A Study on the Development of the Collision Prevention System for Aids to Navigation by Early Identification of the Tug Boat

Aid to navigation is a navigational aid facility that informs a sailing vessel of its location and direction as well as a location of a specific obstacle by means of a light, shape, color, sound, radio wave, etc. It can be valuable in improving the safety of day and night vessel navigation at sea. For the safety of the tug boat, the minimum equipment requirements for each type of tug boat are arranged. Despite these preparations, the collision accidents between tug boats, barges, and light buoys can occur when the tug boat turns due to the length of the tow-line, tidal current, and the barge’s momentum etc. The purpose of this study was to propose the basic system that analyzes the physical relationship between two vessels regarding the tug boat-barge-light buoy dynamics and propagate the corresponding data through the aid to navigation management & operation systems in use at each regional oceans and fisheries.