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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 37 Number 11
July 2010
Communication: Use the right tools
People are glued to their cell phones these days, calling each other with incredible frequency, sending tweets around the world, texting their phone buddies with good news and bad.
In addition to cell phones, commercial fishermen have access to a number of other technologies for communicating. These are tools, each with a specific purpose and meant to be used in a particular context. A given technology can be the wrong tool for a particular situation. For example, land-based cell phones should not be relied upon for emergency messages in place of VHF radios.
This article was prompted by a Coast Guard safety alert issued on May 27 titled “AIS text messaging concerns: Usage during navigation and emergencies and ensuring accurate AIS data.”
AIS stands for automatic identification system (AIS). Although not required right now, the Coast Guard issued a notice of proposed rulemaking in 2008 that included an AIS requirement proposal for fishing vessels over 65'. We thought this article could be helpful in the event that that rule is promulgated and for those fishermen who voluntarily have equipped their vessels with AIS.
AIS is an internationally adopted “radio-navigation protocol to exchange pertinent navigation-related information among its users, either afloat, ashore, or airborne.” In this short definition, the purpose is clear: “to exchange pertinent navigation-related information.” There is no mention of its use as an emergency distress signaling device or tool.
The word “automatic” means that a properly installed AIS system will automatically transmit and exchange with other nearby AIS-equipped vessels and shore stations certain dynamic data. These data include vessel identity, position, course, speed, navigational status, and more.
Depending on the AIS system and Coast Guard requirements, the AIS may need to be connected to an onboard global positioning device.
Accurate data
Voyage-related data, including navigation status – at anchor, underway, or fishing – as well as destination, estimated time of arrival, and static draft, must be entered and updated manually in order to be accurate.
Static data includes vessel dimensions, type of vessel, and MMSI, or Marine Mobile Service Identity, which is a vessel’s unique identity in a nine-digit number. This information must be inputted manually at the time of installation and is password protected, according to USA Shipboard AIS Data Entry Guidelines. Stiff civil penalties can be levied if the AIS transmits inaccurate data.
The MMSI number also is used for maritime digital selective calling (DSC). Vessels required to have a shipboard radio will already have this number. Commercial vessel owners can obtain their MMSI from the Federal Communications Commission.
The format of the number is highly specific. For an individual ship, for example, the first three digits are Maritime Identification Digits (MID) and are specific for the administrative locale where the vessel navigates. Additional information on MMSI is available online at <www.navcen.uscg.goc/marcomms/gmdss/mmsi.htm>.
Having an assigned MMSI and a properly installed AIS, including proper interface with other positioning and navigating equipment as required or suggested, plus manually entering voyage and static data, will help ensure that accurate AIS data is transmitted.
Texting
Regarding texting, the AIS entry guidelines state, “AIS texting may be used to exchange navigation safety-related information. Other texting, including TEST texts, are prohibited.”
The Coast Guard safety alert further stated, “An AIS text message may not be received, recognized, or acted upon” and, therefore, “must not be relied upon as the primary means for broadcasting distress or urgent communications, nor used in lieu of GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress Safety Systems) such as Digital Selective Calling radios, which are designed to process distress messaging.”
So, we return to the initial premise of this article, which is that a given tool has an intended purpose and context. For AIS, the intended purpose is to convey to vessels and shore stations navigation-related information in order to prevent collisions and avoid near misses – not to alert first responders to an emergency.
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