Quote:
Originally Posted by bdbcat
So far as I can tell, Inland AIS is optional in the EU at this time, but may become mandatory in the future, in some countries.
This will require a software update to the ship's transponder, so we can expect some ship operators to lag behind.
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AIS is mandatory in Austria since 2008, and skippers transmitting incorrect data like in the examples will get in trouble (fined).
In Belgium it's mandatory in sea
ports like Antwerp.
Inland ships are only allowed to use inland AIS, but it seems that some brands of AIS
equipment are transmitting SOLAS data too (which has not been entered because it becomes unavailable once the
equipment is set to inland).
Also, a lot of these ships use
chartplotter software to program the AIS, and there's quite some problems with that resulting in incorrect data being transmitted, like incorrect ship types or operation modes.
Software updates are only required in case the
regulations are changed since they became "final", or for software that should have never been approved.
That is the largest problem with all this.
The equipment has to be re-approved, software updates installed and documented.
This means all parties involved (government, manufacturers,
installation companies and the skippers) have to do
work that they will want to be paid, but who's going to do that ?
Especially because not everything was known or taken in account while drafting the
regulations.