Project
Overview and Summary
Appendix
A: List of Acronyms
Appendix
B: List of Illustrations/Graphs
Appendix
C: UAIS regulatory schedule
1. History an Organization of the Joint Partnership
Program (JPP)
The AIS Committee
The PLN Committee
2. Introduction to AIS
3. The Future of AIS
Universal AIS regulatory movements
The Enhanced AIS Concept
4. AIS Scope of Work
Segment 1: System Installation and Operation
Segment 2: System Evaluation
5. PPU Scope of Work
Segment 1: PLN Equipment Procurement
and Pilot Training
Segment 2: PLN System Evaluation
6. JPP Evaluations
A. AIS
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3 – Focus Group Session
B. PPU
7. Identified Beneficiaries of AIS
Environmental
Port Stakeholder
Govt. Agencies
General Public
8. AIS/PLN Project Summaries and Conclusions
Project Overview and Summary
The San Francisco Marine Exchange
(SFMX) has provided assistance to the local mariner for the past 150
years. In that course of time, the SFMX has been on the cutting edge
of technology as it related to many areas of the safe and efficient
transit of commercial shipping in the region. A few examples would be
the first telegraph on the West Coast to communicate vessel arrivals
and the creation of the first Vessel Traffic Service in 1960, in which
the U.S. Coast Guard later assumed responsibility. More recently, the
establishment of the OSPR Vessel Escort Clearinghouse, an entity used
to notify mariners of escort related information and to assist in safe
passage of tankers. Many of the SFMX efforts are related to assisting
the needs of individual mariner, as well as collectively responding
to the maritime industry to increase the level of safety and efficiency
as it relates to the commercial and environmental concerns of the San
Francisco Bay Region. With this record of history and experience, the
Department of Fish and Game, Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response
(OSPR) approached SFMX with the challenge of identification, installation
and development of new technologies that will assist in an increase
of regional navigation and environmental safety.
The San Francisco Bay Region
is unique in the respect that it presents a great diversity of navigational
challenges. It has many miles of winding rivers that can limit the use
of radar and narrow channels that require precision navigation and often
shoal. It also has extreme changes in weather, visibility, wind, tides
and currents that a mariner can experience on any one transit. The San
Francisco Bay also has a large and ever growing high speed ferry fleet
that produces well over 2000 transits per year. Lastly, the region also
has a wide diversity of both public and private ports, ferry operators
and agencies that often make it extremely difficult to develop any project
that meets the approval of all. Taking in all these considerations,
the San Francisco Marine Exchange established the Joint Partnership
Project (JPP) and embarked on a mission to determine and apply best
usage of OSPR grant funding to respond to these issues.
The JPP was concluded that the best
use of the proposed grant funding was to install, test and develop an
Automatic Identification System (AIS). OSPR agreed with the JPP, and
earmarked approximately Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand Dollars of
Grant funding for the project. These funds were primarily used for the
procurement and installation of AIS and navigation equipment, with the
emphasis on preparing an evaluation it on its overall merits. The system
merits were scrutinized as they apply to the diversity of needs of safety
for the mariner and environment, as well as those concerns of the regional
port stakeholder.
All mariners and agencies involved
in commercial shipping understand the critical nature and importance
of safe navigation. The simple economics of one casualty greatly outweighs
the technological cost of preventing it. Conversely, it is also quite
difficult to introduce a new technology onto a vessel bridge. The maritime
environment can be quite harsh and if not properly supervised, dangerous.
Because of this, any new technology must be approached with a high degree
of skepticism and care. It is due to this careful approach, the empirical
results from this project, to the untrained mariner, might at first
glance seem to be less then conclusive. However, taking into consideration
the challenges related to the rapid introduction of a new technology,
that in some regards is still in its infancy, in an environment such
as the maritime industry, the JPP concurs that the results are impressive
and support the reports conclusions.
With these all these issues in mind,
it is the opinion of the JPP, based on the data presented in this report,
agree that the project has been very successful. The JPP also encourages
the continued development and increase use of AIS as a tool to enhance
and improve already existing equipment and data that is currently available,
in order to provide the best achievable protection of the mariner, the
environment and the general public.
Schedule of Implementation
- Ships constructed on or after July 1, 2002
– Required
- Ships on Intl. Voyages & built before July
1, 2002
- Passenger Ships and Tankers by July 1, 2003
- Other then Tankers 50K+ GT by July 1, 2004
- Other then Tankers 10k-50k GT by July 1,
2005
- Other then Tankers 3k-10k GT by July 1,
2006
- Other then 300-3000 GT by July 1, 2007
- Ships not on Int’l voyage & built before
July 1, 2002
……Required ……… by July 1, 2008
Domestic Carriage – U.S. Coast Guard (Estimated)
- Vessels greater then 20 or 40 meters
- Towing Vessels greater then 8 meters
- Vessels carrying more then 50 passengers
- Dredges and Floating Plants
- Vessel covered by the Bridge to Bridge Radio
Act (Possible)
Schedule of Implementation
- Proposed Rules – Summer 2001
- Earliest Requirement – 2002
Additional information can be found on the Internet
in the report: U.S. Coast Guard Plans of Universal AIS. http://www.uscg.mil/vtm/briefs/aiselfring/index.htm
1. History and organization of the Joint
Planning Partnership (JPP)
In 1998 when grant funding from OSPR was identified
for the development of new technologies to increase the level of vessel
and environmental safety, the SFMX was approached by OSPR with the challenge
to organize such a project. Immediately, the SFMX invited individuals
from a diverse cross section of the maritime community to participate
in this endeavor and the Joint Planning Partnership (JPP) was established.
The JPP consists of 16 individuals from the maritime industry representing
areas of ferryboat operations, tug/escort companies, barge operators,
container and dry cargo vessels, San Francisco Bar Pilots and government
agencies. The function of the JPP is to provide experience and oversight
to the SFMX for the purpose of assuring the grant funds and the project
was managed properly. The JPP held regular meetings and decided to split
the AIS project into two groups: the AIS Committee and the Personal
Pilot Unit (PPU) Committee. The two subcommittees were responsible for
establishing a project scope of work and project development; then report
their progress back to the JPP Committee.
A - The AIS Committee is made up of a diverse group
of individuals that represent the stakeholders of the AIS portion of
the project. The committee is comprised of seventeen people from a cross-section
of the industry who are highly experienced with the operational aspects
of the maritime community. They were also chosen because this is the
area where AIS technology has the greatest influence and effect. The
first responsibility of the AIS Committee was to develop a request for
proposal for the procurement of an AIS system. The second responsibility
was to assure the proper installation, testing and operation of the
system. The third responsibility was to perform an evaluation based
on the requirements of the OSPR Grant and prepare conclusions based
on their findings.
B - The PPU Committee is unique in that its primary
focus is on the AIS issues related to special needs of the San Francisco
Bar Pilots (SFBP). The pilots work in an environment that is extremely
mobile, the working conditions are often hazardous and they require
a higher degree of skill and experience. Because of this, the PPU committee
was formed to consist of 8 people: four bar pilots, and one member each
from the AIS committee, the U.S. Coast Guard, OSPR and SFMX.
The responsibilities of the PPU Committee are similar
to those of the AIS Committee. However, their task was to not only evaluate
the merits of the AIS concept, but also to compare several different
PPU based on each system’s specific strengths and weaknesses as they
relate to the day-to-day operations and needs of the San Francisco Bar
Pilots
2. Introduction to AIS
AIS can be characterized as a great mirror in the
sky. If the sky was a mirror, and it was a very clear day, one could
look up and see a reflection of one’s surroundings. You could see all
other vessels as they move in relation to your own vessel providing
a single situational picture. Also, all the other users of the system
could also look up and see that very same situational picture. AIS is
this and much more. It not only provides a display to all the system
users of the physical vessel traffic situation; it also provides key
navigational and operational information as per the requirements of
the users. For example all the users can display static information
of each display target such as the name, type and size of vessel data
that is not usually available through standard radar. They can also
obtain real time information such as the speed over ground (SOG), course
over ground (COG) and the destination of other vessels. In short, AIS
is a system that provides each user a picture of the navigational information
that all other participants are using.
How does the basic AIS perform this task? It starts
with the Global Positioning System (GPS). The GPS is a network of many
satellites that are in orbit around the earth and they transmit a signal
similar to a pulse or a clock. The shipboard GPS transponder/radio receives
that signal and calculates the time differences between the various
satellites pulses, at least six for accuracy within 10 meters, to determine
an exact location of the vessel in longitude and latitude. That data
is then directly input into the ship’s AIS computer. The AIS computer
combines the GPS location information with other vessel related data
such as name, course and speed (Fig.1)
and transmits it, via VHF radio, to the
AIS Vessel Traffic Controller (VTC). The VTC is a communications hub,
normally located on an appropriate mountain peak (Mt.Tamalpais in the
San Francisco Bay Area) that receives, organizes and combines all the
transmissions of all the AIS vessels and then rebroadcasts the data
back out so that all the vessels share the same data. When the AIS vessel
receives the data from the VTC, it then displays it on the computer
monitor with an Electronic Navigation Chart (ENC) (Fig.2).
If for any reason the VTC site fails to work properly, all the AIS vessel
transponders automatically shift to work in ship-to-ship mode.
(Fig.1)
Highlighted AIS Vessel Navigation
Information
- Vessel Name
- Vessel Type (Tug, Passenger Ferry etc.)
- Vessel Course Over Ground (COG)
- Vessel Speed Over Ground (SOG)
- Vessel Position (longitude and latitude)
- Vessel Length
- Vessel Draft
- Vessel Destination
- Vessel Range and Bearing
(Fig.2)
3. The Future of AIS
A. Universal Automatic Information System (UAIS)
There are several movements in the maritime regulatory
environment to standardize the AIS equipment to be installed on all
vessels called the Universal Automatic Information System (UAIS). The
International Maritime Organization (IMO) is expected to cover all "Safety
Of Life At Sea" (SOLAS) vessels, e.g. large tankers and containerships.
Another regulatory requirements may be for domestic carriage; mandated
by the U.S. Coast Guard. It will likely apply to domestic vessels including
those that fit within the "Bridge to Bridge Radio Act" (BBRA)
e.g. tugs. It makes complete sense that the regulatory agencies develop
a set of minimum AIS standards so that all vessels operating in any
port can communicate at a basic level. However, those UAIS Standards
are at least one year from being approved, five to six years from complete
installation and are limited in scope.
The UAIS standards are considered to be a basic
set of standards, and are most often employed at sea. However, each
port has its own special needs and a "one size fits all solution"
may not provide the best regional achievable protection. For this reason,
there are other agencies that have evaluated the AIS concept and developed
additional requirements that further increase the safety of their local
port regions. The AIS Committee is also taking into consideration the
lessons learned from other regional AIS projects, using that pool of
shared information and applying it to the San Francisco Bay Area project.
Use of this strategy is an example of the AIS Committee’s commitment
to develop the AIS project on a parallel path with international and
federal agencies to assure complete integration with UAIS. The committee
also intends that the current project in the San Francisco Bay will
add to the general pool of knowledge for the other regional AIS projects.
More importantly, it will respond to the unique issues of the San Francisco
Bay Region and will provide the basis for an "Enhanced AIS Project."
IMO – International AIS Carriage - July 2002
with a phase-in to 2007
FCC – AIS Equipment Type Certification - Expected
completion Jan 2002
USCG – Domestic Carriage - July 2002 with undetermined
phase-in
(For a more detailed explanation
see appendix C)
B. The Enhanced AIS Concept
The previous AIS description is only the beginning.
The "cookie cutter" approach to serving the needs of each
port are not enough. There are many specific information needs of the
mariner within each region, and AIS is an excellent platform to provide
them. One component of the San Francisco Bay Project is to explore those
possible enhancements from both the perspective of the mariner’s needs
for improved safety and the feasibility to reliably provide each enhancement
using current or imminent technology. The initial key enhancements that
are to be explored in this project are the distribution of hydrographic
and meteorological data and the population of additional vessel target
data from the U.S. Coast Guard, Vessel Traffic Service (VTS). This data
is to be integrated into the VTC, and then transmitted to the AIS vessels
at the same time as the normal broadcast, as shown in the AIS System
Organization Chart. (Fig.3)
The hydrographic and meteorological data is collected
from the Physical Oceanographic Real Time System (PORTS), also currently
being operated by the SFMX and approved by National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). This data includes tide, current, salinity, wind
speed and direction. The VTS target information is similar to the basic
AIS data that is collected by radar and is expected to provide the AIS
vessel with a complete picture of all vessels in operation in the San
Francisco Bay whether they carry AIS transponders or not. This is the
main feature that will not only bridge the gap between partial vessel
participation, which is expected until carriage requirements are mandated,
but will also move the test project into a broader operational phase.
(Fig.3)
The Current and Enhanced
AIS Project
There are a number of enhancements that can be applied
to the AIS technology. Particular ones worth mentioning are vessel route
and ETA calculations for port logistics; vessel equipment inventories
for Hazmat /Incident Command (Fire and Police) and Internet information
delivery of fleet assets for a more efficient use of resources and the
movement of commuters and commerce. The development of these enhancements
of the AIS project are outside the current scope of work and budget
of the San Francisco Bay Project. However, with the AIS technology is
in its infancy, we felt it was important that these enhancements be
explored during the evaluation portion of this project to identify additional
beneficiaries of the AIS technology.
4. AIS Project Scope of Work
The initial goal of the San Francisco Bay AIS project
consisted of two segments. The first segment, "System Installation
and Operation", was to supply the greatest number of vessels
that represent that best cross section of local commercial maritime
interests within the allotted grant budget from OSPR. The second segment,
"System Evaluation", was to evaluate the operation
of the AIS system in the following five areas of interest: Vessel Traffic
Management, Vessel Navigation Safety, Reduced Visibility/Night Navigation,
Bridge Resource Management and Overall Vessel Operation. The evaluations
were used to develop the conclusions that are included at the end of
this report.
Segment 1: AIS System Installation and Operation
The first responsibility of the AIS was to develop
a request for proposal for the procurement of an AIS system. Initially,
that proposal required that equipment be provided from two different
manufactures, one being the integrator of the two different equipment
designs. Because of the infancy of the technology and the uncertainty
of international and federal carriage requirements, it was impractical
for any manufacturer to expend the capital outlay for cross system integration.
Since the that initial strategy failed, it was decided to commit to
the procurement of one system that would provide the most AIS features,
at the lowest cost, as well as adapt to any future AIS developments.
The choice was made to purchase the Ross Engineering AIS system.
The AIS Committee then established set up the criteria
for acceptance of participants for the AIS evaluation. In order to identify
the proper vessel participants, the committee initially developed a
list that could best achieve an appropriate cross section of local port
stakeholders. The list of stakeholders was then expanded in terms of
vessels they operated that were the most active in both transits and
geographic scope. The maritime industry concerns that were solicited
for participation were: large commercial vessels (Tanker), high speed
ferrys, high frequency ferrys, high passenger capacity vessels, tanker
escort vessels, government vessel, large oil barge, tug & tow and
ship assist vessel.
Based on that information a list of vessels to solicit
for participation was then created. Then after a contract for AIS project
participation was developed and agreed to by each vessel participant,
twenty-two AIS units were delivered and installed on each vessel on
or about September 2000.
AIS Participant Vessel Roster
w/type
Name Type Name Type
| Andrew
Foss |
Escort
Vessel |
|
Mare
Island |
High
Speed Ferry |
| Delta
Deanna |
Escort
Vessel |
|
Mendocino |
High
Speed Ferry |
| Delta
Linda |
Escort
Vessel |
|
Sonoma |
High
Speed Ferry |
| S/R
Mare Island |
Escort
Vessel |
|
Zelinsky |
High
Speed Ferry |
| Raccoon |
Govt.
Vessel |
|
Tug
Mars / 450-11 |
Large
Commercial Barge |
| California
Hornblower |
High
Capacity Passenger |
|
S/R
Galvestion |
Large
Commercial Vessel |
| Ferry
Golden Gate |
High
Frequency Ferry |
|
Clean
Bay II |
Oil
Spill Response Org. |
| Bay
Breeze |
High
Speed Ferry |
|
Bearcat |
Ship
Assist Vessel |
| Del
Norte |
High
Speed Ferry |
|
Claudia
Foss |
Ship
Assist Vessel |
| Encinal |
High
Speed Ferry |
|
Silver
Eagle |
Ship
Assist Vessel |
| Intintoli |
High
Speed Ferry |
|
Marin
Twilight |
Tug
and Tow |
In September 2000 agreements were made between
the SFMX, Maritel Inc., Tug Communications and American Tower Corporation
for the installation and operation of the Vessel Traffic Control (VTC)
site on Mt. Tamalpias. The VTC site began operation on October 15, 2000.
After some minor adjustments to the equipment and system training by
the SFMX, the participants were tasked with acclimation and operation
of the AIS system while maintaining a written log for future evaluation
purposes.
Segment 2: AIS System Evaluation
This next task of the AIS Committee was to develop
an evaluation process that would respond to the needs of the grant requirement
from OSPR. Since this task was specific in nature and required time,
it was decided to form a small work group was formed of from the AIS
Committee. This was to achieve a group that could work more closely,
more often and focus specifically on evaluation issues
AIS technology is a new tool for the mariners and
there are still many questions in regard to its assisting or actually
being a hindrance to the mariner. To address this, the Evaluation Work
Group developed an evaluation process that was presented in three phases.
The first phase focused on the initial acclimation and participant response
to AIS. The second phase was a direct closed-loop feedback to assure
constancy in operator input and forming reality based development goals.
Also part of the first and second phase was to begin defining quantifiable
measures for the five areas of interest. The third phase of the evaluation
comprised of a user focus group. All participants were required to attend
so the Evaluation Work Group could both develop a consensus-based response
to the five areas of interest, and identify potential future beneficiaries
of the AIS technology.
5. Personal Pilot Unit (PPU) Scope of work
The goals of the PPU Committee were similar to that
of the AIS Committee system. The first, "Procurement and Training"
was to choose the PPU’s that would best serve the needs of the pilots
within the allotted budget and to establish proper training for the
pilots to operate the AIS systems. In addition to determining the systems
to be selected, the PPU Committee also requested 8 pilots test and operate
the PPU’s. The second goal "System Evaluation" was
to evaluate each system and prepare conclusions based on the pilots’
experience.
Segment 1: PPU Equipment Procurement and Pilot
Training
The first responsibility for the PPU Committee was
to prepare a Request for Proposal to identify possible manufacturers
from whom to procure PPU systems. Since there are very few manufacturers
that produce a PPU, the initial search for procurement was somewhat
less difficult then the AIS Committee search. After a set of system
demonstrations, the PPU Committee decided on four different systems
to evaluate. The four systems, and the features that each has the PPU
Committee felt warranted closer evaluation are as follow: (1) Ross Engineering
– Current AIS integration, (2) Starlink Inc. – High definition
channel surveys developed by the Army Corps of Engineers, (3) ARINC
Inc. Kinematic Heading that provides true heading rather then course
over ground, (4) Transview Hybrid – Vessel traffic situational
data in a 2.5 lb. package.
During the development of the PPU Scope of work,
the committee also recommended that some of the grant funding be directed
to pilot AIS system training and acclimation. This was based on the
logic that the pilots could provide a much better evaluation of the
PPU’s if they had more overall experience of the technology as a whole.
Four pilots were sent to Maritime Institute of Technology for a one-week
training course. The systems were subsequently delivered to the San
Francisco Bar Pilots and the evaluation of each system commenced.
Segment 2: PPU System Evaluation
Since the
needs of the pilots are somewhat different from that of the AIS participants,
it was decided, in the first step, to use an evaluation that was developed
by the American Pilot Association. This evaluation was used to determine
the utility of each PPU on its own particular merits and also help the
pilots to focus on issues relating to the PPU technology. After that
step, the pilots were also asked to complete the same questionnaire
as the AIS participants, in regard to how the PPU systems apply to the
same five areas of interest of AIS. The results are detailed in the
next section of this report.
6. JPP Evaluations
A. AIS System Evaluation – Phase One,
Initial System Definition
It was expected that the level of technical
skills that each project participants had would greatly vary. The first
goal of Phase One was to increase the level of computer savvy of those
participants that needed it, and to acclimate all the participants to
the AIS system features. In effect, attempt to standardize the knowledge
and skills of all the system users. This was accomplished by "one on
one" training and a log entry process that encouraged the users to become
familiar with the system.
Since the Evaluation Work Group required a format
to track acclimation and usage, it was decided that the log data reflect
the basic use of AIS by the participants. (I.e.: time of system use,
weather conditions, ports called, scale used and number of transits).
Through this data log the work group collected a base set of information
for the scope of the system use for development of the second phase
evaluation.
The logbooks contained an initial evaluation so
the work-group could obtain preliminary sense of the system’s utility,
and also determine if it was creating a bridge distraction or over-reliance
by the participants. The evaluations asked the participant to quantify
the initial response to the AIS by entering a number from +10 representing
the level of assistance and -10 representing a hindrance that AIS placed
on the mariner (Fig.4).
The participants could also provide anecdotal comments or suggestions
that would assist in the development of system elements included in
the second evaluation. The comments were also presented to Ross Engineering
for further AIS development and system upgrades.
Phase One of the evaluation was initiated with in
October 2000 and operated for approximately sixty days. Initially, given
the maturity of the technology and its alien nature, there was some
expectation that the evaluation responses would be unfavorable. To the
contrary, the participant responses to Phase One were very encouraging
with the overall system utility rated at +4.4. The following
are the logged results:
- Logged transits – 2209
- Scale commonly used 2-16 miles
- Weather conditions – Varied
- Preentered route - 26% Y 74 % N
(Fig.4)
