[PUP] AIS - Off switch

[Roger Bingham]

I thought you might be interested in this extract from an article by the UK
Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB). These articles are published in
a digest at intervals - this one is taken from 3/2006. Draw your own
conclusions.

 "Meanwhile, on board the cargo ship, the OOW felt the collision with the
fishing vessel and, after his initial shock, called the master to the
bridge. No general alarm was sounded on the ship to alert the crew that
their vessel had been in a collision; instead, the mate was called to check
the ship for damage as she continued through the sea with her speed
unabated. Soon after the collision, the cargo ship's signal disappeared from
the Automatic Identification System (AIS) as she carried on for several
miles. However, her AIS signal was logged and recorded onshore, allowing the
coastguard to identify the vessel; after about 30 minutes they succeeded in
contacting her on VHF, whereupon she turned and went back to assist the
fishing vessel. Soon after this, her AIS signal came back on again."

"Following their investigation of the incident, the cargo ship flag state
authority (not revealed in the article) revoked both the captain and the
third officer's certificates of competency, and issued the captain a
substantial fine."

Digests at -
http://www.maib.gov.uk/publications/safety_digests.cfm
Full reports at -
 http://www.maib.gov.uk/publications/investigation_reports.cfm

BTW - I understand that DHS did not want an off switch for AIS!

Roger Bingham
France