Meteorological and sea conditions have always affected navigation. In the past their effects were felt upon:
- the propulsion of the ship
- the ability of governing the ship
- the security of navigation
Constant advancements of naval engineering have steadily reduced the effects of meteorological and sea conditions, however:
- the resistance posed by swell or wind can still slow down or even stop ships of any size
- all type of vessels are exposed to the risk of shipwreck in hazardous conditions.
Applying a cost function to meteorological and sea conditions in order to define an optimal route is called weatherrouting (i.e ship-routing by weather).
If particularly adverse meteorological and sea conditions are forecast, weatherrouting can define alternative routes that are quite different from the shortest. However the latter would let vessels consume less fuel or would reduce their time of navigation.
WERMED (Weatherrouting dans la Méditerranée Occidentale) project wishes to analyse the potential of modern weatherrouting techniques applied to navigation in the Mediterranean. Activity will be carried on by a partnership of Italians, Greeks, Maltese and Spaniards (from 2006). Funding is on Interreg IIIB MEDOCC Programme and is divided as follows:
- 1,100,000 € FEDER (Fond Européen pour le Développement Régional)
- 674,000 € national contributions
- 92,200 € own funds.
- Flyers of the program are available in English and Italian.
- NEW!! Download the report for Mediterranean wind climatology (click here)
- NEW!! Download the report for Mediterranean wave climatology (click here)