Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

Sandblasting and coating constitute a critical phase in ship manufacturing, a process currently predominantly reliant on manual labor. To enhance the efficiency and quality of the coating process for shipbuilding segments, to address the challenges shipbuilding companies face in labor recruitment and shortage, and to simultaneously elevate the level of intelligent manufacturing for ship segment coating, this research investigates equipment suitable for large-scale, non-structural surface coating in shipbuilding segments, considering the unique features of ship segments and the customary techniques employed by shipbuilding companies. The structure, size parameters, and principal components of the coating equipment are determined. Regular workspace with high performance is designated and the coating process is planned based on the working environment and the curvature characteristics of the surface to be coated. The results demonstrate that the proposed coating equipment improved efficiency by 300% compared to manual painting, providing a novel automated solution for the coating of ship segments. Full article

The China–Australia Route, which serves as the southern economic corridor of the ‘21st Century Maritime Silk Road’, bears great importance in safeguarding maritime transportation operations. This route plays a crucial role in ensuring the security and efficiency of such activities. To pre-assess the risks of this route, this paper presents a two-stage analytical framework that combines fault tree analysis and Bayesian network for evaluating the occurrence likelihood of risk of transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the China–Australia Route. In the first stage, our study involved the identification of 22 risk influencing factors drawn from a comprehensive review of pertinent literature and an in-depth analysis of accident reports. These identified factors were then utilized as basic events to construct a fault tree. Later, we applied an expert comprehensive evaluation method and fuzzy set theory, and by introducing voting mechanism into expert opinions, the prior probability of basic events was calculated. In the second stage, a fault tree was transformed into a Bayesian network, which overcame the deficiency that the structure and conditional probability table of the Bayesian network find difficult to determine. Consequently, the employment of the Bayesian network architecture was applied to forecast the likelihood of LNG maritime transport along the China–Australia shipping pathway. The probability importance and critical importance of each basic event was calculated through an importance analysis. The development of a risk matrix was achieved by considering the two primary dimensions of frequency and impact, which were subsequently utilized to categorize all relevant risk factors into high, moderate, or low risk categories. This allowed for effective risk mitigation and prevention strategies to be implemented. Finally, assuming that the final risk occurs, we calculated the posterior probability of the basic event to diagnose the risk. The research findings indicate that the primary reasons for the risk of transporting LNG on the China–Australia Route are the impact of natural forces and epidemics, piracy and terrorist attacks, and the risk of LNG explosions. In the final section, we provide suggestions and risk control measures based on the research results to reduce the occurrence of risks. Full article

The characteristics of local surface wind are closely related to the assessment of wind power resources and the oscillation period of offshore wind turbines. In this research, we analyzed near-surface wind observation data from the southern coast of Sri Lanka, comparing the surface wind variation characteristics across different seasons. Through spectral analysis, we discuss the wind stability and oscillation period, aiming to provide information for the management strategies and oscillation issues of offshore wind turbines in the North Equatorial Indian Ocean to ensure their stable operation. Our findings showed that the Indian summer monsoon dominated the seasonal surface wind variation in the southern coast of Sri Lanka. The local monsoon period began in mid-May and ended in mid-October, during which stable southwest winds prevailed with an average maximum 10 m wind speed exceeding 6.0 m/s. In contrast, surface wind was unstable and weaker during autumn and winter. The surface wind speed exhibited a clear diurnal oscillation throughout the year. The wind speed power spectral density exhibited clear peaks at periods of 24 h, 12 h, and 6 h. Full article

The utilization of unmanned systems has witnessed a steady surge in popularity owing to its tremendous potential for a wide range of applications. In particular, the coordination among multiple vehicle systems has been demonstrated to possess unparalleled efficacy in accomplishing intricate and diverse tasks. In light of this, the present paper delves into the coordinated path planning mission that is accomplished by collaborative efforts amongst multiple Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). First, considering the potential threats, arrival time windows, space, and physical constraints for the AUVs, a sophisticated coordinated path planning model is formulated in a 3D environment, serving as a systematic and structured blueprint for the underlying mechanism. Subsequently, the optimization problem is addressed through the incorporation of a restricted initialization scheme and a multi-objective clustering strategy in the proposed methodology. The resulting approach leads to the development of the Parallel Grey Wolf Optimizer (P-GWO) which exhibits strong global searching abilities and a rapid convergence rate, rendering it a dependable and effective solution. The results demonstrate a 10–15% improvement in convergence rate and a reduction of over 60% in the average cost value compared to reliable references, thus presenting an effective solution for underwater missions with specific requirements. Full article

As animals execute essential behaviors like foraging, they must orient with respect to the space around them, requiring some neural/behavioral mechanism for spatial navigation. One such navigation mechanism is path integration, whereby animals recall their starting point by creating a memory-stored home vector. In some animals, this is stored in an egocentric frame of reference; however, it remains unclear what comprises this in animals’ spatial memory. The fiddler crab Uca pugilator makes an excellent model to investigate the nature of the egocentric frame of reference because they appear to path integrate using self-motion cues to form an egocentric vector. We hypothesized that the home vector direction is governed by the optokinetic system, since the eye–body angle explicitly reflects the deviation of the body axis from home direction as optokinetic eye movements stabilize the eyes against body rotation. To test this hypothesis, we monitored eye and body movements during foraging excursions of crabs showing varying degrees of visual stabilization. We found that crabs with good eye stability had more accurate home vectors than those with poor eye stability, and the quantitative degree of stability accurately predicted the crabs’ perception of home direction. These results suggest that eye movement reflexes may establish the homing direction in path integrating fiddler crabs. Full article

In recent years, a steady increase in maritime business and annual container throughput has been recorded. To meet this growing demand, terminal operators worldwide are turning to automated container handling. For the automated operation of a crane, a reliable capture of the environment is required. In current state-of-the-art applications this is mostly achieved with light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors. These sensors enable precise three-dimensional sampling of the surroundings, even at great distances. However, the use of LiDAR sensors has a number of disadvantages, such as high acquisition costs and limited mounting positions. This raises the question of whether the LiDAR systems of automated container terminals (ACT) can be replaced with cameras. However, this transformation is not easy to accomplish and is explored in more depth in this paper. The field of camera-based container automation presented in this publication is largely unexplored. To the best of our knowledge, there is currently no automated container terminal in real-world operation that exclusively uses cameras. This publication aims to create a basis for further scientific research towards the goal of a fully camera-based container automation. Therefore, the authors present a narrative review providing a broad overview of the mentioned transformation, identifying research gaps, and suggesting areas for future research. In order to achieve this, this publication examines the fundamentals of an automated container terminal, the existing automation solutions and sensor technologies, as well as the opportunities and challenges of a transformation from LiDAR to camera. Full article

This paper mainly addresses the model-parameter-free prescribed time trajectory tracking control issue for under-actuated unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) that are susceptible to model uncertainties, time-varying disturbances, and saturation constraints. Firstly, a state extension based on coordinate transformation was designed to address the lack of control in the sway channel. Secondly, nonlinear behavior stemming from saturation constraints is not always differentiable. Regarding this, a smooth dead-zone-based model was conducted to fit the behavior, leaving a relatively simple actuator model. Then, an improved prescribed time–prescribed performance function (PTPPF) and error transformation method were utilized to propose a model-parameter-free control algorithm that guarantees user-defined constrained boundaries while ensuring all tracking errors converge within small domains before a preassigned settling time. The theoretical analysis was conducted by the initial value theorem, Lyapunov’s second method, and proof by contradiction, followed by comparative simulation results that verified the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. Full article

Air–sea interactions within the ocean’s near-surface layer play a pivotal role in climate regulation and are essential for understanding the dispersion of marine pollutants such as microplastics and oil slicks. Despite its significance, high-resolution data exploring the physical dynamics near the air–sea interface are noticeably sparse. To address this, we introduced a novel Lagrangian observational platform, outfitted with an upward-facing high-resolution ADCP, designed to measure current shear within the top 2 m of the surface water. Through two short field experiments, we identified enhanced currents and shear in the near-surface layer, and observed a negative vertical momentum flux aligned with the wind direction and a positive one orthogonal to it. The measurement suggest that Stokes drift contributes to 10% of horizontal mass transport and 20% of shear in the top surface layer, with the direct and local wind-driven current being the predominant influence. To accurately model the physical behavior of buoyant microplastics, this observation underscores the necessity of parameterizations that account for both the Stokes drift and the direct, local wind-driven current, a factor that is often overlooked in many models. Full article

The fatigue life of ship structures is typically based on deterministic methods in which underlying uncertainties are only implicitly taken into account and not explicitly reflected. Guidance for a probabilistic assessment is provided in class documents, but the methodology is too time consuming to apply in design practice. This paper proposes a novel approach based on DNV-CG-0129 to incorporate uncertainties and consequences explicitly. Using a probabilistic model, tailored deterministic FAT classes are derived to be applied in design practice. A tailored FAT class should be selected based on an acceptable probability of failure related to the severity of the consequences of a failure for the ship. Results show that tailored FAT classes are strongly dependent on the uncertainties provided as input when using the calculation method of DNV-CG-0129. This emphasizes the need for careful consideration and specification of the uncertainties. Furthermore, application of the First Order Reliability Method for a sensitivity study shows that the global model uncertainty is governing over other uncertainties considered in DNV-CG-0129. The proposed approach enables a low-effort and transparent probabilistic-based method, leading to optimized and improved designs due to reduction of overdimensioning in non-critical areas. Full article

In this study, the step vacuum preloading method was used to reinforce high clay content dredger fill in the laboratory. The pore structures and permeability characteristics of dredger fill under different vacuum pressures were tested. The correlation between the pore structure parameters and permeability coefficient was analyzed using the grey T’s correlation analysis method. The research results indicate that the pore ratio, large pore (the diameter with a range of 4–40 μm) content, and permeability coefficient of dredger fill decreased with the increase in vacuum pressures, but the decrease rates of the pore ratio were different at various sampling locations. The contents of micropores (the diameter with a range of <0.04 μm) and small pores (the diameter with a range of 0.04–0.4 μm) increased with the increase in vacuum pressure. The results of the correlation analysis showed that a large pore content had a strong correlation with the permeability coefficient and could be used to describe the permeability characteristics of soil. The research results can provide reference for the improvement of the reinforcement method and for the evaluation of the reinforcement effect of dredger fill in engineering practice. Full article

In marine ecological environment monitoring, the acquisition of node location information is crucial, and the absence of location information can render the collected data meaningless. Compared to the rest of the distance-based localization methods, the received signal strength (RSS)-based localization technique has gained significant interest due to its low cost and the absence of time synchronization. However, the acoustic signal propagates in the complex and changeable aqueous medium, and, in addition to the time-varying path loss factor (PLF), there is often a certain absorption loss, which seriously deteriorates the localization accuracy of the RSS-based technique. To address the above challenges, we propose a novel high-precision and high-robustness localization (NHHL) algorithm that introduces an estimation parameter to conjointly estimate the marine node location and the ambient PLF. Firstly, the original non-convex localization problem is converted into an alternating nonnegative constrained least squares (ANCLS) framework with the unknown PLF and absorption loss, and a two-step localization method based on the primitive dual interior point method and block co-ordinate update method is presented to find the optimal solution. In the first step, the penalty function is utilized to reformulate the localization problem and find an approximate solution. Nevertheless, due to inherent errors, it is unable to approximate the constraint boundary and the global optimum solution. Subsequently, in the second step, the original localization problem is further transformed into a generalized trust region sub-problem (GTRS) framework, and the approximate solution of the interior point method is utilized as the initial estimation, and then iteratively solved by block co-ordinate update to obtain the precise location and PLF conjointly. Furthermore, the closed-form expression of the Cramér–Rao lower bound (CRLB) for the case of the unknown path loss factor and absorption loss is derived to evaluate the our NHHL algorithm. Finally, the simulation results demonstrate the superiority of the presented NHHL algorithm compared with the selected benchmark methods in various marine simulation scenarios. Full article

The extreme sea conditions caused by typhoons pose a threat to the design safety of marine and coastal engineering structures. In the past, design wave height calculation models that only considered the frequency of typhoons ignored the influence of other hazard factors of typhoons, resulting in lower design standards. In this paper, typhoon frequency, intensity, and distance are selected, and dimensional influences of different factors are eliminated through standardization processing. Based on the correlation between different hazard factors, we have obtained a multi-dimensional discrete joint probability distribution of typhoon hazard factors and constructed a new design wave height that considers the comprehensive effects of typhoon frequency, intensity, and distance. Our results show that the design wave height values of the 50-year, 100-year, and 200-year events are 12.59%, 8.10%, and 3.14% higher than the Gumbel distribution, which is more in line with the distribution of the wave height of waves under severe typhoon conditions. The new model can fully reflect the impact of typhoons on wave height, which can provide a reference for the design safety of marine engineering in the South China Sea. Full article

The coast of Oman is undergoing huge coastal developments in order to realize Oman Vision 2040, covering all the strategic sectors. Historical data of coastal hydrodynamic parameters is scarce, even though its importance for properly designed coastal structures is recognized. In the present study, Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) were deployed at eleven locations along the coast of Oman. These locations were selected based on their strategic importance for the country. The duration of the deployments were between 60 and 265 days. The measured data of the waves and currents were collected and analyzed using equipment-specific software and Excel. The significant wave heights can reach 2 m along the whole coast of Oman. The southern coast is dominated by swells. The maximum to significant wave height ratio is approximately 1.5, which is less than the value of 2 obtained using the Rayleigh distribution. The coastal currents are stronger along the southern coast than those along the northern coast. The range of current magnitude is between 0.02 m/s and 0.8 m/s. This baseline study will help the public authorities in establishing permanent hydrodynamic measurement stations along the coast of Oman. Moreover, these measurements will serve the practicing engineers in designing coastal structures along the coast of Oman. Full article

In this study, we developed a transport model for typical pollutants in the Yellow Sea using the Lagrangian particle tracking method to analyze the trajectories of fish feed, a common pollutant in the Yellow Sea. The model incorporates the influence of ocean currents and surface winds on pollutant transport and utilizes a series of numerical experiments to simulate pollutant transport. Through statistical analysis of the numerical experiment results, we identified characteristic circles that represent the pollutant distribution patterns. Furthermore, based on the current and wind information within these characteristic circles, we derived an empirical formula to describe pollutant distribution. This formula enables us to predict the spatial distribution of pollutants using available current and wind data. Using this empirical formula, we designed an effective path to avoid pollutant contamination. This approach not only optimizes the utilization of computational resources within the study area but also contributes to the rational planning of navigation routes for aquaculture vessels. Overall, our study provides valuable insights into the transport behavior of fish feed pollutants in the Yellow Sea. The establishment of the empirical formula and the design of effective routes to avoid pollution contribute to the efficient management of pollution and facilitate the planning of marine activities in the region. Full article

Stromatolites, among the earliest fossils in Earth’s history, are widely distributed on the margins of the North China Precambrian carbonate platform. The formation processes of stromatolites reveal the biomineralization and evolution of early life in the Precambrian. The well-preserved stromatolitic dolostones recorded in the Ganjingzi Formation are developed around Yuanjiagou village, in southern Liaoning Province. The morphology of the Ganjingzi stromatolites manifests in stratiform, columnar, and domal forms. A tripartite lamina structure including light laminae and two types of dark laminae is observed in thin sections. The origins of dark laminae were related to microbial metabolism, while the light laminae were the result of the recrystallization of synsedimentary marine cement. Hardground substrate and carbonate fragments were suitable for microbes to colonize, suggesting that microbes can adapt to various current energy settings. A comparison of the growth environment, morphology, and laminae features between the Ganjingzi stromatolites and modern carbonate stromatolites from Hamelin Pool and Lagoa Vermelha suggest that the Ganjingzi stromatolites may have been formed in a restricted tidal-flat setting with high salinity and evaporation. The role of microbes that form modern stromatolites in inducing precipitation of carbonate or binding sediments, might contribute to the formation of the Ganjingzi stromatolites. The formation process of the Ganjingzi stromatolites indicates that the microbial communities, favorable substrate, and synsedimentary marine cement were the key factors in promoting the development of the Neoproterozoic stromatolites on the northeastern margin of the North China Craton. Full article

Water–air cross-domain vehicles (CDVs) are capable of both flight and underwater navigation, showing broad prospects in marine science, such as underwater observation, disaster response, and rescue operations. It is crucial to investigate the dynamic performance of CDVs hovering above water surfaces to enhance safety and stability. In this study, the performance of a CDV’s ducted propeller hovering at various heights above a water surface was analyzed via computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) and thrust tests. The results indicate that the air–water mixture formed by the wake of the propeller impacting the water surface is sucked in by the duct, causing the propeller to enter an unstable vortex ring state. At the same rotation speed in the air, the thrust of the propeller system decreases and the required power increases. With an increase in the height of the propeller above the water surface, the thrust and power return to normal. Furthermore, a numerical model was proposed to express the correlation among thrust, propeller rotation speed, and distance from the water surface. This study establishes a foundation for the dynamic modeling of CDVs and can be utilized by other related studies. Full article

A Lagrangian model which simulates the transport of radionuclides released from nuclear accidents in the western Mediterranean Sea was recently described. This model was developed in spherical coordinates and includes three-dimensional mixing due to turbulence, advection by currents, radioactive decay, and radionuclide exchanges between water and bed sediments. Water circulation was downloaded from the HYCOM global ocean model. Water–sediment interactions were described using a dynamic model based on kinetic transfer coefficients. Mixing, decay, and water–sediment interactions were solved using a stochastic method. Now, a dynamic biological uptake model consisting of four species (phytoplankton, zooplankton, non-piscivorous fish, and piscivorous fish) has been integrated within the transport model to be able to assess the effects of a potential accident in biota and fishery regions. The model has been set up for ${}^{137}$Cs and ${}^{90}$Sr due to the radiological relevance of these radionuclides. Several hypothetical accidents were simulated, resulting in ${}^{137}$Cs concentrations in biota significantly higher than background levels. In contrast, ${}^{90}$Sr accumulates in the food chain to a considerably weaker extent. Full article

In this paper, a numerical assessment of the effect of shallow water on the total resistance of the solar catamaran SolarCat is carried out using computational fluid dynamics within the software package STAR–CCM+. The unsteady viscous fluid flow was modelled based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations with the application of the $k-\omega$ SST ($k-\omega$ Shear Stress Transport) turbulence model. The RANS equations were discretized by the finite volume method, and the position of the free surface is determined by the volume of fluid method. In shallow water conditions, a mesh morphing algorithm is applied. Numerical simulations were carried out for the deep water and limited depths corresponding to $h/T=7.6$, $h/T=4$, and $h/T=2$ at two speeds. The verification study was carried out and the total numerical uncertainty was calculated for the total resistance and sinkage of the catamaran. A detailed analysis of the flow around the catamaran was carried out. Full article

Collision risk in ship pilotage process has complex characteristics that are dynamic, uncertain, and emergent. To reveal collision risk resonance during ship pilotage process, a hybrid probabilistic risk analysis approach is proposed, which integrates the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM), Dempster–Shafer (D–S) evidence theory, and Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. First, FRAM is used to qualitatively describe the coupling relationship and operation mechanism among the functions of the pilotage operation system. Then, the D–S evidence theory is used to determine the probability distribution of the function output in the specified pilotage scenario after quantitatively expressing the function variability, coupling effect, and the influence of operation conditions through rating scales. Finally, MC simulation is used to calculate the aggregated coupling variability between functions, and the critical couplings and risk resonance paths under different scenarios are identified by setting the threshold and confidence level. The results show that ship collision risk transmission is caused by function resonance in the pilotage system, and the function resonance paths vary with pilotage scenarios. The critical coupling ‘F2-F7(I)’ emerges as a consistent factor in both scenarios, emphasizing the significance of maintaining a proper lookout. The hybrid probabilistic risk analytical approach to ship pilotage risk resonance with FRAM can be a useful method for analysing the causative mechanism of ship operational risk. Full article