In accordance with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) convention on the safety of human life at sea (SOLAS), all ships with a gross tonnage of 300 tons or more, conducting international navigation, cargo ships with a gross tonnage of 500 tons or more, not engaged in international navigation, and all passenger ships, regardless of their size, must be equipped with an AIS system. The AIS system is very important for safe navigation. For this reason, the failure of this system is only allowed under exceptional circumstances. This guide will discuss the possible consequences that may arise in the event of the AIS system being turned off.
A. What is the AIS system?
The AIS technology was developed by IMO technical committees to prevent collisions between ships at sea. When a ship is at sea, information about its movement and about other nearby ships is critically important for navigators who make decisions to avoid collisions with other ships and hazards (such as shoals or rocks). It is the AIS technology that identifies each ship individually, along with its specific location and movements, providing a virtual picture and tabulation in real-time. Although AIS only requires the display of very simple text information, the received data can be integrated with a graphical electronic chart or radar display, providing consolidated navigation information on one screen.
B. How does the AIS system work?
When tracking and escorting ships, AIS automatically sends information to storage stations equipped with the appropriate equipment, other ships, and aircraft, and also receives information from them. AIS performs its function by transmitting VHF radio waves carrying this data. Due to the curvature of the Earth, the horizontal range of VHF radio waves is limited to about 24 nautical miles, or about 44 kilometers, from ship to ship. In more remote or densely populated areas, a ground station can be used to boost the signal in the immediate vicinity. Vertical signals can be received by low Earth orbit satellites, which, in turn, transmit the data to ground stations, making the satellite coverage area available in almost all regions.
C. Regulations governing the AIS system
The transmission of AIS signals is regulated by the IMO Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). In 2000, under the revised Chapter V, the IMO required all ships to have automatic identification systems (AIS) that can automatically provide information about the ship to other vessels and coastal authorities. This regulation requires all ships with a gross tonnage of 300 tons or more, engaged in international voyages, cargo ships with a gross tonnage of 500 tons or more, not engaged in international voyages, and all passenger ships regardless of their size, to be equipped with an AIS system.
D. Deactivating the AIS system
The AIS system must always be in operation when ships are underway or anchored. The captain may deactivate the AIS system if they believe its continuous operation could jeopardize the safety or security of their ship or in the case of impending incidents related to safety. The captain must notify the competent authority of such a deactivation and its reason. Such actions must always be recorded in the ship’s logbook with the reason.
In the case of intentional deactivation of the system to stop transmitting the ship’s position and other information about it, this is referred to as “blacking out”.
E. Reasons for deactivating (disabling) the AIS system
Deactivating the AIS system is possible under exceptional circumstances, as explained in the previous section, and detailed regulation of this issue has been made under the revised AIS operational usage guidelines aboard ships in IMO resolution A. 1106 (29). These guidelines allow the captain to deactivate the AIS under specific circumstances when safety and security are at risk. Under these principles, legitimate reasons for deactivating the AIS system may be listed as follows:
- The system may be deactivated to hide the ship’s location, position, or identity in areas where maritime pirates operate. This increases the safety of those on board and reduces the risk of pirates boarding and hijacking the ship.
- To avoid detention by sanctioning authorities;
- The deactivation is possible if the ship is involved in operations related to secret projects, such as laying important secret data transmission cables or military operations.
However, AIS may also be deactivated to conceal illegal activities of the ship. Examples of such illegal activities include:
- Trading with sanctioned countries: Ships may deactivate their AIS systems to hide visits to ports in sanctioned countries.
- Illegal cargos, including drugs, weapons, and human trafficking, are often loaded and unloaded at less obvious ports. Intermediate stops for loading and unloading these illegal cargos and people are often hidden by deactivating the AIS.
- The system may also be deactivated to conceal inter-ship transfers of goods or cargos related to sanctioned countries, for example, for oil trading.
A situation may also arise where AIS is deactivated in the case of illegal fishing. This is especially common when illegal fishing occurs in the territorial waters of another country.
F. Consequences regarding the insurance policy and charter party
Deactivating the AIS system, if not required for the protection or security of the ship, is a violation of the SOLAS Convention and breaches the flag state’s requirements. Additionally, since the AIS system is important for the ship’s navigation, deactivating the AIS system increases the risk of collision, damage to other ships or floating objects, pollution, and loss of life at sea.
Deactivating the AIS system may lead to issues with the ship’s insurance coverage. For example, deactivating the AIS system may render the insurance coverage void. Moreover, most insurance policies include a clause regarding liability, which states that shipowners must act in accordance with the law and not act recklessly. Therefore, non-compliance with SOLAS rules may damage the insurance coverage. Furthermore, the insurer may refuse to provide insurance coverage based on reckless or illegal trading when the shipowner uses their ship for trade in violation of sanctions, hiding its location by manipulating or concealing the AIS data transmission.
As for maritime contracts, as a preventive measure to eliminate the described negative situations and protect all rights, it is recommended to include a clause in the charter party that regulates the non-deactivation of the AIS system. Among the standard clauses in this regard, the BIMCO clause on AIS deactivation 2021 is of primary importance. These standard clauses typically give charterers the right to terminate the contract in the event of deactivation, regardless of the circumstances under which the AIS may be lawfully deactivated.
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