MANOEUVRABILITY-BASED CRITICAL TIME FOR PREVENTING CLOSE-QUARTERS SITUATIONS

Abstract

This paper deals with the COLREGS-complaint actions and the critical time for preventing close-quarters situations, from the viewpoint of a stand-on vessel. A model based on the dynamic game of complete information (DGCI) is formulated for three collision situations, and the COLREGS-complaint actions are obtained. The critical time is then composed by the alteration time and the physical time delay. The alteration time is determined by using analytic geometry with relative motion. Considering manoeuvrability of the vessels, an equation to estimate the physical time delay is derived from the MSC.137(76) Standards for Ship Manoeuvrability. Then, the critical time can be determined by correcting the physical time delay. Finally, three real cases are analysed to validate the proposed results and demonstrate that they can provide criteria to ensure navigation safety for practical applications.