For several decades, machinery spaces have benefitted from automation systems and ‘unattended machinery spaces’ designation, to allow machinery spaces to be unattended mostly during the ‘dark hours’ of the day. Automation systems monitor the technical operation to alert the engineer on duty, when necessary, to any issues needing attention. The set-up of unattended machinery spaces allowed the engineers to dedicate their working hours to the necessary maintenance during the daylight hours and maintain a more favourable and healthier daylight/nighttime sleeping pattern. The Alert JIP will use a similar principle to allow the navigation space to be unattended for periods of time while not jeopardizing the safe operation.

These periods will not require modifications of existing regulations as we will act in accordance with the IMO guidelines (MSC.1-Circ.1604 item 1.2.2). The guidelines state that trials (to evaluate alternative methods of performing specific functions or satisfying regulatory requirements prescribed by various IMO instruments) should be conducted in such a manner that they provide at least the same degree of safety, security, and protection of the environment as provided by those IMO instruments.

OBJECTIVE
The results of the Alert JIP will allow the project partners to establish an industry standard, which subsequently can be submitted as a well-thought-out update of the relevant regulations. At the same time, the foundation could be laid for a follow-up project that aims to extend the conditions for safe unattended navigation spaces.

SCOPE
In the Alert JIP we will work in close cooperation with volunteering seafarers on the following topics:

• Determine which tasks are carried out during navigation bridge watch standing at sea, with priority indication.
• Determine, with input from the consulted crew members, what constitutes safe conditions/situations and benchmark the safety levels. Although it is expected that these will be primarily external conditions (such as weather, sea state, traffic density, and distance to navigational hazards and land) attention should also be paid to issues like cargo, manoeuvrability, size, and speed of the ship.
• Establish the impact of these safe conditions on the reduction of watch standing hours for different operations, for example by using route simulation.
• Create an alerting scheme how best to notify the watch stander that the safe situation or conditions have changed from the pre-set levels using Human Machine Interface (HMI).
• Determine how best building situational awareness with an HMI.
• Verify the technological requirements, conduct a gap analysis with what is already commercially available and establish training requirements.
• The MARIN simulator will be used to confirm the alert scheme and HMI.
• Designated volunteering ship’s crew (on board operational ships) will provide feedback on HMI.
• Document the potential impact on (IMO) regulations and responsibility for safety, security, and environmental processes on board.

DELIVERABLES

• Documented framework of safe conditions.
• Document (the technical requirements of) the Alert system and protocols.
• Description of training processes for new technology including HMI.
• Draft of proposed adjustments IMO regulations, including new standards technology.

BUDGET AND PLANNING
The Alert JIP will run for three years. The first open meeting was held during the Vessel Operator Forum in Korea in November 2023.
The consultation meeting for creating the project framework was held in Wageningen on March 14, 2024.
Work is being done to finalise the scope and task assignment before summer 2024 and the kick-off meeting will be scheduled after the summer of 2024 (end Q3 2024).