Ship voyage plan coordination in the MONALISA project: user tests of a prototype ship traffic management system

Paper in proceeding, 2014

EU has promised to reduce emissions by 80 % by 2050. For the shipping industry “slow steaming” for just-in-time arrival promises reductions of emissions. But a rapid increase in the construction of offshore wind farms planned in the North Sea may lead to ships facing a very complex and safety critical traffic environment in the future. Both of these issues bring ship traffic management to attention. In the Baltic Sea, the EU project MONALISA has been looking at a voyage plan coordination system where a Ship Traffic Coordination Centre (STCC) handles a specific area, e.g. the Baltic Sea. A prototype system was developed and tested in a full mission bridge simulator environment for some simple scenarios. Qualitative data was collected; the main aim was to test mariners’ acceptance of such a system. The participants were in general positive to the tested system; younger somewhat more than older. Some concern was expressed over risks of de-skilling and a common concern was the importance of that the final control of the vessel should rest with the captain onboard.