The OCEAN project (the Operator-Centred Enhancement of Awareness in Navigation), funded by the European Union and UKRI with the aim of improving the navigational safety of vessels, reports that it is entering its final phase as it moves towards the close of its three-year duration.
The project comprises members from Norway, Greece, Spain, Denmark, Portugal, Ireland and the UK, and aims to take a holistic approach to navigational safety that encompasses training, the usability of technology, processes and procedures, human centred design and commercial pressures.
The consortium hopes to identify factors that can influence outcomes but also shed light on actions that can be practically implemented to improve navigational and situational awareness. It also seeks to address issues that go beyond collisions and grounding of vessels and investigate and research ways to ways to mitigate whale strikes and track lost and floating containers.
A key element of the OCEAN project’s work is the development of the European Navigational Hazard Infrastructure (EHNI), which brings together hazard data from all streams into a single entity to facilitate easier access to information for navigators.
The project has developed an app, currently in beta testing, which will allow all seafarers to add sightings of whales or containers into a database. This will allow hazard information to be shared throughout the maritime community at close to real-time.
The group says it is also open to exchanging data with similar initiatives to further enhance navigational safety.
