System of providing safe navigation

Safety is an important condition for effective navigation. The prescriptive approach to navigational safety currently used in the global maritime industry is based on many years of experience and the results of the investigation of ship accidents and the improvement of existing guidelines and regulations. There exist a great number of research works, scientific articles, legislative acts, manuals and recommendations on maritime safety, but they are characterized by the pronounced heterogeneity and based on different assumptions and foundations. This phenomenon of heterogeneity and inconsistency is associated with the lack of a single legislative definition that reflects all aspects of safety in maritime transport. The term “security aspect” refers to one of the sides of the object under consideration, a point of view. Of particular relevance is a holistic description of the term of safety in the maritime industry, which will eliminate discrepancies and will help clarify the current terms related to maritime safety. The analysis of guiding documents on the navigation safety and systematization of the terminological apparatus were carried out. After the adoption of the International Safety Management Code all activities related to navigation safety have been transferred to a higher quality level. The search for and development of new approaches and methods for preventing ship accidents during their operation are becoming increasingly important. Today, the concept of maritime security is not formed and is not described sufficiently. The relationship between the concepts of safe navigation and navigational security is considered. The concept of a navigational safety system is proposed.