Maritime traffic routes by ships navigation vary according to country and geographic characteristics, and they differ according to the characteristics of the ships. In ocean areas adjacent to coasts, there are regulated routes, e.g., traffic separation scheme for ships entering and leaving; however, most ocean areas do not have such routes. Maritime traffic route research has been conducted based on computer engineering to create routes; however, ship characteristics were not considered. Thus, this article proposes a framework to generate maritime traffic routes using statistical density analysis. Here, automatic identification system (AIS) data are used to derive quantitative traffic routes. Preprocessing is applied to the AIS data, and a similar ship trajectory pattern is decomposed into a matrix based on the Hausdorff–distance algorithm and then stored in a database. A similar pattern makes the AIS trajectory simple using the Douglas–Peucker algorithm. In addition, density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) is performed to identify the waypoints of vessels then create routes by connecting waypoints. The width of maritime routes created based on a similar ship trajectory is subjected to kernel density estimation analysis (KDE). Then, waypoints evaluation of the main route is performed from the results of KDE 75% and 90% considering the statistical in the total maritime traffic, and the results applied to the targeted ocean area are compared. Finally, the result of KDE 90% of maritime traffic with framework analyzed the safety route, which can be a basis for developing routes for maritime autonomous surface ships.

As the maritime industry enters the era of maritime autonomous surface ships, research into artificial intelligence based on maritime data is being actively conducted, and the advantages of profitability and the prevention of human error are being emphasized. However, although many studies have been conducted relating to oceanic operations by ships, few have addressed maneuvering in ports. Therefore, in an effort to resolve this issue, this study explores ship trajectories derived from automatic identification systems’ data collected from ships arriving in and departing from the Busan New Port in South Korea. The collected data were analyzed by dividing them into port arrival and departure categories. To analyze ship trajectory patterns, the density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) algorithm, a machine learning clustering method, was employed. As a result, in the case of arrival, seven clusters, including the leg and turning section, were derived, and departure was classified into six clusters. The clusters were then divided into four phases and a pattern analysis was conducted for speed over ground, course over ground, and ship position. The results of this study could be used to develop new port maneuvering guidelines for ships and represent a significant contribution to the maneuvering practices of autonomous ships in port.

Ships are prone to accidents when approaching in a berthing velocity greater than that allowed when determining the risk range corresponding to a port. Therefore, this study develops a machine learning strategy to predict the risk range of an unsafe berthing velocity when the ship approaches in port. To perform analysis, the input parameters were based on the factors affecting the berthing velocity, and the output parameter, i.e., the berthing velocity, was measured at a tanker terminal in the Republic of Korea. Nine machine learning classification algorithms were used to analyze each model, and the top four optimal models were selected through evaluation methods based on the confusion matrix. As a result of the analysis, extra trees, random forest, bagging, and gradient boosting classifiers were identified as good models. As a result of testing using the receiving operator characteristic curve, it was confirmed that the area under the curve of the most dangerous range of berthing velocity was the highest, thus, the risk range was appropriately classified. As such, the derived models can classify and predict the risk range of unsafe berthing velocity before approaching a port; therefore, it is possible to safely berth a ship.

A maritime route is used by sea transportation vessels to access the trading ports, and route design standards for the safety of maritime traffic have been established in various countries and organizations. However, no quantitative safety verification method related to route design currently exists. In this study, a novel maritime route was created and compared with the original route in Incheon, the Republic of Korea, based on the relevant automatic identification system (AIS) data. The attendant traffic density was revealed via kernel density estimation analysis of the AIS data, with the results used to create the boundary of the novel route through an image processing technique. The boundary and the centerline of the maritime route were determined using a line smoothing technique. For safety verification, the centerline of the original route and that of the novel maritime route were compared in terms of sinuosity, intersection angle, and route change envelope (RCE). The sinuosity analysis demonstrated that the route was stable in terms of the outer harbor limit, while the intersection angle analysis demonstrated that the novel maritime route intersection angle was stable. The RCE was used to objectively compare the absolute values of the distance change in the centerline.

For ship passage safety, a bridge across a waterway is a risk for accidents. However, no standard for the safe distance between a bridge and a ship is available in Korea. The UK MCA considers the 90% confidence interval of traffic distribution as the acceptable passage range, using it for measuring the separation between offshore wind farms. In this study, an optimal ship safety distance is proposed by evaluating traffic distribution at the Incheon and Busan harbor bridges and analyzing the confidence intervals. The results, based on the Z-score, reveal that at the Incheon bridge, all but one ship for 2-way departure were in circulation within the 95% confidence interval range, whereas at the Busan harbor bridge, six ships for arrival and two ships for departure were outside the 95% range. Based on the results of this study, the design of bridges across waterways can incorporate traffic distribution corresponding to each port.