Bathymetric Survey of the St. Anthony Channel (Croatia) Using Multibeam Echosounders (MBES)—A New Methodological Semi-Automatic Approach of Point Cloud Post-Processing

Multibeam echosounders (MBES) have become a valuable tool for underwater floor mapping. However, MBES data are often loaded with different measurement errors. This study presents a new user-friendly and methodological semi-automatic approach of point cloud post-processing error removal. The St. Anthony Channel (Croatia) was selected as the research area because it is regarded as one of the most demanding sea or river passages in the world and it is protected as a significant landscape by the Šibenik-Knin County. The two main objectives of this study, conducted within the Interreg Italy–Croatia PEPSEA project, were to: (a) propose a methodological framework that would enable the easier and user-friendly identification and removal of the errors in MBES data; (b) create a high-resolution integral model (MBES and UAV data) of the St. Anthony Channel for maritime safety and tourism promotion purposes. A hydrographic survey of the channel was carried out using WASSP S3 MBES while UAV photogrammetry was performed using Matrice 210 RTK V2. The proposed semi-automatic post-processing of the MBES acquired point cloud was completed in the Open Source CloudCompare software following five steps in which various point filtering methods were used. The reduction percentage in points after the denoising process was 14.11%. Our results provided: (a) a new user-friendly methodological framework for MBES point filtering; (b) a detailed bathymetric map of the St. Anthony Channel with a spatial resolution of 50 cm; and (c) the first integral (MBES and UAV) high-resolution model of the St. Anthony Channel. The generated models can primarily be used for maritime safety and tourism promotion purposes. In future research, ground-truthing methods (e.g., ROVs) will be used to validate the generated models.

Multi-Task Deep Learning Model with an Attention Mechanism for Ship Accident Sentence Prediction

The number of ship accidents occurring in the Korean ocean has been steadily increasing year by year. The Korea Maritime Safety Tribunal (KMST) has published verdicts to ensure that the relevant personnel can share judgment on these accidents. As of 2020, there have been 3156 ship accidents; thus, it is difficult for the relevant personnel to study these various accidents by only reading the verdicts. Therefore, in this study, we propose a multi-task deep learning model with an attention mechanism for predicting the sentencing of ship accidents. The tasks are accident types, applied articles, and the sentencing of ship accidents. The proposed model was tested under verdicts published by the KMST between 2010 and 2019. Through experiments, we show that the proposed model can improve the performance of sentence prediction and can assist the relevant personnel to study these accidents.

Coastal HF radars in the Mediterranean: Applications in support of science priorities and societal needs

The Mediterranean Sea is a prominent climate change hot spot, being their socio-economically vital coastal areas the most vulnerable targets for maritime safety, diverse met-ocean hazards and marine pollution. Providing an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution at wide coastal areas, High-frequency radars (HFRs) have been steadily gaining recognition as an effective land-based remote sensing technology for a continuous monitoring of the surface circulation, increasingly waves and occasionally winds. HFR measurements have boosted the thorough scientific knowledge of coastal processes, also fostering a broad range of applications, which has promoted their integration in the Coastal Ocean Observing Systems worldwide, with more than half of the European sites located in the Mediterranean coastal areas. In this work, we present a review of existing HFR data multidisciplinary science-based applications in the Mediterranean Sea, primarily focused on meeting end-users and science-driven requirements, addressing regional challenges in three main topics: i) maritime safety; ii) extreme hazards; iii) environmental transport process. Additionally, the HFR observing and monitoring regional capabilities in the Mediterranean region required to underpin the underlying science and the further development of applications are also analyzed. The outcome of this assessment has allowed us to finally provide a set of recommendations for the future improvement prospects to maximize the contribution in extending the science-based HFR products into societal relevant downstream services to support the blue growth in the Mediterranean coastal areas, helping to meet the UN’s Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the EU’s Green Deal goals.

THE ASSESSMENT OF MARITIME SAFETY IN THE TURKISH STRAITS BASED ON THE PERFORMANCE OF FLAG STATES IN PORT STATE CONTROL REGIMES

The Turkish Straits are well known for theirs intensive maritime traffic. The average annual number of transit ships passing through this waterway is approximately 50000 and more than 100 flag states pass through it. Moreover, this waterway presents a navigational challenge owing to its inherent geographic and oceanographic characteristics. Also, sub-standard ships navigating in this region lead to an increased risk levels and pose a threat to the marine environment. Over the years, serious maritime accidents occurring in the straits region had resulted in losses of life and constituted environmental disasters. The high risk arising from maritime shipping in these regions had always endangered public health in the vicinity of the Turkish Straits. In this study, maritime safety in the Turkish Straits region had been assessed based on the performance in the Port State Control inspections of flag states passing through this region. For the assessment of the performance of passing flag states, detention and deficiency indices of these flag states were generated for the MOUs. According to these values, the risk level of these flag states had been determined by the weighted risk point methods. Hereby, in addition to the determination of the risk level of flag states, the relationships between the inspections of MOUs had been also discussed on the basis of both the detention and the deficiency rates of flag states.

NATURE AND ORIGIN OF MAJOR SECURITY CONCERNS AND POTENTIAL THREATS TO THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY

During the last decades, maritime security has always stood as a separate critical problem for both shipowners and crews of sea-going ships, characterized by alternating periods of relative stability and periods of occurrence and growth of new threats, which proceeded from times of sailing fleet to an epoch of iron steam shipbuilding. Certainly, it is difficult to overestimate the significant role of the scientific community, which has been researching this problem for a long time, studying its scientific and practical sides. The professional experience of seafarers in sufficient measure, served as a basis of interest to this question, has led to the development of strategies and complex measures, which until now provided safety for ships and their crewmembers. Without recent advances in maritime security, shipping as an industry would not be able to reach the current level of reliability in shipping processes. Each generation of humanity has prioritized maritime security, contributing to improving its standards and stressing the importance of continuous development of the theoretical base. At least 23 million tons of cargo and 55,000 passengers move daily by water transport, so the concept of maritime safety applies not only to the safety of life at sea, ship and cargo security but also to the prevention of maritime accidents and pollution. The increasing share of sea and river transport in the international cargo and passenger turnover leads to the need to increase demands on maritime safety and security.

ACTUAL PROBLEMS OF MARITIME SAFETY AND MODERN WAYS OF ENSURING THE SHIP SECURITY

Maritime security in recent decades has always been a separate issue, one that has been acute for both shipowners and crews of seagoing vessels. It has been marked by periods of relative stability and periods of emerging and growing threats, from the days of the sailing fleet to the era of ironclad steam shipbuilding. Certainly, it is difficult to overestimate the significant role of the scientific community, which has long investigated this problem, revealing its theoretical and practical sides. The professional experience of maritime industry specialists has also sufficiently served to ensure that systematic interest in the issue has provided the basis for the development of strategies and integrated approaches that ensure the safety of vessels and crews at modern levels. Without the latest advances in maritime safety, shipping, as an industry, would not be able to achieve the current level of reliability in ensuring shipboard processes. Every generation of mankind has prioritized maritime safety, contributing to improving its standards and stressing the importance of continuous development of the theoretical framework. At least more than twenty million tons of cargo and more than five hundred thousand passengers move daily by water transport, so the concept of maritime safety extends not only to the safety of life at sea, the safety of vessels and the safety of cargo, but also to the prevention of maritime accidents and pollution. The increasing share of maritime and river transport in international freight and passenger traffic has led to the need for increased maritime safety requirements due to the technical upgrading of maritime transport. This process is based on the principles of current control over the process of vessel operation and prompt acquisition of necessary data and relevant information during the voyage, anticipated route and control over the state of work parameters of technical means of the vessel, but the key aspect of safety is assessment of existing threats and development of ways and methods of ensuring vessel safety.