In order to solve the track-keeping problem of a fishing vessel under rough sea conditions, a separated track-keeping controller is proposed.

The nonlinear feedback method is used to improve the closed-loop gain shaping algorithm, and an arctan function is introduced to effectively solve the problem of the system's excessive control energy. At the same time, an integral separation design is used to solve the integral term influence of conventional PID (proportion integration differentiation) controllers on the transient performance of the system.

Based on the results of simulation experiments on a common 32.98 m fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) trawler (model SDB8102) sailing under force 7 of the Beaufort wind scale, the steady state trajectory error is less than 3 m, which verifies that the method is safe, feasible, concise and effective.

The results of this study can provide useful references for fishing vessel track-keeping control, as well as the intelligent level enhancement of fishing vessel equipment.