A Novel Ship-Ship Distance Model in Restricted Channel via Gaussian-TRR Identification

Very large ships are crucial cargo ships that are relatively difficult to manoeuvre, and ship-ship distance is a vital manoeuvring parameter in restricted channel. To ensure ship safety and improve scheduling efficiency, this study established a ship-ship distance model in restricted channel by ship manoeuvring motion simulation, collision detection, and identification modelling. Firstly, the ship manoeuvring model calculated the forces and moments of ship-ship interaction and ship-bank interaction. Then, the collision detection was applied to calculate the intersection area of ship collision. Secondly, the discrete numerical simulation approach was employed with varying speed and distance, and the intersection area was counted. Finally, the 3D Gaussian models of encountering and overtaking were identified by the trust-region-reflective (TRR) algorithm, and ship-ship distance and prohibited zone were proposed. The results show that the minimum ship-ship distance for encountering and overtaking is 1.50 and 2.4 ship beam, respectively, which is consistent with Japan’s standard. The numerical results revealed that the prohibited zone is an elliptical shape. The ship-ship distance and prohibited zone serve as ship safety domain for collision avoidance during harbor approaching.