AN EVALUATION OF THE VERTICAL SECTOR LIGHT REQUIREMENTS FOR UNMANNED BARGES

Abstract : A study was conducted to determine whether or not navigation safety is affected by the size of the vertical sector of navigation lights on unmanned barges. Off-the-shelf equipment was purchased and tested to ascertain the performance of existing lighting equipment against COLREGS requirements. The purpose served by vertical sector was defined, and a 'minimum' luminous intensity distribution was created as a standard against which off-the-shelf and COLREGS lights could be judged. An analysis was performed to determine the power requirement for a COLREGS light. None of the off-the-shelf equipment tested met the COLREGS specification. Some exceeded the 'minimum' luminous intensity distribution with up to a 1.5 degree margin for error. The COLREGS luminous intensity distribution provided a 4.5 degree margin for error. The power needed to meet all the requirements of the COLREGS is feasible, but not easy to produce with batteries.