U A I S
Universal Automatic Identification SystemSt. Laurens Seaway mandates AIS and sets infrastructure charges
Seaway adopts AIS
Return to home page
Automatic identification systems will be mandatory on all ships that use the St Lawrence Seaway starting in 2003, the Seaway Management Corp has announced. The Management Corp plans to have the IMO-compliant system in operation this July and all ships using the system will be required to pay a levy of C$0.006 ($0.0037) per GT until the end of June 2002. The levy, to a maximum of C$5,000 per vessel per year, is being collected by the Seaway Corp to help pay for the cost of installing shore-based AIS equipment. The money is being collected under an agreement reached in 2000 with the Canadian Shipowners Association and the Shipping Federation of Canada. CSA President Don Morrison said the Seaway took the initiative on this project, and “it is a good example of how we have to partner to get things done. It allows a vessel to know exactly where it is and where all nearby vessels are.”