Reducing Collision Risk Through Small Vessel Detectability Improvement

Credits: SpaceX/Splash

Small vessels constructed of wood or fiberglass are difficult to detect by radar.
Even if producing a radar return, small vessels can be obscured by the trough of passing swells and make for intermittent radar targets.
The NTSB investigated a casualty in which two vessels—a 23-foot-long center-console boat with a fiberglass hull and a 154-foot-long US Coast Guard cutter—collided.

Early detection of a vessel is one of the best ways to avoid collision. Owners of...