The Minimum Manoeuvering Range as a Criterion to Evaluate the Risk of Collision Between Ships

To evaluate the risk of collision between two ships in a hazardous encounter, it is necessary to establish a criterion which quantifies the danger for the involved ships.For this purpose the Minimum Maneuvering Range seems to be a suitable parameter. It describes the minimum distance from the other ship, which one ships needs to avoid a collision, when starting her evasive maneuver. To calculate the Minimum Maneuvering Range and the corresponding evasive maneuver the actual maneuverability of the own ship andpossible maneuvers of the other ship have to be taken into account. Two methods to solve this problem are considered.The results for several encounters of two ships with variable rudder application are computed. A simple and definite representation of the necessary maneuvering range and actions on the radar display is suggested.