Page 20: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2003)

Government Update 1. On and after January 1. 2003 for any vessel built on or after that date: 2. On and after July 1, 2003 for any vessel built before January 1. 2003 that is a passenger vessel required to carry a

SOLAS certificate, a tanker, or a towing vessel engaged in moving a tank vessel: and 3. On and after December 31. 2004 for all other vessels built before January 1, 2003.

For ships subject to the SOLAS

Convention of 300 gt and upwards engaged on international voyages, and cargo ships of 500 gt and upwards not engaged on international voyages and passenger ships irrespective of size, installation and use of AIS is required in accordance with the following schedule: 1. Ships constructed on or after July 1, 2002; 2. Ships engaged on international voy- ages constructed before July 1, 2002: a. In the case of passenger ships, not later than 1 July 2003: b. In the case of tankers, not later than the first survey for safety equip- ment on or after July 1, 2003: c. In the case of ships, other than passenger ships and tankers, of 50,000 gross tonnage and upwards, not later than July 1, 2004; d. In the case of ships, other than passenger ships and tankers, of 300 gt and upwards but less than 50,000 gt, not later than the first safety equipment sur- vey after July 1. 2004 or by December 31. 2004, whichever occurs earlier; 3. Ships not engaged on international voyages constructed before July 1, 2002, not later than July 1, 2008.

Concerns Regarding AIS

Problems have been observed with regard to AIS installations to date.

Ship's static data sometimes is loaded incorrectly or not present at all. For instance, ships have reported dimen- sions via AIS that are obviously incor- rect. Some ships are not transmitting heading information via AIS, possibly because the connection of the ship's gyro compass has not been properly made. On some ships, although the AIS system seems to be connected to the gyro compass, the heading information being reported by AIS is different than the actual heading. Some shipborne AIS equipment does not respond to shore station commands. The cause is proba- bly outdated firmware. These early implementation problems highlight the fact that AIS is a complex piece of equipment that only works properly when it is fully integrated into a sophis- ticated navigational system.

A note of caution is in order.

Implementation of AIS has been advanced because of the inherent mar- itime security aspects of the system.

After all, if the authorities ashore can automatically identify ships as they arrive offshore, it makes the job of eval- uating risks and allocating scare resources that much easier. On the other hand, as noted above, incorrect (or false) data can be accidentally (or intentional- ly) programmed into the AIS as current- ly configured. This would defeat the security purpose of AIS, leading to potentially catastrophic consequences.

Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

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