Assessing Maritime Search and Rescue Accessibility from South China Sea Islands and Reefs to Shipping Routes
The south China Sea, a crucial passage for international shipping, features a complex and hazardous navigational environment; therefore, effective emergency response mechanisms are vital. Numerous islands and reefs distributed around shipping routes have the potential to serve as rapid-response loca...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | zho |
| Published: |
Editorial Committee of Tropical Geography
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Redai dili |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.rddl.com.cn/CN/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20250045 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | The south China Sea, a crucial passage for international shipping, features a complex and hazardous navigational environment; therefore, effective emergency response mechanisms are vital. Numerous islands and reefs distributed around shipping routes have the potential to serve as rapid-response locations for handling maritime emergencies. Therefore, evaluating the search and rescue (SAR) reachability of South China Sea islands and reefs from shipping routes is crucial. In this study, a Voronoi diagram was used to spatially configure the South China Sea islands and reefs and indicate their functional areas. Subsequently, multilevel buffer zones were utilized to grade their SAR ranges. The shipping routes located closer to islands and reefs had higher SAR intensity weights for the buffer zone. We then performed a quantitative analysis on the relationship between the SAR intensities of 138 South China Sea islands and reefs and shipping routes to assess the SAR reachability and strategic values of above-water inhabited, above-water uninhabited, and submerged islands and reefs. The results indicate that the SAR reachability of islands and reefs to shipping routes largely depends on their spatial relationships with other islands and reefs. Specifically, the distance from an island or reef to a shipping route is a key determinant of its SAR reachability. Islands/reefs located close to the shipping routes had higher SAR intensities and higher SAR reachability. However, in regions containing relatively dense distribution of islands and reefs, the SAR buffer zones may be reduced owing to competition and squeezing by other islands and reefs, which resulted in weakened SAR intensity. Conducting effective SAR operations on shipping routes may be impossible in such cases, thereby lowering the SAR reachability. Among the above-water inhabited islands and reefs, Dongdao Island, Swallow Reef, Zhongjian Island, and Beizi Island exhibited more prominent SAR reachability for different shipping routes and had the highest values. Among the above-water uninhabited islands and reefs, Huangyan and Quanfu Islands had relatively high SAR reachability and the highest development potentials. Among the submerged islands and reefs, the comprehensive advantages of Commodore Reef, Haima Shoal, Investigator Shoal, Wood Bank, Langhua Reef, and Royal Charlotte Reef were clear, with relatively high potential development values. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1001-5221 |