Tag: navigation

Are icebergs really still a danger? 1. When was the International Ice Patrol formed?Shipping areas in the North Atlantic have always been hazardous to navigate. The hazards of the North Atlantic captured global attention in April 1912 when the RMS Titanic sank after it struck an iceberg. The incident prompted maritime nations with ships transiting the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, Canada, to establish an iceberg patrol in the area. Since 1913, the U.S. Coast Guard has been tasked with the management and operation of the patrol. Except for the years of World Wars I and II, the ice patrol has been active each ice season since its inception.2. What are the specific duties of the ice patrol?Their mission is to monitor the iceberg danger near the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and provide the iceberg limit to the maritime community, including ice and current conditions.3. Who makes up the ice patrol?The ice patrol is a U.S. Coast Guard unit however the Canadian Ice Service, ice patrol and U.S. National Ice Center collaborate under the North American Ice Service. The ice patrol produces North American Ice service reports from February through July when icebergs may be present on the Grand Banks and ...

Providing greater navigational detail The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has announced new ENC (Electronic Navigational Chart) coverage in Vietnam, providing greater navigational detail for the region.The three new ENCs cover the ports and approaches to Vung Tau, which includes the main container port of Cai Mep, and are only available through the Admiralty Vector Chart Service.UKHO says that the new ENCs have been produced in response to increasing demand from shipping companies for chart data for the region."Vietnam continues to outperform many economies around the world. Increased shipping trade plays a key role in maintaining that growth so fully compliant digital coverage of this area is an important addition for many shipping companies," said Guy Edwards, head of Admiralty Asia Pacific, Singapore."We worked closely with our colleagues in the Vietnam Maritime Safety Authority to produce these ENCs to cover the key hub of Vung Tau and container port of Cai Mep, which represent a major gateway to trade in southern Vietnam."The Admiralty Vector Chart Service contains over 11,500 ENCs and coverage of over 2,950 of the world's ports.Source: UKHO

IMO Sub-Committee on Radiocommunications and Search and Rescue United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO) held a meeting in the Sub-Committee on Radiocommunications and Search and Rescue (COMSAR 16). The meeting was held at the IMO headquarters in London on 12-16 March 2012.The meeting focused especially on the work revising and modernizing the GMDSS system, which stipulates regulations and standards for maritime distress and safety communication. The GMDSS system has been operative for about 20 years, and technological developments have meant that, at the COMSAR session held in 2010, it was decided to start pre-investigating the need for modernizations. During the pre-investigations, a revision and modernization of the system was considered necessary, which there was also general agreement about at the COMSAR session just held.Consequently, a work plan for a revision and modernization of the GMDSS system was agreed upon, and this work is planned to be finalized in 2017. Furthermore, it was decided to re-establish a correspondence group, which is to continue the ongoing work until the next COMSAR session that will be held in 2013.A joint working group at the IMO and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will, in addition, consider the revision of the GMDSS system at a ...

According to the International Hydrographic Bureau The International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB) has issued a circular with updated information on the results of an ENC Data Presentation and Performance Check initiated in October 2011 to examine the performance of ECDIS systems, which notes that only one-third of the manufacturers' systems reported were functioning as expected.According to the circular, by the end of February the IHB had received nearly 500 reports from sea, covering 15 out of approximately 25 recognised manufacturers of type-approved ECDIS. It notes that the 15 manufacturers represent "by far the most popular brands of ECDIS being used at sea today."Out of these ECDIS installations it is noted that "about a third of the manufacturers' systems reported to the IHB appear to function as expected in the checks.""A further third of the systems display all significant underwater features, including underwater obstructions, but the isolated danger symbol required to be shown under certain conditions is not always used."It continues: "This issue is unlikely to have a significant impact on safe navigation. Most of the remaining third of the systems reported to the IHB failed to display some significant underwater features in the 'Standard' display mode.""Under various conditions, mostly related to ...

Ships' officers must be familiar with the particular equipment There is a great deal for operators to take on board with the arrival of the Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) which is such an integral part of the "e-navigation" world of the future. There is, of course, the requirement for people to be trained to use the equipment, and not just in generic terms. Ships' officers must be familiar with the particular equipment that is fitted to the ship they are serving aboard.This itself introduces complications when appointing people to serve on ships in a fleet where different types of navigation equipment are fitted, even after they have received their generic training in ECDIS. Once flexible people who could serve in their rank in any unit of the fleet at a moment's notice, officers will now have to be appointed on the basis of their familiarity with the equipment fitted to their prospective ship. It is a complication that personnel people could probably do without. If officers do not have this "type-training" behind them, they will have to serve in an "auxiliary" role until they have completed it - another complexity, before they are permitted to use the ...

Long-range identification and tracking of ships The EU-funded Safemed II project is organising a workshop on the Long-Range Identification and Tracking of Ships (LRIT) at the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) premises in Lisbon, Portugal, between 19 and 20 March 2012.The main objectives of this workshop are to familiarise the participants with LRIT requirements, both legally (International Maritime Organisation Rules & Regulations) and also technically; with the roles of the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO), Long-Range Identification and Tracking International Data Exchange (LRIT-IDE) Operator, LRIT Data Centres (DC) and other Application Service Providers (ASP).It will seek to provide the participants with an overview of the operational and technical activities required operating and maintaining a Data Centre at required standard of performance, and exchange views on the experiences gained so far on the LRIT.The 5.5 million SafeMed II project seeks to mitigate the existing imbalance between the participating partners that are EU Mediterranean member states and the non EU members from the region in the application of maritime legislation. Among its activities, it funds scholarships to internationally recognized maritime universitiesSource: SafeMed

Meeting regarding shipboard navigation issues , such as ECDIS and GPS The second meeting of the Navigation Safety Advisory Group (NSAG) was held on 21 February in Sydney at the offices of Carnival Australia. Twenty-two attendees, either navigation practitioners or representing organisations with an interest in safety of navigation, from all over Australia attended the meeting. The Australian Hydrographic Service, port and state marine authorities, Carnival Australia, Shipping Australia Limited, Australian Shipowners Association, shipping companies and marine pilots were represented. During the day-long meeting the group dealt with safety of navigation matters in two parts.The morning session (lead by AMSA's Ship Safety section) dealt with shipboard navigation issues, including progress with the development of e-navigation, implementation of Electronic Chart Display Information Systems (ECDIS), positioning, navigation and timing matters, water space management and outcomes from recent International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) meetings.The afternoon session (lead by AMSA's Aids to Navigation and Vessel Tracking and Pilotage sections) dealt with AMSA's management of its aids to navigation network, new and altered aids, AMSA's aids to navigation operational plan 2011/12 - 2015/16, vessel tracking and pilotage, related national working group meetings and highlights ...

DMA is in effect immediately through 5 March 2012 The Republic of the Marshall Islands issues Marine Safety Advisory regarding Voluntary Speed Restrictions in Effect as follows:Please be advised that the NOAA's (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) National Marine Fisheries Service has announced that a voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area - DMA) has been established in the vicinity of Narragansett Bay to protect an aggregation of 3 right whales sighted in this area on 19 February 2012. This DMA is in effect immediately through 5 March 2012.Mariners are requested to route around these areas or transit through them at 10 knots or less. The coordinates for the DMA is as shown below. Please note that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a news release stating that civil penalties assessed against three large commercial vessels for violating seasonal speed limits intended to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whales this last fall have been paid in full. Cases against six other vessels for the same offense are still open.Vessels of 65 feet or greater in length are restricted to speeds of ten knots or less in seasonal management areas along the East Coast. One vessel ...

To increase shipping efficiency and maritime security Union Shipping Minister Sh. Vasan has dedicated the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) for the Gulf of Kachchh to the nation, at Kandla Port in Gujarat today. The concept, design and implementation of the entire scheme were done by the Directorate General of Lighthouses & Lightships (DGLL) team, under the Ministry of Shipping. VTS is a co-ordinated measure and services of a number of sensors like Radars, Automatic Identification System (AIS), etc. and they all are integrated to develop an overall scenario by which appropriate advice can be given to the Master of the vessel. This will help in improving waterways and harbour management, increase shipping efficiency and above all help the regulatory authorities and security agencies in detecting unlawful activities and anti national activities.Sh. Vasan said in his inaugural speech that establishment of a VTS for the Gulf of Kachchh had been a long felt need though the completion was delayed due to difficult terrain and logistical challenges. The scheme has been implemented at a cost of about Rs.165 crore, with 50 per cent contribution from DGLL, 25 per cent from Gujarat State Maritime Board and 25 per cent from Kandla Port Trust.The ...

Aims to integrate the navigation and communications systems onboard ship Consilium and Orange Business Services have launched Current At Sea, a combined ECDIS and VSAT satcom package that aims to integrate the navigation and communications systems onboard ship.Consilium will provide dual-ECDIS systems which will be integrated with Orange's VSAT service and fully managed network (both terrestrial and satellite, including Inmarsat FleetBroadband connectivity), with the package being offered with a flat-fee.The modular system can also include voyage optimisation programs, fleet and ship management systems, and real-time monitoring applications."Current At Sea is a one-stop-shop solution that is not about simply replacing paper nautical charts with digital ones but is about completely rethinking business processes in order to improve safety, efficiency and costs," said Nicolas Roy, head of the network solutions business unit at Orange Business Services."This bundled, fixed-price offering with Consilium will help shipping companies revolutionise the way their vessels operate and significantly improve the way they do business."This new product will build on a June 2011 global cooperation agreement between Consilium and Orange through which Consilium globally markets Orange marine VSAT communication solutions through its 34 offices in 19 countries.Source: Digital Ship