A Survey of Vessel Traffic and International VHF Radio Communications Before and After Centralization of Vessel Traffic Control in Tokyo Bay

Abstract

Tokyo Bay is one of the most congested areas in the world ,where about 500 vessels come and go every day. In the past, the traffic control room of each port was located around the bay, but Tokyo Bay vessel traffic control was unified to improve chronic traffic congestion and emergency vulnerability, and it was integrated into the TOKYO WAN Vessel Traffic Service Center in Yokohama. While the number of vessels in the bay is gradually decreasing, the total tonnage of the vessels is increasing year by year, and the importance of traffic control for large vessels is further increasing.

In this study, in response to the centralization of Tokyo Bay vessel traffic control, we investigated the changes in vessel traffic in the bay using speed data by AIS and based on the actual situation of vessel traffic and vessel-land communication using international VHF radiotelephone, we proposed a more efficient vessel-land communication method to improve safety of vessel. As a result of the survey, it was found that the speed of large vessels increased, and the proportion of information provision increased due to centralization.