FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- What is AIS?
- What is the AIS rule?
- Are there alternatives
to the AIS rule for small businesses?
- How much does an AIS
cost?
- How does AIS help
to increase security?
- When must AIS be in
operation?
- Does the installation
of the AIS require additional equipment in order for the
AIS to operate properly?
- Will it be necessary
to have electronic navigational charts for use with the
AIS?
- If a fishing vessel
has a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), is that an acceptable
substitute for the AIS?
- Why have some AIS
units stopped broadcasting valid position reports?
- Why am I unable to
see an AIS vessels' name or other static information (dimensions,
call sign, etc.)?
- Why do I sometimes
see more than one vessel with the same MMSI or vessel name
(i.e. NAUT)?
- I just purchased
and installed an AIS Class B, will AIS Class A user ‘see’
me?
- Do AIS Class B devices
meet current USCG AIS carriage requirements?
- Is the USCG considering
expanding AIS carriage to other vessels or outside of VTS
areas?
- How can I get a copy
of an AIS presentation I saw (or heard about it) that was
given at...
- Where can I get AIS
data?
1. What is AIS? Per
47 CFR §80.5, AIS is a maritime navigation safety
communications system standardized by the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU) and adopted by the International Maritime Organization
(IMO) that provides vessel information, including the vessel's
identity, type, position, course, speed, navigational status
and other safety-related information automatically to appropriately
equipped shore stations, other ships, and aircraft; receives
automatically such information from similarly fitted ships;
monitors and tracks ships; and exchanges data with shore-based
facilities. Read more on what it
is, how it works, what it broadcasts, and, the messages it
uses, etc.
2. What is the AIS rule? The
U.S. Coast Guard has developed rules applicable to both U.S.
and foreign-flag vessels that require owners and operators
of most commercial vessels to install and use the AIS. The
AIS rule is part of our domestic and international effort
to increase the security and safety of maritime transportation.
See 33 CFR parts
26, 161, 164, and 165. Current AIS regulations, 33
CFR §164.46, became effective on November 21, 2003,
and, require that all vessels denoted 33
CFR § 164.46(a) be outfitted with an USCG 'type-approved'
and 'properly installed' AIS no later than December 31, 2004.
Read
more.
3. Are there alternatives
to the AIS rule for small businesses? No, there are
no special provisions or alternatives in the AIS rules for
small businesses. See Small Entity Compliance Guide to AIS.
4. How much does an AIS cost?
An USCG
type-approved AIS can range in price between $500 (AIS
Class B) and $4,000 (AIS Class A), not including installation
cost which will vary considerably depending on the level of
integration of the AIS with other shipboard systems (e.g.
radar, speed log, rate of turn indicator, navigation positioning
system, ECDIS, etc.).
5. How does AIS help to increase
security? Although AIS is primarily and foremost
a navigation tool for collision avoidance, the Coast Guard
believes that the AIS will improve security also. AIS ad our
Nationwide AIS Project (NAIS)
increases the Coast Guard’s awareness of vessels in
the maritime domain, especially vessels approaching U.S. ports.
The AIS corroborates and provides identification and position
of vessels not always possible through voice radio communication
or radar alone.
6. When must AIS be in operation?
Vessels equipped with AIS (either by mandatory carriage or
voluntarily) must abide by the requirements set forth in Title
33, Code of Federal Regulations, §§ 164.46
and 161.20, and should especially ensure their AIS is in 'effective
operating condition’, which entails the continuous operation
of AIS and the accurate input and upkeep of AIS data fields
during all times that the vessel is navigating (underway or
at anchor). Should continual operation of AIS compromise the
safety or security of the vessel or where a security incident
is imminent, the AIS may be switched off. This action and
the reason for taking it must be reported to the nearest U.S.
Captain of the Port or Vessel Traffic Center and recorded
in the ship's logbook. The AIS should return to continuous
operation as soon as the source of danger has been mitigated.
7. Does the installation of the AIS
require additional equipment in order for the AIS to operate
properly? Maybe. Most AIS do not need additional
equipment (sensors) in order to operate; a few however, do
require interfacing with an external global navigation positioning
device (e.g. dGPS, GPS, GLONASS) in order to accurately calculate
and broadcast position, course, and speed--thus requiring
this equipment to properly operate. Although not required
for the operation of AIS, Chapter V, Regulation 19 of the
Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS), as stated in 33
CFR § 164.46(a)(2), does require certain vessels--those
on international voyage--to also interface other onboard equipment
(i.e. transmitting heading device, gyro, rate of turn indicator)
to the AIS; domestic vessels, not on international voyage,
are not currently required to do so, however are highly recommended
to.
8. Will it be necessary to have electronic
navigational charts for use with the AIS? Eventually.
Section 410 of the Coast Guard and Marine Transportation Act
of 2004 (P.L.
108-293) directs the Coast Guard to prescribe regulations
that will require most commercial vessels "while operating
on the navigable waters of the United States...be equipped
with and operate an electronic chart system (ECS)"; and,
that this system be integrated with AIS. A rulemaking implementing
this additional requirement is in development and is expected
to be published later this year (2006). Till these regulations
are finalized, AIS is not required to be displayed on an ECS
or other external display system; although it is highly recommended.
The full benefits of AIS are only achieved when it is fully
integrated and displayed on other shipboard navigation systems
(e.g. Electronic Charts Data & Information System (ECDIS),
ECS, Radar, Automatic Radar Plotting Aide (ARPA), Tracking
Devices, personal software, etc.).
9. If a fishing vessel has a Vessel
Monitoring System (VMS) that provides vessel identification
and location data, is the VMS an acceptable substitute for
the AIS? No, it is not. The AIS and VMS are not inter-operable,
each uses different communication systems, protocols, and,
reporting rates that make them incompatible. Read
more...
10. Why have some AIS units stopped
broadcasting valid position reports? On February
27th, 2008 the GPS constellation increased to 32 satellites
(PRN 32) thus providing a 5% increase in satellite availability
and DOP (dilution of precision) world-wide. It has come to
our attention that some (non-USCG type approved) AIS units—particularly
old equipment which is non-compliant with the GPS interface
standard (IS-GPS-200)—cannot recognize this additional
satellite and subsequently are unable to calculate a position
and broadcast a valid AIS Position Report. Note, the reported
malfunctioning units do continue to receive position reports
and are able to send and receive AIS text messages. Owners
of AIS equipment denoted at http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/lnm/Saab_R3_AIS_prob.htm,
however, should be aware that their internal GPS systems may
not act as a proper—timing or position—back-up
under certain circumstances, i.e. when in view of PRN32. AIS
users must ensure their units have or are interfaced with
a properly operating Electronic Position Fixing System at
all times. GPS and/or AIS problems should be reported via
the
NAVCEN website or via phone to the USCG Navigation Information
Service at 1-703.313.5900.
11. Why am I unable to see an AIS
vessels' name or other static information (dimensions, call
sign, etc.)? Shipboard AIS units autonomously broadcast
two different AIS messages: a 'position report' which includes
the vessels dynamic data (e.g. latitude, longitude, position
accuracy, time, course, speed, navigation status); and, a
'static and voyage related report' which includes data particular
to the vessel (e.g. name, dimensions, type) and regarding
its voyage (e.g. static draft, destination, and ETA). Position
reports are broadcasted very frequently (between 2-10 seconds-depending
on the vessels speed-or every 3 minutes if at anchor), while
static and voyage related reports are sent every six minutes;
thus it is common and likely that an AIS user will receive
numerous position reports from a vessel prior to receipt of
the vessels' name and type, etc.
12. Why do I sometimes see more
than one vessel with the same MMSI or vessel name (i.e. NAUT)?
AIS users are required to operate their unit with a valid
MMSI, unfortunately,
some users neglect to do so (for example, use: 111111111,
123456789, 00000001, their U.S. documentation number, etc).
A valid MMSI will start with a digit from 2 to 7, a U.S. assigned
MMSI will start with either 338, 366, 367, 368, or 369. AIS
users whom encounter a vessel using MMSI: 1193046 or named:
NAUT should notify the user that their AIS unit is broadcasting
improper data; see Nauticast
AIS-MMSI Technical Bulletin for further information. All
AIS users should check the accuracy of their AIS data prior
to each voyage, and, particularly units that have been shutdown
for any period of time. NOTE: If you are receiving (in range
of) AIS reports from vessels using the same MMSI, they will
appear as one vessel (jumping from position-to-position or
line-to-line) on a graphical screen (e.g. ECS, ECDIS, radar)
or on the AIS Minimal Keyboard Device (MKD).
13. I just purchased and installed
an AIS Class B, will AIS Class A users ‘see’ me?
Most , but, soon all will. Although all Class A devices will
receive Class B information; unfortunately, some older Class
A models are unable to display this information on their Minimum
Keyboard and Display (MKD) or may only have available the
Class B vessel’s dynamic data (i.e. position, course
and speed) but not its static data (i.e. vessel name, call-sign).
Therefore, the Coast Guard cautions new AIS Class B users
to not assume that they are being ‘seen’ by all
other AIS users or that all their information is available
to all Class A users. Further, we exhort users of certain
AIS Class A units to, as soon as practicable, update their
MKD’s and/or other external navigation display systems
(e.g. Electronic Charts Systems, Electronic Chart & Display
Information Systems, radar, etc.) in order to view this new
stream of valuable AIS information that will enhance navigation
safety and mitigate the risk of collision. A rulemaking to
mandate such an update is forthcoming. Here is a listing
of Coast Guard type-approved AIS Class A units which require
a firmware update in order to display AIS Class B information.
14. Do AIS Class B devices meet
current USCG AIS carriage requirements? Although
the Coast Guard encourages the wide use of AIS, we advise
mandated AIS users that Class B devices do not meet current
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS
V/19.2.4) or U.S. domestic AIS carriage requirements (33 CFR
164.46). The Coast Guard is in the process of expanding the
current carriage requirements (to most self-propelled commercial
vessels which navigate U.S. waters) and Class B devices will
be permissible on some commercial vessels, however, not for
all of them. Thus, we take this opportunity to inform prospective
buyers, particularly commercial vessels that are highly maneuverable,
travel at high speed, or routinely transit congested waters
or in close-quarter situations with other AIS equipped vessels,
that AIS Class A devices, albeit more expensive, are a better
option and will meet any future requirements we may impose.
See a comparison of
Class A and Class B/CS AIS.
15. Is the USCG considering expanding
AIS carriage to other vessels or outside of VTS areas? Yes.
On December 16th, 2008 the Coast Guard published a proposed
rule(73
FR 78295) to amend
the current
AIS regulations, and, expand AIS requirements-beyond Vessel
Traffic Service (VTS) areas to all U.S. navigable waters and
require AIS carriage for additional commercial vessels, including
commercial vessels carrying 50 or more passengers, fishing
vessels 65 feet or greater, hi-speed passenger vessels, dredges
and floating plants operating in or near channels or fairways,
and vessels carrying or moving certain dangerous cargo see
a breakdown of vessels effected. We invite you to visit
www.regulations.gov
to view the public comments submitted on our proposal and
to register
for email notifications regarding future actions on this
rulemaking.
16. How can I get a copy of an AIS
presentation I saw (or heard about it) that was given at...You
can download recent presentations given by Coast Guard Office
of Navigation Systems personnel here:
17. Where can I get AIS data?
Although the U.S. Coast Guard operates our Nation's AIS network
(NAIS),
we do not --currently-- make our AIS information available
to the general public. There are, however, numerous AIS networks
and commercial purveyors that do provide AIS data and track
information on the World Wide Web; many of which are listed
on Wikipedia's AIS webpage.
To
ask a question not found here or to report an AIS Problem
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