Consciência situacional marítima (Maritime Domain Awareness): as perspectivas de aplicação pelo Poder Naval Brasileiro: implementação de novas tecnologias visando ao incremento da Consciência Situacional

Abstract

It's presented suggestions to increase the Maritime Domain Awareness of Brazilian Navy's Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, based on the implementation of a Search and Rescue Decision Support Computer System within the Navy structure. Where the Marine Meteorological Service will be responsible for integrating the oceanographic model HYCOM with the trajectory model as well as the incorporation of Self-Locating Datum Buoy surface current data in both oceanographic and drift models. The Rescue Coordination Centre, will draw up the search plans based on the drift data calculated before. Also, similar decision support systems are presented, currently in use in relevant worldwide countries such as United States, Canada, Australia and Norway, even in South America like Argentina. The Search & Rescue Model and Response System (SARMAP) was chosen as the best choice to be incorporated in the Navy, based on the imperative requirement for the Navy to adequate its SAR planning to international standards. If Maritime Domain Awareness is the effective understanding of any activity associated with the maritime environment that could impact upon the security, safety, economy or environment, and if the Brazilian Navy has constitutionally defined as one of its main tasks to provide the safety of navigation, being responsible at national level for the establishment, operation and maintenance of such maritime safety facilities in order to safeguard human life at sea, it is shown that the implementation of such decision support system for the Navy's search and rescue operations, is not only consistent with its constitutional obligations, but also with the international conventions concerned to preserve the safety of life at sea.