Can monitoring maritime activities in the European High Arctic by satellite-based Automatic Identification System enhance polar search and rescue?

Abstract

This proof of concept paper seeks to determine whether monitoring maritime activities in the European High Arctic by satellite-based Automatic Identification System (AIS) can enhance polar search and rescue (SAR) by building an accurate temporal and spatial profile of the fleet of ships operating there. It quantifies maritime activities in three regions in the European High Arctic where it is probable that the Norwegian Coast Guard will be requested to assist in future SAR operations. The main focus is on the Svalbard region, which is located in the standard area of operation of the Norwegian Coast Guard. The analysis is based on data from the Norwegian satellites AISSat-1 and -2 from 10 July 2010 to 31 December 2014. The vessels are organized into groups, such as fishing vessels, passenger (tourist) vessels, icebreakers, research vessels, and tankers and cargo vessels, as identified by the unique Maritime Mobile Service Identity number within a ship’s automatically transmitted AIS messages. In this paper, the maritime activities of passenger vessels are discussed in detail. This paper presents results on the number and locations of such vessels in each of the three Arctic regions, and identifies activity trends. It is possible, for example, to determine season start and finish for tourist vessels and to extrapolate that the greater the number of times those vessels travel into the High Arctic, the greater the level of polar operational experience of the crews. Knowledge about the location of vessels in an area (situational awareness) is valuable in cases where SAR actions are required. The International Maritime Organization is finalizing implementation of the Polar Code for the safety of vessels, which will apply in both Polar Regions and will require additional information about the profile of the fleets of ships operating there. However, it must be noted that the AIS data is generally only continuously available from legitimate operators (e.g. licensed fishers, tourist operators and vessels on government service) and if the AIS is turned off, the vessel becomes virtually invisible. This methodology, therefore, is not a stand-alone system. Despite the current shortcomings, we recommend that other Polar nations consider using satellite-based AIS to establish situational awareness in remote waters.

Keywords:

• Automatic Identification System
• AIS
• AISSat
• Arctic
• Antarctica
• situational awareness
• search and rescue

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Dr Richard Olsen and Dr Øystein Helleren at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (Forsvarets Forskningsinstitutt) for access to AIS data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ A. Chircop, “The Growth of International Shipping in the Arctic: Is a Regulatory Review Timely?” The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law 24 (2009): 355–380.

² For information on the progress of the Polar Code see J. Jabour, “Progress towards the Mandatory Code for Polar Shipping,” Australian Journal of Maritime and Ocean Affairs 6 (2014): 64–7. For information on the SAR Agreement see S.-M. Kao, N. Pearre, and J. Firestone, “Adoption of the Arctic Search and Rescue Agreement: A Shift of the Arctic Regime toward a Hard Law Basis?” Marine Policy 36 (2012): 832–8.

³ The Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number is a unique, nine-digit number that identifies a vessel or a land station. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) number is a permanent, unique identifier that is written into a ship’s certificates and does not change if the vessel has a new owner or reflags. The IMO number is never reallocated to another vessel. See IMO, IMO identification number scheme, http://www.imo.org/OurWork/Safety/Implementation/Pages/IMO-identification-number-scheme.aspx (accessed January 25, 2015).

⁴ The results in this paper were first presented at the fourth International Polar Tourism Research Network in Christchurch, New Zealand in August–September 2014. It therefore focuses on tourist vessels, but note that similar analyses can be undertaken for other kinds of vessels and other regions.

⁵ For details see N2YO Live Real Time Satellite Tracking at http://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=36797 (accessed May 29, 2015).

⁶ For details see N2YO Live Real Time Satellite Tracking at http://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=40075 (accessed May 29, 2015).

⁷ For details see CubeSat, http://www.cubesat.org/ (accessed June 3, 2015).

⁸ Shelmerdine, L. Richard, “Teasing Out the Detail: How Our Understanding of Marine AIS Data Can Better Inform Industries, Developments, and Planning”, Marine Policy 54 (2015): 17–25.

⁹ IMO, AIS transponders, http://www.imo.org/OurWork/Safety/Navigation/Pages/AIS.aspx (accessed January 25, 2015).

¹⁰ Ibid.

¹¹ International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974, as amended by the Protocol of 1988 (in force 2000) 1184 UNTS 278 (SOLAS), Chapter V, Safety of navigation.

¹² US Department of Homeland Security – United States Coast Guard. Automatic Identification System Overview, www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=AISmain (accessed January 25, 2015).

¹³ Arctic Council, Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautic and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic, Nuuk, 12 May 2011, I.L.M. 50 (2011), http://www.arctic-council.org/index.php/en/document-archive/category/20-main-documents-from-nuuk?download=73:arctic-search-and-rescue-agreement-english (accessed January 25, 2015).

¹⁴ O.M. Rapp, “Hurtigruten vil inn i russisk farvann [Hurtigruten Wants to Enter Russian Waters],” Aftenposten, January 30, 2015, http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/Hurtigruten-vil-inn-i-russisk-farvann-7881137.html (accessed January 30, 2015).

¹⁵ International Maritime Organization, Shipping in Polar Waters, http://www.imo.org/MediaCentre/HotTopics/polar/Pages/default.aspx (accessed May 28, 2015).

¹⁶ A.P. Murray, Toward a “mandatory” Polar Code: How Effective is the IMO’s Tacit Acceptance Process? (2014), http://ssrn.com/abstract=2496664 (accessed May 28, 2915).

¹⁷ Y. Rosen, “IMO Completes Polar Code, Regulating Arctic and Antarctic Shipping”, Alaska Dispatch News, May 15, 2015, http://www.adn.com/article/20150515/imo-completes-polar-code-regulating-arctic-and-antarctic-shipping (accessed May 28, 2015); H.E. Anderson III, “Polar Shipping: The Forthcoming Polar Code and Implications for Polar Environments”, Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce 43 (2012): 59–84.

¹⁸ Lloyds, Lloyd’s Develops Arctic Ice Regime to Compliment Polar Code (2014), http://www.lloyds.com/news-and-insight/news-and-features/emerging-risk/emerging-risk-2014/a-common-ice-regime-for-arctic-shippers (accessed May 7, 2015).