DISQUS

A partnership with Canada in rapidly developing an ADVANCED SPACE-BASED AIS detection would increase maritime domain situational awareness in a positive manner.

Recently, John Keating, CEO of COM DEV. stated that “Space-based collection of AIS data offers tremendous cost and performance advantages over existing methods of monitoring marine traffic.”

For instance, a reliable satellite-based collection system would eliminate the 50-mile limitation as well as the need to build large numbers of ground stations along the world’s coastlines. Existing AIS transmissions can be received from space.

Check it out for more exciting information:

http://www.comdev.ca/pressrel/2007/071017.html

Everyone have a safe and very scary Happy Halloween. Great article, my Fast Frigate was just plan haze gray during Navy days of yesteryear. I bet the deck department had a blast with the creative paint scheme.

Fantastic resource of seismic data provided by the U.S. Geologic Survey, Caltech, and the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS). This is an excellent example of geographical information systems (GIS) providing an interactive tool and user friendly interface in disseminating scientific data.

A Google Mashup added to the tools utilized by the the Bridge Resource Management Team will enable watch officers to seamlessly manage and analyze data in the decision making process. EarthNC http://earthnc.com/ now has NOAA charts available which can be overlayed on the geospatioal imagery of Google Earth.

ECDIS is now evolving into a complete maritime Geographical Information System (GIS) with the inclusion of real time weather data. Input from experienced mariners will expand the capabilities, while integrating hardware and software of GIS.

Just recently, on October 17, a hearing on crewing shortages was called by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Coast Guard Subcommittee at the Capitol.

Specifically, the hearing considered the possible impact of various factors on workforce shortage, including wage levels; lifestyle challenges associated with employment in the maritime industry; and training requirements imposed by the Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (“STCW”) Convention.

The testimonies from leaders in the maritime industry can be found at this link:

http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearin...

Additional hearings will be called by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Coast Guard Subcommittee on November 17th .

The participants will include maritime associations, including OMSA, as well as labor groups and educators on maritime crewing and training issues.

Mariners now have a voice through their industry leaders. Theres still time to hear your input for constructive solutions.

Thats a really neat bubble chart. Thanks for mentioning the IBM Many Eyes Project. A great resource.

Interesting article. I concur that in many instances there appears the problems of falsified records. The problem is not solely at the seafarer level but also at the marine terminal where the transfer of petroleum products originates or terminates in conjunction with the vessel and dock interface.

For example in the USA, ,there are specific tenets in the required Declaration of Inspection (DOI) that fulfills the regulatory requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations and Clean Water Act. Many times this important document is pencil whipped to move the juice expediently.

As this trend continues, all marine transfer operators are on borrowed time for the next environmental release.