Piracy - yes again (AIS this time)

Bilgediver

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Has AIS given Pirates/Terrorists an advantage, since they can now 'shop' till they drop, using on-line information?

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/

No ships in the Indian Ocean :D

These most of sites rely on information fed to them by volunteer stations around the world. As these are mostly land based then more than 30/40 miles offshore is not covered. If the pirates have AIS on the mother ship then they could identify targets in range however I believe some ships are not transmitting AIS in regions of risk.

The Malacca Straits pirates could use this as the Straits are narrow.
 

alant

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No ships in the Indian Ocean :D

These most of sites rely on information fed to them by volunteer stations around the world. As these are mostly land based then more than 30/40 miles offshore is not covered. If the pirates have AIS on the mother ship then they could identify targets in range however I believe some ships are not transmitting AIS in regions of risk.

The Malacca Straits pirates could use this as the Straits are narrow.

Plenty Port Said end of suez canal, so they just might be going south.
 

EugeneR

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When I was berthed in Port Solent, my neighbor was quite used to long distance cruising. Never mind disabling AIS, when cruising in open / risky waters he actively reduced his radar footprint. He relied on a small gadget with 4 LED's that could detect other boats' radar without himself being seen.

Regarding marinetraffic.com/ais, I was wondering if one could use that to ease crossing the channel's shipping lanes since, except for the bit right in the middle, I usually seem to get a mobile signal. Of course, it doesn't calculate CPA from one's own position but surely it could be added to their Android version on a suitable device?
 

Twister_Ken

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Regarding marinetraffic.com/ais, I was wondering if one could use that to ease crossing the channel's shipping lanes since, except for the bit right in the middle, I usually seem to get a mobile signal. Of course, it doesn't calculate CPA from one's own position but surely it could be added to their Android version on a suitable device?

No guarantee that posns are up to date. It would seem to be a better idea to look out for ships with your built-in stereoscopic ocular equipment.
 

Conachair

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No guarantee that posns are up to date. It would seem to be a better idea to look out for ships with your built-in stereoscopic ocular equipment.

Agree. But it is a cool site, thanks for the link alant. just checked it with the ais & indeed the typhoo clipper heading down the Thames matches up on both :cool: Each click on a vessel shows among other things how long ago the last data was recieved so maybe a mobile across the channel might work. i certainly wouldn't rely on it but would be interesting to play with.

So how many people here have boats transmitting & where are they??

As for pirates shopping online.... doubt it somehow.
 

Baggywrinkle

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When I was berthed in Port Solent, my neighbor was quite used to long distance cruising. Never mind disabling AIS, when cruising in open / risky waters he actively reduced his radar footprint. He relied on a small gadget with 4 LED's that could detect other boats' radar without himself being seen.

Your neighbour wasn't smuggling was he? :eek:
 

Capt Cautious

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The pirates motherships are fully equipped with AIS, as they were when they took them. They have coverage wherever they are in the Indian Ocean, and propogation in that part of the world is extreme, its not unusual to pick up AIS targets at 200 miles. So the the answer is - we switch our AIS off unless specifically asked by coalition forces to switch it on - and then its low power for as short time as possible.
CC
 
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