Maritime Training
Why Looking Out the Bridge Window
Still Matters “Any Automatic Identification System (AIS) is perfectly capable of lying to you, and to others”
O
by Matthew Bonvento, Assistant Professor of Nautical Science and a Licensed Deck Officer and Emil Muccin, Associate Professor of Nautical Science and a Licensed Deck Officer*
ver the last 25 years, a number of studies have reported maritime bridge distractions as having a substantial impact on vessel safety. Also playing a large role are failures to follow bridge rules and misinterpretations of those rules. Additionally, many Deck officers may not fully understand the meaning of basic collision regulations (COLREGS) resulting in decision making delays that can have serious consequences. Older mariners now nearing retirement are not as reliant on electronic equipment including ECDIS and AIS; they are accustomed to looking out the bridge window.
identifying targets, then using the radar. Younger mariners are more conversant with the full array of electronic equipment, without realizing the accompanying risks of paying less attention to looking out the window to properly asses situations. The number of ship and shore based technologies that impact and support mariners’ situational awareness and decision making has proliferated and now includes: Automatic Identification System (AIS) (transmits dynamic position and movement data, voyage related facts and static information on VHF channels), Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS), Integrated Bridge Systems/Integrated Navigation
Systems (IBS/INS), Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA), Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) systems, Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) and Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS). These all produce data and supply information that affect situational awareness and decision-making. Applications of AIS are expanding daily, for examplie in Virtual Aids to Navigation (Virtual ATON’s), or “virtual” buoys and in messaging services that allow Port Authorities to easily communicate to vessels in range, as a backup, weather and navigational hazard information. It is worth noting that any Automatic Identification System (AIS) is perfectly
* This article is based on a White Paper by the authors entitled Maritime Bridge Distractions. To request a full copy, contact goodwindmaritime@gmail.com. 22 Marine Log // February 2019