A study of the expert system for comprehensive evaluation of navigation environment in narrow channels

The sea provides an important route in Japan. Marine transportation is very important since the country imports a lot of materials from foreign countries by vessels and many basic industries are located in coastal zones. Moreover, marine leisure activities and fishery are gaining popularity among Japanese. Especially in Tokyo Bay, Ise Bay and Seto inland sea, the marine traffic is very congested. Since these are located near big cities and industrial zones, there are many vessels in the narrow channels of these three sea areas. The number of shipwrecks (due, for example, to collisions and running aground) in these areas is very large, accounting for around 30 percent of total shipwrecks in Japan. Therefore, it is essential that navigation safety programs are implemented effectively in these areas. Hence, it is the objective of this paper to evaluate the navigation environment comprehensively in order to determine the important factors, formulate goals and programs to achieve these goals. Since there are many factors to be considered in the navigation environment, espertise is needed to evaluate the environment comprehensively. Thus, this paper studies the expert system for comprehensive evaluation of navigation environment in narrow channels. [In Japanese.]