Spotlight is put on safety at sea

Irish sea shipping lanes are amongst the busiest in Europe and have been used to pilot a new navigation system which aims to reduce the risk of collision.

The project relies on satellite and radio wave technology and has been co-coordinated by the Commissioners of Irish Lights. For hundreds of years seafarers have relied on lighthouses to help steer them clear of danger. But these days it's not just rocks and reefs which are a hazard. In the busy shipping lanes of the Irish sea, there is also a very real risk of collisions. Radar screens can certainly help. But now technology has taken another step forward - with a transmitter system onboard which tells other ships of its size, speed, and direction. Its called the automatic identification system and its main purpose is to reduce the risk of ships colliding. The key is the precise timing provided by GPS satellites stationed high above the earth, the same ones which run the sat navs in our cars. Onboard also is a transmitter, which sends out a steady stream of short messages to buoys, shore stations and other boats. The technique is known as SOTDMA (Self Organising Time Division Multiple Access) which supports the high volume of short messages. By talking to each other in this way, ships know if another boat is nearby, and crucially, if it is on a collision course. All the ferries and larger ships on the Irish Sea are now using this technology.
Read More