An unmanned lifeboat 1 has a hull 2 with a transom opening 3, a fo'c'sle 4 closed by a rounded top deck 5, providing accommodation 6 for survivors. The aft deck as such is generally U-shaped with a cut-out 16 open at the transom 17, which is vestigial with two small port and starboard parts. Within the cut-out is a boarding assistance ramp 18. This is level with the aft deck at its forward end and slopes down to the transom. It extends aft of this by a few of feet—say about 1 m—to enable survivors to swim and crawl onto it.

For guidance to reach the vicinity of the survivors, the lifeboat is equipped with a communication apparatus including a receiver 32 for receiving survivor location data. In addition, the navigation apparatus with which the lifeboat is equipped includes a GPS system 33 of its own, a compass 34.

A method and a system for determining a safe under keel clearance of an ultra-large ship are provided. The method comprises: acquiring operation parameter values of the ship; obtaining fluid pressure according to the values; obtaining a squat force and a trim moment of the ship according to the pressure; establishing a mirror image model based on speed potential to establish a squat clearance calculation model for the ship; determining a half-wave rising height with above calculation model; obtaining draught and trim changes according to the squat force and the trim moment, to determine a maximum squat clearance of the hull; determining the safe under keel clearance; and controlling the squat clearance of the ship according to the safe under keel clearance of the ship, to avoid navigation dangers, and improve the loading rate.

A method and a system for determining a safe under keel clearance of an ultra-large ship are provided. The method comprises: acquiring operation parameter values of the ship; obtaining fluid pressure according to the values; obtaining a squat force and a trim moment of the ship according to the pressure; establishing a mirror image model based on speed potential to establish a squat clearance calculation model for the ship; determining a half-wave rising height with above calculation model; obtaining draught and trim changes according to the squat force and the trim moment, to determine a maximum squat clearance of the hull; determining the safe under keel clearance; and controlling the squat clearance of the ship according to the safe under keel clearance of the ship, to avoid navigation dangers, and improve the loading rate.

A method to enable travel on a waterway. Here, a river run request is received from a user device. The river run request is associated with travel on a waterway and includes a user's desired time, put-in location, and take-out location. The user device includes a user interface. A river section positioned between the put-in location and the take-out location is determined. A velocity estimate associated with the river section is determined. A mileage for the river run request is determined using the desired time and the velocity estimate. A time of float is determined using the mileage and the velocity estimate. One or more of the mileage and the time of float is transmitted to the user interface for conveyance thereon. A slope between the put-in location and the take-out location is determined. The velocity estimate is determined using a hydraulic radius, the slope, and a roughness factor.

A method to enable travel on a waterway. Here, a river run request is received from a user device. The river run request is associated with travel on a waterway and includes a user's desired time, put-in location, and take-out location. The user device includes a user interface. A river section positioned between the put-in location and the take-out location is determined. A velocity estimate associated with the river section is determined. A mileage for the river run request is determined using the desired time and the velocity estimate. A time of float is determined using the mileage and the velocity estimate. One or more of the mileage and the time of float is transmitted to the user interface for conveyance thereon. A slope between the put-in location and the take-out location is determined. The velocity estimate is determined using a hydraulic radius, the slope, and a roughness factor.

A marine vessel having a propeller that provides propulsive force to the marine vessel, and a course control system. The course control system includes a course changing mechanism that changes a course of the marine vessel, and a controller configured or programmed to detect a sudden movement of the marine vessel originating from broaching caused by a following wave of the marine vessel, and upon detecting the sudden movement of the marine vessel originating from the broaching, control a rotation rate of the propeller and/or cause the course changing mechanism to change the course of the marine vessel.

Provided is a device configured to determine a power capacity of a battery of a vehicle, predict a first set of values indicative of amounts of power to be stored during a time interval by the battery, the power being generated by a renewable energy generator carried by the vehicle, and predict a second set of values indicative of amounts of energy to be consumed from the battery during the time interval based on previous energy consumption by the vehicle. The device is also configured to determine a score based on the power capacity, the first set of values, and the second set of values. The system is also configured to determine whether the score satisfies a threshold and, in response to a determination that the score satisfies the threshold, activate an internal combustion engine to charge to the battery.

Provided is a device configured to determine a power capacity of a battery of a vehicle, predict a first set of values indicative of amounts of power to be stored during a time interval by the battery, the power being generated by a renewable energy generator carried by the vehicle, and predict a second set of values indicative of amounts of energy to be consumed from the battery during the time interval based on previous energy consumption by the vehicle. The device is also configured to determine a score based on the power capacity, the first set of values, and the second set of values. The system is also configured to determine whether the score satisfies a threshold and, in response to a determination that the score satisfies the threshold, activate an internal combustion engine to charge to the battery.

A water surface and underwater dual-purpose automatic positioning and tracking system and method, which belongs to the field of marine environment observation technologies. The positioning and tracking system includes: a rope winding and unwinding structure, arranged on a main hull structure; where the rope winding and unwinding structure includes a rope roller and a winding and unwinding rope wound around the rope roller; an auxiliary positioning remote control ship, located outside a main body of the main hull structure, where the auxiliary positioning remote control ship is in transmission and fixed connection with the winding and unwinding rope away from the rope roller; communication control units, arranged on the main hull structure and the auxiliary positioning remote control ship; and an automatic positioning tracker unit, arranged on the hull structure, where the automatic positioning tracker unit is in remote communication connection with the communication control units.

A water surface and underwater dual-purpose automatic positioning and tracking system and method, which belongs to the field of marine environment observation technologies. The positioning and tracking system includes: a rope winding and unwinding structure, arranged on a main hull structure; where the rope winding and unwinding structure includes a rope roller and a winding and unwinding rope wound around the rope roller; an auxiliary positioning remote control ship, located outside a main body of the main hull structure, where the auxiliary positioning remote control ship is in transmission and fixed connection with the winding and unwinding rope away from the rope roller; communication control units, arranged on the main hull structure and the auxiliary positioning remote control ship; and an automatic positioning tracker unit, arranged on the hull structure, where the automatic positioning tracker unit is in remote communication connection with the communication control units.