An assessment of ship encounter situations based on predicted points of collision

A number of factors affect the safety of navigation, the collision of two ships being one of them. In ship encounter situations, certain principles of behaviour set forth by regulations are in force. Traditionally, a navigational situation is evaluated by identifying the closest point of approach for the passing ships and by comparing it with the assumed safe distance. Then it is necessary to use technical aids: radar and Arpa (depending on the regulations). In Arpa, navigational situation information is mainly presented in the form of vectors. The other presentation that can be used in an encounter situation is the predicted point of collision (PPC). This is the point or points toward which one’s own ship should steer at her present speed (assuming that the target does not manoeuvre) in order for a collision to occur. This paper presents original results of a study into the assessment of ship encounter situations based on PPC. The methods (analytical and graphical) of PPC as a set of circles are elaborated and an analysis of a ship encounter situation performed.