ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY OPENING MARKS START OF MANDATORY AIS

ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY OPENING MARKS START OF MANDATORY AIS    The opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway marks the first year for mandatory use of the Automatic Identification System by commercial vessel operators transiting the seaway.
   AIS uses data from ship-to-shore, shore-to-shore, and shore-to-ship to enable constant two-way communication between vessel operators and the seaway’s U.S./Canadian vessel traffic control centers.
   “Originally developed primarily for safety reasons, AIS has become increasingly of interest to maritime security officials in the post 9/11 environment, as it offers the ability for them to track with precision any vessel carrying the transponder,” said the U.S. Transportation Department’s Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. and the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. in a joint statement March 31.
   AIS will first be used at the entry of the seaway, starting at St. Lambert Lock to Long Point, Ontario on Lake Eire. In the near future, permanent installation of AIS equipment will be required onboard commercial vessels throughout the entire Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System, from Lakehead in Duluth, Minn. to the Atlantic.
   AIS is approved by the International Maritime Organization. Its use on the seaway has been endorsed by the Canadian Shipowners Association and the Shipping Federation of Canada.