U A I S
Universal Automatic
Identification System
AIS Test in British Columbia Summer 2002
A step on the path to AIS-Aided Navigation
In this project the Bridge Teams of 3 modern cruise ships evaluated the current implementation of AIS during the summer of 2002 while cruising British Columbian and S. E. Alaskan waters. Their evaluation resulted in findings and recommendations aimed at improving its value as a navigation aid.
Bridge Teams formulated their recommendations so specifically that, in the process, they defined the meaning of ‘AIS-Aided Navigation’. They developed detailed specifications of how AIS should aide navigation and what changes should be made both to the system and its environment to attain true ‘AIS-aided navigation’ as a state of the art in all of its aspects and dimensions.
Summary
of Recommendations
·
All
ships longer than 20 m should display as AIS targets
· VTS should broadcast its ARPA targets
· AIS information should be displayed on radar and ECDIS
· AIS-equipped ships should not have to report to VTS
· Disallow AIS-aided VHF hailing of ships except for safety messages
· Publish transit sequence schedules for narrow channels, lock entrances, bridges and capes.
· Broadcast racon buoys as AIS targets
· Broadcast real-time environmental conditions
· Eliminate the addressed ship-to-ship message feature
· Confirm receipt of ship-to-shore messages
· Make verification of own ship broadcasts user friendly
· Allow the OOW to save his/her preferred navigation information display settings in a user profile
· Consolidate ARPA and AIS icons of the same ship
· Suppress icons for ships less than 20 m
· Use icon colors to distinguish between ship types
· Allow flexibility in sorting targets in the target table
· Eliminate the feature of graphically displaying targets’ routes
· Show targets’ predicted path as a curved vector
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