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ConceptThe Docking Monitoring System is a solution with technology developed in Brazil that has been contributing for safe berthing and unberthing operations of ships at ports and terminals. By transmitting information about the ship that is approaching or moving away from the quay or dolphins, the Pilot and the Master of this ship receive accurate and reliable information on her motion, height of the tide, current’s direction and speed at sensor’s location and the wind’s direction and speed.
The System Server uses the information received from the following sensors: Those informations are transmitted to a Central Processing Unit (CPU) in the Docking Monitoring System after processing. The VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) Operator - or another traffic monitoring system, where no VTS is available - then selects by her name which vessel has her data being displayed. The integration of the above mentioned technologies is an innovative aid to navigation. The purpose of IALA (International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities) is to ensure that seafarers are provided with effective and harmonised marine Aids to Navigation services worldwide to assist in safe navigation of shipping and environment protection. To achieve this aim the Association, along with other tasks, develops and publishes recommendations on technologies and practices that are intended to improve the services being provided, such as the provision of AIS facilities by shore authorities. The AIS is clearly a key technology for the IALA. The following documents are the basis to justify the widespread of this technology utilization, based on the VHF DSC maritime frequency and the Global Positioning System (GPS): Recommendations A-123 & A-124 on the provision of AIS shore base stations and the networking aspects relating to the AIS service. IALA NAVGUIDE, includes a section on the use of AIS as an Aid to Navigation (AtoN). Recommendation A-126 that defines the AIS as a system to aid the navigation and an important tool to support VTS operations and buoyage systems. |
EquipmentThe following equipments are components of the Docking Monitoring System: AIS Base Station Works connected to a DGNSS (DGPS) corrections receiver, with the functionality to broadcast the correction to all vessels equiped with an AIS. The information about the local correction arrives in the RTCM104 and it is broadcasted by the message 17, according the IALA and the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) requirements. Then all AIS devices within the AIS Base Station coverage area will use that information to broadcast their positions with improved accuracy. DGPS Receiver The differential corrections’s accuracy varies according to the receiver’s type, ranging from better than 5 metres (beacon) to submetric (satellite correction). The submetric type utilizes the signals generated and provided by specialized companies under a service signature agreement. Following the availability of new satellite positioning solutions, such as Galileo, WAAS, EGNOS, and others, there will be better access to submetric positioning accuracy. Tide Gauger A sensor that measures the water level below the transducers and transmits the data in the NMEA0183 format to the Server. These data are stored for the history report and to feed the Docking Monitoring System application in real time. Doppler Current Meter This sensor reads the current profile from the doppler effect of small particles in suspension in the water. Data are sent to the Server in the NMEA0183. The sensor application generates a 3D image of local current profile and it is capable of providing additional information on pressure, temperature, inclination and magnetic heading. These data are stored for the history report and to feed the Docking Monitoring System application in real time. Weather Station It has sensors for the wind direction and speed, environment temperature and atmospheric pressure, neither with moving parts. Data are sent to the Server in the NMEA0183 format. These data are stored for the history report and to feed the Docking Monitoring System application in real time. Diagram 
Course Over Ground (COG) This information is transmitted by the AIS of the vessel being monitored and means her motion relative to the sea floor - not the one relative to the water mass in which she is navigating. Considering the sea floor and the quay a unity that stands while everything else moves, COG value represents the vessel’s true motion relative to the quay and this direction can be measured in all angles. This is one of the main advantages of the Docking Monitoring System when compared to the laser based systems, which can only measure the component of vessel’s movement that is perpendicular to the berth. Fenders were designed to protect the quay from frontal (perpendicular) impacts. It means that when a vessel leans against the fenders by an angle greater than its operational limits, they are damaged. The ship’s ideal movement may not be attained by the use of port tugs. Countless accidents at several harbours are a proof of this. Amongst several system’s advantages, we strongly emphasize: Works at any visibility level; It is not affected by rain; It does not depend on the installation of equipments aboard; It is a redundant system for the vessel’s equipment.
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Docking System
