MARITIME FUTURE NAVIGATION NEEDS AND PLANS

Captain Nelson H. Keeler

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	How will the mariner navigate in the future? With the same basic elements as he does today. There still will be short- and long-range aids to navigation; technology will just change the way they are used. There will be less dependence on short-range aids due to the improvements and availability of the long-range aids; however, there always will be the need for the reinforcement received from visual aids. Radio beacon coverage will be limited to single line availability and used mainly for homing. Omega may be phased out as early as 2005 unless retained as a backup to satellite navigation. Loran-C will be around until 2015 and maybe longer. Transit will be phased out by 1996. When the Global Positioning System becomes operational, it could answer all the mariners’ navigating needs. The real determinant will be necessity and cost. There is an international sentiment to retain a terrestrial system to complement the emerging satellite systems. Vessel traffic services will remain as long as there is a mandate for safety and efficiency in hazardous areas. The prudent navigator will find his destination just as he has done since the beginning of time. The navigation systems of the future should make his job more of a science and less of an art.
Published in:	NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 34, Number 4
Pages:	290 - 296
Cite this article:	Keeler, Captain Nelson H., "MARITIME FUTURE NAVIGATION NEEDS AND PLANS", NAVIGATION: Journal of The Institute of Navigation, Vol. 34, No. 4, Winter 1987-1988, pp. 290-296.
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