AIS

PART A

1) what is AIS?

Ans:

Automatic Identification System is a shipboard broadcast transponder system in which ships

continually transmit their identification, position, course, speed and other data to all other nearby
ships and shore side authorities on a common VHF radio channel.

2) What are the modes is AIS designed to operate?

Ans:

In a ship-to-ship mode for collision avoidance.

As a means for coastal states to obtain information about a ship and it’s cargo.
As a traffic management tool when integrated with a vessel traffic information
services(VTIS).
3) what are the informations does AIS transponder exchange?
Ans:
 Ship’s name
 Ship’s position
 Ship’s call sign
 Speed,course and heading
 Navigational status
 Type of ship
 Rudder angle
 Rate of turn
 Ship’s draft
 Hazardous cargo
4) Explain the primary operating mode of AIS?
Ans:
The primary operating mode for AIS will be autonomous ship-to-ship reporting. In this mode,
each ship transmits its data to all other AIS- equipped ships within VHF range. Position and other
data are fed automatically from the ship’s sensors into the AIS system, where the data is
formatted and transmitted in a short data burst on a dedicated VHF channel. When received on
the other ships, the data is decoded and displayed for the officer of the watch, who can view AIS
reports from all other AIS-equipped ships within range in graphic and text format. The AIS data
may optionally be fed to the ship’s integrated navigation systems and radar plotting systems to
provide AIS tags for radar targets. The AIS data can also be logged to the ship’s voyage data
recorder for playback and future analysis.

5) Write short note on working of AIS?

Ans:
 AIS system consists of one VHF transmitter, two VHF STDMA receivers, one VHF DSC receiver,
and standard marine electronic communications links. Position and timing information is
normally derived from an integral or external global navigation satellite system receiver and may
include a differential GNSS receiver for precise position in coastal and inland waters.AIS
equipped ships would normally provide ship’s identity, position as well as course and speed over
ground. Other information, such as rate of turn, angle of heel, pitch and roll, and destination
and ETA could also be provided.
While operating in the open seas or coastal or inland areas, AIS transmissions use 9.6kb GMSK
FM modulation over 25 or 12.5 KHZ channels using HDLC packet protocols. Although only one
radio channel is necessary, each station transmits and receives over two radio channels to avoid
interference problems and to allow channels to be shifted without communications loss from
other ships.
Each station determines it’s own transmission schedule, based upon data link traffic history and
knowledge of future actions by other stations. A position report from one AIS station fits into
one of 2250 time slots established every 60 seconds. AIS stations continuously synchronize
themselves to each other and avoid overlap of slot transmissions. When a station changes it’s
slot assignment, it pre-announces both the new location and the timeout for that location. In
this way new stations, including those that freshly come within radio range close to the vessels,
will always be received.
The required ship repoting capacity according to the IMO performance standard amounts to a
minimum of 2000 time slots per minute,though the system provides 4500 time slots per minute.
The system coverage range is similar to other VHF applications, essentially depending on the
height of the antenna.

6) What are the two AIS frequencies informations provided by it?

Ans:
 The AIS frequencys are:

 AIS 1 (frequency 161.975 MHz-channel 87B)

 AIS 2 (frequency 162.025 MHz-channel 88B)

The information provided by AIS are:

• Static data

• Dynamic data

• Voyage related data

• Safety related message

7) Explain briefly the information provided by AIS?

Ans:

 Static data
 Dynamic data
 Voyage related data
 Safety related message

STATIC DATA:

This information is programmed into the system at the time of commissioning.

 IMO number
 Call sign and name
 Length and beam
 Type of ship
 Location of position fixing antenna on the ship

DYNAMIC DATA:

This information is derived by interfacing ship’s GPS and other equipment with help of sensors.

 Ship’s position according to WGS84

 Time in UTC
 Course over ground
 Speed over ground
 Heading
 Navigational status
 Rate of turn angle of heel
 Pitch and roll

VOYAGE RELATED DATA:

This data has to be entered manually by the master at the beginning of the voyage and can be amended
at any time as required.

 Ship’s draft hazardous cargo

 Destination and ETA
 Route plan-waypoints

SAFETY RELATED MESSAGE:

Short safety related messages are fixed or free format text messages addressed either to specified
destination or to all stations in the area. The static and voyage-related data are transmitted every six
minutes. The update rates for dynamic information will depend on the ship’s status and speed.

 At anchor-3 minutes
 0-14kts-12 sec
 0-14kts and changing course-4 sec
 14-23kts-6 sec
 14-23kts and changing course-2 sec
 23+kts-3sec
 23+kts and changing course-2 sec

8) Write the limitations of AIS?

Ans:

 The officer of the watch (OOW) should always be aware that other ships, in particular leisure
craft, fishing boats and warships, and some coastal shore stations including Vessel Traffic
Service (VTS) centres, might not be fitted with AIS.
 The OOW should always be aware that other ships fitted with AIS as a mandatory carriage
requirement might switch off AIS under certain circumstances by professional judgement of
the master.
 In other words, the information given by the AIS may not be a complete picture of the
situation around the ship.
 The users must be aware that transmission of erroneous information implies a risk to other
ships as well as their own. The users remain responsible for all information entered into the
system and the information added by the sensors.
 The accuracy of AIS information received is only as good as the accuracy of the AIS
information transmitted.
 The OOW should be aware that poorly configured or calibrated ship sensors (position, speed
and heading sensors) might lead to incorrect information being transmitted. Incorrect
information about one ship displayed on the bridge of another could be dangerously
confusing.
 If no sensor is installed or if the sensor (e.g. the gyro) fails to provide data, the AIS
automatically transmits the "not available" data value. However, the built-in integrity check
cannot validate the contents of the data processed by the AIS.
  It would not be prudent for the OOW to assume that the information received from other
ships is of a comparable quality and accuracy to that which might be available on own ship.
9) Explain the use of AIS during precautions for collision avoidance?

Ans:

 The potential of AIS as an anti-collision device is recognized and AIS may be recommended
as such a device in due time.
 AIS information may be used to assist in collision avoidance decision making. When using
the AIS in the ship-to-ship mode for anti-collision purposes, the following cautionary points
should be borne in mind:

.1 AIS is an additional source of navigational information. It does not replace, but supports,
navigational systems such as radar target-tracking and VTS; and

.2 The use of AIS does not negate the responsibility of the OOW to comply at all times with the
Collision Regulations.

 The user should not rely on AIS as the sole information system, but should make use of all
safety-relevant information available.
 The use of AIS on board ship is not intended to have any special impact on the composition
of the navigational watch, which should continue to be determined in accordance with the
STCW Convention.
 Once a ship has been detected, AIS can assist in tracking it as a target. By monitoring the
information broadcast by that target, its actions can also be monitored. Changes in heading
and course are, for example, immediately apparent, and many of the problems common to
tracking targets by radar, namely clutter, target swap as ships pass close by and target loss
following a fast manoeuvre, do not affect AIS. AIS can also assist in the identification of
targets, by name or call sign and by ship type and navigational status.
10) Write a note on SOLAS requirements of AIS?

Ans:

In SOLAS 2000 amendment chap 5,Reg. 19-2.4, IMO has laid down a schedule and made carriage of
AIS mandatory. New ships above 300 GT constructed on or after 1st july 2002 and engaged on
international voyage shall have the AIS fitted with immediate effect. On existing ships AIS has to be
fitted in a phased manner so that by 31st dec 2004 all ships engaged on international voyage above
300 GT will have AIS fitted on board. For ships which are not engaged on international voyage only
those above 500 GT need to have AIS equipment fitted on board AIS latest by 1 st july 2008.
Irrespective of the size and trade all passenger ships must be fitted with AIS latest by 1 st july 2003.

11) What are the display requirements of AIS?

Ans:

MINIMUM DISPLAY REQUIREMENTS:

 The minimum mandated display provides not less than three lines of data consisting of
bearing, range and name of a selected ship. Other data of the ship can be displayed by
 horizontal scrolling of data, but scrolling of bearing and range is not possible. Vertical
scrolling will show all the other ships known to the AIS.

GRAPHICAL DISPLAY REQUIREMENTS:

 Where AIS information is used with a graphical display, the following target types are
recommended for display:
 Sleeping target A sleeping target indicates only the presence of a vessel equipped with AIS in
a certain location. No additional information is presented until activated, thus avoiding
information overload.
 Activated target If the user wants to know more about a vessel’s motion, he has simply to
activate the target (sleeping), so that the display shows immediately:
 A vector (speed and course over ground)
 The heading
 ROT indication (if available) to display actually initiated course changes.
 Selected target If the user wants detailed information on a target (activated or sleeping), he
may select it. Then the data received, as well as the calculated CPA and TCPA values, will be
shown in an alpha-numeric window. The special navigation status will also be indicated in
the alpha numeric data field and not together with the target directly.
 Dangerous target If an AIS target (activated or not) is calculated to pass pre-set CPA and
TCPA limits, it will be classified and displayed as a dangerous target and an alarm will be
given.
 Lost target If a signal of any AIS target at a distance of less than a preset value is not
received, a lost target symbol will appear at the latest position and an alarm will be given.
12) How integrated AIS-ECDIS is better than ARPA?

Ans:

AIS-ECDIS system has indisputable advantages over other navigation aids like ARPA or radar. The AIS
system operating range is the VHF range in the area. This is almost equivalent to the range, which
the ARPA or radar operate in. Secondly, the ARPA/radar will only be able to show relative target
mark on the screen by the bearing and range from own ship, whereas the ECDIS allows the target
coordinates, its actual dimensions, full list of identifiers such as Name, Call Sign, MMSI, IMO number
to be accurately determined and the collision avoidance information for this target such as bearing
and range to the target, CPA distance and TCPA time to be promptly obtained. It is also possible to
rapidly view additional information like Voyage Data on the target for any moment in time.

13) List out the special feature of integrated AIS-ARPA system?

Ans:

 Carry out unlimited recordings of AIS/ARPA tracks

 Receive AIS and ARPA signals from all target reception devices
 Display targets in table format including all necessary information
 Customize the settings of the anti-collision alarm
14) What is the objective of AIS?

Ans:
 AIS is intended to enhance: safety of life at sea; the safety and efficiency of navigation; and the
protection of the marine environment. SOLAS regulation V/19 requires that AIS exchange data ship-
to-ship and with shore-based facilities. Therefore, the purpose of AIS is to help identify vessels;
assist in target tracking; simplify information exchange and provide additional information to assist
situation awareness. In general, data received via AIS will improve the quality of the information
available to the OOW, whether at a shore surveillance station or on board a ship.

15) Explain the use of AIS in SAR operation?

Ans:

AIS may be used in search and rescue operations, especially in combined helicopter and surface
searches. AIS allows the direct presentation of the position of the vessel in distress on other displays
such as radar or ECS/ECDIS, which facilitates the task of search and rescue craft. For ships in distress
not equipped with AIS, the on-scene Co-ordinator could create a possible AIS target.

16) What are all the information provided by the AIS shore stations?

Ans:

Shore-based station providing text messages, time synchronization, meteorological or hydrological

information, navigation information or position of other vessels-normally reports every ten seconds.

17) How many types of AIS are there and give any 5 points on each?

Ans:

AIS:

There are two types of AIS:

 CLASS A
 CLASS B

CLASS A:

Broadcast,

 MMSI number-unique reference able identification.

 Navigational status-”at anchor”, “under way using engine”, ”not under command.
 Rate of turn – port or starboard, 0 to 720 degrees per minute.
 Speed over ground- 1/10-kts resolution from 0 to 102 kts
 Course over ground- relative to true north to 1/10 th degree.

CLASS B:

Nearly identical to class A,

 Does not transmit the vessel’s IMO number or call sign

 Does not transmit ETA or destination
 Does not transmit navigational status
 Does not transmit rate of turn information
 Does not transmit maximum present static draught.