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e-Navigation is a concept being developed under the auspices of the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) to bring about increased safety and security in commercial shipping through better organisation of data on ships and onshore, and better data exchange and communication between the two. The IHO is involved in the development of the e-Navigation concept to ensure that any underpinning hydrographic standards, products or services are in place from the beginning. In the paper the Author, a member of the IMO Expert Group on e-Navigation established in 2006, presents recent issues about e-Navigation concept, the common maritime data structure.

In May 2010 the International Maritime Organization approved 17 AIS Application-Specific Messages (ASM) for international use. To facilitate and speed up the process of taking them into operational use, VTT together with the Baltic Sea Action Group and IBM, set up a project with the aim of implementing software to be used on board ships providing a User interface for utilising a subset of the new messages. To achieve the objectives, the software should be available free of charge and easy to take into use. Thus, development of the software called AIS+ started from existing Open Source software to which a user interface for ASMs was implemented. Preliminary versions were installed on trial ships and the implementation was continued based on user feedback. Connecting a PC with dedicated software to the AIS transponder proved to be a practical solution to enhance AIS messaging. Some user feedback has been obtained, and more extensive testing periods are planned, but the implementation of the full set of messages is pending on funding decisions.

In May 2010 the International Maritime Organization approved 17 AIS Application-Specific Messages (ASM) for international use. To facilitate and speed up the process of taking them into operational use, VTT together with the Baltic Sea Action Group and IBM, set up a project with the aim of implementing software to be used on board ships providing a User interface for utilising a subset of the new messages. To achieve the objectives, the software should be available free of charge and easy to take into use. Thus, development of the software called AIS+ started from existing Open Source software to which a user interface for ASMs was implemented. Preliminary versions were installed on trial ships and the implementation was continued based on user feedback. Connecting a PC with dedicated software to the AIS transponder proved to be a practical solution to enhance AIS messaging. Some user feedback has been obtained, and more extensive testing periods are planned, but the implementation of the full set of messages is pending on funding decisions.

Maritime traffic is becoming more complex every day. At present, due to technological advances and to new maritime regulations, there is increasing demand for new nautical marine instruments to be installed into the bridge, and the breadth of navigational information complicates on-duty officers' decisions. Therefore, if decision support tools can be used to help deal with navigational decision-making, human errors arising from subjective judgments can be reduced, and sea transport safety improved. This research uses the concept of e-navigation as a framework, positioning collision avoidance path planning as the main theme, and applies an Ant Colony Algorithm (ACA) in the field of artificial intelligence to construct a collision avoidance model that imitates optimization behaviors in real-life applications. This model combines navigational practices, a maritime laws/regulations knowledge base and real-time navigation information from the AIS to plan a safe and economical collision avoidance path. Through using such planning, recommendations can be made for collision avoidance and return to course. Lastly, a Geographic Information System (GIS) was used as the platform for a navigation decision support system, combining related navigation information, collision avoidance models and electronic charts. This is a source of reference for VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) operators and on-duty officers to assess collisions in territorial waters, achieving objectives such as warning and pre-collision preparations.

The implementation in maritime radio-communication of so called “One window concept” for exchange of information between a ship and a port and coastal state authorities requires designation of one contact point on shore for these purposes, e.g. harbour master or ships’ monitoring or traffic control centre. In Poland, as contact points regional and local centres of the Polish National Maritime Safety System will be designated. Paper describes the proposal for system of data exchange between a ship and a shore contact point, containing definition, functions and architecture of proposed system, possible directions of information flow and levels of access, fulfilling requirements of this concept and recommendation for e-navigation system developed on the basis of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) working papers.

e-Navigation is an IMO (International Maritime Organization) initiative defined as “the harmonised collection, integration, exchange, presentation and analysis of maritime information onboard and ashore by electronic means to enhance berth to berth navigation and related services, for safety and security at sea and protection of the marine environment”. In the paper the Author tries to discuss a telematic approach to e-Navigation architecture and stress that for enhancement of safety, security and environmental protection, the decision makers must be supported not only by the technology, but also in a significant way with effective procedures and training.

Together with the IMO's future navigation system implementation strategy, the e-navigation, wireless access technologies are proliferating on the maritime scenario, covering last mile communications. In the near future, we foresee that communication technologies will coexist and will be available in overlapping areas through the maritime last mile. Therefore, in order to enhace ship-shore communications, always-best-connected procedures and an efficient mobility management protocol is required to satisfy maritime context peculiarities such as safety and security. In this article we analyze the most suitable mobility management protocol in terms of security and handover efficiency and propose a novel architecture that integrates the HIP protocol and always-best-connected procedures to best achieve maritime context specifications.

The MSC (Maritime Safety Committee) at its eighty-first session agreed to add a high priority item on the Development of an e-Navigation strategy to the work programme of Safety of Navigation (NAV) and Radiocommunications, Search and Rescue (COMSAR) Sub-Committees. As outlined in the document MSC 81/23/10 which proposes the development of an e-Navigation strategy, it is envisaged that a data communication network will be one of the most important parts of the e-Navigation strategy plan. In order to realize efficient and effective process of data communication for e-Navigation system, existing GMDSS equipment, as well as new radio communication systems could be utilized.

The objective of this paper is to highlight the needs for improved access to high quality maritime data and information in the Arctic, and the need to develop maritime communication infrastructure with at least the same quality, in terms of availability and integrity, as in other more centralized areas. The foreseen Arctic ice meltdown is expected to provide new maritime transport corridors within relatively short time, and there is an urgent need to prepare for this, to ensure safe operations at sea and to protect the vulnerable Arctic environment. This paper points out some of these needs by presenting a case from a former accident in the Arctic sea. The case shows how the lack of proper information and data complicates the emergency operation. Some possible solutions to the challenges are proposed, and finally the paper briefly discusses the IMO e-Navigation concept in light of the Arctic challenges.

Implementation of the Marine Electronic Highway (MEH) project in Straits of Malacca and Singapore will complement the efforts taken by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore as littoral states in enhancing safety of navigation and the prevention and control of marine pollution in the Straits. The Project Steering Committee meetings of the MEH indicate that, the progress in the implementation of its activities is in the midst of many challenging conditions. The efforts is a testament that the littoral states are working together to ensure the implementation of this project is running smoothly since the donor agencies, user States and the maritime industry have great expectations on its success. The MEH project consists of four important components such as Hydrographic Survey and Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) production, Environment Marine Information Overlays, Baseline Survey and Information Technology Structure. This paper will address the current status of the implementation of the four key components highlighting the development of ENCs as a vital tool to sustain the safety of navigation along the straits. The discussion in this paper is based on some preliminary survey findings and from reports of the Project Steering Committee meetings.

The main objectives of the MarCom project (‘Maritime Communications broadband at sea’) are to investigate the main user needs and communication technologies requirements to accommodate those needs within the maritime community. The project will carry out several pilots to demonstrate the usability of terrestrial wireless technologies in combination with, and in some areas instead of satellite communication (SatCom). The major benefit to the maritime users are expected to be reduced costs, increased bandwidth, Quality-of-Service (QoS) and improved communication security and versatility. The MarCom approach is characterized by combining thorough investigations of present and future user needs through nine scenarios/user cases along with identification of cost-effective communication platforms to match the application requirements being obtained. The MarCom investigations have revealed the bandwidth needs for a set of application groups, and identified the data integrity requirements for each group. Furthermore this paper is addressing the MarCom work with the IMO/IALA e-Navigation strategic initiative in establishing the bandwidth requirements to obtain the major objectives of the e-Navigation concept.

As a result of the high quality of positioning and timing service, satellite navigation becomes the primary means of navigation for most of civil applications, worldwide. The trend of integrating satellite navigation with other technologies to obtain very precise and reliable position and time information is highly promoted by the development of the future European satellite navigation system Galileo and the modernization of GPS. In the future a large variety of safety-critical maritime applications will depend on this infrastructure. This paper presents the DLR activities for the development of a maritime ground based augmentation system (GBAS). GBAS in general are focused on users who need assurance of high precise positioning service performance (decimetre) in real-time. In the maritime sector, due to IMO requirements, these are applications as: automated docking, dredging, hydrographical surveying, cargo handling, etc… The paper starts with a brief overview of the ALEGRO project, the frame of this research and development activity. The project has been initiated in 2006 by DLR under the support of the Government of the German Federal State Mecklenburg Western Pomerania and aims for the further development of state-of-the-art real-time kinematic (RTK) technologies towards a maritime GBAS, taking into account the services of the future Galileo. Subsequently, the paper describes the hard- and software architecture of the ALEGRO environment in Rostock, currently consisting of a single Monitoring and Control Station embedded in a data and processing network named EVnet. The description includes details about the service that can be provided to the user of the Test Environment within the vicinity of the port of Rostock. The final section of this paper shows the recent results of the validation activities carried out at the port of Rostock and the results of the algorithm development. The validation activities performed within the project were followed by extensive analysis of the data to identify and evaluate signal disturbances in the port surrounding. These activities have been the base for the design and validation of algorithms for the detection of environmental and atmospheric propagation effects. As discussed in the paper, such effects - decreasing the signal quality and availability - with a strong impact on position and integrity can be a critical issue for the operation and the use of a continuous reliable GBAS service.

To be connected to the global system, and fulfill the obligations to the maritime society, a four-year (2005-2008) project was initiated to establish a National Hydrographic Service which supports e-navigation in Taiwan waters. This paper reports on the design and implementation of the infrastructure to provide and support such service, and how the information and communication technology, especially the web technology, has been applied to facilitate the collaborative workflow for the establishment and maintenance of the Electronic Navigational Chart database and related nautical information services.

Since the earliest sailing exploits, the safety of navigation has been conditioned by the availability and reliability of adequate shipboard navigation aids. Surely, the success of such exploits also depended on officers’ competence for using these aids in an adequate manner. Through the centuries, there were no significant changes in the technical performance of basic navigation aids or in their usage, and therefore there was no need for additional education of navigation officers. However, a rapid technological development in many areas of human activities has brought about significant changes in the last several decades. Maritime transport of goods is an important part of the total transport of goods in the world, the result of which is a rapid development and the use of state-of-the-art technologies in the design and building of ships of different sizes and for different purposes. Such dynamics of the use of new technologies in the maritime transport has not followed the dynamics of the development of modern navigation systems. For that reason, even today a great number of ships are fitted with navigation equipment whose safety level is lower than that of the modern navigation systems used in other kinds of transport. Having recognized such situation in the last few years, competent international organisations, first of all the International Maritime Organisation and the International Hydrographic Organisation, have made special efforts to introduce state-of-the-art navigation equipment in the maritime transport. Adopting of technical standards for different navigation systems and rules for their implementation in national maritime regulations oblige ships to use more sophisticated navigation systems. One of the most important immediate navigation aids are certainly nautical charts and handbooks, which are used in the planning of navigation and during navigation. The traditional paper chart, with slight modifications, was the principal and reliable navigation aid for centuries. The use of new digital information technologies has allowed the development of reliable systems for a different display and an advanced use of the contents of nautical charts and publications. In December last year the International Maritime Organisation (Maritime Safety Committee) laid down the requirement for High Speed Craft to be fitted with Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) on a mandatory basis, with an implementation date of 1 July 2008 for the newly built craft and 1 July 2010 for the existing craft. Consideration of a mandatory ECDIS for other classes of ships has also been submitted for a regular procedure, but the implementation date will depend on the availability of electronic navigational charts (ENC). In the procedure of adopting ECDIS as mandatory navigational equipment, its contribution was recognized not only towards enhancing safety of navigation but also in a larger sense, in the concept of e-navigation. The contribution to the safety of navigation is determined by high-quality ENCs with global coverage and availability. Standardized ECDIS equipment has been available to its end users for some time now. However, navigational areas worldwide are still inadequately covered by high-quality official ENCs. This fact imposes great responsibility and commitment upon national hydrographic offices to produce reliable ENCs for their areas of responsibility by the implementation date for a mandatory ECDIS. Considering high technological and organizational requirements, such commitment shall pose a great challenge for many hydrographic offices. This paper examines the existing regulations and provides guidelines for hydrographic offices on meeting the requirements for official ENCs resulting from the use ECDIS on ships. In a broader sense, it emphasizes the importance of ENCs within ECDIS as a central component of the concept of e-navigation.

Maritime transport and traffic is following the growing slope of trade exchanges between continents and nations. Maritime risks and economic constraints increase at the same speed, together with international competition. This context may be the best asset to join private interests of companies with general concerns of maritime regions for safer seas. The real challenge is to converge rapidly towards standard packages of e-services playing on their economical added value to induce safer attitudes in maritime transport. The position paper demonstrates that most components of a global e-transport and e-navigation service do exist, or could be developed; more, the costs of these technologies could largely be decreased if open, standard, solutions were used instead of proprietary, disparate, "maritime specific" instrumentation. Maritime ITS (MITS) may be our chance to transform the myth of safer seas in reality if we manage to crystallize, from now, the user demand for universal, low cost, transport and navigation aid services with nations will to decrease maritime risks under all their forms. This goal requires accelerating international cooperation works for avoiding invasion of disparate, proprietary, mono task solutions, on and offshore.

This paper reports preliminary findings on a simulator study looking for unintended consequences of letting ships exchange routs by use of the Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). In a prototype system tested ship's intended routes are visible to other ships, and the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) has the ability to send suggested routes to addressed ships. Preliminary findings show positive response from professional participants in the study although some concerns were also raised.

In the era of e-Navigation, it is important to deliver maritime traffic information from a shore based station to all navigating vessels. However, in a vessel boarding system, there is a limit to the amount of raw traffic data that can be processed. In this paper, we used the Automatic Identification System (AIS) data as metadata to build up the maritime traffic gridded database by projecting traffic data on a geographic coordinate system. In order to apply this database to the image layer for transferring to the ship efficiently, we have developed a maritime traffic display layer and route traffic information layer. All simulated data was collected and analyzed with the AIS in a Vessel Traffic Service(VTS) center.