The project aims to develop a novel approach to predicting a suitable time instant at which to initiate an L&R operation, together with a confidence measure (provided as advice to a human operator), and then to control the execution of the subsequent lift operation once initiated, using a novel form of Model Predictive Control. The research overarching vision is to create the new science that can be exploited to provide the underpinnings of a new generation of high added-value products to upgrade the performance and prolong the service life of existing naval vessels.