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Automation is being accepted for control systems onboard ships in view of the shortage of skilled manpower in marine sector. Control theory has long been applied to maneuvering problems and at present this trend is continuing at an increased rate. This is for speed control, course control and path keeping. Heading control and course keeping are very important for surface ships while they enter shallow water regions. A typical situation is the entry of a large commercial ship into the harbour basin. The ship faces a sudden change of forces and moments around it due to the change in the hydrodynamics. The Master of the ship regulates the speed while entering the basin. Forces and moments, due to the hydrodynamic flow around the moving hull, are balanced by the rudder behind it. The feed back from the heading angle is taken and the gain in the control system prompts the steering gear to turn the rudder. The conventional control algorithm based on PID is attempted in the first part of the paper and case studies are shown for a Mariner class ship whose hydrodynamic derivatives are known. Displacement, velocities and accelerations are determined for short duration from the simulation of a voyage in calm water. The proposed system can be implemented into autopilot systems. The codes developed in MATLAB can accommodate wind and wave forces as well. The simulation is of a general type and can be used for other vessels with a change in the constants of P (Proportional), I (Integral) and D (Derivative) which can be arrived at by trial and error. The design of the control system depends on the choice of the three control constants Kp, Ki and Kd. These will change as per sea state and extra loads. The control of motions in shallow water and deep water cases are discussed in the paper. In the next part of the paper, fuzzy logic control is discussed. Fuzzy logic is applied to control the heading and bring the path of the vessel to the desired level. The models discussed are versatile because of the provision for add-on facility for wind, wave or any other environmental loads. The rudder turning rate is taken as that for commercial ships. In the near future, a combined control system for ship maneuvering can be possible by considering both the PID and Fuzzy based algorithm. The two algorithms with suitable modifications are useful for non-linear cases. It is also tried to compare the two methods and an attempt is made to find out which is better and acceptable. � 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.