FINLANDS SJÖFART J SUOMEN MERENKULKU 41
Professional and technical offi cer David Appleton
told members about the work being done at the
International Maritime Organisation to examine
the regulatory issues associated with ‘smart ships’
and he noted that while big advances are being made in
shipboard technology and remote monitoring of systems,
satellite coverage is still not yet capable of enabling any
remote system to function reliably worldwide.
‘It feels to me as if the industry is rushing towards this
like a bunch of lemmings and it will go right over the cliff
edge,’ said Jessica Tyson. ‘It does not seem to be driven by
demand, but more by someone thinking it is a bright idea.
There is no doubt we are going down that route – we
already have semi-automated vessels – but who is it
actually benefi tting?’
She warned that the limitations of some systems need
to be recognised. ‘Radar doesn’t always pick up everything
and there are some times when you can see things that it
can’t,’ she pointed out. ‘And if all of that goes down, are we
still going to have the basic skills that it is all based
around?’
Henk Eijkenaar said he supported the Union’s approach
in not opposing technology but seeking to ensure that it is
not introduced in a damaging way. ‘There should be a
balance that recognises the limitations of technology and
gets a balance between humans and machines,’ he argued.
Tom Cardy said there needs to be a better focus on the
user-friendliness of equipment. ‘Look at the number of
alarms going off all the time,’ he pointed out. ‘The kind of
automation that would be useful would be something that
did analysis and interrogation of the alarms to ease the
stress and pressure on the seafarers.’
The meeting heard of a recent incident of GPS interfer-ence
in the vicinity of Port Said, Egypt, which had resulted
in ships losing signals for bridge navigation and communi-cation
equipment. The US-fl agged car carrier Alliance
Fairfax was one of the vessels affected – suffering severe
jamming just before managing to anchor safely by visual
means.
‘With the jamming of GPS signals, all the bridge
equipment was in alarm mode which was the most
distracting aspect of the loss of the GPS,’ said Captain
Larry Aasheim. ‘Radar presentation failed due to GPS
speed input for the display. ECDIS had ship position
jumping all over the screen. I had ship’s speed at times in
excess of 80 knots.
‘We were anchoring at night which made it diffi cult to
determine if all ships in the anchorage were actually
anchored,’ he added. ‘As I was turning into my anchorage,
the vessel abeam of me just got underway which was of
great concern, but we were able to communicate and had
no danger of collision. My anchorage was in the middle of
six ships at anchor which made it simple to determine my
anchorage visually.
‘My recommendation would be to put the speed input to
radars to log speed versus GPS speed until this problem
gets rectifi ed,’ Capt Aasheim suggested. ‘With the speed
input from the log for the radar, the presentation would
remain steady and not add to the confusion with the other
sensors failing.’
In a report on the incident, second mate Erik Stark said
the jamming resulted in audible and visual alarms from
equipment including GPS receivers, the 10cm and 3cm
radars, the AIS transceiver, both ECDIS display units, both
Sat C transceivers, the GMDSS MF/HF transceiver, both
VHF DSC radios, and the VDR.
As a result of the experience, the Alliance Fairfax
crew offered the following recommendations:
– When the GPS receivers begin to lose signal reception,
place the ECDIS’s Position Sensors in DR mode, both
Primary and Secondary. Also, change the Speed over
Ground sensor from GPS to DLOG (Log Speed). DR mode
is better than GPS mode, when the ENC chart jumps all
over the screen. Also, if the speed over ground is not
changed from GPS to DLOG, the DR position will degrade
quickly from faulty speed input (such as the 80-knot
own-ship GPS speed that we experienced)
– If in DR mode, frequent position updates are neces-sary.
From experience, especially at night, the Port Said
Breakwater tip is the most easily located amongst all of
the other radar clutter. Also, a radar range and bearing
can be inserted quickly on the ECDIS, when compared to
entering multiple LOPs
– Put the radars in DR mode, and make sure that the
speed is water-sourced (Log Speed). Be sure to disable AIS
radar overlay. The other vessels’ AIS data is also being
compromised, so the faulty AIS information only adds to
the confusion
– Consider shutting off the AIS completely. If own-ship
data is compromised, it is not helping other vessels.
Shutting down the AIS while manoeuvring towards the
anchorage also eliminates a source of alarm noise. It can
be powered back on after anchoring
– Consider shutting off other sources of alarm noise,
such as the GMDSS console. When manoeuvring in traffi c
off of Port Said, the GMDSS contributes nothing but
alarms, when the GPS signal is down. The console can be
powered up after anchoring
– Consider having an extra mate on the bridge, with a
deck cadet (if available), just for the purpose of silencing
alarms, updating the ECDIS position manually and
handling radio communications
– If the schedule permits, anchor early at Port Said,
during daylight hours. With daylight, manoeuvring by
visual means is easier, especially if dealing with the
distraction of GPS alarms. It is easier to see which vessels
are moving, or not moving, during daylight hours. •