Shipborne AIS provides independent traffic information to the bridge lookout on duty. This study examines the effect of AIS enhanced bridge lookout operation by means of a ship simulator. The two groups of participants, all qualified British deep sea deck officers, undertook identical simulation scenarios, but one group had the AIS on and the other did not. Significant differences were found between the two groups in reading the targets' privileged status and handling the head-on situation. Those with AIS information were found to avoid possible collisions faster than the group for whom AIS information was not available.1. AIS. 2. Radar. 3. Collision Avoidance. 4. Simulation. I N T R O D U C T I O N. The aim of a shipborne Automatic IdentificationSystem (AIS) is to help identify vessels, assist in target tracking, simplify information exchange and provide additional information to assist with situation awareness (IMO 2002). IMO Resolution A917 (22), describes AIS as a potential aid in collision avoidance and also highlights the use of AIS as an additional navigation system that supports (but does not replace) the existing navigational system. AIS provides an independent platform of traffic information that is able to enhance and support ship's radar in collision avoidance manoeuvring. Depending upon the system's specifications, near real-time Rate of Turn (ROT) and engine-speed may also be available, while voyage information and navigational status can be obtained via the AIS network.The consensus among users is that AIS has not reached system maturity in terms of the degree of system integration and data display. This study aims to examine the effect on end users operating AIS on the bridge. To examine the effect, a simulator experiment was undertaken, based on a merged AIS bridge operation with correct information displayed throughout the exercise. The focus was on the function of AIS in providing additional information to bridge operations during ship manoeuvring, with the effects of operating AIS measured by means of variable analysis.

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Marine traffic engineering has been pushed to the limits due to a rising demand in the shipping business. Merchant ships are growing dramatically, both in numbers and in size. To keep pace with current developments, automation seems to be one viable option when it comes to keeping ships running with fewer seafarers available. The aim of this paper is to monitor a modern day mariners' performance while working in a tense situation. The objective is to define the size of the safety domain whilst overtaking a vessel. The approach was to assess the ship's domain area within a 3 nm wide traffic separation scheme by using a ship handling simulator. From the simulation results, an overtaking domain was determined as 1.36nm long and 0.4nm wide. Safety domains in real-life situations were experienced on a much smaller scale compared to the previous findings. The working load for this particular operation is expected to be stressful and highly skilled orientated.