Maritime traffic has always played an important economic, strategic and transportation role for a maritime country. Small vessels, considering total maritime traffic in the Adriatic Sea, play an important role, although their numbers are often not considered as a potential security risk. Although small vessel accidents do not have damage potential as the large ones, they still need to be regarded as a significant risk to safety of navigation. The first part of this paper shows, thru analysis of SAR action statistical data, that the total number of all accidents is dominated by accidents involving small vessels. A particular problem in the maritime traffic monitoring is the fact that small vessels, because of their characteristics, have a reduced detection probability by modern monitoring technologies and as such can be used as a non-traditional security threat. With development of electronic and information technologies, sensor systems, remote sensing and detection systems, as well as global satellite systems, and the introduction of a legal requirement of AIS on board ships, maritime traffic control has become easier, more organized and more reliable. Although application of these technologies has brought some progress in maritime traffic monitoring, small and fast vessels that are not equipped with AIS system can still be relatively unnoticed in all increasing maritime traffic. For this reason, a solution is perceived in the integration of radar, satellite and electro-optical technologies. The conclusion of this study represents one maritime traffic monitoring possibility that could be a step towards increasing the detection probability of small vessels.
Extracting Maritime Traffic Networks from AIS Data Using Evolutionary Algorithm