AIS-B, the bottom line

8:37 PM Mon 17 May 2010 GMT

'AIS Class B transponder - confusion persists' .

Up there in significance for the maritime world with the GPS is the AIS (Automatic Identification System). Since the Class B AIS system was introduced for small vessels a couple of years ago, much confusion ensued. Could ships see you? Why did they sometimes say they couldn't? Could they 'turn it off'? These are still vital questions for the leisure sailor, and our recent article by Glen Tuttle produced an avalanche of emails. Here's the summary of an Australian Government study: Back in 2008, the Australian Government commissioned a study into the value of the AIS-B for small vessels, and ...

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by Des Ryan