ABSTRACT
Knowing ship speed at any heading angle with respect to the current and future sea state is one of the most significant factors of the decision making phase in the entire chain of maritime economy. From optimal routing point of view, precisely estimated ship speed at any weather conditions is essential for minimization of sailing time. Regardless to whether that is necessary for economic-logistical reasons (Wang and Meng, 2012), such as a more precise prediction of the estimated time of arrival to the port, or in order to increase the safety of navigation when dealing with a more precise navigation planning for a safer and more reliable collision avoidance (Tsou et al., 2010), or because of a more precise fuel consumption calculation for a more ecologically acceptable navigation with decreased GHG emissions (Kim et al., 2012; Qi and Song, 2012), or for completely different reasons, the fact remains that a better prediction of ship speed depending on the external disturbances has a wide range of implementation possibilities in maritime affairs.
