Maritime Situational Awareness in the High North

Maritime Situational Awareness in the high north

Atle Ommundsen WHY?

«..to gain an effective understanding of anything associated with the maritime domain that could impact security, safety, the economy or the environment!”

Incident at sea, reported to the Norwegian rescue services 2012 WHY?

«Operational ability to intervene»

Observe

Act Orient

Decide

Reachability ~ 4 hours (blue circle) Surveillance capability - Outline

• FFI • Geographic Area of Interest • Activity in the High North/Arctic • BarentsWatch - Portal to coastal and sea areas, interagency cooperation • Oceanographic information and data for the Nordic Seas and Arctic Ocean from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute • Technology • Conclusions

Outline

Norwegian Defence Research Establishment FFI

• The only major defence R&D organisation in Norway • Close relations and co-operation with all sectors of the Armed Forces • Staff 709 • Annual turnover 816 MNOK • Project organisation (146 ongoing research projects) • Owned by the Ministry of Defence • Established 1946 H U Sverdrup II operations

Sails all year (since 2005)

Operational area: • Barents Sea more than 120 -150 days/year • Other areas: Norwegian coast, North Sea, Vestfjorden, Norwegian Sea, Greenland Sea, Fram Strait, Svalbard, Skagerak, Navy exercise areas • Total ca 310 survey days/year + transit, maintenance FFI’s areas of research

1. Defence structure-, concept- and operational analyses 2. Security 3. Network, information, command, control and communication 4. Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance 5. Combat systems 6. Sensor systems, signature control and reductions, and electronic warfare 7. Weapons systems, -effects and protection 8. Human factors, equipment and human protection Outline

Norway has extensive and increasing need for maritime situational awareness – comprehensive approach Vast areas • ~ 80 % of the – foreign trade by sea – the residents live within 10 km of the coast

• Plentiful of marine resources, minerals, oil and gas – Increasing maritime activity

• In order to exercise rights and obligation there are several governmental ministries and agencies involved.

Arctic Vessel Traffic

Oct 2010 – Oct 2012: 50% - 80% of all vessel traffic above the Arctic Circle is in the Norwegian sector at any given time

Northern Sea Route:

4 46 1800 2010 2012 2020? Svalbard – a remote piece of Norway in the Arctic

The Svalbard Treaty (1920): • “…full and absolute sovereignty of Norway over the archipelago…” (Article 1) • Principle of non-discrimination (Articles 2 and 3) • Special taxation regime (Article 8) • Restrictions on military use (Article 9)

Norwegian military activity is limited to fisheries surveillance by the Norwegian Coast Guard.

Commercial fishing – fishing of cod and haddock 300 km north of Svalbard

More people want Arctic holidays • cruises around Svalbard (small sailing boats -> giant cruise vessels)

• Remote = Challenges Communication, Navigation

Military activity in the Arctic: Current trends and future prospects

• After the end of the Cold War, military presence in the Arctic theater fell to its lowest level in decades, mainly due to financial constraints

• In recent years (especially since 2007), the military activity level in the northern regions, waters and airspace has grown – naval activity – bomber flights – space-related activities

• But: The military tension level in the north is low. The non-military security/safety challenges

• Even if the Arctic should remain politically and militarily stable, there will be challenges related to the expected increase in ship traffic and offshore petroleum exploration

• The available search and rescue assets are few and far between, and rescue helicopters have limited range • This calls for enhanced cooperation at the regional level • Cold weather operations – Long dark periods – Heavy Weather – Icing

Outline

An Information Portal for greater overview and insight

BarentsWatch - will organize and provide data and results produced by 30 different governmental and research institutions, creating an integrated holistic system for gathering information and monitoring the oceanic and polar interests of Norway and of the larger polar region. BarentsWatch - Portal to coastal and sea areas http://www.barentswatch.no/

Examples of ongoing development projects under the direction of BarentsWatch: MET Norway is the meteorological service for both The Military and the Civil Services in Norway, as well as the public.

Forecasting of polar Polar lows Gain by increasing resolution? Parent (20 km grid)

Daily mean speed @ 10 m depth 2013-10-08 Gain increased resolution? Parent + Child1 (20 km -> 4 km)

Daily mean speed @ 10 m depth 2013-10-08 Gain by increasing resolution? Parent + Child1 + Child 2 (20 km -> 4 km -> 0.8 km)

Daily mean speed @ 10 m depth 2013-10-08 Outline

AISSat-1

• Satellite to demonstrate maritime traffic surveillance for national authorities

– Norwegian Coastal Administration – Norwegian Fisheries Directorate – Police and Customs – Rescue Coordination Centres – Norwegian Coast Guard

• Goal: – 1 year research and test – 2 years pilot demonstration service

• Team: FFI, Kongsberg Group & Space Flight Laboratory, U. of Toronto

• Funded by the Norwegian Space Centre

AISSat-1 launch from India 03:52 UTC 12th July 2010

20x20x20cm Placed in a 635 km Circular Polar Orbit Status

• All systems nominal

• Delivering data to operational users

• Still undergoing trials

• Within budget! (28 MNOK ~ 3,65 MEUR)

• Unique capacity in Europe

• AISSat-2 is on order (14 MNOK ~ 1,82 MEUR) – June 2014 Global coverage Global coverage with AISSat-1 Use of satellite AIS data Following crossing of the North East Passage

Tracking capability also depends on transmitted signal levels Future nano-satellites to follow

• Higher performance AIS • Other sensors • Operational systems

• Other objectives: – Space science – Technology development and space qualification

Vessel of interest? From data to Information Satellite image

? Detection of ship from satellite – algorithm developed at FFI AIS (land based receivers) AISSAT-1

- AISSAT-2 Vessel monitoring systems (VMS) All the sensors – developing algorithms for data fusion, tracking Data fusion - identified Open-source intelligence (OSINT) Vessel of interest - reconnaissance Outline

Conclusions

• As the polar ice cap recedes, the Arctic is likely to become an increasingly important arena for offshore petroleum activities, fisheries and marine transportation

• This development raises a number of new environmental security challenges, and may under some scenarios also aggravate interstate tensions

• Norwegian waters are as large as the Mediterrean ocean – Difficult to monitor all areas at the same time – Must make best possible use of the available resources

• New technology will improve maritime situational awareness

• Orient – from data to information