Vessel Track

Crude Rises; Libyan Tankers Off U.S. Coast

According to a March 2 report from Bloomberg, West African and Caspian Sea crudes surged to the highest in more than two years as European refiners find their grades more suitable for replacing disrupted Libyan exports than offers from Saudi Arabia. Two oil tankers bound from Libya are anchored off the U.S. Gulf Coast near Port Arthur, Texas, according to Bloomberg vessel tracking data, five days after the U.S. imposed sanctions on the North African country.   (Source: Bloomberg)

PortVision Vessel-Tracking for Gulf Cleanup Ops

PortVision, provider of business intelligence solutions for the maritime industry, announced that BP has used the company’s PortVision vessel-tracking service and PV-OnBoard battery-operated satellite trackers to enhance and accelerate response and restoration operations related to the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon incident. “The PortVision service has significantly improved how we have managed vessel activity related to the Gulf response and restoration operation

Public Hearing Held on AIS Requirements

The Coast Guard is seeking additional public input on expanding requirements for the Automated Identification System (AIS) at a public meeting. Currently, Coast Guard regulations require AIS be installed on commercial vessels that are on international voyages. Other commercial vessels are also required to have AIS when they are operating in U.S. waters that have Vessel Traffic Systems or Vessel Movement Reporting Systems

Bill to Authorize Appropriations for USCG

Senator Snowe (R-ME) introduced the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2005 (S. 1280) to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 for the United States Coast Guard, and for other purposes. Among its numerous provisions, this bill, if enacted into law, would: (1) authorize a pilot program for a long-range vessel tracking system; (2) require development of a process for determining whether and under what circumstances damaged vessels may seek a place of refuge in U.S

JRC Announces New Program

JRC North America, the Seattle-based branch of Japan Radio Co., Ltd., has announced an aggressive new program to gain an increased share of the marine electronics market in the U.S. and Canada. Ray Carter, national sales manager, said JRC will pursue greater sales in electronics for the pleasurecraft, megayacht, commercial fishing and workboat markets. The company has already stated prices will not raise prices on its products in 2999 The company offers radards from compact 16-mile units for

Report: Sunken Ferry Crew Unfamiliar with Equipment

According to sources, a report says crew of sunken ferry may have been unfamiliar with equipment. A suggestion is being made that bridge crew on the Queen of the North were unfamiliar with newly installed steering equipment. A preliminary finding into the ferry sinking also says the crew was so unacquainted with the new electronic equipment's night settings that they turned off a monitor displaying their course.

exactEarth Receives New Orders

exactEarth Ltd., a satellite AIS data services provider, announced that it has recently booked multiple orders for exactAIStm, its global vessel tracking and monitoring system.  The orders, which have been placed by government agencies in several countries including South Africa and Japan, are in excess of $2 million over the next 12 months. exactEarth also announced that the commissioning process related to its recent satellite launch is proceeding well and this advanced AIS payload will

Saab and Trimble to Integrate Solutions for DGPS Transmissions

Trimble and Saab TransponderTech AB are cooperating to integrate their differential GPS (DGPS) solutions for enhanced marine navigation. Saab and Trimble will integrate their marine navigation solutions to deliver DGPS error correction messages to ships at sea through automatic identification system (AIS) coast stations and networks. The DGPS messages transmitted on AIS frequencies will augment the existing marine DGPS broadcasts from coastal beacon stations.

Panama Canal Implements New Vessel Tracking System

Beginning April 1, 2004, and to be fully implemented on July 1, 2004, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) will begin using a new system to send and receive data to and from vessels planning to transit the Canal. Called the Automated Data Collection System (ADCS), the new system will eliminate the current process of data collection via paper, substituting it with an electronic exchange of information between the ACP and its customers.

SICIS Combines Container Monitoring and AIS

In September 2009 the EU funded INTEGRITY project implemented its IT platform, the Shared Intermodal Container Information System SICIS. SICIS tracks containers along the entire logistics chain and registers all data and related events which are generated during the transport. SICIS regularly monitors the INTEGRITY consortium members’ containers from China to Europe. By the end of the project the aim is for several thousand containers to have been monitored by this IT platform.