Application of Heading Determination Systems for Modern Harbor Piloting: "The Advantage of Portable Systems"

G. Gillow, D. English, T. Jacobsen, V. Schisler

Abstract:	Many Ports and Harbors around the world are experiencing tremendous growth and the number and size of ships is increasing dramatically. Large container terminals are being built leaving less water areas for maneuvering vessels (Figure 1). Tanker vessels are over 300,000 gross tons or more and container ships carry more than 8,000 Twenty-Foot-Equivalent (TEU) containers. Plans exist for container ships carrying more than 15,000 TEUs. Modern ships have sophisticated bridge electronic systems including radar, Global Positioning System (GPS), and other navigation tools. Harbor pilots, however, often cannot depend on the shipboard equipment. Older ships may have limited navigation equipment or the equipment may not be working properly. On-board systems may not be setup correctly or accurately calibrated. Technology varies widely among newer ships and a pilot may not have the time to learn how to use an on-board system. Consequently, harbor pilots around the world often carry on their own portable GPS units with electronic chart displays. ARINC Engineering Services, LLC and the Jacobsen Pilot Service, Inc. of Long Beach California have been jointly developing a sophisticated portable GPS unit for over four years. The highly accurate positioning and heading system is called PilotMate(r). Determination of a ship's position is based on Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) or Kinematic GPS (KGPS) technologies. Ship's heading is computed using ARINC's patented KGPS heading techniques based on measurements from two GPS antennas separated by as little as one meter. The system achieves a position accuracy of better than three meters (utilizing DGPS positioning) and a heading accuracy of better than one-half of one degree. This allows for accurate presentation of the position and orientation of a vessel, regardless of whether it is moving forward, astern, sideways, or is dead in the water. Many harbor pilots have reached the conclusion that systems like PilotMate will be of increasing importance as navigation and maneuvering tools for many years to come.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 16th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS/GNSS 2003) September 9 - 12, 2003 Oregon Convention Center Portland, OR
Pages:	67 - 74
Cite this article:	Gillow, G., English, D., Jacobsen, T., Schisler, V., "Application of Heading Determination Systems for Modern Harbor Piloting: "The Advantage of Portable Systems"," Proceedings of the 16th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS/GNSS 2003), Portland, OR, September 2003, pp. 67-74.
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