The Observer, January 2006
Council system will monitor tankers in Sound
The citizens’ council is now equipped with the latest technology for tracking ship movements.
In late December, a Furuno-brand Automated Identification System was installed in the council’s Valdez office. The system will enable the council to track the course, speed and heading of oil tankers, escort tugs, and other vessels as they move through Port Valdez and some areas of Prince William Sound.
The council’s Automated Identification System captured three tugs assisting the Polar Alaska as it left a loading berth at the Valdez terminal on Jan. 4.
“Most importantly, we’ll be able to archive the data from the system,” said Rhonda Williams, the council project manager who oversaw its acquisition and installation. “That way, we’ll be able to go back and review vessel track information even if an incident doesn’t come to light immediately.”
Most ocean-going vessels now carry Automated Information System equipment. It radios the ship’s name, position, and other information to AIS-equipped vessels within VHF radio range, and to AIS ground stations like the one operated by the council.
On ships, the AIS information is usually overlaid on the vessel’s radar screen for display. The council’s Furuno system is connected to a conventional Windows computer, which produces the display and makes it possible to archive the data.
VHF radio is a line-of-sight technology, which limits the areas of the Sound that can be monitored by the council system. At present, Williams said, it provides good coverage in Port Valdez – the part of Prince William Sound nearest the city of Valdez. It provides more limited coverage near Bligh Reef, site of the Exxon Valdez spill, and at Naked Island in the central Sound.
Eventually, Williams said, it should be possible to make the system’s output available over the Internet so that it can be viewed from locations other than the council’s Valdez office.