Identify yourself

摘要

One of the most important aspects of the new Chapter V of the SOLAS Convention, approved recently at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), is the fact that, after much debate over the past two-three years, it paves the way for the introduction into service of Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders. Perhaps the main role of AIS transponders is to provide mariners with a tool that can help them anticipate problems and take action before a collision becomes inevitable, but it also revolutionises the way vessel traffic systems (VTS) work.