Digital Tech Boosts Shanghai's Navigation System

According to reports, the International Marine Aids to Navigation Exhibition opened yesterday in Shanghai. Automatic Identification System (AIS) response, one of the most advanced digital aids to navigation, was launched to help build an expressway for ships to sail faster and safer to port. Aids to navigation, termed the ears and eyes of ships, help sailors to know their position at sea. Shanghai port built its first aid to navigation, the Sheshan Mountain lighthouse, in 1871. According to the data, by the end of 2005 Shanghai had built 632 aids to navigation, up by 122% since 2002. From lighthouses and beacons to radar responders and GPS (Global Positioning System), Shanghai¡¯s navigational aids have now entered the digital era. The newly-applied AIS responder can not only enable ships to accurately plot their position, but also lets administrators know their names, routes and other weather and marine details. The Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration said most of the new aids to navigation are set along the course of the Yangtze River and at Yangshan Port. With both visible and invisible navigation-aiding facilities, the administration will gradually improve the navigation system and establish an AIS administration center for the East China Sea. Source: EastDay