Analysis of the reliability of data on the density of traffic of fishing vessels engaged in fishing with regard to the risk of damage to underwater cables

Accidental damage to underwater cables caused by ship traffic seems to be a current problem. According to the statistics more than 44 percent of such damage is caused by fishing vessels. The reason for the next 14 percent is damage from ships’ anchors. The construction of the underwater installation risk model was based on the determination of the density of the traffic in the area where the installation is located. There are several models used to assess the risk of underwater cable damage requiring the implementation of data on the density of traffic of fishing vessels. For this purpose, they usually use AIS (Automatic Identification System) data or statistical data on traffic density in the areas called fishing squares. The aim of this article was to compare traffic data that was based on two independent systems AIS and VMS (Vessel Monitoring System) and verify the reliability of them. The research was carried out in the area of the Slupsk Bank where an underwater cable has been damaged several times. The authors have demonstrated the need to verify the data from both systems in order to obtain reliable information about fishing vessels.

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Opracowanie rekordu w ramach umowy 509/P-DUN/2018 ze środków MNiSW przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę (2019).