The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is an automated tracking system used on ships and by Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) for identifying and locating Vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby ships and VTS stations. AIS information supplements marine radar, which continues to be the primary method of collision avoidance for water transport.
Information provided by AIS equipment, such as unique identification, position, course, and speed, can be displayed on a screen or an ECDIS. AIS is intended to assist a vessel's watchstanding officers and allow maritime authorities to track and monitor vessel movements. AIS integrates a standardized VHF transceiver with a positioning system such as a LORAN-C or GPS receiver, with other electronic navigation sensors, such as a gyrocompass or rate of turn indicator. Ships outside AIS radio range can be tracked with the Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) system with less frequent transmission.
The International Maritime Organization's (IMO) International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requires AIS to be fitted aboard international voyaging ships with gross tonnage (GT) of 300 or more tons, and all passenger ships regardless of size. It is estimated that more than 40,000 ships currently carry AIS class A equipment.[citation needed] In 2007, the new Class B AIS standard was introduced which enabled a new generation of low cost AIS transceivers. This has triggered multiple additional national mandates from Singapore, China, Turkey and North America affecting hundreds of thousands of vessels.
OK -That was from Wikipedia. Now for the WikiSabrina definition - It's a way to identify and hail the giant container ship hauling ass in the narrow channel towards you. Yes, they all have radar and should see your little sailboat - SHOULD. Yes, they all have crews (although I think we would be frightened at how small the crews are on these giants) and should have someone at the helm and vhf radio at all times - SHOULD.
Below is Honey Ryder's AIS mounted at the nav station.
For my birthday last fall s/v Honey Ryder got an AIS vhf with a separate mic in the cockpit that shows the same information as the unit below at the nav station. The AIS information is networked into our chartplotter so that the ship pops up there as well and sounds an alarm. This trip was the first time to use it. As we headed out St Simon Sound, at night, in the very narrow channel, at low tide, there was a slow moving vessel in front of us with lights that we could not make out. The AIS alarm went off and we were able to zero in and id the vessel Padre Island. I hailed them directly by name and the captain informed me that they were dredging the right side of the channel in and we could just pass port to port. It wasn't until we were much, much, much closer that we were finally able to see the lights identifying them as a dredger. Oh yeah and I almost forgot the casino boat Emerald Island the that was zooming back to port after their evening gambling junket. I think we have all seen the care and caution the captains of gambling boats take. NOT. *Can't really blame them. Have you seen the usual suspects er... passengers that go out on those gambling boats? Same ones that are hitting the slots at the Argosy twice or three times a week.
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