WSJ21801 Advanced Sea-State Prediction and Ship Weather Routing

Hiroshima University Syllabus

Japanese

Academic Year 2026Year School/Graduate School Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering (Master's Course) Division of Advanced Science and Engineering Transportation and Environmental Systems Program

Lecture Code WSJ21801 Subject Classification Specialized Education

Subject Name 海象予測・航路最適化特論

Subject Name
（Katakana）カイショウヨソクコウロサイテキカトクロン

Subject Name in
English Advanced Sea-State Prediction and Ship Weather Routing

Instructor CHEN CHEN

Instructor
(Katakana) チン　シン

Campus Higashi-Hiroshima Semester/Term 1st-Year, First Semester, 1Term

Days, Periods, and Classrooms (1T) Mon1-4

Lesson Style Lecture Lesson Style
(More Details) Face-to-face

Credits 2.0 Class Hours/Week 4 Language of Instruction E : English

Course Level 6 : Graduate Advanced

Course Area（Area） 25 : Science and Technology

Course Area（Discipline） 10 : Integrated Engineering

Eligible Students

Keywords Sea State, Sea-State Indicators (Hs, Tp, Direction), Reanalysis and Forecast Data, Forecast Uncertainty, Ship Operational Performance, In-Service Performance (SOP), Ship Weather Routing, Extreme Sea Conditions, Tropical Cyclone Avoidance, Operational Decision-Making

Special Subject for Teacher Education 　 Special Subject 　

Class Status
within Educational
Program
(Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)
Criterion referenced
Evaluation
(Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)

Class Objectives
/Class Outline This course provides an engineering-oriented study of sea-state prediction and ship weather routing. Students will learn how marine winds, waves, and currents are represented in reanalysis/forecast products, how forecast uncertainty affects operational decision-making, how sea states degrade ship performance (speed loss, fuel penalty, and risk), and how routing objectives/constraints are formulated for practical voyage planning.

Class Schedule lesson1 Overview of sea-state prediction and ship weather routing
lesson2 Marine wind fields and wind stress: concepts and interpretation
lesson3 Ocean currents: gyres, boundary currents, eddies, navigation impacts
lesson4 Wave fundamentals (1): period, wavelength, group velocity
lesson5 Wave fundamentals (2): indicators (Hs/Tp/Dir) and spectral interpretation
lesson6 Combined sea states and operational risk: extremes and nonlinear effects
lesson7 Forecast products and uncertainty: implications for decisions
lesson8 Ship performance basics: resistance, propulsion, fuel
lesson9 Sea-state impacts: added resistance and speed loss
lesson10 In-service performance (1): sea trials vs operations; SOP concept
lesson11 In-service performance (2): reading performance–environment plots
lesson12 Weather routing (1): objectives and evaluation metrics
lesson13 Weather routing (2): constraints and practical operational considerations
lesson14 Extreme sea-state decision-making: tropical cyclone case study
lesson15 Synthesis workshop

student presentations

Text/Reference
Books,etc. Stephen Pond, George L. Pickard: Introductory Dynamical Oceanography, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1983
Zygmunt Kowalik, T S Murty: Numerical Modeling of Ocean Dynamics, World Scientific, 1993
Xiaofeng Li, Fan Wang: Artificial Intelligence Oceanography, Springer, 2023

PC or AV used in
Class,etc. Handouts

(More Details) Lectures with slides, map-reading exercises, case discussions, and a short final presentation.

Learning techniques to be incorporated Discussions, Post-class Report

Suggestions on
Preparation and
Review Recommended: Introductory knowledge of fluid dynamics, physical oceanography, and basic mathematics (calculus and linear algebra).
Desirable: Familiarity with interpreting data (graphs and maps).
Programming is not required; demonstrations will be provided when necessary.

Requirements

Grading Method Assessment will be based on in-class assignments, including discussions, reports, and presentations, and will be graded on a 100-point scale. The grading criteria are as follows: 100–90 (Excellent), 89–80 (Very Good), 79–70 (Good), 69–60 (Satisfactory), and 59 or below (Fail). Credit will be awarded for scores of 60 or higher.

Practical Experience

Summary of Practical Experience and Class Contents based on it

Message

Other

Please fill in the class improvement questionnaire which is carried out on all classes.
Instructors will reflect on your feedback and utilize the information for improving their teaching.

Academic Year	2026Year	School/Graduate School	Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering (Master's Course) Division of Advanced Science and Engineering Transportation and Environmental Systems Program
Lecture Code	WSJ21801	Subject Classification	Specialized Education
Subject Name	海象予測・航路最適化特論
Subject Name （Katakana）	カイショウヨソクコウロサイテキカトクロン
Subject Name in English	Advanced Sea-State Prediction and Ship Weather Routing
Instructor	CHEN CHEN
Instructor (Katakana)	チン　シン
Campus	Higashi-Hiroshima	Semester/Term	1st-Year, First Semester, 1Term
Days, Periods, and Classrooms	(1T) Mon1-4
Lesson Style	Lecture	Lesson Style (More Details)	Face-to-face

Credits	2.0	Class Hours/Week	4	Language of Instruction	E : English
Course Level	6 : Graduate Advanced
Course Area（Area）	25 : Science and Technology
Course Area（Discipline）	10 : Integrated Engineering
Eligible Students
Keywords	Sea State, Sea-State Indicators (Hs, Tp, Direction), Reanalysis and Forecast Data, Forecast Uncertainty, Ship Operational Performance, In-Service Performance (SOP), Ship Weather Routing, Extreme Sea Conditions, Tropical Cyclone Avoidance, Operational Decision-Making
Special Subject for Teacher Education		Special Subject
Class Status within Educational Program (Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)
Criterion referenced Evaluation (Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)
Class Objectives /Class Outline	This course provides an engineering-oriented study of sea-state prediction and ship weather routing. Students will learn how marine winds, waves, and currents are represented in reanalysis/forecast products, how forecast uncertainty affects operational decision-making, how sea states degrade ship performance (speed loss, fuel penalty, and risk), and how routing objectives/constraints are formulated for practical voyage planning.
Class Schedule	lesson1 Overview of sea-state prediction and ship weather routing lesson2 Marine wind fields and wind stress: concepts and interpretation lesson3 Ocean currents: gyres, boundary currents, eddies, navigation impacts lesson4 Wave fundamentals (1): period, wavelength, group velocity lesson5 Wave fundamentals (2): indicators (Hs/Tp/Dir) and spectral interpretation lesson6 Combined sea states and operational risk: extremes and nonlinear effects lesson7 Forecast products and uncertainty: implications for decisions lesson8 Ship performance basics: resistance, propulsion, fuel lesson9 Sea-state impacts: added resistance and speed loss lesson10 In-service performance (1): sea trials vs operations; SOP concept lesson11 In-service performance (2): reading performance–environment plots lesson12 Weather routing (1): objectives and evaluation metrics lesson13 Weather routing (2): constraints and practical operational considerations lesson14 Extreme sea-state decision-making: tropical cyclone case study lesson15 Synthesis workshop student presentations
Text/Reference Books,etc.	Stephen Pond, George L. Pickard: Introductory Dynamical Oceanography, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1983 Zygmunt Kowalik, T S Murty: Numerical Modeling of Ocean Dynamics, World Scientific, 1993 Xiaofeng Li, Fan Wang: Artificial Intelligence Oceanography, Springer, 2023
PC or AV used in Class,etc.	Handouts
(More Details)	Lectures with slides, map-reading exercises, case discussions, and a short final presentation.
Learning techniques to be incorporated	Discussions, Post-class Report
Suggestions on Preparation and Review	Recommended: Introductory knowledge of fluid dynamics, physical oceanography, and basic mathematics (calculus and linear algebra). Desirable: Familiarity with interpreting data (graphs and maps). Programming is not required; demonstrations will be provided when necessary.
Requirements
Grading Method	Assessment will be based on in-class assignments, including discussions, reports, and presentations, and will be graded on a 100-point scale. The grading criteria are as follows: 100–90 (Excellent), 89–80 (Very Good), 79–70 (Good), 69–60 (Satisfactory), and 59 or below (Fail). Credit will be awarded for scores of 60 or higher.
Practical Experience
Summary of Practical Experience and Class Contents based on it
Message
Other
Please fill in the class improvement questionnaire which is carried out on all classes. Instructors will reflect on your feedback and utilize the information for improving their teaching.

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