Abstract:

The most dangerous section of the Antarctic voyage is crossing the Westerly Belt. It is of great significance to select the right route for the safety of the scientific research Navigation according to the weather of the Westerly Belt. R/V Xuelong had crossed the Westerly Belt four times during the 25th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition( CHINARE2008—2009). Based on the data of this navigation and the past experience, The weather and route selection in the Westerly Belt is analyzed, and the weather Situation and route selection in the South-East Indian Ocean is studied. The main conclusions are:(1)the key to ship weather routing in the Westerly Belt is making correct Analysis and forecasting about the cyclone development and movement; (2)the weather Situation of South-East Indian Ocean can be summarized as three kinds of weather pattern, Namely zonal type(flat type),high-pressure ridge type and trough frontage type. The high-pressure ridge type is suitable for crossing, the trough frontage type is not Suitable for crossing, the zonal type lies in between; (3)there are two navigation methods of crossing the Westerly Belt, namely customary route and the north-south vertical route. The vertical route is suitable to forward voyage, but has relative limitation for the return voyage. (4)In the actual voyage, the route should be selected based on the actual route features, weather situation and other factors.

Key words: route selection