Towards Efficient Certification of Maritime Remote Operation Centers

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.