The Search for Navigation Requirements

W. Lloyd Fink, Franklin D. MacKenzie

Abstract:	National waterways are vital to U.S. commercial trade. The Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River System provides an inexpensive means of moving commerce within the U.S. and to and from foreign countries. The efficacious use of this waterway as an artery of commerce is essential to the continued economic health of the nation. A study of the navigation needs of the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River has identified the dependence on visual aids as an impediment to the efficient flow of marine commerce in the peak shipping seasons during periods of limited visibility, or when the visual aids are removed for the winter season. A MARAD/TSC team is seeking a supplemental navigation system for use on the constricted waterways which would have the potential to increase the efficiency and capacity of the marine traffic system to and from the ports on the Great Lakes. The first step in this search is the identification of the navigation requirements for a vessel moving on a waterway where the vessel's beam is half the width of the waterway. Over an eighteen month period the MARAD/TSC team interviewed pilots and masters, made on-site inspections of critical maneuvering areas and reviewed the current literature on navigation to develop the background for a definitive statement of navigation requirements. This paper summarizes the information gathered and recommends a technique for categorization of navigation sensor characteristics as well as activities to fill in areas where data on the requirements are missing.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1986) June 24 - 26, 1986 Seattle, Washington
Pages:	17 - 21
Cite this article:	Fink, W. Lloyd, MacKenzie, Franklin D., "The Search for Navigation Requirements," Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1986), Seattle, Washington, June 1986, pp. 17-21.
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