Digital systems on the ocean

The open sea may seem an odd place to find some of the world's most sophisticated technology

, at least outside of the armed forces.

Yet a whole range of complex systems can be found on any large ship database systems for cargo tracking, GPS navigation, radar detection, radio communications; the modern oceangoing vessel relies upon digital tools almost as much as seafaring expertise. These tools are, perhaps, not necessarily essential to shipping. However it's inarguable that they make it much more efficient, much safer and much, much more profitable.

Computer systems on large boats or ships fall into several broad categories depending on their purpose:

Navigation

The days when ships navigated by compass, wind and sail are long, long gone. With the introduction of powered engine systems the need to follow favourable winds almost entirely disappeared from the business side of the nautical world. To a lesser extent, the practice of navigating by longitude and longitude whether by line-of-sight or celestial navigation is also being replaced by electronic systems.

There are several different types of electronic navigation systems today. The three most common are radio navigation, radar navigation and satellite navigation. The latter is by far the most advanced and useful system, though it remains a relatively new development in the world of navigation. Global Positioning Systems triangulate signals from different satellites in near-Earth orbit to pinpoint the exact location of a vessel anywhere at any time. This has obvious benefits but it also brings the ability to track speed and heading from a perspective beyond the vessel for more accurate estimates of arrival time. More recently, the technology has been integrated with AIS tracking systems to provide a real-time map of the movements and details of other vessels.

Communications

The main method of communication for maritime operations is still radio. Yet increasingly radio systems are being used to broadcast analogue signals that are meaningless to a human listener but contain valuable binary data for ship-side computer systems. Technically, this is a feature that falls more into other categories than strict communication but it is an important step in developing integrated and interoperable collision detection or distress systems.

Cargo management

Given the sheer scale of most cargo operations, the seemingly mundane systems of databases, tracking devices and electronic manifolds are actually among the most vital computer systems on board the majority of freight ships. Today's container ships can carry around 15,000 containers each measuring 20X8X8.5 feet. The size and weight mean that all loading and unloading must be done by crane and the sheer volume of containers, many of which contain different cargos and are intended for different destinations means that keeping track of the cargo is generally beyond even a team of dedicated individuals. For the most part, containers are completely identical no matter what they're currently used for. By electronically tracking each item loaded on to a ship and logging its movements in an onboard database, stewards can efficiently move and locate huge amounts of cargo as a matter of course.

Digital systems on the ocean

By: Lewis Grundon

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