ABSTRACT
Current navigation technologies, such as GPS, RADAR and electronic charts, are widely accepted and are now required equipment on most classes of vessels. Until now, state-of-the-art navigation has been to rely on historical charts, GPS systems, and depth sounders to determine position and water depth under the ship. Chart data is often inexact as coastlines and shipping channels can shift. Transient objects such as sandbars, lost shipping containers, ship wrecks, whales, floating logs and other debris are not shown on charts. Additionally, many charts can be based on data that is 60 years old or more and predate GPS. This means that even “charted” obstacles are not necessarily where the chart places them.
