Smart Charts, Smart Bridge: Observations of the Shipboard Piloting Expert System

Safe navigation in restricted waters continues to be a perennial concern for ship owners, operators, navigators, and citizens. Much research has been conducted in order to determine the most efficient and effective methods for improving the safety of navigation and for training ships' officers and pilots ([1-11]. The impetus for much of this research stems from reports that a majority of maritime collisions, ramming, and groundings occur in harbour or harbour approach waters, and that approximately 80% of these accidents are due to human error [12]. Consequently, over the past decade, there has been increasing interest in decision aids designed to allow humans to perform well in stressful and information overload situation [13], particularly during ship transits in restricted waters [10,14].