A supervisory propulsion controller module, a speed and position sensing system, and a communication system that are incorporated on marine vessels to reduce the wave-making resistance of the multiple vessels by operating them in controlled and coordinated spatial patterns to destructively cancel their Kelvin wake transverse or divergent wave system through active control of the vessels separation distance with speed. This will enable improvement in the vessel's mobility (speed, payload and range), improve survivability and reliability and reduce acquisition and total ownership cost.

A vessel hull stabilization system includes a housing having a rotatable shaft mounted thereto, the shaft configured to connect to a fin such that the fin is located on an outside of the vessel hull and the housing is located on an inside of the vessel hull. A drive system is mounted to the housing and includes a motor and a drive element. The motor is connected to a central shaft of the drive element. The drive element includes a plurality of teeth positioned between the outer element and the central shaft such that when the motor rotates the central shaft, the plurality of teeth oscillate inwards and outwards to interact with teeth in the outer element and thereby cause rotation of a fin shaft connected to the outer element or to the gear having the oscillating teeth. A controller receives sensor readings to determine control signals to send to the motor(s) to impart rotation of the fin.

A marine waste water dump control system for noncommercial nonmetallic or fiberglass boats that provides a system and process for automatically monitoring the time, exact location, and quantity of blackwater, greywater or bilgewater (marine water waste) is dumped from such a water vessel and for requesting and receiving approval or disapproval for dumping marine water waste into restricted or unrestricted waters, including oil water and the like. The instant invention has an MS (Automatic Information System) or comparable communication system that operates at approximately 160 MHz for determining the exact distance from shore and communicating with marine authorities, such as the Coast Guard, before activating the dump control system and communication. The dump control system of the instant invention automatically stores all dumping related information in memory for access by authorities at any time in the event a vessel does not include an AIS or a working AIS. The instant invention also determines from existing shoreline beacons and a triangulation method the exact distance a water vessel is from the shore. The system may be applied to any and all holding tanks on a marine vessel containing pollutants such as black water, gray water, bilge water, oil water and the like.

A marine waste water dump control system for noncommercial nonmetallic or fiberglass boats that provides a system and process for automatically monitoring the time, exact location, and quantity of blackwater, greywater or bilgewater (marine water waste) is dumped from such a water vessel and for requesting and receiving approval or disapproval for dumping marine water waste into restricted or unrestricted waters, including oil water and the like. The instant invention has an MS (Automatic Information System) or comparable communication system that operates at approximately 160 MHz for determining the exact distance from shore and communicating with marine authorities, such as the Coast Guard, before activating the dump control system and communication. The dump control system of the instant invention automatically stores all dumping related information in memory for access by authorities at any time in the event a vessel does not include an AIS or a working AIS. The instant invention also determines from existing shoreline beacons and a triangulation method the exact distance a water vessel is from the shore. The system may be applied to any and all holding tanks on a marine vessel containing pollutants such as black water, gray water, bilge water, oil water and the like.

A control device for a propelling system of a vessel that can support a safe sailing of the vessel while reducing the load, of a steersman by executing automatic sailing control on the vessel when the vessel enters or approaches a specific water area where the sailing is limited. When determining that a hull stays within the specific water area in a state where a revolution speed and a rotational direction of a propeller and a posture of an outboard engine are controlled based on a signal inputted from a controlling device, an ECU of the outboard engine switches the sailing of the hull to an automatic sailing where the revolution speed and rotational direction of the propeller and the posture of the outboard engine are controlled without the intervention of the controlling device.

Techniques for providing instructions to an operator of a sea vessel via a computing device are described. The computing device can request, from another computing device, instructions regarding one or more of an intended course and action plan for the sea vessel, which can include at least one navigational instruction and/or deployment instruction. The computing device can send data to a display device to cause a prompt to be displayed. The prompt can include options regarding the at least one instruction. The computing device can send state information of the sea vessel to the other computing device. The state information can include the received input and location information of the sea vessel. Additionally, data can be received by the computing device from a shore based operator and data can be sent to one or more clients on shore.

Techniques for providing instructions to an operator of a sea vessel via a computing device are described. The computing device can request, from another computing device, instructions regarding one or more of an intended course and action plan for the sea vessel, which can include at least one navigational instruction and/or deployment instruction. The computing device can send data to a display device to cause a prompt to be displayed. The prompt can include options regarding the at least one instruction. The computing device can send state information of the sea vessel to the other computing device. The state information can include the received input and location information of the sea vessel. Additionally, data can be received by the computing device from a shore based operator and data can be sent to one or more clients on shore.

A vessel hull stabilization system includes a housing having a rotatable shaft mounted thereto, the shaft configured to connect to a fin such that the fin is located on an outside of the vessel hull and the housing is located on an inside of the vessel hull. A drive system is mounted to the housing and includes a motor and a drive element. The motor is connected to a central shaft of the drive element. The drive element includes a plurality of teeth positioned between the outer element and the central shaft such that when the motor rotates the central shaft, the plurality of teeth oscillate inwards and outwards to interact with teeth in the outer element and thereby cause rotation of a fin shaft connected to the outer element or to the gear having the oscillating teeth. A controller receives sensor readings to determine control signals to send to the motor(s) to impart rotation of the fin.

A camera mounting system for inspection is intended to be used with lights and a camera connected to a data transmission system to allow temporary installation of the mounting system upon a barge hatch to allow for visual confirmation via a camera or other digital imaging system of the interior space of the barge. The system is intended to be used to reduce personnel exposure to the interior of barges. The camera mounting system is portable and may be folded. The camera mounting system allows use with hatches generally rectangular at the access hatch as well as hatches having rounded or sweeping ninety degree type access hatches with the mounting system providing multiple positions for placement of the camera for either hatch type to ensure repeatability of the visual confirmation between various barge and barge configurations.

There is disclosed a system and method for forecasting the positions of marine vessels. In an aspect, the present system is adapted to execute a forecasting algorithm to forecast the positions of one or a great many marine vessel(s) based on one or more position reporting systems including coastal and satellite AIS (S-AIS) signals or LRIT received from the vessel. The forecasting algorithm utilizes location and direction information for the vessel, and estimates one or more possible positions based on previous paths taken by vessels from that location, and heading in substantially the same direction. Thus, a body of water can be divided into bins of location and direction information, and a spatial index can be built based on the previous paths taken by other vessels after passing through that bin. Other types of information may also be taken into account, such as ship-specific data, nearby weather, ocean currents, the time of year, and other spatial variables specific to that bin.