2008 Yearbook
expressed some concern with the current systems regarding the points when vessels come in and out of tolerance. A lack of direct daily management and human interface with vessels risks leaving a registry's ships 'hanging', for the ships themselves will not know whether their position is still being reported. If they do go out of tolerance who is there to tell them? Who marks up on the system that the vessel has reported a fault to its LRIT terminal that is to be repaired at its next port of call, likely to be several days sailing away? Add to that all the problems associated with vessels flagging in and out, and those powered down while in the yard and it can be seen that there is a huge issue of daily management to ensure the system operates, as it should, on a global scale. Finding the most effective tracking system that has a universal use (and which is secure) is not an easy task, perhaps even impossible. The way ahead might be to bring in all existing technology together in a way that the information can be processed as one. However, there are costs associated with either route. Funding has recently been granted by the US Homeland Security Department's Directorate of Science and Technology for the Visualization Tools for Situational Awareness and Emergency Response program (or Viz Tools), which will look into methods for developing and maintaining situational awareness, identify threats rapidly, maximize assets and operational capacity to respond to the threat, and plan and manage the emergency response. This could clear the way or it could just mean more gadgets. There are a few companies out there providing alternative methods of achieving the same objectives, at present via AIS, and in particular producing AIS Type B systems, which are drifting onto the market but still to receive FCC approval in the USA. As an additional all weather, day or night enhancement, some advances have been made in millimetre waveband radar that can provide target tracking at up to 800 meters radius and detect a moving object as small as 25cm. The problems associated with who exactly is operating any tracking technology are just as relevant to the technological advances themselves. While many in the maritime industry acknowledge benefits in say tracking technoloTracking of ships at sea and transitting ports is still fraught with technological and logistical issues.
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Maritime Reporter & Engineering News