AIS Regulations: New Responsibilities and Opportunities

From increasing situational awareness and enhancing the safety and security of maritime transportation, to its use in accident investigation, search and rescue, Aids to Navigation and asset monitoring, the role of AIS (Automatic Identification System) as a flexible and developing technology continues to grow in significance. The month of March 2016 – has come and gone – and represents an important milestone which will increase the prevalence and general awareness of AIS. As new United States Coast Guard regulations are introduced, more commercial vessels working along U.S. coasts will need to be equipped with AIS, affecting all mariners in U.S. waters.

The new AIS mandate will require a wide range of U.S.-flag and foreign-flag commercial vessels operating along U.S. coasts, in ports, rivers, lakes and seas, to install and operate a USCG type-approved AIS transceiver before the March 1 2016 deadline. Owners or operators affected include existing AIS users who operate commercial self-propelled vessels of 65 feet or more in length or, for towing vessels, 26 feet or more and more than 600 hp; passenger vessels certificated to carry more than 150 passengers; vessels that move or carry certain hazardous cargo; and vessels that engage in dredging in or near a commercial channel.

Most commercial vessels will need to install AIS Class A devices, but certain vessels, including fishing industry vessels, dredges and small passengers vessels that operate outside U.S. Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) Areas or at speeds less than 14 knots, can use the considerably less expensive Class B device. The Coast Guard estimates that the cost per vessel will be $3,200 for a Class A device and $700 for a Class B device, which includes operations and maintenance costs.

After taking many years to finalize, the rule became effective on March 2 2015, with compliance required on March 1 2016. Those who fail to comply risk a civil penalty. Vessels that operate solely within a very confined area, or on only short scheduled voyages; or that are not likely to encounter other AIS-equipped vessels; or whose design or construction makes it impracticable to operate an AIS device may seek – in writing – as much as a 5-year exemption from this requirement.

The USCG’s new AIS rules and requirements are intrinsic to the international development of E-Navigation, an effort adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Association of Marine Aid to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). As the USCG’s regulatory project officer and subject matter expert for AIS, Jorge Arroyo has served the USCG for 30 years, the last 16 years as a program and management analyst at the Office of Navigation Systems at USCG Headquarters. 

He told MarineNews, “The AIS regulations implement both the international Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention and domestic (Marine Transportation Security Act of 2002) AIS carriage mandates. However, even if you are not required to have AIS, you will want to have it because of the broader situational awareness it provides, which in turn not only enhances your navigation safety, it will increase efficiency and reduce costs.”

He continued, “The ultimate goal of e-Navigation efforts and the new AIS requirements in the U.S. is to use timely and reliable information to make the U.S. Marine Transportation System operate better. The aim is to provide tools that enable and improve the transfer of near real-time data between and among ships and shore facilities, and that integrates and transforms that data into decision and action information.”

The installation of AIS transceivers on more commercial vessels will provide benefits for owners and operators. AIS enables the identification of previously unknown radar and visual targets, allowing the captain or crew to locate and communicate with other AIS-equipped vessels nearby by digital data transfer of navigational and vessel information and providing information like the vessel’s identity, MMSI, type, position, course, speed, navigational status and closest point of approach (CPA).

Operating in the VHF maritime band, the AIS is a shipboard broadcast system, which does not require external equipment of infrastructure as transponders do. It is capable of handling well over 4,500 reports per minute and updates as often as every two-to-ten seconds. 

System coverage range, which is line of sight, can vary to approximately 20nm between ships, 50 miles from terrestrial base stations, to thousands of miles from satellite receivers. An AIS system consists of one VHF transmitter, two VHF TDMA receivers, one VHF DSC receiver and standard marine electronic communications links to shipboard display and sensor systems. It works in an autonomous and continuous mode alternating on two world-wide designated radio channels to avoid interference problems. AIS is unique because it operates with a self-organizing TDMA. Rather than dropping calls when a cell is congested, it organizes the uses of frequency such that a vessel will always receive broadcasts by those vessels that are closest to it, and that may pose the most eminent threat of collision.

A Class A transceiver has a higher transmit power and transmissions are sent very frequently, every few seconds, and given priority over information from a Class B transceiver. Coast Guard approved Class A transceivers, such as ACR Electronics’ AISLink CA1, have a large, built-in LCD display, multi-lingual capability and other additional features. Meanwhile, Class B devices, such as the AISLink CB1, operate at a lower power and reporting interval and require a chart plotter to display data. 

Stevens Towing Company, Inc, a midsize freight transportation company based on Yonges Island, South Carolina, has AIS installed on all its tugs. The company regularly services the East, West, and Gulf Coasts of the U.S., including the Western Rivers and Great Lakes, as well as international Ports.

Benjamin B. Smith, Stevens Towing’s VP of Operations explained, “We have AIS installed on all of our tugs and are aware of the various uses – the most important of which is in navigation. Our AIS signal is delivered to our navigation software (Rose Point) which gives our operators the visual reference of the vessels around him, their course and speed and where the vessels will meet. That information removes a big chunk of uncertainty for the operator of the tug and his decisions can be made in a timely and effective manner. It also aids in bridge to bridge communications in that we can identify the name of the vessel that may be in a crossing situation.”

Smith insists, however, that in the river systems, his crews have seen the greatest impact. “It used to be that we would have to listen to VHF 13 to identify vessels coming down river while we were going up river. With AIS and the navigation software, we can see all the vessels on a graphic display before they are visible to the operator, and the passing arrangements can be negotiated well in advance with much less stress. Overall, AIS is a big plus for commercial tug operators.”

ACR Electronics, a Drew Marine Company, offers fully-featured AIS Class A and Class B devices to serve the needs of customers with the upcoming mandates and provide additional levels of navigational safety to mariners. ACR also recommends AIS users electing to join AMVER (Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System), a computer-based voluntary global ship reporting system, sponsored by the USCG.

ACR offshore spokesperson and saltwater fisherman George Poveromo said, “We have seen the use of AIS in general increasing as both leisure and commercial users discover it is a tremendous benefit to have this new level of safety in addition to other equipment such as an EPIRB or radar, for use as both a safety and navigational tool and also as a potential aid for search and rescue. It is particularly important during night fishing offshore or for anyone on the water at night or during times of poor visibility or squally weather. Instead of just seeing lights in the distance, AIS enables vessels to see and identity other boats, check their course and movements and therefore establish whether they are in danger.”

Separately, professional fisherman and ‘Wicked Tuna’ star Captain Greg Mayer installed ACR’s AISLink CA1 Class A transceiver on board his 53ft Custom Carolina Sportfish, Fishin’ Frenzy, which operates in the dangerous waters of the Outer Banks. Mayer explained, “The added visibility provided by AIS is another measure of safety that I feel is invaluable with the amount of ship traffic in the area, especially at night as a back-up. Last summer, I identified a radar target as a tug and tow, calculated his heading, and slowed down to let him pass. About 20 minutes later, a fellow fisherman who was a few miles behind me with no radar heard the tug, but narrowly missed running between the tug and tow. With AIS installed, I could have identified the tug and informed my colleague about the tug’s exact location and heading to avoid any confusion whatsoever.”

AIS Regulation Information online: www.navcen.uscg.gov

(As published in the April 2016 edition of Marine News)