A Prototype of Ship Routing Decision Support System for an Operational Oceanographic Service

A prototype for an operational ship routing Decision Support System using time‐dependent meteo‐oceanographic fields is presented. The control variable is ship course, which is modified using a directional resolution of less than 27 degrees. The shortest path is recovered using a modified Dijkstra’s algorithm. Safety restrictions for avoiding surfriding and parametric rolling according to the guidelines of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are implemented. Numerical experiments tailored on a mediumsize vessel are presented and perspectives of development of the system are outlined.