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A method for estimating the number of collision candidates in two waterways – for all intersection angles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2022

Fujio Kaneko*
Affiliation:
Department of Marine Risk Assessment, National Maritime Research Institute (NMRI), National Institute of Maritime and Aviation Technology, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan
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Abstract

Estimating the collision frequency of ships (F) is important for assessing collision risk on waterways. To date, F has been estimated as the product of the number of collision candidates $({N_{a }})$ and the causation probability $({P_c})$: $F = {N_{a}} \cdot {P_c}$, where ${N_{a }}$ represents the number of collisions that occur when related ships continue on course with no intervention, and ${P_c}$ is the probability that collision avoidance fails. Fujii developed a general method and Pedersen formulated it to estimate ${N_{a }}$ in an intersectional area. Their method is generally called ‘the geometric method’ because collision candidates are estimated only from the geometric relationship between two ships. The method has been used in many projects to estimate F in waterways; however, its use should be limited to intersection angles ranging from 10° to 170°. This paper presents a method, statistically verified by computer simulation, that can be used at all intersection angles to overcome this limitation. Moreover, it demonstrates strong agreement with Pedersen's method at intersection angles of 10° to 170°.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Royal Institute of Navigation
Figure 0

Figure 1. Fujii's method for counting the number of ships potentially colliding with Ship_1

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Figure 2. Definition of the intersection area of two waterways (Pedersen, 1995)

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Figure 3. Representation made by COWI (2008) of collision between a Ship_1 and Ship_2 using a space fixed coordinate system

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Figure 4. The hatched area is where Ship_2 in the hatched area will collide with a Ship_1 at the center of the circular area (Kaneko, 2002)

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Figure 5. Collision situation in case of rectangular ships

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Figure 6. Collision area (CA)

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Figure 7. Collision segment (CS)

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Figure 8. Simplification of CA

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Figure 9. Relation between CS and CA in Case 1

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Figure 10. Relation between CS and CA in Case 2

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Figure 11. Coordinate system and related variables in Case 1

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Figure 12. Coordinate system and related variables in Case 2

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Table 1. Simulation conditions

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Figure 13. Collision simulation results (Velocity is constant)

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Figure 14. Collision simulation results (with velocity distribution, standard deviation = 2 m/sec)

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Figure 15. Comparison of the number of collision candidates estimated by the methods of Pedersen and of Kaneko