International Journal
on Marine Navigation
and Safety of Sea Transportation
Volume 3
Number 1
March 2009
87
Maritime Communication to Support Safe
Navigation
K.E. Fjørtoft, B. Kvamstad & F. Bekkadal
MARINTEK e-Maritime, Trondheim, Norway
1 INTRODUCTION
MarCom has performed scenario studies in a total of
nine different user cases covering nine different fo-
cus areas. The case studies have resulted in a total of
eight application groups comprising emergency
messaging, reporting, technical maintenance, safety
and monitoring, infotainment and special purpose
applications, as illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1 – Application groups resulting from the case studies
Integrity
Data rate
Integrity
Data rate
Figure 2 - Capacity versus integrity requirements
A summary of the capacity requirements revealed
in the MarCom case analysis is presented in figure 2.
The figure shows the bandwidth needs along the or-
dinate axes and integrity requirements along the ab-
scissa. Integrity is the reliability of the communica-
tion channel, i.e is the assurance that the transferred
data is consistent and correct, which is reflecting the
QoS requirements pertaining to the application
ABSTRACT: The main objectives of the MarCom project (‘Maritime Communications - broadband at sea’)
are to investigate the main user needs and communication technologies requirements to accommodate those
needs within the maritime community. The project will carry out several pilots to demonstrate the usability of
terrestrial wireless technologies in combination with, and in some areas instead of satellite communication
(SatCom). The major benefit to the maritime users are expected to be reduced costs, increased bandwidth,
Quality-of-Service (QoS) and improved communication security and versatility.
The MarCom approach is characterized by combining thorough investigations of present and future user
needs through nine scenarios/user cases along with identification of cost-effective communication platforms
to match the application requirements being obtained. The MarCom investigations have revealed the band-
width needs for a set of application groups, and identified the data integrity requirements for each group.
Furthermore this paper is addressing the MarCom work with the IMO/IALA e-Navigation strategic initiative
in establishing the bandwidth requirements to obtain the major objectives of the e-Navigation concept.
88
group. As can be seen, the requirements vary from a
few bytes to be transmitted for operational manage-
ment below 10 kbps, to data packages of sizes of
above 100 Mbytes for special purpose applications
(such as e.g for complex offshore operations).
One of the important objectives of e-Navigation
is to improve the communication between ships, as
well as between ship and shore. The International
Maritime Organization (IMO) has described e-
Navigation as; ‘the harmonised collection, integra-
tion, exchange, presentation and analysis of mari-
time information onboard and ashore by electronic
means to enhance berth to berth navigation and re-
lated services, for safety and security at sea and pro-
tection of the marine environment’.
In MarCom we have studied these objectives by
introducing them in the scenarios where both user
applications and technology have been addressed.
In the following chapter some of the findings
from MarCom in relation to the e-Navigation objec-
tives of IMO are described.
2 MARCOM VERSUS E-NAVIGATION
The following paragraphs are listing the core objec-
tives of the e-Navigation concept defined by the
IMO
1
. Within each topic we have listed the MarCom
results accordingly along with some conclusions
based on the experiences gained from MarCom.
The applications derived from the case studies
have been analysed with regards to opportunities and
challenges, categorized as:
− Pain : What are the problems and challenges
within the application groups today?
− Vision : How would the applications appear with-
out the existence of the above mentioned pains?
− Value : What is the human-related or cost benefit
of finding a solution?
− Power : Who should be involved to be able to
find a solution to the pains?
As an example the ‘reporting’ application group
has been studied comprising four different reporting
sub-groups having been identified as relevant for the
MarCom project:
1 Operational Reporting, including route infor-
mation, cargo information, number of passengers,
cash register reserves, deviation reports, travel
invoices and HMS reports.
2 Navigational Reporting, including position re-
ports, aids to navigation (AtoN), meteorological
and hydrological reporting, and status on fairway
objects
1
IMO - Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation (NAV), 53rd ses-
sion: 23-27 July 2007
3 Technical Reporting, including reports on tank
reserves, status reports on technical equipment,
reporting between systems and sensors, and cargo
reporting
4 Mandatory Reporting, including reporting to port
and government, ISPS, classification, and envi-
ronmental monitoring
Group 1 and 2, operational and navigational re-
porting requires higher integrity than the two others
since it is critical to safe operations.
Examples on different observations have been de-
scribed in detail, such as for example the cash regis-
ter reserves in group operational reporting, where
they have been studied in accordance with the four
abovementioned issues; a pain observation is that
the cash register services have to be online to vali-
date the different cards used in a transaction. The vi-
sions is that the there will be no transaction and veri-
fication delay on the different credit cards used as
payment. Value is that better QoS provided by a
high-speed network gives correct validation of a
money transaction and can thereby validate potential
money transfer without account settlement. Finally
the power to handle these challenges can comprise
the providers of infrastructure (data transmission,
service providers, LAN solutions, terrestrial to satel-
lite solutions), the cash register software developers,
and the end users.
For each group we have analysed the require-
ments from a technological and human (user) point
of view. This has given us the understanding of fu-
ture applications and technological needs that have
been defining the requirements of communication
solutions.
In the MarCom project we have then analysing
the findings with reference to the IMO e-Navigation
objectives of being listed in the following para-
graphs.
2.1 IMO e-Navigation objective: ‘Facilitate
communications, including data exchange,
among ship to ship, ship to shore, shore to ship,
shore to shore and other users’
The need for transfer of data from a ship to shore is
considerable. Previous studies have shown examples
that a ship sailing from a foreign port has to send
mandatory information to governmental bodies more
than 40 times during a voyage
2
. In addition is the
commercial reporting and monitoring (to cargo
owners or system equipment providers, with infor-
mation about technical status on equipment as well
as on the cargo), and the communication between
the shipping company and the ship.
2
Source; The EU-project MarNIS and the Norwegian project
VITSAR
89
In MarCom we have mainly focused the commu-
nication between ships and shore, but some commu-
nication onboard the ship has also been paid atten-
tion to.
The upper part of Figure 3 shows some telecom
services and bandwidth requirements for terrestrial
systems that have been studied in view of the appli-
cations described, while the matrix in the bottom
part is pertaining to services offered by different
SatCom systems to accommodate these capacity re-
quirements.
Datahastighet
Audio
Video
Data
10 kbps 100 kbps 1 Mbps 100 Mbps
Telefon
Lydprogram/Radio
Videokonferanse
TV
Tekst
Filoverføring
Datahastighet
Audio
Video
Data
10 kbps 100 kbps 1 Mbps 100 Mbps
Telefon
Lydprogram/Radio
Videokonferanse
TV
Tekst
Filoverføring
Datahastighet
Audio
Video
Data
10 kbps 100 kbps 1 Mbps 100 Mbps
Telefon
Lydprogram/Radio
Videokonferanse
TV
Tekst
Filoverføring
AOR: Atlantic Ocean Region
IOR:
Indian Ocean Region
POR: Pacific Ocean Region
Figure 3 Basic telecom services and bandwidth requirements
However, since MarCom’s foremost technologi-
cal objective is to extend the coverage and range at
sea for both in-use and novel terrestrial wireless sys-
tems and technologies, these solutions have been
given priority to SatComs.
One of the user cases, relay and mesh network-
ing, has taken this a step further within the commu-
nication aspect of terrestrial systems, having studied
solutions for mesh networking, i.e. networks where
the available nodes in an area can be used to relay
data, and thus increase the communication range and
area coverage. This case comprises technology
demonstrations aiming at coverage area extension
and flexibility enhancement by applying a system
enabling mobile stations to communicate with a base
station through intermediate relay units. The focus is
on handover challenges, as well as the mixture of
fixed and mobile nodes interconnected via wireless
links to form a multi-hop ad-hoc network amongst
ships, marine beacons and buoys.
The experiences gained in MarCom have been
that we must utilize different communication chan-
nels and we need to be able to switch between the
different channels. The handover mechanisms be-
tween the channels as well as between the base sta-
tions must be developed such that the user feel they
have a secured link without need of new identifica-
tion when switching sources or base stations. It
would also be beneficial to combine up- and down-
links from different systems, an example being that
one channel can be used for uplink, e.g. UMTS, and
another for downlink, e.g.. WiMAX. It is also im-
portant to prioritise those application groups that
need high integrity to ensure safe transmission of da-
ta. This requirements lead to the need for an intelli-
gent router on the ship to poll and switch between
the pertinent systems, which is part of the MarCom
work.
2.2 IMO e-Navigation objective: ‘Facilitate safe
and secure navigation of vessels having regard
to hydrographic, meteorological and
navigational information and risks’.
These e-Navigation requirements have been linked
to the reporting application group in MarCom. There
are different needs on the update frequency of data,
from time-critical data for navigational purposes like
updates on the traffic situation in the ship’s vicinity,
to data used for a planning purpose that not are time-
critical. Meteorological data is mostly needed on a
planning level and can be used within a longer
timeframe. However, the information to nautical op-
erators, the status on navigational objects like light-
houses and buoys or other navigational marks, has
been placed in the “reporting operations and naviga-
tion” application group, where the data integrity is
high.
The MarCom studies have concluded that the
bandwidth needed for meteorological and hydro-
graphic data is high, but the service required is not
time-critical. Regarding information on dynamic ob-
jects such as other ships in a fairway, the updating
frequency needs to be higher. The information in
this group must in any case be regarded as a substi-
tute to a safe navigational operation, and thus merely
as a substitute to the navigational personnel.
2.3 IMO e-Navigation objective: ‘Facilitate vessel
traffic observation and management from
shore/coastal facilities, where appropriate’.
One of the case studies in MarCom is pilotage and
maintenance of fairways that has been lead by the
Norwegian Coastal Administration. The focus has
been to provide the sailors with real-time naviga-
tional information, on e.g. the status of navigational
objects. The work has been done in two steps; firstly
collecting the status from the Coastal Administration
(technical maintenances of the navigation objects),
and subsequently sending the information to the
ships’ navigators.
Based on the studies in MarCom, it can be shown
that the bandwidth needed for monitoring of a ship
90
position by use of AIS is low. Another conclusion is
that one of the communication challenges is to trans-
fer data from e.g. VTS centre ashore to the ship. The
integrity classification on the data is high since it is
used for navigational purposes.
2.4 IMO e-Navigation objective: ‘Provide
opportunities for improving the efficiency of
transport and logistics’.
One of the major challenges in ship operations is to
make the correct decisions at the correct time. It is a
serious problem having to rely on old or maybe
wrong data when an operational planning is done.
The focus on the problem is highly prioritised in the
oil and gas industry where Integrated Operations
(IO) should allegedly be one of the beneficial mech-
anisms in providing efficient and controlled logisti-
cal planning processes. It is stated by The Norwe-
gian Oil Industry Association (OLF)
3
that there is a
potential for saving yearly up to 300 billion NOK if
the use of Integrated Operations can be fully devel-
oped
4
in the Norwegian oil sector. Integrated Opera-
tions focuses on how to share data and information
between the involved partners to be able to have the
same overview, and thereby being in a better posi-
tion to make, appropriate decisions for correct op-
erations.
Integrated Operations will be one of the demon-
stration pilots in MarCom, and we are aiming at test-
ing out some of the applications that have been iden-
tified in the case studies, where the focus will be on
utilizing different technological communication so-
lutions. The bandwidths needed for Integrated Oper-
ations are very high due to the use of pictures, sound
and video being essential for its success. This re-
quires communication technologies that can handle
data rates at least up to around 20 Mbps.
MarCom will test different communication solu-
tions and perform radio channel sounding measure-
ments at appropriate frequencies in some sectors in
order to identify capacity and range performance.
One of the challenges regarding maritime communi-
cation is the radio propagation over sea, low eleva-
tion angles, and the roll and pitch movements of
both a base station placed offshore, as well as at the
mobile station on e.g. a ship. In MarCom we will
perform studies on these topics and will real on-site
measurements on the pertinent frequencies for wire-
less systems. We expect the availability of higher
bandwidths to provide more efficient operations re-
garding the transport segment.
3
OLF The Norwegian Oil Industry Association
4
http://www.olf.no/aktuelt/muligheter-for-300-milliarder-kroner-i-
oekt-verdiskapning-article1732-223.html
2.5 IMO e-Navigation objective: ‘Support the
effective operation of contingency response, and
search and rescue services’.
There are no specific applications in MarCom direct-
ly addressing this topic regarding contingency plan-
ning and response, but some defined cases have ad-
dressed the topic on safety and monitoring as well as
emergency reporting. One of the cases has focused
upon the relay and mesh networking to be used in a
search and rescue operation. The idea is to build an
ad-hoc network around the accident location to sup-
port data transmission in an operation. Another case
has focused on presenting real status of the fairway
objects to be used both for maintenance planning as
well as data transfer to ships sailing in a fairway.
Based on the comments and experiences from the
case studies in MarCom we can see that one of the
problems in an emergency situation is the enormous
pressure from media and outsiders to get information
from a catastrophic situation, like a ship accident.
This requires a lot of bandwidth to transfer data,
which is in some cases taken from the available
channels used by the rescue team or from those that
are handling the accident directly. MarCom will
strongly recommend that applications used in search
and rescue (SAR) operations must be prioritized,
preferably via an exclusively dedicated channel,
such that the best channel and bandwidth available
can be used by those needing it most.
2.6 IMO e-navigation objectives: ‘Demonstrate
defined levels of accuracy, integrity and
continuity appropriate to safety-critical system’.
The challenge having been addressed in MarCom is
to define which application groups require high in-
tegrity that must be absolutely reliable with regards
to safety-critical operations. On the opposite we
have the training and qualification applications that
are not critical to safe operations, and are classified
as nice-to-have, and hence have low integrity re-
quirements. The application groups defined in the
project will be further developed and demonstrated
in the pilots.
The e-Navigation objectives described above will
be of high importance to the MarCom project. We
are demonstrating effective operation of contingency
response, and efficient SAR services are facilitated
by technological possibilities for communication. In
MarCom we have defined this as most critical appli-
cation group, and thus subject to a very high integri-
ty level.
91
2.7 IMO e-navigation objectives: ‘Integrate and
present information onboard and ashore
through a human interface which maximizes
navigational safety benefits and minimizes any
risks of confusion or misinterpretation on the
part of the user’.
One of the problems with presenting critical infor-
mation in an unwanted situation is that this infor-
mation can be used juridical against the source of it.
For example if the captain or the safety officer on a
ship are guiding the passengers in a non-optimum
direction during an emergency situation, this can be
used against them at a later stage. Similar situations
can also arise in provision of navigational infor-
mation because presentation of wrong data is more
critical than no data provided. Therefore a validation
of the navigational data must be done which also
means a transfer delay due to the validation time.
Navigational information can be received from
many sources, such as onboard systems, hydro-
graphical and meteorological providers, or from the
traffic stations that provides fairway information to
be used for navigational purposes.
Based on the experiences from the MarCom sce-
narios we can see that the navigators in some set-
tings have too much information and must therefore
be able to filter it such that only significant infor-
mation is displayed. Sea transport is global and the
providers of data are dissimilar, depending on the
position of the ship. This requires international
standards to provide data in a unified format to min-
imize the risk of confusions and avoid misunder-
standings.
2.8 IMO e-Navigation objectives: ‘Integrate and
present information onboard and ashore to
manage the workload of the users, while also
motivating and engaging the user and
supporting decision-making’.
The above issue has been focused in the Integrated
Operation case study, and will become a part of one
of the MarCom pilots. The idea is to share the same
information between the operational planning centre,
the vessels involved, the offshore installations, and
eventually the system equipment providers. The ob-
jective is to convey the information as close to the
decision makers as possible, in real time, which will
result in an easier decision line between those in-
volved in the execution of a decision and those plan-
ning the operation. By having better means to moni-
tor the equipment status and condition, it will be
possible to avoid unexpected situations with a real-
time status of the equipment.
MarCom studies have shown that there might be
several different communication channels used in an
operation. Needs for a solutions such as an intelli-
gent router that can be used to select proper channels
to transfer data based on availability are obvious.
Another observation is that the presentation of the
information should be done in a standardised way to
avoid misunderstanding between the users. If all
workers being physically involved in an operation
also are involved when the decisions are made it
seems most likely that correct decisions are reached
upon.
2.9 IMO e-Navigation objectives: ‘Incorporate
training and familiarization requirements for
the users throughout the development and
implementation process’.
This issue is very important regarding a successful
implementation of a system. The desired situation
when introducing a new system is that the users have
a good understanding on the possibilities of the sys-
tem, as well as having a feeling that the system is
beneficial for them. This will again result in a more
familiarization to the system and the user threshold
will be lower.
Another observation is that the majority of mari-
time workers is getting older and will retire in a few
years time. A new generation sailors are about to en-
ter the sector, and with them also requirements on
higher bandwidth, since they are used to be surfing
the Internet and being more integrated in the society
ashore. One challenge in the change of working gen-
erations is to preserve the knowledge from one gen-
eration to another. This can be done by training and
courses offered to the new generation, but another
viable solution is to establish an operational centre
that both can monitor equipment etc. along being
utilized to give expert advices about the ship and its
condition. In order to manage such a system an
online ship-shore communication channel providing
satisfactory capacity to transfer data being used in a
decision process is required.
Training applications and video conferences need
high data rates, likely more than 2 Mbps. In
MarCom we have particularly studied the emerging
WiMAX technologies that provide enough band-
width to support transfer of video and pictures be-
tween ship and shore sites. Technologies that only
provide low capacity channels supporting but trans-
fer of small data packages are not suitable for this
purpose.
2.10 IMO e-Navigation objectives: ‘Facilitate global
coverage, consistent standards and arrangements,
and mutual compatibility and interoperability of
equipment, systems, symbology and operational
procedures, so as to avoid potential conflicts
between users; and be scalable, to facilitate use
by all potential maritime users’.
Use of standards and routines with a global perspec-
tive is important in the maritime industry, since
92
many of the users are sailing long distances and
crossing many borders with different jurisdictional
responsible communities. Critical systems used for
navigational purposes should therefore be developed
to enable operations on a global level and preferably
be presented in a common way independent of the
data providers. It is also beneficial to have common
operational procedures to avoid conflicts and misun-
derstandings, especially in a critical situation.
Regarding deployment of communication sys-
tems there are different aspects that do not make all
of them possible to be used on a global basis. The
development of new maritime communication tech-
nologies is presently not market-driven because of
the initial number of users being limited. Deploying
wireless systems with high bandwidth to cover a
wide area is also quite expensive, and must be per-
formed not only to reach everyone everywhere, but
also from needs to support safe operations in harsh
environments. The approach must thus rather be to
state that there is a requirement for access to com-
munications, and that suitable systems must be im-
plemented. Based on experience when the systems
are available the traffic will grow, like when the In-
marsat system was implemented the most important
consideration was “Safety of Life at Sea” and IMO
was an active participant in the establishment. Later
it appeared that the Inmarsat system became a gold
mine for equipment manufacturers, system operators
and the service providers, and it became an indis-
pensable service for the users.
3 CHALLENGES AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
The challenges in MarCom have been to identify us-
er requirements to both applications and technology.
The development of new maritime communication
technologies is presently not market-driven because
of the initial number of users being limited. The
maritime sector has a relatively low number of users,
and thus not sufficiently attractive to commercial ac-
tors. The focus could rather be on some sectors hav-
ing the capability to finance deployments of a com-
municational infrastructure. Another observation is
that the maritime sector is of global nature, and it is
not easy to harmonize licensing of available com-
munication frequencies, since there are many com-
mercial interests involved. Each country has the au-
thority to manage their frequency resources, and the
harmonization between countries is not satisfactory
regarding frequencies for maritime use. Solutions
like ‘intelligent toolboxes’/’smart routers’ and re-
configurable radio’s to switch between channels
based on availability and bandwidth requirements
are therefore of high importance to maritime users
operating globally. At the same time safety critical
applications must be provided with dedicated radio
channels being globally applicable and capable of
supporting applications with high integrity and
availability requirements.
Another challenge strongly connected to the re-
quirements regarding a globally harmonized solution
is the poor developed communication infrastructure
at high latitudes, i.e. beyond about 70°N. The mari-
time traffic is expected to increase significantly in
these areas in a few years time due to the ice melt-
down in the Arctic waters. Possible solutions to this
challenge are investigated in the MarSafe project.
One objective in the MarCom project is to enable
provision of high bandwidth to specific areas, and
the Mesh networking methods being investigated are
attractive to maritime users in areas where a new
network can be deployed to accommodate those
needing bandwidth for special operations. By estab-
lishing such ad-hoc networks the coverage area is
extended, since the signal can be transferred by us-
ing each other as relay units in a network with multi-
hop capabilities. This is beneficial in parts of North
Sea and the Norwegian Sea, where e.g. offshore oil
installations have fiber connections, and may there-
fore be used to accommodate base stations in a mesh
network. Preliminary investigations have indicated
possible coverage ranging to about 20 nm (∼37 km)
from an off shore WiMAX base station operating at
2.3 GHz, a rather encouraging result.
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