Rough weather avoidance effect on the wave climate experienced by oceangoing vessels

The quantitative assessment of the influence of rough weather avoidance on the wave climate ships experience in their oceanic routes is presented. The only meteorological source that naturally includes this effect is the database derived from the Voluntary Observing Ships' programme, which is here compared with the state-of-the-art ERA-interim numerical re-analysis. The results of this work allow quantifying the reduction of the mean significant wave height encountered by ships in their operations for a more aware planning of the missions and better assessment of the environmental conditions.