A method for choosing optimal shipping routes using phase diagrams is developed in the paper. The topic and purpose of the study is directly related to the tasks, the implementation of which is provided for by the Plan of the Northern Sea Route Development, approved by the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation on August 1, 2022, confirmed by the financing program for the development and implementation of the digital platform of the Northern Sea Route, approved by the Government in mid-January 2023. The assessment of the current state of the shipping routes network, navigation, hydrographic and hydro meteorological support is given. The use of the method of multi-criteria evaluation of alternative routes based on a variety of safety criteria depending on the depths, ice conditions, tightness of the water area and hydrographic study of the bottom relief is justified. The dependence of the safety criteria on the draft of the vessel, its icebreaking ability and maneuverable elements is established. A method of comparative assessment of shipping routes for settlement vessels according to four main criteria has been developed. A scheme for calculating quantitative safety indicators is proposed. A procedure for normalizing indicators has been developed. A three-level scale for assessing the safety of shipping routes has been introduced. A methodology for ranking shipping routes and culling the routes assessed as dangerous and forming a set of routes assessed as safe is proposed. The method was tested using a model of the passage of an Arc4 ice category vessel with a draft of 9 m along eight alternative routes of the East Siberian Sea. A set of phase diagrams of alternative routes constructed according to pairs of basic safety criteria is presented. The states of routes are analyzed with the application of the Pareto efficient solution rule to the selection of optimal routes. It is noted that the use of phase diagrams can be extended to a larger number of indicators affecting the efficiency and safety of vessels navigation. Recommendations on the use of the developed method are given. The main directions of further research are determined. 

In this paper, the navigable section of the Svir River, located in the lower reaches of the Nizhne-Svirsky hydroelectric complex, is considered. Special in-situ observations were made in this section to study the hydraulic regime of the river flow under the conditions of unsteady water movement. The study has showed that the kinematic characteristics of the flow in the downstream pool vary with the distance from the site of the waterworks and depend on the regime of the discharge flows. The nature of the transformation of releases in the downstream under open channel and ice conditions has been studied. The values and intensity of changes in the main characteristics of the river flow during the propagation of the tail water wave in the lower reaches such as the nature of changes in the level regime and the slopes of the free surface on the hydraulic structures, the regime of water flow velocities, have been evaluated. The main hydraulic parameters of the river flow such as the values of the Froude number, the Chézy’s coefficient and the water flow modulus are determined. The character of changes in local and convective accelerations is studied and their contribution to the general value of energy losses along the stream length is evaluated. Numerical experiments make it possible to identify the peculiarities of sediment movement in conditions of unsteady water flow and to develop recommendations for modelling channel transformations in such conditions. It is found that during daily and weekly regulation of the river discharge, sediment transport is activated at the moment when a wave of daily water discharge is passing from the upstream reservoir of the hydroelectric power plant. At the same time, the basic parameters of sediment transport such as the speed of dune movement and sediment discharge increase in comparison with the stationary movement of the water. 

The development of autonomous navigation has reached a stage where the issue of creating a system for training specialists in the field of autonomous ship management and developing a regulatory framework that defines the requirements for methodological, personnel and logistical support for such training arises. A brief analysis of the available bibliographic sources on the topic of training operators of autonomous vessels is presented. The requirements of the procedures for the training and certification of autonomous ships operators contained in three regulatory documents published to date such as Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships. Principles and Code of Practice of the British Marine Industry Association, Regulations for the Classification of Offshore Autonomous and Remotely Operated Surface Vessels of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and Norwegian Register Standard are considered. A list of basic competencies necessary for the management of autonomous vessels has been formed. A significant part of the knowledge, skills and abilities that make up these competencies are acquired at the stage of training under programs for obtaining a professional seafarer diploma at the management level. The competencies of the autonomous vessel operator are formed on the basis of maritime competencies by adding additional knowledge, skills and abilities that reflect the specifics of the serviced autonomous vessels, equipment and apparatus used in a particular remote control center and navigation conditions in the serviced area. Additional competencies of the operator are largely related to other specialties (IT specialists, electromechanics, radio specialists). In the future, within the framework of the international regulation carried out by the IMO, in the training of autonomous ships operators, the approach underlying the training of ship traffic control systems operators can be used. 

A hypothesis about the possibility of using a spline standard of mapped informativeness of correlation-extreme navigation as a potential for cybernetic awareness is put forward. The expediency of understanding cybernetic awareness as an ontological engineering of the geometric implementation of a spline fragment of mapping to ensure the principle of alternative positioning is revealed. The forecast of the achievability of the effect of the vessel location predictability in the local environment of the satellite signals incapacity in the practical realization of the potential of situational awareness is made. The possibility of conceptual resistance of the developed algorithms of malicious virtual interference due to the unique composition of spline functions in assessing the vulnerability of the bridge onboard computers to a cybernetic threat is substantiated. Attention is focused on the fundamental impossibility of distorting the spline standard of informativeness to disrupt the classical process of linking the measured exposure of the navigation field to the reference one to ensure autonomous positioning of moving objects in any hacker attacks on the target mathematical asset. The main reason for the stability of approximation constructions, which lies in the piecewise architecture of the spline, when local violations of mathematical composition do not affect the overall task of forming a realistic navigation isosurface as a graphical structure of semantic modeling, is revealed. The proposals of effective information processing as attributes of cybernetic awareness are tested on the example of computer visualization of measuring fields of bathymetry and maps of magnetic anomalies in the form of fragments of threedimensional spreading of the planetary magnetic field. The developed package of application programs is adapted to synthesize a spline standard of mapped informativeness in the cybernetic awareness paradigm as an intellectual support for decision-making by a navigator in order to reduce his psychological cognitive load. It is proposed to use the potential of situational awareness as a mathematical support for an automated navigation system with artificial intelligence within the framework of the concept of unmanned navigation in strategic accordance with the A-Navigation project. The fundamental importance of a positive assessment of cybernetic awareness in promoting the practical use of autonomous marine surface vessels in modern navigation practice is determined. 

In the article, on the example of planning and organizing container transportation of combined cargoes along the internal transport routes of Russia, a mathematical model and methodology for studying the logistics sphere of the processes under consideration are reviewed. The logistics of combined cargoes transportation can be represented as a continuous supply chain that does not have a material expression by itself, but forms some independent transport system that ensures the physical promotion of material flows and goods. Thus, the need for logistics is dictated by the necessity for a rational solution to a number of logistics tasks related to transportation. At the same time, the transport packaging of small consignments, which meets the principles of integrity and consistency of the process under consideration, not only dictates the forms and methods of attracting modes of transport to transportation, but also largely affects the theology of transportation and transshipment applied to such cargoes, and therefore the choice of the cargo delivery route. The specifics of such goods delivery to the consumer is that small shipments at one stage of transportation often lose the advantages inherent in container theologies due to the need for timely return of linear containers to the sea terminal. At the same time, there is a need for additional transshipment operations that ensure the transfer of batches of goods from one mode of transport to another, as well as the transportation of goods in enlarged cargo spaces formed on pallets together with other people’s cargo and a number of other independent factors. The described model considers the functioning of an unmanaged logistics environment, which is characterized by a significant set of random parameters. In such an environment, using an unpredictable number of transshipment and transportation technologies, the whole set of quantitative and qualitative indicators describing its activities is proposed to be expressed in points form. 

The possibility of applying the traditional navigation parameters used in pilotage (bearing and distance), as well as their sum and difference for planning and controlling the ship curvilinear route in coastal waters is being investigated. Mathematical apparatus is based on the classical navigation methods such as the theory of isolines, the lines of position, the principles of route planning, as well as the approximation of the curvilinear route. The mathematical justification of the circle arcs, ellipse and hyperbola used as the approximation lines of both the ship curvilinear route and the control isolines is given. The methods for estimating the vessel approaching to the point of the beginning and end of the turn and for controlling the ship movement along the planned path by measuring the navigational parameters are proposed. The problems of the physical and mathematical feasibility of the route arising at the junction points of the straight and curvilinear parts of the ship route are recommended to be resolved on the principles of transition curves (clothoids), considering the maneuvering characteristics of the vessel. The main theses of the research are supported by the graphical interpretation while the given expressions are ready for practical application. The formalization of the proposed methods in both automatic navigation systems and autonomous ship control systems will allow the navigator on the bases of the configuration of the relative position of landmarks and the ship curvilinear route to solve the problems of processing relevant navigation information in coastal and congested waters more efficiently in conjunction with the traditional pilotage methods, which is especially important for advanced autonomous navigation. 

In this paper, the variants of the fender protection of traditional port tugs and the possibility of using this protection on unmanned vessels of such type are considered; the main elements of such protection are investigated. At present, the technical level of mechanisms, instruments and software allows creating unmanned and crewless vessels. One of the promising directions in the development of such vessels is port tugs, since having relatively large river and sea vessels they perform production tasks in the port water area and approaches to it. An integral part of the work of a port barthing tug or escort tug is bulks and approaches in tight to the towed object or vessel. The combination of a small size, the nature of the tasks performed and the widespread use of such vessels is one of the positive factors for the introduction of unmanned technologies on these vessels. There is a wealth of experience in equipping traditional port tugs with different types of fender protection, which is advisable to use to determine the equipment of unmanned vessels. The fender protection must be installed depending on the conditions in which production tasks will be performed, in addition, high operational requirements must be imposed on the fenders, due to the absence of people on board who can fix the separation of the protection and take measures to replace it in a timely manner. These conditions may depend on the types of production tasks that an unmanned port tug will perform. For example, the mooring of a bulk carrier and a tanker has some features, and entails the need to change the fender protection. Also, the various designs of the fender protection elements currently used on port tugs are analyzed in the paper. It allows structuring the main features when choosing a fender protection for an unmanned port tug, such as the towing method, the size of the tug, the size of the contact spot and other conditions. 

The possibility of increasing the productivity of technological operations performed in the storage area of a container terminal due to the introduction of automation elements into mechanized warehouse cargo handling has been researched. As one of the possible automation options, a method for transporting and storing containers with the implementation of a loader control unit in the form of a deterministic finite automaton is proposed. The sequence of actions of the loader is simulated in the control unit by a line of encoded symbols generated by the transition diagram of the Mealy automaton. In this case, the transition diagram is an automatic programming tool allowed mathematically describing the logic of controlling the actions of the loader when it processes a stack of containers. As a result of generation at the output of the machine, several valid loader control lines are got. Each symbol of the control line corresponds to one action from the loader working cycle. It is required to find the control line that will bring the loader to the state, when the picking up of containers from the stack is completed, in the minimum number of actions. The object of the research is a variable sequence of loader actions during partial disassembly of the stack with its corresponding control line. To reduce the complexity of the task being solved, each control line is divided into sections consisting of symbols responsible for the following actions of the loader: moving when changing the disassembled row, disassembling the row with the picking up and movement of target containers, returning blocking containers to the stacks where they were initially placed. As a result of the comparison of the corresponding symbolic sections of different lines, an algorithm that allows choosing the optimal sequence of signals for the control unit of the technological automaton in terms of the number of symbols is developed. 

One of the main methods for monitoring the technical condition of the navigation locks gates is to determine the amount of corrosion wear of their elements using ultrasonic thickness measurement. This diagnostic operation is performed at least once every five years. In accordance with the methodology, the control requires the removal of the protective coating in the measurement area. At the same time, there is no possibility of a full restoration of the coating. The specified frequency of measurements is adopted based on the peculiarities of the maintenance of locks and the durability of protective coatings, the service life of which does not exceed 5 years. It is noted that recently, the cases of measurements with a satisfactory technical condition of the protective coating on the elements of the structures, which are being examined, have been more frequent. This circumstance indicates an increase in the service life of protective coatings and, consequently, the possibility of revising the established frequency of measurements of the residual thickness of the gates elements. In this regard, the purpose of the study is to assess the possibility of changing the timing of ultrasonic thickness measurement during primary and periodic measurements of the residual thicknesses of the gate elements, taking into account the state of the protective coating. To achieve this goal, the collection and analysis of the range of protective coatings used in the anticorrosion protection of the main and emergency repair gates of navigation locks, their service life, as well as permissible deviations in thickness for the supplied rolled metal, are carried out. It has been established that epoxy-based protective coatings are most often used as primer and top coats. The thickness of the applied coatings has increased by 2–3 times and averages 200–350 µm. Damage to coatings in the period from 5 to 10 years of operation averages about 6 % of the total surface area. In the course of the study, it has been also found that the permissible minus limit values for deviations in the thickness of the supplied rolled products can range from 0.8 to 4.2 mm, depending on the thickness of the sheet and the accuracy of its manufacture. The presence of such deviations has a particularly negative effect on the resource of small thicknesses. Additionally, the maximum average value of the corrosion rate of metal structure elements in operation is determined. The totality of the information obtained makes it possible to develop recommendations for changing the timing of the residual thicknesses measurement, ensuring the safe operation of the considered elements of mechanical equipment. 

The existing approaches to assignment of operational restrictions for inland vessels with regard to maritime areas, as well as for inland waterways, are analyzed in the paper. The methodology for assessing the feasibility of organizing the operation of inland and mixed river-sea-going ships in wave-sheltered waters in maritime areas is studied. The additional limitations regulated by the Guidance R.015-2006 of the Russian Classification Society for such vessels while exploiting in regimes of port navigation in sea regions are con-sidered. Research of peculiarities of wave formation on inland waterways has showed that in coastal areas the local winds and topography have significant influence. For limited water areas there are no up-to-date refer-ence data on long-term wave and wind characteristics. Executed analysis has shown that for the decision of a problem on definition of permissible conditions of ships operation on the protected water areas on internal waterways in a port navigation mode, the approach earlier used for the Guidance requires essential changes. A list of parameters to be taken into account when justifying the conditions of inland navigation vessels opera-tion in sheltered waters has been defined. Calculated dependence of an estimation of modes of the established wave in the limited water areas on which realization of a mode of port floating on inland waterways is possi-ble is offered. Ranges of calculation limits for ships of the classes under review are determined. The required level of safe operation of inland waterway vessels in the basins, the rank of which doesn't correspond to the class of the vessel, is substantiated. The study results are recommended for inclusion in the regulatory frame-work of the Russian Classification Society. 

Anti-icing devices that provide increased ice penetration are widely used on modern icebreakers. The devices based on the pneumatic pressurization of the icebreaker hull with air pumped by a special compressor are most common. When operating at low temperatures, there is a danger of compressor failure due to icing of the compressor intake tract. To protect the receiving path, it is necessary to increase the temperature of the air entering the compressor to safe values. Possible heating methods are recirculation of compressed air in the compressor and its heating in a special heat exchanger. A diagram of an anti-icing system that allows you to implement both methods of air heating is presented in the paper; the principle of its operation is described. An urgent problem of selecting the most preferred method of air heating is considered in the paper. As an evaluation criterion, it is proposed to use the energy costs necessary to ensure air heating, cooling parameters of modern internal combustion engines with a high level of boost and advanced engines. To solve this problem, an algorithm that takes into account the features of the operation of the anti-icing device compressor, the requirements for the temperature of the receiving air, the properties of heat carriers is proposed. The calculation method is based on the classical equations of thermodynamics and heat transfer. The results of the calculations performed allow us to compare the energy costs for ensuring an increase in air temperature to the required values when using various methods of heat supply. The conclusions drawn on the basis of the calculations carried out allow us to conclude that the most rational way to warm up the intake air of the compressor of the anti-icing device is the joint use of recirculation and a heat exchanger. A promising direction for improving anti-icing devices is the optimization of the temperature modes of the compressor operation, rationalization of the supplied heat distribution, automation of the control for the temperature regime of the pneumatic boost. 

The main trends in the development of designs, power semiconductor circuits and control systems of promising valve electromechanical converters — brushless DC motors with permanent magnets for marine electric drive and automation equipment, are discussed in the paper. A variant of their implementation in an adjustable electric drive is presented. The object of the study is a brushless direct current electromechanical system, including a synchronous machine with magnetoelectric excitation, covered by positional feedback through a dependent controlled valve switch, and the subject is structures, the circuit of the power part, control systems, the algorithm of functioning and characteristics. The purpose of the research is to evaluate the operational features, properties and possibilities of introducing brushless direct current motors with permanent magnets as marine electric drive systems of low and medium power. The results of research and development are embodied in experimental industrial samples. A variant with microprocessor control has been developed for marine electric drive systems. The switch is assembled on transistor switches that provide high reliability and enhance the functionality of the control system. The minimum necessary system of logical variables, ensuring the implementation of rational laws of switching and speed control, has been formed. Operational characteristics at various leading angles of switching on the switch valves are presented. The presence of pole shoes at the poles introduces significant features in the patterns of their change. The main advantages and features of the proposed design and circuit solutions are formulated in the conclusions. It is indicated that valve motors with excitation from permanent magnets are the most promising solution in terms of integrating an electromechanical converter into an adjustable marine electric drive of a range of small and medium capacities.Engines of this type are structurally simple and reliable, have rigid natural mechanical characteristics, do not require energy for excitation, have a large overload capacity and high speed in transients. Their distinctive feature is the high specific moment. 

Currently, the world community is increasingly struggling with harmful effects on the environment, the biosphere and the atmosphere in various fields of industry. One of the pollutants is marine transport. The main type of environmental pollution from marine power plants is harmful emissions of CO, CO2, NO sulfur compounds and other components contained in diesel exhaust gases. The main regulatory document determining the compliance of marine power plants with international environmental requirements is the international convention MARPOL 73/78, developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). One of the ways to solve this problem is the use of additional components for fuels on ships, such as water, hydrogen, natural gas, biodiesel, dimethyl ether, ethyl alcohol, etc. In order to pre-calculate the effectiveness of any of the methods for reducing harmful emissions, a simulation of combustion processes in a marine diesel engine when running on diesel fuel with and without the addition of dimethyl ether is carried out. In this study, the AVL Fire program, which is included in the AVL software package and allows you to get visual results on the formation of combustion products in the diesel cylinder, the distribution of temperature flows, soot formation, etc., is used. The 3NVD24 marine diesel engine, which is equipped with the necessary measuring complex for conducting practical research with the possibility of experimental confirmation of the computer modeling results, is used as a prototype for the analysis. Based on the model calculations, various factors of the harmful compounds formation during combustion are analyzed. 

The widespread use of LNG as a fuel for marine internal combustion engines makes to pay attention to the quality of gas fuel supply systems and its specifics. The objective of this paper is to review modern gas fuel supply systems and analyze their efficiency. The goal is to determine the most important parameters of gas fuel that affect the stability of the working process of marine dual-fuel engines and ways to maintain them within the specified limits. Evaluation of the gas fuel preparation efficiency is carried out on the basis of operational data obtained on the gas carrier vessel board. Data collection is carried out under non-standard operating conditions, which makes it possible to evaluate the quality of the resulting gas fuel with a time-varying composition of the initial natural gas. To analyze the obtained data, modern software, which is used by leading developers of marine diesel engines, is used (Wartsila Methane Number Calculator, AVL BoostTM and Python 3 statistic libraries). The analysis results are approximated for gas fuel supply systems for gas-fueled vessels, but not being gas carriers. This approximation is made taking into account the design features of gas fuel supply systems, since the specificity of the design imposes certain restrictions on the applicability of the conclusions obtained as a result of the previous analysis. Also, attention is paid to the accumulation of residual heavy hydrocarbons in bunker tanks, the excess of which can adversely affect the quality of gas fuel. Since there is no universal way to solve this problem, only general assumptions about possible ways to dispose of them have been made. 

The purpose of the work is to develop and improve the methods of computer modeling and digitalization of procedures for testing statistical hypotheses according to consent criteria for use in high-tech software and measuring complexes of automated control systems. In most cases that are important for practice, the analysis of the statistical properties of distributions requires multiple checks performed using numerical methods, which require the tools of powerful software and computing environments. Examples of such cases are the procedures for finding information subsets of features in regression and statistical analysis, as well as identifying parameter deviations in automated control systems. It is noted that the tasks of processing experimental data do not always fit into the framework of the theory of normal processes and have exclusively such hypotheses. To test such hypotheses, modern mathematical statistics has developed criteria based on specially developed probabilistic rules that distinguish between zero and alternative hypotheses. Moreover, if for the testable (zero) hypothesis the distribution of statistics is known exactly or approximately, then for the alternative it has a greater degree of uncertainty and it (the alternative) itself is not a complete negation of the null hypothesis. As the zero and alternative hypotheses move away from each other, the statistics of the consent criterion begins to take a larger absolute value than with the null hypothesis, which allows us to build a critical area on the basis of estimating the set of this statistics values. However, the use of analytical methods for statistical analysis to determine the discrepancy between empirical and hypothetical statistics in practice is associated with the use, as a rule, of complex computational calculation algorithms and the implementation of high requirements for the assessment accuracy, which they cannot provide. To solve this problem, it is proposed to use numerical methods of computer modeling and integration of probability density of distribution according to the Simpson algorithm using the tools of built-in functions of the Statistics Toolbox of the MATLAB environment. The proposed method for automation of statistical analysis of zero and alternative hypotheses is implemented on the example of applying the Pearson criterion to verify compliance with the normal distribution of two random data samples, one of which meets the normal distribution law. The obtained graphic and numerical results of computer modeling confirm the correspondence of one of the testable distributions to a given normal distribution according to the null hypothesis. 

Modern challenges in the field of transport logistics associated with the need to increase the speed of cargo transportation and reduce the cost of transportation require the development of solutions that will allow the introduction of unmanned vehicles to solve logistics problems. Within the framework of this paper, a new problem of routing an unmanned transport system through delivery points using annealing simulation methods and an ant colony algorithm is considered. These methods are chosen taking into account the real situation of complication of the conditions of possible delivery, the emergence of closed areas for delivery, obtaining a large number of points for delivery, or the emergence of other features. The selected algorithms are relatively simple to implement and, at the same time, form acceptable routes of movement, taking into account the initial data. These algorithms are studied in the software simulation environment Gazebo for the possibility of their application in unmanned transport systems and their effectiveness in constructing alternative traffic routes. In the software simulation, a program code for the autonomous movement of an unmanned vehicle is developed and a simulation environment is formed taking into account the test data. In the test environment, the results of the ant colony algorithm are checked against the test data, and special attention is paid to the study of the speed and accuracy of the selected algorithms. It is worth noting that the annealing simulation algorithm allows you to quickly optimize a given route, however, to obtain more accurate results, you should additionally use other optimization methods, such as the ant colony algorithm. As a result of the proposed methods application, it is concluded that it is possible to form the optimal route of movement relative to the initial data within the length of the path and the speed of the generated route. 

The current situation formed by the changeable influence of the external environment on the interaction of “sea passenger port — sea ferry/cruise company” systems has formulated new decision-making tasks under uncertainty to justify infrastructural changes. It is not enough for the managers of sea passenger ports and terminals to make decisions only on the basis of deterministic models. Probabilistic nature of the processes predetermines the need to form new models and methods to substantiate strategies for the sea passenger ports development. The problem field considered in the paper is topical because today due to such trends as increase in dimension of cruise and ferry vessels and changes in route networks it is necessary to solve the problem of development forecasting on the basis of scenario modeling. Modeling should be performed on the basis of new digital transport models, which take into account the peculiarities of marine ports and terminals infrastructure, and priority of berths. The digital model of “Passenger Port of St. Petersburg “Sea Façade”, developed by the author, is used in the paper and the necessity to single out separate states in the development of sea passenger ports is substantiated. The validity of singling out a set of boundary points, turning points of uncertainty of future development of a complex system of a sea passenger port or terminal, connected with the presence of bifurcation zones — “ramification” of possible ways of the port system evolution is proved. The proof of the proposed approach is presented by means of allocation of individual stages in the development of the sea passenger port of St. Petersburg. Based on the presented approach, a new model for the evolution and management of the sea passenger port system development is proposed. This model on a single assembly field reflects temporary changes in the development of the sea passenger port and analytical data on the increase or decrease in the number of berths. The presented set of transition points allows to determine the time model of the sea passenger port development. A new model of working with data for making decisions on modernization of sea passenger port infrastructure is offered. On the basis of modeling, taking into account different distribution laws (gamma distribution, Poisson distribution, normal distribution and others) the conditions for formation of the individual “fields of utility”, cones of preference and target functions are presented. For precise description of decision-making situation under uncertainty faced by the head of the sea passenger port, the choice of Savage criterion (S-criterion) is substantiated and mathematical model and criteria are given. A solution for formation of acceptable interval on the basis of Dataset utility field data on intensities of ferry and cruise lines work is given. On the basis of the experiment, the accuracy of the proposed decision-making model under uncertainty to justify the conditions on the need for modernization of infrastructure (modernization of berths) of the sea passenger port is substantiated. The presented model and results can be applied to other sea passenger ports and terminals, which determines the universality of the presented approach.