Small vessel tracking using AIS for enhanced maritime domain awareness

Fishing has the highest rate of occupational fatalities in the USA, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Alaska's waters are the deadliest, per Coast Guard statistics [1]. Many fishing fatalities stem from small boats, 44 feet in length or less. Small boats can sink or tip for many reasons including bad weather, rough seas, mechanical problems and poor maintenance. Some operators will cut corners on equipment or maintenance to save money, and economic pressures force many to stay at sea longer to increase their catch, despite needed repairs or encroaching bad weather. There are also fewer enforced safety regulations and training for small fishing boats and crews. Mandates have been established to track large commercial ships using Automated Identification System (AIS) and Vessel Management System (VMS), but these mandates do not address the huge population of smaller boats. In addition to safety concerns, smaller boats that remain unidentified (or “dark targets”) may pose a security risk. Equipping small boats with proper safety and tracking equipment is not always easy. Small fishing and commercial work boats may not have the necessary shipboard power or infrastructure to support current AIS devices or VMS solutions. Smaller vessels can also spend a considerable amount of time outside of any shore-based tracking coverage (e.g. via terrestrial AIS or Global System for Mobile Communications [GSM]). Typical mobile satellite communications (satcom) tracking options can be prohibitively costly (equipment and air-time) and normally require on-board power. This paper describes a new system that utilizes low-cost battery and solar powered transponders for both terrestrial and satellite AIS (dual-mode) messaging, and specialized algorithms and software, to provide an affordable and practical solution to reliably track small boats. Methods have been implemented, preliminary results have been collected and additional sea trials are currently underway.