Situational awareness of navigators in high-speed craft bridge navigation operations

Navigation is a joint operation between humans and technology. Navigating high-speed craft (HSC) is a more critical and risky task than other types of ship navigation due to high speed and time limitations. Situational awareness (SA) is the understanding of what is going on around the navigators. HSC navigator who has an insufficient level of SA may lead to wrong decisions and even accidents. In this study, an analysis of Turkish HSC navigators’ SA levels has been carried out in their working environment. Situational Awareness Rating Technique (SART) and pairwise comparison of the effects of Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS), Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA), Automatic Identification System (AIS) and autopilot on SA questionnaires were applied. According to SA, navigation operations, factors that mostly affect SA and suggestions that would increase SA were sorted in accordance with the navigators’ perceptions. The results show that the level of HSC navigators’ SA is high and sufficient. Finally, considerations are introduced to keep acceptable levels or increase SA on HSCs.