S-AIS is a tracking system used to identify and locate vessels
The ICCT has showed interest in improving our ability to assess ships’ carbon footprint. Therefore, ITCC teamed up with researchers at the University of College London on anovel way around those limitations using the Satellite Automatic Identification System (S-AIS).
S-AIS is atracking system used to identify and locate vessels. The IMO International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, passed in the aftermath of the sinking of the Titanic, now requires that every ship larger than 300 gross tons be equipped with an S-AIS transponder that transmits ship identification, speed, and location every few seconds. This almost continuous stream of data enables researchers to calculate ship speed and therefore CO2emissions with greater resolution and confidence.
The data also offer an improved picture of shipping routes across the globe. The initial results of this researchindicate that ship speeds are substantially lower than previously thought and that in-use ship efficiency varied greatly even within individual ship types.
Ship movement in August 2011, as recorded by the Satellite Automatic Identification System (S-AIS). The velocity of the dots in the video reflects ship speed. The onboard S-AIS transponder electronically transmitted ship information, location, and speed to satellite, which monitors and tracks ship locations for safety purposes.
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Assessment of shipping’s efficiency using satellite AIS data
Long-term potential for increased shipping efficiency
| S-AIS can also be complemented by shore-based AIS data and crosschecked against bunker sales data and other bottom-up data to generate more robust estimates of emissions from shipping. As these data sets become further refined and combined in ever more productive ways, that improved ability to assess shipping’s carbon footprint is moving within reach. |
