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Abstract This paper presents a novel initiative for reliable high–resolution forecasts on prevailing sea states at 50 important ports worldwide (Accu-Waves; . Its goal is to support safe navigation, unhampered vessel approaching to busy harbored areas, and secure ship maneuvering in ports. Accu–Waves1 is based on integrated, high–resolution, ocean and coastal modeling that uses data from global scale, open–sea forecasts as boundary conditions. The models’ setup, coupling, nesting, calibration, verification, and application are reported herein, concerning areas near and inside globally significant port basins. Thus, we present the automated operational setup of the Accu– Waves service for three–day forecasts at three-hourly intervals.
INTRODUCTION The feasibility of maritime transports and the safety of port–related navigational processes may be undermined by severe weather conditions and consequent rough sea states. According to the International Maritime Organization (), the determination of Certified Navigation Pathways (CNPs) in port areas, within the recent e–Navigation strategy, requires reliable forecasting of prevailing continental shelf, nearshore, and in–port sea states. The latter are imperative in preventing or minimizing port downtime, transportation delays, vessel approach stoppage, halt of berth–loaddredge operations, damages to port infrastructures, ship accidents, etc.
Short Review of Recent Efforts on Met-Ocean Forecasts Open–sea oceanographic forecasts in global or regional scales are freely provided by various platforms worldwide; however, they lack the required resolution in harbor areas for reliable met–ocean predictions to increase port navigation safety. Thus, the existing literature about ocean and coastal modeling applications of Marine Weather Forecasts (MWF) is unlimited, yet herein we focus only on recent research for short–term sea–state predictions specifically in port areas, which is rather scarce. Tintore et al. (2019) recently presented a comprehensive review of the established operational MWF systems in the Mediterranean basin, mainly concentrating on fit–for–purpose “downstream” services, such as the Copernicus Marine Service (CMS;) platform. Nevertheless, these platforms mostly contribute to bridging the science–policy gap, rather than providing fast–track services targeted at real–+time operational management to port authorities and maritime industry stakeholders.
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