An Integrated Maneuverability–Based Ship Domain at Close Quarters

An integrated ship domain at close quarters is proposed based on the mutual interaction and maneuvering capabilities of the meeting ships. Firstly, the significance and conditions of mutual interaction and maneuvering capabilities of the ships in the process of avoiding collision are clarified. Secondly, by combining the main particulars and maneuvering characteristics of the encounter ships, an identical ship domain is formed. To determine the radius of the ship domain, the universal advance and tactical diameters of the ships are derived from a great deal of collected turning circle maneuver data from around the world. Following this approach, the integrated ship domain defines a sufficient safe area when ships are meeting at close quarters. Finally, a simulation study is carried out and further illustrates that the integrated ship domain can address the inconsistent assessment problem of collision risk between the encounter ships with different principal specifics, and the proposed domain is simple and applicable to almost all ships.