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Automatic Identification System (AIS) was primarily designed as
an aid to navigation to improve vessel safety by increasing
situational awareness of nearby traffic
It allows vessels to automatically transmit a series of
structured messages containing navigation, identity and voyage
related details
Regulation 19 of SOLAS Chapter V requires AIS to be fitted
aboard all ships of 300 gross tones and upwards engaged on
international voyages, cargo ships of 500 gross tones and upwards
not engaged on international voyages, and all passenger ships
irrespective of size
AIS is being increasingly used to better understand vessel
behaviors, such as: voyage irregularities, suspected dark activity,
ship-to-ship activity and identity tampering
Introducing AIS
AIS, was primarily designed as an aid to navigation to improve
vessel safety by increasing situational awareness of nearby traffic
but has since also been adopted for the monitoring of vessel within
vessel traffic systems. It works by allowing individual vessels to
automatically broadcast a regularly updated series of structured
messages containing navigation (position, heading, destination
etc…) and identity information (IMO, Call Sign, MMSI, Ship Type,
dimensions) to other vessels in their immediate vicinity, as well
as being picked up by terrestrial and satellite receivers.
Operation of Class A equipment is mandatory globally for all
vessels operating under SOLAS. Regulation 19 of SOLAS Chapter V
requires AIS to be fitted aboard all ships of:
300 gross tonnes and upwards engaged on international
voyages
Cargo ships of 500 gross tonnes and upwards not engaged on
international voyages
All passenger ships irrespective of size
These regulations became effective on the 31st of December 2004
(for more information on AIS please contact us.
AIS is one of the easiest and relatively cheapest means by which
you can track vessels internationally, and due to the identity
information passed through AIS (principally the IMO), the
positional data can be linked back to a ship that is registered
under the IMO scheme so it's unsurprising
that this type of data has been widely used within the industry to
understand vessel movements.
From an application standpoint, just like wearing a fitness
tracker can give you insights into where you are, how you operate
as an individual and flag certain behaviours and activities, AIS is
being increasingly used in a very similar manner as to provide key
insights into a vessels current and historical operations (such as
ports of call), as well as monitoring behaviours for any anomalies
(STS, Suspected Dark Activities, Voyage Irregularities, Identity
Tampering, Transparency etc…).
Those whom have spent enough time tracking vessels through AIS
will have undoubtedly at some point seen a vessel disappearing from
AIS for a few days, call at an anchorage only to be seen going
round and round in circles before sailing away, or perhaps seeing a
vessel jumping across continents - as if they've somehow discovered
the science of teleportation, and further still, to seeing names or
flags which do not match the vessel records.
These types of behaviours aren't new, but the application of
algorithms to screen and capture such behaviours is what's becoming
more prominent, as these actually speak towards what a vessel could
have done in such instances; a disappearance could in fact be a
suspected dark activity, an anchorage call followed by circular
motions could in fact be a ship-to-ship operation, and a
continental jump could speak towards another vessel emulating the
vessel of interest.
For that reason, new ways of looking at the data have been
developed as to identify and facilitate screening against possibly
illicit shipping practises, in the form of:
AIS Dark Activity screening
STS Activity screening
Identity Alteration screening
Voyage irregularity screening
Document falsification screening
Sanctioned port call screening
These are only some of the new ways in which IHS Markit is
harnessing AIS to provide transparency to the wider maritime domain
as it relates to risk and compliance screening, not only arming
business with clear indicators against these behaviours, but the
means to investigate them further too.
To find out more about our compliance screening capabilities,
please visit our MIRS Product page, or contact us for further information.
