Anchorage position determining system

Abstract

An anchorage position determining system comprising a memory comprising topographic data comprising at least depth data, a chartplotter for displaying a chart including at least part of the chart data, a satellite-based positioning system for determining the position of the marine vessel, at least one surface object detecting system for detecting any surface objects including any other marine vessel(s) at anchorage and a controller configured to cooperate with the at least one surface object detecting system for determining respective positions of the detected surface objects and to determine and to indicate on the chart any suitable anchorage position(s) by determining whether a scope ratio equal to or greater than a minimum threshold value is obtainable based on the depth data and the position of the detected surface objects. A marine vessel comprising the anchorage position determining system and a respective method of determining an anchorage position are herein also disclosed.

Description

Anchorage position determining systemField of the invention

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an anchorage position determining system, to a marine vessel comprising the anchorage position determining system and to a method of determining an anchorage position.Background

[0002] Marine vessels, especially leisure vessels are frequently looking for anchorage positions for either a short, e.g. up to a few hours, or prolonged stay, e.g. overnight or even for several days. The most suitable anchorage places are relatively shallow coastal areas, particularly bays which, depending on weather conditions, especially wind force and direction, offer better shelter and prevent formation of uncomfortable or even dangerous waves.

[0003] Other important factors, which contribute to the suitability of an anchorage place is the seafloor type, with sand being typically the most suitable seafloor type, due to better anchor gripping and holding properties. Since the seafloor type also influences water color and water clarity, sandy seafloors are also the most attractive from a scenic point of view and also for this reason the most crowded. Other seafloor types which are less suitable include the presence of seagrass or seaweed, which can form small and isolated or large underwater meadows that are an important part of the ecosystem. Some species may even be protected according to local or national regulations and anchorage may even be prohibited in such places. Another seafloor type is mud, which has relatively worse anchor gripping and holding properties compared to sand, besides having other disadvantages such as sticking to the anchor and anchor chain, which brings dirt onboard when retrieving the anchor and is difficult to remove. An even less suitable seafloor type comprises rocks or reefs, which may cause the anchor to drag or to get stuck, making retrieval very difficult afterwards. It is not infrequent to find combinations of seafloor types in the same anchorage place, e.g. in the same bay, so that some anchorage positions within the same anchorage place can be more suitable than others based on the seafloor type alone.

[0004] Another important factor contributing to the suitability of an anchorage place is depth. Depending on a vessel draft there is a minimum suitable depth for each marine vessel, which corresponds to the vessel draft plus a safety depth margin of e.g. at least 1-2 meters, based also on local and actual or expected conditions such as swell and tide. Sailing boats, for example, have a greater draft due to the presence of a deeper keel. There is however also a maximum depth for each vessel which depends for example on the available length of anchor chain or rod, among other factors. The available length of anchor chain is limited and typically in a range between e.g. 50 m and 100 m for most marine vessels since its length and thickness have an impact also on space and weight onboard. And in general, the greater the depth the more complicated and riskier both anchor deployment and anchor retrieval can be.

[0005] Marine vessels typically comprise an anchor deployment and retrieval system comprising a windlass, an anchor chain connected to an anchor and operatively engaged with the windlass and a chain roller for rolling the anchor chain when operating the windlass for deploying or retrieving the anchor. The windlass typically comprises an electric motor operated by means of an electronic command. Deploying the anchor typically comprises stopping movement of the vessel on a selected position or spot with the bow directed upwind, starting deploying the anchor by operating the windlass and when the anchor reaches the seafloor starting moving slowly in reverse and / or letting the wind cause a reverse movement while continuing deploying the chain and trying to maintain the bow upwind.

[0006] In particular, for safety reasons, in order to avoid anchor dragging, it is important to always deploy a sufficient length of anchor chain, which depends on the depth at a particular anchorage position.

[0007] Typically, a length corresponding to at least three times, e.g. for short stays, and up to seven times or more the depth at the anchorage position is required, i.e., the anchor-chain length to depth ratio, also called scope or scope ratio, is typically in the range of 3 to 7 or more. In particular, the stronger the actual or expected weather and maritime conditions are, in terms of e.g. wind force, current, swell, the greater this ratio should be. This is because the anchor chain also plays an important role in preventing anchor dragging, by action of its own length and weight. A greater scope ratio implies a reduction of the angle of the anchor-chain between anchor and chain roller under tension with respect to the seafloor, and the lower the angle the better the anchor can hold, due to reduced vertical strain and increased horizontal strain, whereas at higher angles the anchor can lose grip from the seafloor and start dragging, because of the greater vertical strain. Ideally, the anchor-chain length is such that even in case of high tension, the last segment of anchor chain attached to the anchor, e.g. at least the last few meters, mostly remains laying on the seafloor such as to reduce the angle of the pull force acting on the anchor to zero, i.e. such as to reduce the vertical strain to zero. In cases of absence or of limited tension, the anchor-chain weight itself can hold the marine vessel in place with the anchor playing a minor role. If a rod or line is used instead of an anchor chain the scope ratio should be even higher.

[0008] The scope ratio is also important for another reason, as it has implications on the swing radius of the marine vessel under e.g. varying wind conditions during the anchorage time. Greater scope ratios imply a greater swing range. It is therefore important to consider the presence and the position of other surface objects, such as reefs and other marine vessels already present at anchorage and how their respective position might change relative to the own position during the anchorage time.

[0009] A typical and practical suitable depth range for most marine vessels is therefore between about 3 m and about 15 m, more typically between about 4 m and about 10 m, the lower the depth in this range is the higher the flexibility in increasing the scope ratio is, if required, given sufficient distance from surface objects and underwater hazards at all times.

[0010] When approaching an anchorage place, finding a suitable or the most suitable anchorage position, if at all available, can be therefore very challenging, in view of the many factors to consider, especially if other marine vessels are already present at anchorage and have most likely already occupied the most suitable anchorage position(s). In particular, it is difficult to estimate the available space between other marine vessels and to judge if that space is sufficient while maintaining a safety distance from the marine vessels and other possible surface objects such as reefs or from a shore throughout the entire anchorage time. This estimation is complicated even more by the fact that it is typically unknown where the exact positions of the anchors of the other marine vessels are and what their respective anchor-chain lengths are. Also, after prolonged stay and varying wind conditions, the anchor chain can lay with different chain segments at different angles, different from a straight line with the bow of the vessel possibly pointing in a direction different from that of the anchor. Thus, it can be difficult to estimate the swing range of other marine vessels at anchorage.

[0011] So, often, time is wasted in searching for a suitable anchorage position driving among other marine vessels at anchorage and sometimes not finding any. Other times, it can be wrongly estimated that no suitable anchorage position is available whereas there was one or more, thereby driving or sailing further to the next anchorage place and missing an opportunity. Even worse, sometimes, an anchorage position can be estimated as being suitable whereas in fact it is not suitable. This may imply having to leave the anchorage if realized in time or having to monitor the situation with anxiety. In other cases, it may have severe safety consequences possibly leading to collision with other marine vessels or reefs or to run aground, if neglected.

[0012] US2022 / 0268585A1 discloses an anchoring system comprising a display and a processor configured to receive marine data from a marine system connected to the marine vessel, determine one or more anchoring locations, generate an anchorage quality index for each of the one or more anchoring locations based on at least the received marine data, and cause the display to show the one or more anchoring locations with a visual indication of the corresponding anchorage quality index. The marine data may include sonar data, the sonar data may include seabed composition. The processor may be further configured to generate the anchorage quality index based on at least an anchoring time input by the user and / or to receive real-time environmental data and update the one or more anchoring locations based on at least the received real-time environmental data, such as wind data, tide data, and weather data. According to other embodiments, determining one or more anchoring areas could be based on other user inputs or crowd-sourced data. In some embodiments, the processor is configured to determine the one or more anchoring areas based on at least one of a boat profile, chart data, and depth data. In some embodiments, the boat profile includes at least one of an anchor type, a number of anchors, a line length, a bow height, and a scope ratio. In particular, the anchorage quality may be generated based on the water depth, seabed composition, tidal forecast, and / or weather data in relation to the characteristics of the marine vessel (e.g., boat profile, anchor type) for the user's current selections (e.g., desired anchoring time). In some embodiments, the anchorage quality may be further affected by saved user ratings or previously tracked events. According to a particular embodiment, the user interface includes indications of nearby anchored vessels in order to notify the user of potential surface hazards. The nearby anchored vessel indications may have variable size in accordance with the swing radius calculated based on the water depth, anchor line length, etc. The nearby anchored vessel data may be communicated to the system as real-time, crowd-sourced data based on standard information shared with a connected network (e.g., AIS). Likewise, the system may communicate the same information (e.g., including anchoring location and calculated swing radius) for the marine vessel with the connected network and / or other vessels. In this way, anchoring data may be shared electronically between marine vessels. Sharing anchoring data in this way may allow the system and / or user to see other anchored vessels in relation to the current location of the marine vessel, so the system and / or user can choose to anchor the marine vessel in a safe anchoring location in relation to the other nearby vessels.

[0013] The system may cause the user interface to automatically display a dynamic swing radius indicator around the current location of the marine vessel.

[0014] The system may also show nearby anchored vessels with an indication of their swing radius and probable positions (e.g., due to environmental data). When the appearance of the dynamic swing radius indicator is triggered, the system may also display a selectable scope ratio indicator showing the current scope ratio (e.g., “Scope 5:1”) of the marine vessel (e.g., based on the water depth at the current location and the anchor line length). If the user selects the scope ratio indicator and / or if the system is triggered by behavior of the marine vessel within the context of the surrounding area a manual scope adjustor may be activated.

[0015] The user may use the manual scope adjustor to edit the resulting swing radius of the marine vessel to avoid nearby surface hazards. The system may limit the amount that the user is able to adjust the swing radius based on a minimum and maximum scope ratio appropriate for safety. The minimum and maximum scope ratios may be dynamic based on the environmental data (e.g., seabed composition, water depth, wind, currents) of the anchoring location and / or the boat profile (e.g., anchor type, weight) for the marine vessel. In response to the user editing the swing radius size, the system may display the updated anchor line length to deploy.

[0016] In summary, US2022 / 0268585A1 discloses ways of determining whether an anchorage area is qualitatively better than another based on multiple factors. The system of US2022 / 0268585A1 may also provide indications of nearby anchored vessels in order to notify the user of potential surface hazards. Also, the system and / or user can choose to anchor the marine vessel in a safe anchoring location in relation to the other nearby vessels. It does not teach however what the logic of the controller is in choosing a safe anchoring location in relation to the other nearby vessels. It only teaches that the user may use a manual scope adjustor to edit the resulting swing radius of the marine vessel to avoid nearby surface hazards at the current location and that the system may limit the amount that the user is able to adjust based on a minimum and maximum scope ratio appropriate for safety, based on the environmental data (e.g., seabed composition, water depth, wind, currents) of the anchoring location and / or the boat profile (e.g., anchor type, weight). Moreover, US2022 / 0268585A1 discloses a connected network (e.g., AIS) for indicating nearby anchored vessels. A problem with connected networks such as the automatic identification system (AIS) is however that not all marine vessels have an AIS and not all marine vessels having an AIS have it always turned on, especially at anchorage, where the instrumentation is typically turned off.

[0017] US2022 / 0268585A1 thus fails at solving the problem of automatically determining any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) in a crowd of other anchored marine vessels.General description

[0018] In view of the above background, an anchorage position determining system for marine vessels is herein introduced, that enables to automatically determine and to indicate on a chart being displayed any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s), if available, when approaching an anchorage place possibly already crowded by other anchored marine vessels, thereby facilitating finding of a suitable anchorage position, and increasing safety at anchorage. Another advantage is that it reduces or eliminates anxiety about the suitability of an anchorage position and safety concerns while at anchorage. Another advantage is that it enables time saving and reduced fuel consumption when looking for a suitable anchorage position. Other advantages will become apparent from the following description.

[0019] A marine vessel comprising such anchorage position determining system and presenting the same advantages is herein also disclosed.

[0020] A respective method of determining an anchorage position and presenting the same advantages is herein also disclosed.

[0021] In particular, the anchorage position determining system of the present disclosure comprises a memory comprising topographic chart data of coastal and / or inland water areas stored therein, including underwater topographic data comprising at least depth data, a chartplotter for displaying a chart including at least part of the chart data stored on the memory and a satellite-based positioning system for determining the position of the marine vessel on the chart. It further comprises at least one surface object detecting system for detecting any surface objects including any other marine vessel(s) eventually present at anchorage and a controller configured to cooperate with the at least one surface object detecting system for determining respective positions of the detected surface objects on the chart and configured to determine and to indicate on the chart any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s), if available, by determining whether a scope ratio equal to or greater than a minimum threshold value is obtainable based on the depth data and the position of the detected surface objects.

[0022] The term “anchorage position determining system” as used herein refers to an electronically controlled system for automatically determining and indicating on a chart being displayed any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) in a larger anchorage place, based on processing of available data stored on a memory combined with actual data obtained by at least one surface object detecting system and possibly other detecting devices or sensors when approaching or arriving at the anchorage place.

[0023] The term “anchorage position” as used herein refers to an anchor position, i.e. to a particular spot or location in a larger anchorage place possibly comprising one or more anchorage positions, where an anchor is deployed and becoming the center of or point of reference for the space or range occupied by the marine vessel at anchorage, also called “swing range”. If the marine vessel is free to swing, i.e. not fixed to steady reference points such as rocks or other fixed marine vessels, the marine vessel position at anchorage is typically within a swing range or circular area whose radius (swing radius) is determined by a maximum extension of the deployed anchor chain under tension and under non dragging conditions and by the length of the marine vessel itself. As the wind and marine conditions eventually change over time during anchorage, the marine vessel at anchorage may find itself at any position within this range. Different marine vessels at anchorage may have partially overlapping swing ranges despite having different anchorage positions. This is typically not a problem since marine vessels with partially overlapping swing ranges are typically subject to the same environmental conditions such as wind force and direction and current and therefore tend to swing at about the same time with small differences determined by multiple factors such as type of vessel, e.g. sailing or motor vessel, mono or multi-hull, size and weight and especially surface area exposed to wind determined by its shape and design. It can however become a problem if such differences become significant and their respective movements are not sufficiently synchronized.

[0024] A “chartplotter” is a navigation device typically installed on marine vessels, e.g. as part of or in the form of a multi-function display, typically using a satellite-based positioning system for determining the location of the marine vessel and display it on a chart loaded into a memory. Chartplotters come in different sizes and configurations, from small handheld units to larger multifunction displays. Many models can integrate with other systems, such as radar, sonar, and autopilots, providing real-time information about the surroundings, making it easier to navigate, especially through unfamiliar waters. The display may be a screen that is configured to merely present images and not receive user input. In other embodiments, the display acts as a user interface and is configured to receive user input in some form. For example, the display may be a touchscreen that enables touch input from a user. Additionally or alternatively, the chartplotter may include one or more buttons that enable user input in connection with the display.

[0025] The term “memory” refers to an electronic non-volatile computer memory used as storage medium for electronic or digital data including but not limited to a hard drive, a solid state drive, a flash memory and the like, in a fixedly installed or removable format such as memory card, memory stick and the like. The memory may be locally installed and be a dedicated component of the anchorage position determining system or of the chartplotter or shared with other memory using systems or be wirelessly and / or remotely connected to the anchorage position determining system e.g. via a remote server via e.g. a mobile or satellite communication. Also, the memory may be configured to be manually or automatically updated with new data either locally or remotely e.g. via a remote server via e.g. a mobile or satellite communication, or to be replaced with a new memory.

[0026] The stored data comprise topographic chart data of at least coastal and / or inland water areas, including underwater topographic data comprising at least depth data. Topographic data comprise in particular information about the elevation of the surface of the Earth, including in this case elevations of the seafloor below the water surface or depth data, and at least indication or representation of emerged surfaces above water level such as rocks, reefs, islands and in general coastal or shore contours and details. Topographic data may additionally include information such as contour lines, roads, streams, railroads, towns, harbors, information related to navigation, e.g. lighthouses, buoys, warnings, hazards, and the like, which may be all or in part, e.g. selectively or e.g. dependent on the level of magnification, represented on a chart. Topographic data may include also seafloor type data, e.g. sand, seaweed, mud, rocks. Topographic charts can be either in printed form or electronic / digital form. For the purpose of the present disclosure a “chart” refers to a digital map stored on the memory and displayable at least in part by the chartplotter.

[0027] The topographic data stored on the memory may be combined or complemented with other data stored on the same or different memory and displayed on the same chart e.g. as a combined overlay. An example of combined overlay is a satellite overlay, providing a satellite top-down imaging of inland and coastal areas. Other types of topographic charts that can alternatively be displayed or combined in overlay include sonar charts based on high-definition contour sonar data presenting a detailed rendering of the seafloor and lake bottoms in varying shades of one or more colors. Another example is given by relief shading that can deliver highly detailed shading combining color and shadow to provide an easy-to-interpret, clearer view of bottom structure than contour lines alone.

[0028] The term “depth” refers to an average distance between water surface and bottom, e.g. a seafloor or seabed, an ocean floor, a lake bottom or river bed. For simplicity any bottom floor located underwater is herein referred to as “seafloor”. It is thus to be understood that the depth may vary in a range around an average value depending on several factors such as tide and swell. Depth data may also change overtime due to topographical changes such as changes to the seafloor and requiring an update of the chart data.

[0029] The term “satellite-based positioning system” refers to an electronic navigation system for determining and / or monitoring a marine vessel position, e.g. with respect to an intended course, based on satellite communication and feedback. There are nowadays various satellite-based positioning systems such as the global positioning system (GPS), the global navigation satellite system (GLONASS), the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, the Galileo global navigation satellite system (GNSS) or combinations thereof, that can provide real time positioning and also determination of velocity. It typically includes also a chartplotter for determining and displaying the position of the marine vessel on a chart and provides the possibility to set a destination and to monitor the advancement to the set destination. According to a preferred embodiment the satellite-based positioning system and the anchorage position determining system share the same chartplotter.

[0030] A “surface object detecting system” is a system configured to detect any objects appearing on the water surface having safety relevance including in particular any other marine vessel(s) eventually present at anchorage and possibly other floating objects such as water toys, buoys and the like, e.g. at least of a certain size and / or having certain properties such as e.g. reflective or emitting properties, thereby providing actual data with respect to the situation above the water surface that is otherwise not available from the chart data. It may however also be configured to detect topographic objects above the water surface such as reefs or rocks that are uncharted or in confirmation of the available chart data.

[0031] According to an embodiment, the at least one surface object detecting system is a radar system, in particular a vessel-based marine radar. Marine radars are typically X band or S band radars installed on marine vessels, used to detect targets such as other marine vessels or other floating objects and topographic objects above the water surface and on land, providing bearing and distance for collision avoidance and navigation at sea. They are electronic navigation instruments that use a rotating antenna to sweep a narrow beam of microwaves around the water surface surrounding the marine vessel to the horizon, detecting the targets by microwaves reflected from them, and depicting them on a display screen as a sonar chart. Radars are rarely used alone in a marine setting and typically share components with other systems. In particular, the same chartplotter of the anchorage position determining system and / or of the satellite-based positioning system can be used also as radar screen. A sonar chart can be displayed separately or overlaid with a topographic chart by the same chartplotter.

[0032] According to an embodiment, the at least one surface object detecting system is a visual object detection system running a computer vision application.

[0033] Visual object detection can be performed using either traditional image processing techniques or modern machine learning and deep learning networks. Image processing techniques generally don’t require historical data for training and are unsupervised in nature. OpenCV (Open Source Computer Vision) is a popular tool for image processing tasks. The advantage is that these tasks do not require annotated images, where humans labeled data manually (for supervised training). The disadvantage is that these techniques are limited in their capability, e.g. in cases of complex scenes (without unicolor background), occlusion (partially hidden objects), illumination and shadows, and clutter effect. Machine learning and deep learning methods generally depend on supervised or unsupervised learning, with supervised methods being the standard in computer vision tasks. The performance is limited by the computation power of GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), which is rapidly increasing year by year and becoming more affordable. Deep learning object detection is significantly more suitable to occlusion, complex scenes, and challenging illumination, as it can be in an anchorage place.

[0034] In the last few years, the rapid advances in deep learning techniques have greatly accelerated the momentum of object detection technology. With deep learning networks and the computing power of GPUs, the performance of object detectors and trackers has greatly improved, achieving significant breakthroughs in visual object detection. Person detection, including e.g. face recognition, is a variant of object detection used to detect a primary class “person” in images or video frames. Detecting people in video streams is an important task in modern video surveillance systems.

[0035] Machine Learning (ML) is a branch of artificial intelligence (AI), and it essentially involves learning patterns from examples or sample data as the machine accesses the data and has the ability to learn from it (supervised learning on annotated images). The core principle of ML is that a machine uses data to “learn” based on it. Hence, machine learning systems can quickly apply knowledge and training from large data sets to automate people recognition, speech recognition, object detection, translation, and many other tasks. Unlike developing and coding a software program with specific instructions to complete a task, ML allows a system to learn to recognize patterns on its own and make predictions.

[0036] Deep Learning (DL) is a specialized form of Machine Learning which involves learning in different stages. It uses some ML techniques to solve real-world problems by tapping into neural networks that simulate human decision-making. Hence, DL trains the machine to do what the human brain does naturally. DL is best characterized by its layered structure, which is the foundation of artificial neural networks. Each layer is adding to the knowledge of the previous layer.

[0037] “Computer vision” is a sector of AI that uses Machine Learning and Deep Learning to allow computers to see, recognize and analyze things in photos and videos in the same way that people do. Computer vision has a massive impact in many fields of application, from retail to security, healthcare, construction, automotive, manufacturing, logistics, agriculture and more.

[0038] Computer vision systems use cameras to obtain visual data, ML models, including DL models for processing the images, and conditional logic to automate application-specific use cases.

[0039] For example, computer vision applications for automated vehicle classification and counting have a long history. DL methods make it possible to implement large-scale traffic analysis systems using common, inexpensive security cameras. With rapidly growing affordable sensors such as closed‐circuit television (CCTV) cameras, light detection and ranging (LiDAR), and even thermal imaging devices, vehicles can be detected, tracked, and categorized in multiple lanes simultaneously. The accuracy of vehicle classification can be improved by combining multiple sensors such as thermal imaging, LiDAR imaging with RGB cameras (common surveillance, IP cameras). Another example is provided by visual parking space monitoring that can be used for parking lot occupancy detection based on a deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). There exist multiple datasets for parking lot detection, such as PKLot and CNRPark-EXT. Furthermore, video-based parking management systems have been implemented using stereoscopic imaging (3D) or thermal cameras.

[0040] According to the present disclosure, the visual object detection system comprises at least one camera to obtain visual data as images or video frames and is configured to run a computer vision application based on a ML or DL model for processing the images applying knowledge and training from a representative dataset of images from a plurality of anchorage places taken under different conditions of e.g. number, size and types of marine vessels, level of occupancy, relative distance between marine vessels, light conditions, e.g. taken at different times of the day and night and different weather conditions (sunny, overcast, rainy), wind conditions and surface conditions (calm, wavy) and the like and taken from different angles and perspectives, e.g. from different heights, including e.g. from above, e.g. via a drone, in order to automate the detection of at least other marine vessels at anchorage and possibly other surface objects. The at least one camera can be any type of camera, as e.g. mentioned above or a combination of different cameras, including e.g. a thermal camera for facilitating surface object detection at night and / or a plurality of spatially arranged cameras such us to generate stereoscopic imaging (3D). The at least one camera is ideally installed on an elevated position of the marine vessel, e.g. on a mast or spreader in case of a sailing marine vessel or as high as possible on any other marine vessel. Alternatively or in addition, the at least one camera may be installed on a drone for obtaining aerial top-down visual data and communicating remotely with the surface object detecting system. Alternatively or in addition, the surface object detecting system may be configured to communicate with satellites for obtaining actual satellite images as visual data.

[0041] According to an embodiment, the at least one surface object detecting system may be used in combination with an automatic identification system (AIS). AIS is intended, primarily, to allow marine vessels to view marine traffic, in particular other marine vessels that also have an AIS, in their area and to be seen by these other marine vessels. This requires a dedicated VHF AIS transceiver that typically integrates with a positioning system such as a satellite-based positioning system and allows local traffic to be viewed on an AIS enabled chartplotter (or computer monitor) while transmitting information about the marine vessel itself to other AIS receivers. Information provided by AIS equipment, includes unique identification, position, heading, and speed. Port authorities or other shore-based facilities may be equipped with receivers only, so that they can view the local traffic without the need to transmit their own location. All marine vessels equipped with AIS transceivers can be viewed this way within a VHF distance range, about 10–20 nautical miles, as long as the AIS is operating, e.g. is turned on. The same chartplotter of the anchorage position determining system and / or of the satellite-based positioning system can be used also as radar screen and / or AIS screen. In particular, AIS charts, are overlaid with a topographic chart and / or a radar chart by the same chartplotter typically displaying triangles representing marine vessels at respective positions on the topographic and / or radar chart. Typically, besides the triangles, also lines are displayed indicating e.g. the heading of a marine vessel or its status, e.g. in navigation or stationary, e.g. at anchorage, and by selecting a triangle additional information is displayed such as its unique identification, speed, destination, collision risk and the like. The AIS can thus be a useful complementary system to the radar system and / or to the visual object detection system providing additional information or confirmation of detected objects but only for some and few marine vessels, as not all marine vessels have an AIS and not all marine vessels having an AIS have it always turned on. The AIS is therefore not a suitable surface object detecting system for the purpose of the present disclosure, when used alone, since it is not capable of detecting any surface objects but only some and few marine vessels.

[0042] According to an embodiment, the at least one surface object detecting system is a visual object detection system running a computer vision application or a radar system or a combination of both or a combination of any one or both with an automatic identification system (AIS).

[0043] The term “controller” as used herein encompasses any physical or virtual processing device and in particular a programmable logic controller running a computer-readable program or software provided with instructions to execute control operations related to the anchorage position determining system, and in particular configured to cooperate with the at least one surface object detecting system for determining respective positions of the detected surface objects on the chart and to determine and to indicate on the chart any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s), if available, by determining whether a scope ratio equal to or greater than a minimum threshold value is obtainable based on the depth data and the position of the detected surface objects.

[0044] In particular, the controller may include at least one central processing unit (CPU), a system memory and a system bus that couples various system components to the CPU, such as the chart memory, system memory, chartplotter, the at least one surface object detecting system, the satellite-based positioning system, and any other sensors or marine systems. The system memory may include a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM). The CPU can include a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a processor, a programmable integrated circuit, or a combination thereof. The CPU may provide output data to a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). The GPU may generate graphical user interfaces that present the output data, e.g. to the chartplotter. The GPU may also provide objects, such as menus, in the graphical user interface. A user may provide inputs by interacting with the objects. The GPU may receive the inputs from interaction with the objects and provide the inputs to the CPU. In one implementation, the CPU may perform the tasks of the GPU.

[0045] The GPU may be a microprocessor specifically designed to process the images for visual object detection by running a computer vision application as part of the visual object detection system.

[0046] The CPU may offload work to the GPU. The GPU may have its own graphics memory, and / or may have access to a portion of the system memory.

[0047] Determining respective positions of the detected surface objects on the chart does not necessarily imply indicating or displaying the position of the detected surface objects on the chart, as long as they are taken into account in determining and indicating on the chart any one or more suitable or a most suitable anchorage position, if available.

[0048] In order to streamline processing speeds, the controller may be configured to first filter out any unsuitable anchorage areas in an anchorage place based on predefined unsuitable limits, e.g. areas below a minimum distance from land and / or with depths below a minimum safety depth or greater than a maximum threshold depth and / or with a certain type of seafloor and / or to include anchorage positions only within predefined suitable limits, e.g. within a predefined depth range and / or distance range from shore and / or with a certain type of seafloor, e.g. only sandy. The controller may then continue refining the remaining set of locations based on any of the herein disclosed criteria discriminating between suitable and unsuitable anchorage positions.

[0049] A “suitable anchorage position” is an anchorage position that allows safe anchorage during the entire time of anchorage of a marine vessel and which can be extended, e.g. overnight or over several days. “Safe anchorage” means that despite possible environmental changes during the time of anchorage, especially weather changes such as conditions of increased wind and / or swell, the anchor continues holding without dragging and that the distance and relative position with respect to other surface objects is such that at no time it can come to collision with any of such surface objects.

[0050] As already discussed in the background session, there are several factors that may influence the suitability of an anchorage position, one important factor being the obtainable scope ratio, which should be equal to or greater than a minimum threshold value that can be variable depending on the circumstances and typically in the range of at least 3 and up to 7 or more. Moreover, the distance between chain roller and water surface should be taken into account and added to the depth in order to calculate a more appropriate scope ratio according to the formula L / (D+h) 3-7 where L is the anchor-chain length to be deployed, D is the depth or distance between seafloor and water surface and h is the distance between chain roller and water surface. In particular, the stronger the actual or expected weather and maritime conditions are, in terms of e.g. wind force, current, swell, the greater this ratio should be and the higher the minimum threshold should be.

[0051] Another important factor for determining the suitability of an anchorage position, as already mentioned, is the distance from other surface objects, the larger the distance the higher the flexibility in increasing the scope ratio if required without increasing the risk of collisions. The term “obtainable” with respect to the scope ratio is thus to be seen in relation to the position of any surface objects in proximity of a potential anchorage position and refers to a value that allows the marine vessel to remain within a safety distance from other surface objects as well as to remain above a minimum safety depth at any time during the time of anchorage.

[0052] The term “safety distance from other surface objects” refers primarily to a distance of the marine vessel anchored at that anchorage position relative to other surface objects, including a margin, that is sufficient at preventing collisions, at any time during the time of anchorage. A safety distance may be given despite a partially overlapping swing range with that of other marine vessels, as mentioned above. In addition, the term may also refer to a distance of the anchorage position from any other surface objects, that is sufficient at preventing collisions at the time of deploying and retrieving the anchor. In that case, a safety distance may not be given if the anchorage position falls inside the swing range of another marine vessel and should be kept therefore outside. Analogously, a safety distance may not be given if the anchorage position of another marine vessel falls inside the own swing range.

[0053] The term “minimum safety depth” refers to a value corresponding to the marine vessel draft plus a safety depth margin of e.g. at least 1-2 meters, based also on local and actual or forecasted conditions such as swell and tide.

[0054] The controller is thus configured to determine the obtainable scope ratio at an anchorage position by predicting probable future distances of the marine vessel relative to the probable future positions of other surface objects based on the current positions of the surface objects. This may include estimating, besides the own swing range, also the swing range of other marine vessels at anchorage based on the depth data and on an estimation of their scope ratio. In estimating the swing range of other marine vessels, besides depth data, also the relative positions of neighboring marine vessels around a potential anchorage position may be taken into account by the controller. As a certain level of uncertainty remains in regard to the respective actual anchor positions and deployed anchor-chain lengths of the other marine vessels, the controller may be configured to overestimate the scope ratio of other marine vessels, thereby determining a smaller obtainable scope ratio, in order to minimize the safety risk. Moreover, the controller is configured to determine the obtainable scope ratio at an anchorage position also based on how the depth varies in the own swing range, so that the own swing range does not include depths below the minimum safety depth.

[0055] According to an embodiment, the controller is configured to determine the obtainable scope ratio for an anchorage position also based on a maximum available anchor-chain length, a minimum safety depth and a maximum threshold depth, in addition to a minimum safety distance from any detected surface objects. The obtainable scope ratio may not exceed a maximum scope ratio, which depends e.g. on the maximum available anchor-chain length.

[0056] If more than one suitable anchorage position is available, the controller may be configured to determine a suitability index for the plurality of suitable anchorage positions based on a respective obtainable scope ratio, the greater the obtainable scope ratio is the more suitable the anchorage position is among the suitable anchorage positions.

[0057] The term “suitability index” refers to a scale of relative suitability among suitable anchorage positions according to a suitability score from lowest to highest.

[0058] The term “most suitable anchorage position(s)” thus refers to one or more suitable anchorage positions with a relatively higher or the highest score in the suitability index. In particular, smaller obtainable scope ratios correspond to lower scores and greater obtainable scope ratios correspond to higher scores.

[0059] Importantly, since the suitability of an anchorage position strongly depends on the position of other marine vessels eventually present at anchorage, the suitability index for a given anchorage place is dynamic (according to the actual marine vessel occupancy) and applies only to the actual time of determining suitable anchorage positions. This means that when visiting the same anchorage place a second time, a completely different suitability index may be generated compared to the first time.

[0060] According to an embodiment, the controller is configured to determine the suitability index also based on any one or more of relative depth, relative distance from shore, relative windshield factor and / or relative wave-shield factor based on topographic chart data stored on the memory, e.g. by assigning higher scores to suitable anchorage positions with lower depths, while still remaining above the minimum safety depth and / or with lower distances from shore and / or with lower distances from topographical features that can provide better shield from wind and / or waves while still remaining within a safety distance and a permissible distance (according to local regulations) from shore or land.

[0061] The term “windshield factor” with respect to an anchorage position refers to a degree of reduction of the wind speed / force acting on the marine vessel anchored at that anchorage position as effect of the shield caused by a topographical feature with sufficient elevation, e.g. an elevated reef, hill or mountain or man-made structure relative to the wind direction, the higher the degree of reduction is the higher the windshield factor is.

[0062] The term “wave-shield factor” with respect to an anchorage position refers to a degree of reduction of the swell at the position of the marine vessel anchored at that anchorage position as effect of the shield caused by a topographical feature that can break the wave motion or that prevents wave formation e.g. a coast line, reef or man-made structure, the higher the degree of reduction is the higher the wave-shield factor is.

[0063] The term windshield factor may include also the term wave-shield factor, since wind and waves typically have the same direction and shield from wind typically implies also shield from waves. If that is not the case, a higher score or higher weight may be assigned for the wave-shield factor than for the windshield factor.

[0064] According to an embodiment, the underwater topographic data comprise contour and / or relief data and / or seafloor type data and the controller is configured to determine the suitability index also based on any one or more of the contour and / or relief data and / or seafloor type data. For example, at parity of obtainable scope ratios at two different suitable anchorage positions, the contour and / or relief data and / or seafloor type data may be decisive in determining the most suitable of the two anchorage positions, e.g. by assigning a higher score to sandy seafloors over seaweed or muddy or rocky seafloors, and / or by assigning a higher score to uniform and flat seafloors over seafloors with relieves. The seafloor type and seafloor features may be prioritizing factors, e.g. by assigning a score with increased weight, in determining the most suitable anchorage position(s) even if the obtainable scope ratio is lower at that or those position(s) compared to other suitable anchorage positions, as long as it is equal to or greater than the minimum threshold value.

[0065] According to an embodiment, the minimum threshold value is variable and the controller is configured to dynamically adapt the minimum threshold value based on seafloor type data and / or on actual or forecasted wind and / or marine conditions data and / or on the windshield factor and / or wave-shield factor and / or on a relative distance between other marine vessels eventually present at anchorage. In particular, the more suitable the seafloor type is, e.g. sandy, corresponding to better anchor gripping and holding properties, the lower the minimum threshold value can be, e.g. closer to 3 and the least suitable the seafloor type is, e.g. rocky, corresponding to worse anchor gripping and holding properties, the higher the minimum threshold value should be, e.g. closer to 7 or higher. Also, the weaker the actual or expected wind conditions are, e.g. below about 10 knots of wind, the lower the minimum threshold value can be, e.g. closer to 3, and the stronger the actual or expected wind conditions are, e.g. above about 20 knots of wind, the higher the minimum threshold value should be, e.g. closer to 7 or higher. Also, the higher the windshield factor and / or the wave-shield factor are, the lower the minimum threshold value can be, and the lower the windshield factor and / or the wave-shield factor are, the higher the minimum threshold value should be. The controller may be further configured to estimate an average scope ratio of other marine vessels nearby an anchorage position based also on the relative distance between other marine vessels and to adapt the minimum threshold value accordingly, e.g. at least in line with the estimated average scope ratio of the other marine vessels or higher.

[0066] According to an embodiment, the minimum threshold value is manually settable, at least to some extent, e.g. still under supervision of the controller. For example, the controller may allow to set the minimum threshold value higher than the value automatically determined by the controller but not lower, or not higher than a maximum obtainable scope ratio.

[0067] According to an embodiment, the controller is configured to indicate and / or to automatically set the anchor-chain length to be deployed according to the determined obtainable scope ratio. If a scope ratio is obtainable that is greater than the minimum threshold value, a smaller scope ratio may be set, corresponding to a shorter anchor-chain length to be deployed, as long as the scope ratio remains at least equal to or greater than the minimum threshold value. Especially in crowded anchorage places, scope ratios equal to or close to the minimum threshold value may be actually preferred because if the scope ratio is too high, there is a higher probability that later arriving marine vessels may unsuitably occupy anchorage positions nearby with dangerously overlapping swing ranges.

[0068] According to an embodiment, upon arriving at any suitable or the most suitable anchorage position the controller is configured to verify the depth by a depth meter and to indicate and / or to automatically adjust the set anchor-chain length to be deployed based on the actual depth and the actually obtainable scope ratio.

[0069] According to an embodiment, the controller is configured to indicate when to start or to automatically start anchor deployment (by controlling a windlass) and / or to monitor by a chain counter the anchor-chain length being deployed and / or to indicate when to stop or to automatically stop deployment when the set anchor-chain length has been deployed. A “chain counter” is an electronic device configured to automatically determine the length of the anchor chain being deployed / retrieved, e.g. by counting the rotations of the windlass or barboten after calibration based on the known length of a chain segment / number of chain links translated upon one single rotation.

[0070] According to an embodiment, the controller is configured to automatically execute a steering action until the set anchor-chain length has been deployed.

[0071] According to an embodiment, the anchorage position determining system further comprises at least one vessel orientation determining system for determining the orientation of the other marine vessel(s) eventually present at anchorage and the controller is configured to determine any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) also based on the orientation of the other marine vessel(s) at anchorage. Determining the orientation of the other marine vessel(s) at anchorage, i.e. determining the orientation of the bow, which in most cases (in actual conditions of sufficient wind force that causes the anchor chain to be at least minimally tensioned) indicates the direction where the anchor has been deployed, may facilitate determining their swing range, based on an estimation of their scope ratio based at least on the depth data and hence on an estimation of their anchorage position relative to their current vessel position.

[0072] According to an embodiment, the at least one vessel orientation determining system is a visual object detection system running a computer vision application or a wind indication system or an automatic identification system (AIS) or combinations thereof. In particular, the same visual object detection system used as surface object detecting system, as described above, may be used also as vessel orientation determining system. Analogously, the same automatic identification system (AIS) possibly used in combination with another surface object detecting system, as described above, may be used also as vessel orientation determining system. This is because AIS data typically also include the orientation or heading of a marine vessel. Also, the AIS typically represents marine vessels as overlaid isosceles triangles on the chart, the vertex representing the bow. Another option, as alternative or in combination, is to use a wind indication system since the bow is nearly always oriented upwind. Thus, by determining the wind direction it is mostly possible to determine the orientation of other marine vessels as well. Determining also the wind speed besides the wind direction, can be advantageous in determining if the anchor chains of the other marine vessels are at least minimally tensioned and therefore to confirm that their orientation is actually correlated to their respective anchor position.

[0073] According to an embodiment, the controller is configured to overlay on the same chart the position of the detected surface objects, particularly of the other marine vessel(s) eventually present at anchorage, and optionally to indicate the orientation and / or an estimated swing range of the other marine vessel(s) eventually present at anchorage. The estimated swing range may include an estimated minimum swing range and an estimated maximum swing range, as e.g. two concentric circles of different radius.

[0074] According to an embodiment, the controller is configured to indicate on the chart an estimated own swing range at any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) based on the obtainable scope ratio at the respective anchorage position.

[0075] According to an embodiment, any indicated suitable anchorage position is selectable on the chart. The controller may be configured to highlight the most suitable anchorage position(s) among the suitable anchorage position and / or to provide a recommendation with respect to a particular suitable anchorage position or to directly select and indicate the most suitable of all suitable anchorage positions without necessarily indicating any other suitable anchorage positions having a lower score in the suitability index.

[0076] According to an embodiment, upon selection of a suitable anchorage position the controller is configured to provide guidance and / or to automatically steer the marine vessel to the selected anchorage position while taking into account the position of the detected surface objects.

[0077] According to an embodiment, the controller is configured to indicate a lack of availability of a suitable anchorage position if a scope ratio equal to or greater than a minimum threshold value is not obtainable.

[0078] According to an embodiment, upon anchoring at any suitable anchorage position the controller is configured to record anchorage data comprising the coordinates of the anchorage position and the deployed anchor-chain length and to share the anchorage data with other marine vessels. For example, the controller may be configured to share (transmit and receive) the anchorage data with other marine vessels that also comprise an anchorage position determining system according to the present disclosure and / or for example to transmit the anchorage data as AIS data with any marine vessel comprising an automatic identification system. In particular, the shared anchorage data may be displayed also on the chart, e.g. an AIS chart, of other marine vessels by e.g. indicating, besides the own marine vessel position, also the own anchorage position and / or the deployed chain length and / or the own swing range, thereby facilitating the task also to other marine vessels to determine a suitable anchorage position.

[0079] An often encountered problem is that other marine vessel(s) arriving later may wrongly or purposely select an anchorage position nearby that is unsuitable to them, thereby causing the own anchorage position to become unsafe although it was suitable at the time of anchorage, before the other marine vessel(s) arrived. According to an embodiment, after anchoring at any suitable anchorage position the controller is configured to monitor the suitability of the anchorage position during anchorage if new conditions arise, e.g. by monitoring departing and new arriving marine vessels nearby with the at least one surface object detecting system, and eventually generating an alarm.

[0080] The present disclosure is directed also to a marine vessel comprising an anchorage position determining system according to any of the herein described embodiments.

[0081] The term “marine vessel” refers to any vessel designed for navigation on water, such as ocean, sea, lake, river, regardless of its use, e.g. as a leisure vessel, or for commercial or dedicated use, e.g. as a charter yacht, a fishing boat, or a larger ship for transporting people and / or goods and the like, and regardless of its means of propulsion. In particular, the marine vessel of the present disclosure can be a motor and / or sailing vessel, either monohull or multihull, of any size, shape and form. The marine vessel typically comprises an anchor deployment and retrieval system comprising a windlass, an anchor chain connected to an anchor and operatively engaged with the windlass and a chain roller for rolling the anchor chain when operating the windlass for deploying or retrieving the anchor. The windlass typically comprises an electric motor operated by means of an electronic command. In particular, the controller of the anchorage position determining system may be connected to the anchor deployment and retrieval system and be configured to automatically operate the windlass by controlling the electric motor. In particular, the controller may be configured to indicate when to start or to automatically start anchor deployment and / or to monitor by a chain counter the anchor-chain length being deployed and / or to indicate when to stop or to automatically stop deployment when the set anchor-chain length has been deployed. Moreover, the controller may be configured to automatically execute a steering action until the set anchor-chain length has been deployed and / or to automatically steer the marine vessel to the selected anchorage position.

[0082] The present disclosure refers also to an automated method of determining an anchorage position for a marine vessel. The method comprises displaying by a chartplotter a chart including at least part of chart data stored on a memory, the memory comprising topographic chart data of coastal and / or inland water areas stored therein, including underwater topographic data comprising at least depth data, determining the position of the marine vessel on the chart by a satellite-based positioning system, detecting any surface objects including any other marine vessel(s) eventually present at anchorage by at least one surface object detecting system, determining respective positions of the detected surface objects on the chart by a controller configured to cooperate with the at least one surface object detecting system and determining and indicating on the chart any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s), if available, by determining by the controller whether a scope ratio equal to or greater than a minimum threshold value is obtainable based on the depth data and the respective positions of the detected surface objects.

[0083] According to an embodiment, the method comprises determining the obtainable scope ratio for an anchorage position also based on a maximum available anchor-chain length, a minimum safety depth and a maximum threshold depth, in addition to a minimum safety distance from any detected surface objects.

[0084] According to an embodiment, the method comprises determining by the controller a suitability index for a plurality of suitable anchorage positions based on a respective obtainable scope ratio, the greater the obtainable scope ratio is the more suitable the anchorage position is among the suitable anchorage positions.

[0085] According to an embodiment, the method comprises determining by the controller the suitability index also based on any one or more of relative depth, relative distance from shore, relative windshield factor and / or relative wave-shield factor based on topographic chart data stored on the memory.

[0086] According to an embodiment, the underwater topographic data comprise contour and / or relief data and / or seafloor type data and the method comprises determining by the controller the suitability index also based on any one or more of the contour and / or relief data and / or seafloor type data.

[0087] According to an embodiment, the minimum threshold value is variable and the method comprises dynamically adapting by the controller the minimum threshold value based on seafloor type data and / or on actual or forecasted wind and / or marine conditions data and / or on windshield factor and / or wave-shield factor and / or on a relative distance between other marine vessels eventually present at anchorage.

[0088] According to an embodiment, the minimum threshold value is manually settable.

[0089] According to an embodiment, the method comprises indicating and / or automatically setting by the controller the anchor-chain length to be deployed according to the determined obtainable scope ratio.

[0090] According to an embodiment, upon arriving at any suitable or the most suitable anchorage position the method comprises verifying the depth by a depth meter and indicating and / or automatically adjusting by the controller the set anchor-chain length to be deployed based on the actual depth and the actually obtainable scope ratio.

[0091] According to an embodiment, the method comprises indicating when to start or automatically starting by the controller anchor deployment and / or monitoring by a chain counter the anchor-chain length being deployed and / or indicating when to stop or automatically stopping by the controller deployment when the set anchor-chain length has been deployed.

[0092] According to an embodiment, the method comprises automatically executing by the controller a steering action until the set anchor-chain length has been deployed.

[0093] According to an embodiment, the at least one surface object detecting system is a visual object detection system running a computer vision application or a radar system or a combination of both or a combination of any one or both with an automatic identification system (AIS).

[0094] According to an embodiment, the method comprises determining the orientation of the other marine vessel(s) eventually present at anchorage by at least one vessel orientation determining system and determining by the controller any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) also based on the orientation of the other marine vessel(s) at anchorage.

[0095] According to an embodiment, the at least one vessel orientation determining system is a visual object detection system running a computer vision application or a wind indication system or an automatic identification system (AIS) or combinations thereof.

[0096] According to an embodiment, the method comprises first filtering out any unsuitable anchorage areas based on predefined unsuitable limits and / or including anchorage positions only within predefined suitable limits, by the controller.

[0097] According to an embodiment, the method comprises overlaying by the controller on the same chart the position of the detected surface objects, particularly of the other marine vessel(s) eventually present at anchorage, and optionally indicating the orientation and / or an estimated swing range of the other marine vessel(s) eventually present at anchorage.

[0098] According to an embodiment, the method comprises indicating by the controller on the chart an estimated own swing range at any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) based on the obtainable scope ratio at the respective anchorage position(s).

[0099] According to an embodiment, upon selection of a suitable anchorage position the method comprises providing guidance and / or automatically steering the marine vessel to the selected anchorage position by the controller while taking into account the position of the detected surface objects.

[0100] According to an embodiment, the method comprises indicating a lack of availability of a suitable anchorage position if a scope ratio equal to or greater than a minimum threshold value is not obtainable.

[0101] According to an embodiment, upon anchoring at any suitable anchorage position the method comprises recording anchorage data comprising coordinates of the anchorage position and deployed anchor-chain length and sharing the anchorage data with other marine vessels.

[0102] According to an embodiment, after anchoring at any suitable anchorage position the method comprises monitoring by the controller the suitability of the anchorage position during anchorage by monitoring departing and new arriving marine vessels nearby with the at least one surface object detecting system and eventually generating an alarm.Brief description of the drawings

[0103] shows schematically an anchorage position determining system for marine vessels comprising a chartplotter displaying a chart of an exemplary coastal area comprising an anchorage place based on topographic chart data stored on a memory.

[0104] shows schematically the same anchorage position determining system ofwhere the displayed chart data include overlaid terrain data.

[0105] shows schematically the same anchorage position determining system ofwhere the displayed chart data include overlaid satellite data.

[0106] shows schematically the same anchorage position determining system ofwhere the displayed chart data include overlaid underwater sonar chart data, including more detailed contour and depth data.

[0107] shows an actual aerial view such as an actual satellite view or drone view of the same anchorage place of-4, including a larger view and a magnified view of a selected area.

[0108] shows schematically one way of working of the anchorage position determining system of-4 comprising using a radar system as surface object detecting system and a wind indication system as vessel orientation determining system, and where the position of the detected surface objects is overlaid on the same chart.

[0109] shows schematically a variant of the embodiment ofwhere the anchorage position determining system uses a visual object detection system running a computer vision application both as surface object detecting system and as vessel orientation determining system.

[0110] shows an AIS chart, overlaid to the same topographic chart as in.

[0111] shows schematically a combination of the embodiments ofandwhere the anchorage position determining system uses both a radar system and a visual object detection system running a computer vision application as surface object detecting system, and in addition also the AIS as in.

[0112] is a variant ofand shows schematically additional possible indications of the controller on the same chart.

[0113] shows schematically another embodiment with selectable suitable anchorage positions, where the controller is configured to provide guidance to the selected suitable anchorage position.

[0114] shows schematically another embodiment, where the controller is configured to share anchorage data with other marine vessels.

[0115] shows schematically a marine vessel comprising an anchorage position determining system.

[0116] Skilled artisans appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements whereas other elements may have been left out or represented in a reduced number in order to enhance clarity and improve understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure.Detailed description

[0117] shows schematically an anchorage position determining system 100 for marine vessels 1 comprising a memory 10 comprising topographic chart data 11 of a coastal water area stored therein, including underwater topographic data 12 comprising at least depth data 13 and a chartplotter 20 for displaying a chart 21 including at least part of the chart data 11 stored on the memory 10. In this example, besides depth data 13, including e.g. different colors or shades for different depth ranges, e.g. below 10 m, between 10 m and 20 m, and above 20 m respectively and specific depth values at specific locations within each depth range, additional data are displayed such as seafloor type 14, where the letter S indicates a sandy seafloor type, main contour lines 15, and general information such as name of the anchorage place and of topographical reference points.

[0118] The anchorage position determining system 100 further comprises a satellite-based positioning system 30 for determining the position 1’ of the marine vessel 1 on the chart 21 and at least one surface object detecting system 41, 42 such as a radar system 41, a visual object detection system 42 running a computer vision application, or a combination of both the radar system 41 and the visual object detection system 42 or a combination of any one or both of the radar system 41 and the visual object detection system 42 with an automatic identification system (AIS) 43, for detecting surface objects including any other marine vessel(s) eventually present at anchorage (not shown in). The visual object detection system 42 may comprise at least one camera 42’, 42’’ installed respectively on the marine vessel 1 and / or on a drone as source of visual data. Alternatively or in addition, the visual object detection system 42 may be configured to communicate with a satellite 42’’’ for obtaining actual satellite images as visual data.

[0119] The anchorage position determining system 100 further comprises a controller 50 configured to cooperate with any surface object detecting system 41, 42, 43 for determining respective positions of the detected surface objects on the chart 21 and configured to determine and to indicate on the chart 21 any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) 4’, 5’, if available, by determining whether a scope ratio equal to or greater than a minimum threshold value is obtainable based on the depth data 13 and the respective positions of the detected surface objects (not shown in). Displaying the positions of the detected surface objects on the chart 21 is entirely optional, e.g. in order to avoid cluttering the chart 21 with too many details, as long as they are taken into account in determining and indicating on the chart 21 any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position 4’, 5’, if available.

[0120] As also shown in, the anchorage position determining system 100 may further comprise at least one vessel orientation determining system 42, 43, 44 for determining the orientation of the other marine vessel(s) eventually present at anchorage and the controller 50 may be further configured to determine any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) (4’, 5’) also based on the orientation of the other marine vessel(s) at anchorage (not shown in). According to various possible embodiments, the at least one vessel orientation determining system 42, 43, 44 can be a visual object detection system 42 running a computer vision application or an automatic identification system (AIS) 43 or a wind indication system 44 or combinations thereof. In particular, the same visual object detection system 42 used as surface object detecting system may be used also as vessel orientation determining system. Analogously, the same automatic identification system (AIS) 43 used as complementary surface object detecting system may be used also as vessel orientation determining system. Another option, as alternative or in combination, is to use a wind indication system 44 since the bow is nearly always oriented upwind. Thus, by determining the wind direction it is mostly possible to determine the orientation of other marine vessels as well. Thus, although a plurality of different possible vessel orientation determining systems 42, 43, 44 is shown in, any single one or a combination of two or more may be used. The wind indication system 44 may be further configured to measure the wind speed, e.g. by an anemometer, in order to determine whether the anchor chain of the other marine vessels is at least minimally tensioned such as to confirm that the orientation of the marine vessels also points to the direction where their respective anchor has been deployed, thereby improving precision in determining their swing range.

[0121] The computer vision application of the visual object detection system 42 may be executed also directly by the controller 50, according to an embodiment.

[0122] The controller 50 may be further configured to communicate with a depth meter 45, e.g. in order to verify the depth upon arriving at any suitable or most suitable anchorage position 4’, 5’.

[0123] shows schematically the same anchorage position determining system 100 ofwhere like features are given like numbers, the only difference being that the displayed chart data 11 include overlaid terrain data 22, such as terrain elevations and terrain features, roads, places of interest and the like as stored on the memory. These terrain data 22 may be used by the controller 50 to determine for example a windshield and / or wave-shield factor.

[0124] shows schematically the same anchorage position determining system 100 ofwhere like features are given like numbers, the only difference being that the displayed chart data 11 include overlaid satellite data 23, that is a satellite land image as stored on the memory.

[0125] shows schematically the same anchorage position determining system 100 ofwhere like features are given like numbers, the only difference being that the displayed chart data 11 include overlaid underwater sonar chart data 16, including more detailed contour and depth data.

[0126] shows an actual aerial view such as an actual satellite view by satellite communication 42’’’ or drone view by drone communication 42’’ of the same anchorage place of–, including a larger view and a magnified view of a selected area. In particular, it can be noticed how anchorage places can be very crowded by marine vessels 2 and how difficult it may be to find a suitable or most suitable anchorage position when approaching such a crowded anchorage place. Besides other marine vessels 2 at anchorage also other surface objects 3, such as emerging rocks, are shown in. Aerial views such as the one shown incan be also used by the controller 50 for determining or confirming chart data with respect to the seafloor type for example, e.g. based on another computer vision application trained at distinguishing between different color shades corresponding to different seafloor types. In the magnified view of, more details with respect to the determined suitable or most suitable anchorage positions 4’, 5’, as determined by the controller 50 (not shown in), are also shown. In particular, an estimated own swing range 6’, 7’ at any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) 4’, 5’ respectively, based on the obtainable scope ratio at the respective anchorage position(s) 4’, 5’, is also indicated, e.g. as a circle having the respective anchorage position 4’, 5’ as its center. An arrow in the circle or anything similar as shown in the figure, eventually accompanied by a numerical value or text (not shown) may provide additional indications such as the anchor-chain length to be deployed, the direction of movement when deploying the anchor and the estimated vessel position at the end of the anchor deployment procedure.

[0127] shows schematically one way of working of the anchorage position determining system 100 of–comprising using a radar system 41 as surface object detecting system and a wind indication system 44 as vessel orientation determining system (shown connected to the controller 50 with solid lines). In particular, a selected area of the chart 21 shown inis displayed corresponding to the same magnified area of, where the positions 2’, 3’ of the surface objects 2, 3 as detected by the radar system 41 is overlaid on the same chart 21 as clusters of dots or stains, the cluster sizes corresponding also to the sizes of the respective detected objects 2, 3 on the scale of the chart 21. It can be noticed that the radar system 41 alone is not able at distinguishing between different surface objects, e.g. between marine vessels 2 and emerging rocks 3. It can however be combined with the chart data 11 in order to distinguish between them. Also, from the elongated shape of the dot clusters it may be possible to determine a longitudinal axis of the marine vessels 2, it is however not possible to determine their orientation, i.e. to distinguish between bow and stern. In combination with a vessel orientation determining system such as the wind indication system 44, it is additionally possible to combine information on the position 2’, with information on the orientation (not shown but taken into account by the controller 50) of the marine vessels 2, which may be useful in determining their swing range (not shown), and thereby further facilitating determining any one suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) 4’, 5’. The main logic of the controller 50 for determining any one suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) 4’, 5’ is schematically shown in a simplified manner using simple equations in the box representing the controller 50. In particular, the controller 50 is configured to cooperate with the at least one surface object detecting system, the radar system 41 in this case, for determining respective positions 2’, 3’ of the detected surface objects 2, 3 on the chart 21 and is configured to determine and to indicate on the chart 21 any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) 4’, 5’, if available, by determining whether a scope ratio equal to or greater than a minimum threshold value is obtainable based on the depth data 13 and the respective positions 2’, 3’ of the detected surface objects 2, 3. In this example, the minimum threshold value is 3 and both the anchorage positions 4’, 5’ are suitable because a scope ratio of respectively 4.5 and 3.8 is obtainable that is greater than 3. The scope ratio has been calculated based on the depth data 6.8 m and 4.6 m respectively, to which an exemplary distance between chain roller and water surface of 2 m has been added, and based on the respective positions 2’ of the marine vessels 2 nearby each anchor position 4’, 5’. Since at least two suitable anchorage positions 4’, 5’ are available in this example, the controller 50 may be further configured to determine a suitability index based on a respective obtainable scope ratio, the greater the obtainable scope ratio is the more suitable the anchorage position is among the suitable anchorage positions. So, in this example, the controller 50 may determine that the anchorage position 4’ is the most suitable of the two suitable anchorage positions 4’, 5’ because the obtainable scope ratio (4.5) at the anchorage position 4’ is greater than the obtainable scope ratio (3.8) at the anchorage position 5’. The controller 50 may be further configured to determine the suitability index also based on any one or more of relative depth, relative distance from shore, relative windshield factor and / or relative wave-shield factor based on topographic chart data 11 stored on the memory 10. Thus, in this case, despite the anchorage position 4’ appears to be more suitable than the anchorage position 5’ based on the scope ratio alone, the controller 50 may determine that the anchorage position 5’ is in fact more suitable than the anchorage position 4’ because it is located at lower depths, it is closer to shore and offers a greater windshield factor based on the topographic chart data 11. The controller 50 may be further configured to determine the suitability index also based on any one or more of contour and / or relief data and / or seafloor type data 11 stored on the memory 10. In this example, there are no differences of seafloor type and structure, except depth, between the anchorage positions 4’, 5’, i.e. both sandy (S). So, these are not determining factors in this example.

[0128] According to an embodiment, the minimum threshold value is variable and the controller 50 is configured to dynamically adapt the minimum threshold value based on seafloor type data and / or on actual or forecasted wind and / or marine conditions data and / or on the windshield factor and / or wave-shield factor and / or on a relative distance between other marine vessels 2 eventually present at anchorage. If for example, the minimum threshold was 4, the controller 50 would have determined the anchorage position 5’ to be unsuitable, and if the minimum threshold was 5 the controller 50 would have determined that no suitable anchorage positions are available. In addition or in alternative, the minimum threshold value may be manually settable.

[0129] The controller 50 may be also configured to indicate and / or to automatically set the anchor-chain length to be deployed according to the determined obtainable scope ratio, e.g. by indicating a numerical value, e.g. 40 m, 25 m respectively, in the circle indicating the swing range 6’, 7’ as shown in the figure.

[0130] Upon arriving at any suitable anchorage position 4’, 5’ the controller 50 may be configured to verify the depth by a depth meter 45 and to indicate and / or to automatically adjust the set anchor-chain length to be deployed based on the actual depth and the actually obtainable scope ratio. The depth meter 45 may be conveniently active at all times and may be supplied or complemented with a forward scanner.

[0131] The controller 50 may be configured to determine the obtainable scope ratio for an anchorage position 4’, 5’ also based on a maximum available anchor-chain length, e.g. 50 m, 75 m, 100 m, a minimum safety depth, e.g. 3 m, 4 m, 5 m, and a maximum threshold depth, e.g. 10 m, 15 m, in addition to a minimum safety distance from any detected surface objects, e.g. 20 m, 30 m, 40 m. Also, the controller 50, may be configured to filter out at once any unsuitable anchorage areas in an anchorage place based on predefined unsuitable limits, e.g. areas below a minimum distance from land, e.g. 50 m, 100 m, 200 m and / or with depths below a minimum safety depth, e.g. 3 m, 4 m, 5 m, or greater than a maximum threshold depth, e.g. 10 m, 15 m and / or with a certain type of seafloor, e.g. rocky, and / or to include anchorage positions only within predefined suitable limits, e.g. within a predefined depth range, e.g. 3-15 m, 4-10 m, and / or distance range from shore or land, e.g. 50-300 m, 100-200 m and / or with a certain type of seafloor, e.g. only sandy.

[0132] shows schematically a variant of the embodiment ofwhere the anchorage position determining system 100 uses a visual object detection system 42 running a computer vision application both as surface object detecting system and as vessel orientation determining system (shown connected to the controller 50 with solid lines). In particular, the same selected area of the chart 21 shown inis displayed (without the radar dot clusters), where the positions 2’, 3’ of the surface objects 2, 3 as detected by the visual object detection system 42 is overlaid on the same chart 21, e.g. with geometrical shapes or symbols, e.g. as isosceles triangles for the marine vessels 2, the vertex representing the bow and hence also the orientation of the marine vessels 2, and as encircling lines for other surface objects 3. In particular, the computer vision application run by the visual object detection system 42 may be able at distinguishing between different surface objects, e.g. between marine vessels 2 and emerging rocks 3, and also to distinguish between bow and stern of the marine vessels 2, thereby determining their orientation. The logic of the controller 50 for determining any one suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) 4’, 5’ is otherwise the same.

[0133] shows an AIS chart, overlaid to the same topographic chart 21, under the same conditions of vessel occupancy as in–, displaying isosceles triangles representing marine vessels 2 at respective positions 2’ on the topographic chart 21, obtained by using the AIS 43 alone as surface object detecting system. In particular, it can be noted that because not all marine vessels 2 have an AIS and not all marine vessels 2 having an AIS have it always turned on, only some and few marine vessels 2 are detected compared to using a radar system 41 as inor a visual object detection system 42 as in. The AIS 43 is therefore not suitable as surface object detecting system for the purpose of the present disclosure, when used alone, but can be a useful complementary system to the radar system 41 and / or to the visual object detection system 42, since it is not capable of detecting any surface objects 2, 3 but only some and few marine vessels 2. In particular, the AIS 43 can be used as vessel orientation determining system, because heading or orientation is typically part of the shared AIS data. Also, the vertex of the isosceles triangles indicates the bow and hence also the orientation of the detected marine vessels 2, indirectly indicating the orientation of all marine vessels, also of the undetected ones, since the orientation is mostly dependent on wind direction and about the same for all marine vessels.

[0134] shows schematically a combination of the embodiments ofandwhere the anchorage position determining system 100 uses both a radar system 41 and a visual object detection system 42 running a computer vision application as surface object detecting system, and in addition also the AIS 43 as in, for even more precision, confirmation, and redundancy. All detected objects / targets are overlaid on the same chart 21. Also, all of the visual object detection system 42, the AIS 43 and the wind indication system 44 are used as vessel orientation system, and all systems 41, 42, 43, 44 are shown connected to the controller 50 with solid lines. Since the same triangle symbols are used both for the visual object detection system 42 and the AIS 43, the AIS targets are not distinguished from the visual object detection system targets, in this example. A different symbol for the visual object detection system targets may be used in order to distinguish between them. Alternatively, the same symbols, e.g. triangles may be used for all detected surface objects, at least for the marine vessels 2, regardless of the surface object detecting system used, e.g. also if detected by the radar system 41, without obscuring the chart 21 with clusters of dots.

[0135] As shown in, that is a variant of, the controller 50 may be configured to indicate on the same chart 21 anyone or a combination of some or all of: an estimated own swing range 6’, 7’ at any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) 4’, 5’ based on the obtainable scope ratio at the respective anchorage position(s) 4’, 5’, the positions 2’, 3’ of the detected surface objects 2, 3, the orientation of the other marine vessel(s) 2 and an estimated swing range 8’ of the other marine vessel(s) 2, e.g. at least of those nearby any suitable anchorage position(s) 4’, 5’, and possibly much more. Since by including so many details the chart 21 may become cluttered, indicating the positions of the detected surface objects 2, 3 and / or orientation of the other marine vessels 2 and / or the estimated swing range 8’ of the other marine vessels 2 and / or even the own estimated swing range 6’, 7’ on the chart 21 can be omitted, as long as they are taken into account in determining and indicating on the chart 21 any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) 4’, 5’, if available.

[0136] shows schematically yet another embodiment, where any indicated suitable anchorage position 4’, 5’ is selectable on the chart 21, e.g. by touching the indicated area, if e.g. the display of the chartplotter 20 is a touchscreen. Moreover, upon selection of a suitable anchorage position 5’, the controller 50 may be configured to provide guidance, e.g. by drawing a line 1’’ on the chart 21, and / or to automatically steer the marine vessel 1 to the selected anchorage position 5’ while taking into account the positions 2’, 3’ of the detected surface objects 2, 3. Upon arriving at the selected anchorage position 5’ the controller 50 may be configured to verify the depth 13 (4.6 m in this example) by the depth meter 45 and to indicate and / or to automatically adjust the set anchor-chain length (25 m in this example) to be deployed based on the actual depth and the actually obtainable scope ratio.

[0137] shows schematically yet another embodiment, where upon anchoring at any suitable anchorage position 5’ the controller 50 may be configured to record anchorage data 5’’ comprising coordinates of the anchorage position 5’ and deployed anchor-chain length (25 m), besides eventually the current position 1’ of the own marine vessel 1 and to share the anchorage data 5’’ with other marine vessels 2. After anchoring at any suitable anchorage position 5’ the controller 50 may be further configured to monitor the suitability of the anchorage position 5’ during anchorage by monitoring departing and new arriving marine vessels 2 nearby with the at least one surface object detecting system 41, 42 and eventually to generate an alarm.

[0138] schematically shows a marine vessel 1 comprising an anchorage position determining system 100 as already described e.g. in connection to-. In particular, the chartplotter 20 may be conveniently located at a helm station 250 and the controller 50 may be further connected to an anchor deployment and retrieval system 110 comprising a windlass 101, an anchor chain 102 connected to an anchor (not shown) and operatively engaged with the windlass 101 and a chain roller 103 for rolling the anchor chain 102 when operating the windlass 101 for deploying or retrieving the anchor. The windlass 101 typically comprises an electric motor 101’ operated by means of an electronic command. In particular the controller 50 may be configured to automatically operate the windlass 101 by controlling the electric motor 101’. In particular, the controller 50 may be configured to indicate when to start or to automatically start anchor deployment and / or to monitor by a chain counter 101’’ the anchor-chain length being deployed and / or to indicate when to stop or to automatically stop deployment when the set anchor-chain length has been deployed. Moreover, the controller 50 may be configured to automatically execute a steering action 120 until the set anchor-chain length has been deployed and / or to automatically steer the marine vessel 1 to the selected anchorage position 5’.

[0139] With continued reference to any oftoan automated method of determining an anchorage position 4’, 5’ for a marine vessel 1 is also shown. The method comprises displaying by a chartplotter 20 a chart 21 including at least part of topographic chart data 11 of coastal and / or inland water areas, including underwater topographic data 12 comprising at least depth data 13, stored on a memory 10, determining the position 1’ of the marine vessel 1 on the chart 21 by a satellite-based positioning system 30, detecting any surface objects 2, 3 including any other marine vessel(s) 2 eventually present at anchorage by at least one surface object detecting system 41, 42, determining respective positions 2’, 3’ of the detected surface objects 2, 3 on the chart 21 by a controller 50 configured to cooperate with the at least one surface object detecting system 41, 42 and determining and indicating on the chart 21 any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) 4’, 5’, if available, by determining by the controller 50 whether a scope ratio equal to or greater than a minimum threshold value is obtainable based on the depth data 13 and the respective positions 2’, 3’ of the detected surface objects 2, 3.

[0140] In the preceding specification, numerous specific details have been described in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to one having ordinary skill in the art that the specific details do not need to be implemented in order to practice the present teaching. In other instances, well-known materials or methods have not been described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the present disclosure.

[0141] Particularly, modifications and variations of the disclosed embodiments are certainly possible in light of the above description. It is therefore to be understood, that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically devised in the above examples. Reference throughout the preceding specification to "one embodiment", "an embodiment", "one example" or "an example", “in this case”, means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment", "in an embodiment", "one example" or "an example", “in this case” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or example.

[0142] Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable combinations and / or sub-combinations in one or more embodiments or examples.

Claims

Anchorage position determining system (100) for marine vessels (1), comprisinga memory (10) comprising topographic chart data (11) of coastal and / or inland water areas stored therein, including underwater topographic data (12) comprising at least depth data (13),a chartplotter (20) for displaying a chart (21) including at least part of the chart data (11) stored on the memory (10),a satellite-based positioning system (30) for determining the position (1’) of the marine vessel (1) on the chart (21),at least one surface object detecting system (41, 42) for detecting any surface objects (2, 3) including any other marine vessel(s) (2) eventually present at anchorage,a controller (50) configured to cooperate with the at least one surface object detecting system (41, 42) for determining respective positions (2’, 3’) of the detected surface objects (2, 3) on the chart (21) and configured to determine and to indicate on the chart (21) any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) (4’, 5’), if available, by determining whether a scope ratio equal to or greater than a minimum threshold value is obtainable based on the depth data (13) and the respective positions (2’, 3’) of the detected surface objects (2, 3).The anchorage position determining system (100) according to claim 1 wherein the controller (50) is configured to determine the obtainable scope ratio for an anchorage position (4’, 5’) also based on a maximum available anchor-chain length, a minimum safety depth and a maximum threshold depth, in addition to a minimum safety distance from any detected surface objects (2, 3).The anchorage position determining system (100) according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the controller (50) is configured to determine a suitability index for a plurality of suitable anchorage positions (4’, 5’) based on a respective obtainable scope ratio, the greater the obtainable scope ratio is the more suitable the anchorage position (4’) is among the suitable anchorage positions (4’, 5’).The anchorage position determining system (100) according to claim 3 wherein the controller (50) is further configured to determine the suitability index also based on any one or more of relative depth, relative distance from shore, relative windshield factor and / or relative wave-shield factor based on the topographic chart data (11) stored on the memory (10).The anchorage position determining system (100) according to claim 3 or 4 wherein the underwater topographic data (12) comprise contour (15, 16) and / or relief data and / or seafloor type data (14) and wherein the controller (50) is configured to determine the suitability index also based on any one or more of the contour (15, 16) and / or relief data and / or seafloor type data (14).The anchorage position determining system (100) according to any of the preceding claims wherein the minimum threshold value is variable and wherein the controller (50) is configured to dynamically adapt the minimum threshold value based on seafloor type data (14) and / or on actual or forecasted wind and / or marine conditions data and / or on windshield factor and / or wave-shield factor and / or on a relative distance between other marine vessels (2) eventually present at anchorage.The anchorage position determining system (100) according to any of the preceding claims wherein the minimum threshold value is manually settable.The anchorage position determining system (100) according to any of the preceding claims wherein the controller (50) is configured to indicate and / or to automatically set the anchor-chain length to be deployed according to the determined obtainable scope ratio.The anchorage position determining system (100) according to claim 8 wherein upon arriving at any suitable or the most suitable anchorage position (4’, 5’) the controller (50) is configured to verify the depth (13) by a depth meter (45) and to indicate and / or to automatically adjust the set anchor-chain length to be deployed based on the actual depth and the actually obtainable scope ratio.The anchorage position determining system (100) according to claim 8 or 9 wherein the controller (50) is configured to indicate when to start or to automatically start anchor deployment and / or to monitor by a chain counter (101’’) the anchor-chain length being deployed and / or to indicate when to stop or to automatically stop deployment when the set anchor-chain length has been deployed.The anchorage position determining system (100) according to claim 10 wherein the controller (50) is configured to automatically execute a steering action (120) until the set anchor-chain length has been deployed.The anchorage position determining system (100) according to any of the preceding claims wherein the at least one surface object detecting system (41, 42) is a radar system (41) or a visual object detection system (42) running a computer vision application or a combination of both or a combination of any one or both with an automatic identification system (AIS) (43).The anchorage position determining system (100) according to any of the preceding claims further comprising at least one vessel orientation determining system (42, 43, 44) for determining the orientation of the other marine vessel(s) (2) eventually present at anchorage and wherein the controller (50) is configured to determine any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) (4’, 5’) also based on the orientation of the other marine vessel(s) (2) at anchorage.The anchorage position determining system (100) according to claim 13 wherein the at least one vessel orientation determining system (42, 43, 44) is a visual object detection system (42) running a computer vision application or an automatic identification system (AIS) (43) or a wind indication system (44) or combinations thereof.The anchorage position determining system (100) according to any of the preceding claims wherein the controller (50) is configured to first filter out any unsuitable anchorage areas based on predefined unsuitable limits and / or to include anchorage positions only within predefined suitable limits.The anchorage position determining system (100) according to any of the preceding claims wherein the controller (50) is configured to indicate on the same chart (21) an estimated own swing range (6’, 7’) at any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) (4’, 5’) based on the obtainable scope ratio at the respective anchorage position(s) (4’, 5’) and / or wherein the controller (50) is configured to overlay on the same chart (21) the positions (2’, 3’) of the detected surface objects (2, 3), particularly of the other marine vessel(s) (2) eventually present at anchorage, and optionally to indicate the orientation and / or an estimated swing range (8’) of the other marine vessel(s) (2) eventually present at anchorage.The anchorage position determining system (100) according to any of the preceding claims wherein any indicated suitable anchorage position (4’, 5’) is selectable on the chart (21).The anchorage position determining system (100) according to claim 17 wherein upon selection of a suitable anchorage position (5’) the controller (50) is configured to provide guidance (1’’) and / or to automatically steer (120) the marine vessel (1) to the selected anchorage position (5’) while taking into account the positions (2’, 3’) of the detected surface objects (2, 3).The anchorage position determining system (100) according to any of the preceding claims wherein the controller (50) is configured to indicate a lack of availability of a suitable anchorage position if a scope ratio equal to or greater than a minimum threshold value is not obtainable.The anchorage position determining system (100) according to any of the preceding claims wherein upon anchoring at any suitable anchorage position (5’) the controller (50) is configured to record anchorage data (5’’) comprising coordinates of the anchorage position (5’) and deployed anchor-chain length and to share the anchorage data (5’’) with other marine vessels (2).The anchorage position determining system (100) according to any of the preceding claims wherein after anchoring at any suitable anchorage position (5’) the controller (50) is configured to monitor the suitability of the anchorage position (5’) during anchorage by monitoring departing and new arriving marine vessels (2) nearby with the at least one surface object detecting system (41, 42) and eventually to generate an alarm.A marine vessel (1) comprising an anchorage position determining system (100) according to any of the claims 1 to 21.The marine vessel (1) according to claim 22 further comprising an anchor deployment and retrieval system (110) connected to the controller (50).An automated method of determining an anchorage position (4’, 5’) for a marine vessel (1), comprisingdisplaying by a chartplotter (20) a chart (21) including at least part of topographic chart data (11) of coastal and / or inland water areas, including underwater topographic data (12) comprising at least depth data (13), stored in a memory (10),determining the position (1’) of the marine vessel (1) on the chart (21) by a satellite-based positioning system (30),detecting any surface objects (2, 3) including any other marine vessel(s) (2) eventually present at anchorage by at least one surface object detecting system (41, 42),determining respective positions (2’, 3’) of the detected surface objects (2, 3) on the chart (21) by a controller (50) configured to cooperate with the at least one surface object detecting system (41, 42) and determining and indicating on the chart (21) any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) (4’, 5’), if available, by determining by the controller (50) whether a scope ratio equal to or greater than a minimum threshold value is obtainable based on the depth data (13) and the respective positions (2’, 3’) of the detected surface objects (2, 3).The automated method according to claim 24 comprising determining by the controller (50) the obtainable scope ratio for an anchorage position (4’, 5’) also based on a maximum available anchor-chain length, a minimum safety depth and a maximum threshold depth, in addition to a minimum safety distance from any detected surface objects (2, 3).The automated method according to claim 24 or 25 comprising determining by the controller (50) a suitability index for a plurality of suitable anchorage positions (4’, 5’) based on a respective obtainable scope ratio, the greater the obtainable scope ratio is the more suitable the anchorage position (4’) is among the suitable anchorage positions (4’, 5’).The automated method according to claim 26 comprising determining by the controller (50) the suitability index also based on any one or more of relative depth, relative distance from shore, relative windshield factor and / or relative wave-shield factor based on topographic chart data (11) stored on the memory (10).The automated method according to claim 26 or 27 wherein the underwater topographic data (12) comprise contour (15, 16) and / or relief data and / or seafloor type data (14) and wherein the method comprises determining by the controller (50) the suitability index also based on any one or more of the contour (15, 16) and / or relief data and / or seafloor type data (14).The automated method according to any of the claims 24 to 28 wherein the minimum threshold value is variable and wherein the method comprises dynamically adapting by the controller (50) the minimum threshold value based on seafloor type data (14) and / or on actual or forecasted wind and / or marine conditions data and / or on windshield factor and / or wave-shield factor and / or on a relative distance between other marine vessels (2) eventually present at anchorage.The automated method according to any of the claims 24 to 29 wherein the minimum threshold value is manually settable.The automated method according to any of the claims 24 to 30 comprising indicating and / or automatically setting by the controller (50) the anchor-chain length to be deployed according to the determined obtainable scope ratio.The automated method according to claim 31 wherein upon arriving at any suitable or the most suitable anchorage position (4’, 5’) the method comprises verifying the depth (13) by a depth meter (45) and indicating and / or automatically adjusting by the controller (50) the set anchor-chain length to be deployed based on the actual depth and the actually obtainable scope ratio.The automated method according to claim 31 or 32 comprising indicating when to start or automatically starting by the controller (50) anchor deployment and / or monitoring by a chain counter (101’’) the anchor-chain length being deployed and / or indicating when to stop or automatically stopping by the controller (50) deployment when the set anchor-chain length has been deployed.The automated method according to claim 33 comprising automatically executing by the controller (50) a steering action (120) until the set anchor-chain length has been deployed.The automated method according to any of the claims 24 to 34 wherein the at least one surface object detecting system (41, 42) is a radar system (41) or a visual object detection system (42) running a computer vision application or a combination of both or a combination of any one or both with an automatic identification system (AIS) (43).The automated method according to any of the claims 24 to 35 further comprising determining the orientation of the other marine vessel(s) eventually present at anchorage by at least one vessel orientation determining system (42, 43, 44) and determining by the controller (50) any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) (4’, 5’) also based on the orientation of the other marine vessel(s) (2) at anchorage.The automated method according to claim 36 wherein the at least one vessel orientation determining system (42, 43, 44) is a visual object detection system (42) running a computer vision application or an automatic identification system (AIS) (43) or a wind indication system (44) or combinations thereof.The automated method according to any of the claims 24 to 37 comprising first filtering out any unsuitable anchorage areas based on predefined unsuitable limits and / or including anchorage positions only within predefined suitable limits, by the controller (50).The automated method according to any of the claims 24 to 38 comprising overlaying by the controller (50) on the same chart (21) the positions (2’, 3’) of the detected surface objects (2, 3), particularly of the other marine vessel(s) (2) eventually present at anchorage, and optionally indicating the orientation and / or an estimated swing range (8’) of the other marine vessel(s) (2) eventually present at anchorage.The automated method according to any of the claims 24 to 39 comprising indicating by the controller (50) on the chart (21) an estimated own swing range (6’, 7’) at any one or more suitable or most suitable anchorage position(s) (4’, 5’) based on the obtainable scope ratio at the respective anchorage position(s) (4’, 5’).The automated method according to any of the claims 24 to 40 wherein upon selection of a suitable anchorage position (5’) the method comprises providing guidance (1’’) and / or automatically steering (120) the marine vessel (1) to the selected anchorage position (5’) by the controller (50) while taking into account the positions (2’, 3’) of the detected surface objects (2, 3).The automated method according to any of the claims 24 to 41 comprising indicating by the controller (50) a lack of availability of a suitable anchorage position if a scope ratio equal to or greater than a minimum threshold value is not obtainable.The automated method according to any of the claims 24 to 42 wherein upon anchoring at any suitable anchorage position (5’) the method comprises recording anchorage data (5’’) comprising coordinates of the anchorage position (5’) and deployed anchor-chain length and sharing the anchorage data (5’’) with other marine vessels (2).The automated method according to any of the claims 24 to 43 wherein after anchoring at any suitable anchorage position (5’) the method comprises monitoring by the controller (50) the suitability of the anchorage position (5’) during anchorage by monitoring departing and new arriving marine vessels (2) nearby with the at least one surface object detecting system (41, 42) and eventually generating an alarm.

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