The design and implementation of VHF Data Exchange System (VDES) services has the potential to revolutionise ship tracking communication in the decade ahead, providing major improvements in terms of cost-effectiveness, sustainability and safety over the current Automatic Identification System (AIS). However, the transition to VDES will not only provide the opportunity for positioning and communication - as the AIS system does - but will also open the door to new uses, such as e-Navigation and autonomous shipping. First identified almost a decade ago as a long-term solution to overloading issues on the AIS VHF Data Link (VDL), and a facilitator of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) 'e-Navigation strategy', VDES is well on its way to becoming an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standard supported by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) and it is anticipated that both shore and ship side AIS infrastructure will be upgraded with VDES capabilities in the years ahead. The system includes the two existing AIS channels and the messaging system Application Specific Messages (AMS), with the addition of a new highly flexible third component (VDE) for digital maritime communications of any kind. Importantly, VDES significantly expands the available bandwidth and allows for true two-way high-speed data exchange between ships, satellites and shore.
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