1. Using AIS Tracks
& Mariner-Sourced
Data in
Poorly Charted
Areas
Gwil Roberts
Mariners Workshop,
Vancouver 2013

2. Overview!
• Global issues in trade and Climate Change are shifting shipping
patterns – sometimes into poorly charted areas!
• Hydrographic Offices have always prioritized their survey work to
follow existing shipping routes!
• There will be a long gap before all the new shipping routes are
surveyed to today’s standard!
• Historical AIS vessel tracks and Mariner-sourced depth data can
provide useful information to the shipping community!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

3. Decrease in Arctic Ice Cover is Shifting Shipping Lanes !
Ice Cover 1979 vs. 2012 (NASA)!
“Trans-Arctic shipping …will be supplemental !
and provide additional capacity for a growing!
transportation volume” Center for Circumpolar !
Security Studies!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

4. For Canada this means more shipping in frontier areas
There are nautical charting considerations!
Many of these routes are
poorly charted, some with
occasional track
soundings of questionable
quality!
e.g. these two areas!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

5. Although most of Canada’s navigable waters have been well charted !
There remains the reality of sailing in poorly charted areas!
Prince Albert Sound, NWT!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

6. Repulse Bay, NU!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

7. Frozen Strait, NU!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

8. The Problem: Shipping in Poorly Charted Areas!
• Many frontier and Arctic areas remain poorly charted
• Global Climate Change is shifting traditional shipping routes, some into
poorly charted areas
• HOs are swamped with demands for new charting that they cannot
fulfill
• Large Public Sector program funding for wide scale charting programs
remains unlikely in the near term
• The problem is world wide
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

9. One Possible Solution: Get Mariners to Gather the
Information!
• Ships are already sailing in uncharted areas – by following
historically safe tracks!
• Safe tracks usually have been set by mariners with local knowledge!
• Crowd-sourced programs, properly designed and monitored, can
provide useful map and chart data when there is no alternative!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

10. Using Historical AIS data: e.g. Alaska!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

11. Marine Exchange of Alaska (MXAK) AIS tracking Stations
Alaskan Maritime Safety Network!
MXAK have established a network of AIS receiving stations
which collect ship tracks in their vicinity !
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

12. PacTracs Database: Traffic Density Studies!
These ship tracks can be used for a variety of
purposes dealing with Risk Management of shipping in
Alaska!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

13. The data can be classified by many attributes
including vessel draft!
Consequently we have tracks of vessels of known
draft successfully navigating an area!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

14. Historical Tracks –> Analysis –> Most Common Route by
Draft!
We can use the successful tracks to
determine safe – or Preferred Tracks in
poorly charted areas!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

15. Extracting the Median Path!
A number of successful transits will produce a median track line
and the dispersion – or width - of the Preferred Track!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

16. In Canada AIS Data is Acquired by CCG
Research on this data is carried out by MARIN
(Maritime Activity & Risk Investigation Network)
Dalhousie University Industrial Engineering!
ww.marin-research.ca
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

17. Marin and MARIS!
• MARIS is a GIS program developed
in the MARIN Risk Lab!
• MARIS Displays information such
as traffic density, vessel size, draft,
type etc.!
• Historical vessel tracks are also
available!
• The dispersion of vessel tracks
through poorly charted areas may
be of value to mariners sailing there!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

18. Mariner-Sourced Bathymetry For Improved Charts!
www.amc.edu.au
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

19. Mariner-Sourced Bathymetry For Improved Charts!
Mariner-Sourced Bathymetry For Improved Charts
The TeamSurv Approach!
e.g. offshore service vessels autonomously gather depth data !
from existing onboard navigation systems !
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

20. Mariner-Sourced Bathymetry For Improved Charts!
The TeamSurv Logger and Processed Results!
The TeamSurv Logger connects
to the ships echo-sounder and a
GPS Rx and records the data to a
USB stick!
TeamSurv processes the data !
and provides it back to
contributors in useful form!
www.teamsurv.eu!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

21. Mariner-Sourced Bathymetry For Improved Charts!
The ARGUS Approach!
ARGUS™ & ARGUS-LX™ Autonomous Hydrographic Surveying!
An autonomous system that collects data during the routine use of commercial
marine vessels!
Compact automated unit onboard interfaces with the vessel’s navigation and
echo-sounding system!
Data is ported to central server, processed and amalgamated data is sent back
to all participating vessels!
argus.survice.com!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

22. Conclusions!
• An Analysis of Historical AIS Tracks can produce Preferred Tracks as a
Marine Information Overlay on ECDIS!
• These tracks cannot replace a true systematic charting survey BUT in
the meantime they provide a path known to be safe for a fixed draft!
• Preferred Tracks are meant as background information to allow
mariners to make the best decision under difficult conditions!
• Supplementing ships with autonomous data logging systems that feed
back depth data increase the quality of information available to the
mariner until systematic surveys are done !
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES

23. Thank You!
Gwil Roberts!
Michael J. Casey!
Hillario Lamotte!
gwil.roberts@iictechnologies.com!
IIC Technologies!
NEW PATHS, NEW APPROACHES