By Laura Kovary (Environmental Maritime Services) - Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) are causing problems for mariners transiting waters where there are high concentrations of fishing vessels, particularly in the East China Sea. The issue is not the fault of the AIS but the inappropriate use of the technology. Local fisherman discovered that by putting AIS … [Read more...]
SpaceX Rocket Carries New Cubed Satellites That Will Hunt ‘Dark Ships’
By Kyle Stock (Bloomberg) -- If all goes as planned with the scheduled SpaceX launch Sunday, a startup called HawkEye 360 will have a trio of satellites resembling toaster ovens circling the globe, scanning for pirate radio. The Washington-area company is one of 35 paying customers strapped to the top of the Falcon 9 rocket, a crowd of cosmic enterprises boldly pushing the … [Read more...]
AIS Animation Shows Bizarre U-Turn Collision in North Sea
Two cargo ships collided in the North Sea off the northwestern coast of Germany on Thursday, resulting in damage to both ships but so far no pollution. Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies has taken up the response. The agency reports that the Turkish-flagged general cargo ship PAKSOY 1 collided with the Dutch-flagged cargo ship EEMS COBALT at approximately … [Read more...]
Video: AIS Animation Shows Collision Between Oil Tanker and Norwegian Frigate
Check out this an AIS animation below showing Thursday's collision between an oil tanker and a Norwegian frigate taking place in the Hjeltefjorden fjord on the west coast of Norway. As you can see, the tanker Sola TS had just departed a terminal with an escort tug alongside when it collided with the KNM Helge Ingstad, identified in the video as NATO WARSHIP F313, at around … [Read more...]
U.S. Coast Guard Warns of LED Lighting Interfering with VHF-FM Radio and AIS Reception
The U.S. Coast Guard is warning the maritime community regarding the potential interference of VHF-FM radio and AIS reception from LED lighting. The Coast Guard said it has received reports from crews, ship owners, inspectors and other mariners regarding poor reception on VHF frequencies used for radiotelephone, digital selective calling (DSC) and automatic … [Read more...]