Numerous safety criteria for evaluating the safety of ship-ship encounters exists. However, the majority of those are subjective, neither they account for the dynamics of the ships in the seaway nor the geometry of the encounter. In this project we attempt to fill this gap by developing a concept of collision avoidance dynamic domain method suitable for ship-based and shore-based use accounting for the ship dynamics in ship-to-ship encounters. Additionally, the concept is turned into a mathematical model determining the safety domain for a safety-critical ship type such as RoRo-passenger ships. The model is further implemented into collision avoidance system.

To develop the concept and model various methods are used. First the experts’ knowledge is elicited in the course of peer-to-peer interviews and questionnaires among senior officers participating in the training courses at maritime universities involved in the project.

Second, the encounter simulator is developed and 6 degree of freedom ship motion model is employed along with the computational fluid dynamics tool. Third, the dynamic domain is implemented into the collision avoidance algorithms and tools that are already used onboard ships across the world. Fourth, the scientific grounds are provided for the transfer of the developed domain to the field of strategic risk assessment.

All these can be achieved in the consortium of partners representing various areas of expertise, ranging from officers training, research on risk and safety of maritime transport systems, product and services development related to the ship operational safety and strategic risk assessment. Thus the proposed consortium posses required skills and contacts among relevant stakeholders to make the project successful.
The potential beneficiaries of the projects are as follows: ship owners and ship operators, vessel traffic services, maritime authorities at national and international levels, maritime training centers.