Towards Efficient Certification of Maritime Remote Operation Centers

TL;DR

The paper addresses efficient certification of Maritime Remote Operation Centers by proposing a Hazard-DB to collect and reuse safety artifacts for MASS-ROC pairs. It introduces a generic MASS-ROC functional architecture, derives ROC-centric hazard sources including SOTIF, and provides a preliminary suitability analysis of HARA methods. The Hazard-DB aims to enable reuse of HARAs across ROC-MASS configurations and support bidirectional knowledge transfer to accelerate certification. This work lays the groundwork for concrete HARA studies and ROC certifications, signaling a path toward scalable, safer shore-based operation of MASS.

Abstract

Additional automation being build into ships implies a shift of crew from ship to shore. However, automated ships still have to be monitored and, in some situations, controlled remotely. These tasks are carried out by human operators located in shore-based remote operation centers. In this work, we present a concept for a hazard database that supports the safeguarding and certification of such remote operation centers. The concept is based on a categorization of hazard sources which we derive from a generic functional architecture. A subsequent preliminary suitability analysis unveils which methods for hazard analysis and risk assessment can adequately fill this hazard database.

Figures (9)

• Figure 1: Tasks, Actors, and Resources derived from ISO/TS 23860.
• Figure 2: Use case: MASS maneuvering from harbor entrance to berth, adapted from Saager et al. Saager2024.
• Figure 3: Functional architecture for a single control station inside a shore-based ROC and a generic MASS. The flow of information in encoded by three different types of arrows.
• Figure 4: Concept for a hazard database supporting the certification process of a MASS-ROC pair.
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