In this case, it is clear that not only did the vessel declare its arrival well prior to the actual event but also that it had missed its charter party-mandated arrival window by a mere 31 minutes.

In the world of skyscrapers and bad traffic, 31 minutes is a minor irritation. Today, 31 minutes means the world to a receiver whose trader made an exceedingly bad trade on a spot cargo of Bonny Light Crude. More importantly, the absolutely indisputable evidence to refute a less-thanhonest claim emanates from a software program which provides a license, per user, for a reasonable fee yearly.

In a world where commodity trading houses often view their demurrage departments as “profit centers” and traders now have to routinely tape their transaction conversations,the implications are enormous. In a heartbeat, at least in some specific markets, a way of doing business has changed forever.

I’m From the Government, and We’re Here to Help

It is not often that a government-mandated requirement helps create the platform for a useful, cost-effective and thoroughly innovative business tool. Even rarer is the manifestation of something so cutting-edge that maritime stakeholders not only embrace the concept but can almost immediately put it to work to improve their bottom line.

Often resistant to change, the global maritime business community has nevertheless had to endure endless, expensive changes to the way it operates because of a myriad of new regulations thrust upon them, usually with no palpable benefit to their operating schemes. All of that is about to change.

Today, every commercial vessel that trades at a U.S. port – and most international destinations as well – is required to transmit its ship identifier and location through a standard AIS transponder. Simply stated, AIS is a specialized transmitter platform which is fitted on all SOLAS-compliant vessels. In force since 2002 and now virtually universal in its application, the intended purpose of the signal is to identify ships at sea. The broadcast system acts like a transponder in the VHF maritime band, handling more than 4,500 reports per minute and updates as often as every two seconds. The IMO requires AIS to be fitted aboard all marine vessels of 300 gross tons or more for international voyages.

As a result, tens of thousands of merchant ships currently carry AIS Class “A” equipment. As a tool to promote maritime security, collision avoidance and general safety, the AIS system is arguably without peer. In a post-9/11 world, it is hard to imagine merchant vessels arriving onto our shores without it. The information derived from these signals has great value to a myriad of users, including VTS operators, law enforcement, the United States Coast Guard and local marine pilots. But just as the average user of a desktop PC rarely comes close to using even a fraction of the power of that computer, the benefits of AIS for the commercial maritime.

Today, every commercial vessel that trades at a U.S. port is required to transmit its ship identifier and location through a standard AIS transponder.

World are only now being realized. Only recently, when a diversified technology company introduced to industry a new product Port Vision, did the true potential of the power of the AIS signal become obvious.

According to the United States Coast Guard, “A Class ‘A’ AIS unit broadcasts the following information every two to ten seconds while underway, and every three minutes while at anchor at a power level of 12.5 watts.” The information broadcast includes:

•  MMSI number - unique referenced identification

•  Navigation status (as defined by the COLREGS,not only are “at anchor” and “under way using engine” currently defined, but “not under command” is also currently defined)

•  Rate of turn - right or left, 0 to 720 degrees per minute (input from rate-of-turn indicator)

•  Speed over ground - 1/10 knot resolution from 0 to 102 knots

•  Position accuracy - differential GPS or other and an indication if RAIM (Receiver Autonomous Integrity

• Monitoring) processing is being used n Longitude - to 1/10000 minute and latitude - to 1/10000 minute

•  Course over ground - relative to true north to

• 1/10th degree

•  True heading - 0 to 359 degrees derived from gyro input

•  Time stamp - the universal time to nearest second that this information was generated.

In addition, a Class “A” AIS unit broadcasts the following information every six minutes:

•  MMSI number - same unique identification used above;links the data above to described vessel

•  IMO number - unique referenced identification (related to ship’s construction)

•  Radio call sign - international call sign assigned to vessel, often used on voice radio

• Name - of ship; 20 characters are provided

•  Type of ship/cargo - there is a table of possibilities that are available

•  Dimensions of ship - to nearest meter

•  Location on ship where reference point for position reports is located

•  Type of position-fixing device - various options from differential GPS to undefined

•  Draught of ship - 1/10 meter to 25.5 meters (note “airdraft” is not provided)

•  Destination - 20 characters are provided

•  Estimated time of arrival at destination - month, day, hour, and minute in UTC.

It’s all good stuff. It’s all just data, though, and there are any number of vehicles through which a user can receive this sort of data. Collating the data is another thing altogether.

D. Rosenberg, says that the vast majority of AIS tracking services on the market today are primarily “points on a map” systems. Port Vision,he says, “is so much more than that.”

 Launched in 2006, Port Vision provides real-time visualization and historical information to allow users to get up-to-date visibility of vessel activities and receive alerts when events of particular interest occur.

Business Decisions

According to its Web site, Port Vision tracks and processes these signals to provide the most comprehensive management tool of its kind in the maritime industry. In fact, Port Vision processes over one million ship signals on a typical waterway each day to provide mapping, alerting, reporting, and increased maritime domain awareness for Port Vision subscribers. Port Vision’s comprehensive features and functions give you the power of perfect information on the waterway.”

valuable business intelligence. In this case, information IS power.