questions after each freeze, requiring participants to rely on their recollection. A unique challenge for this tool is accurately calculating the answer options for each participant based on their individual navigation experiences. The tool evaluates answers for adherence to COLREGs and collects data for further processing, including participants' confidence levels for each question.

How design affects decision-making

Experimental validation of the SA Tool involved 60 participants working across three different ECDIS systems, with 20 participants assigned to each. All navigators completed predetermined scenarios while responding to situational awareness questions during freeze intervals.

The results revealed significant differences in situational awareness scores between the three ECDIS systems, highlighting how interface design directly impacts navigational decision-making. This finding has relevance for shipping companies and training institutions as they select and implement navigation systems.

Participant feedback indicated a strong acceptance of the assessment methodology, suggesting potential for wider implementation across maritime training programs. Comparative analysis across different ECDIS systems provides valuable guidance for shipping operators making technology investment decisions.

Enhance versus compromise

The integration of digital tools in maritime operations is increasing, creating both opportunities and challenges for maintaining situational awareness. The SA Tool represents an important step toward ensuring that technological advancement enhances rather than diminishes safety margins.

Future developments may include incorporating machine learning techniques to refine assessment methodologies and create more personalized training experiences. This approach would be particularly valuable in international shipping, where navigational conditions vary dramatically by region, season, and vessel type.

Ongoing collaboration between technology developers, maritime educators, and operational personnel will be essential to evolving both the assessment tools and the navigation systems themselves. By prioritizing situational awareness in system design and training protocols, the maritime community can leverage digital transformation to enhance rather than compromise safety.

For the international shipping industry, with its environmental responsibilities and economic significance, these developments represent a crucial investment in sustainable shipping practices and global prosperity.

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About the author: I completed my M.Sc. in Information and Communication Systems from the Technical University of Hamburg, specializing in communication networks, digital communication, and IT-security. As a Research Associate at Fraunhofer CML in the Sea Traffic and Nautical Solutions department, I focus on developing situational awareness assessment tools to enhance safer maritime operations. I oversee largescale simulation networks and enable real-time data transmission between ships and shore-based systems. Additionally, I design back-end architecture for shore-based systems to improve functionality and efficiency.