GNSS & THE LAW IMO AND THE GNSS Navigating the Seas HIROYUKI YAMADA SENIOR DEPUTY DIRECTOR, MARITIME SAFETY DIVISION: SUB-DIVISION FOR OPERATIONAL SAFETY AND HUMAN ELEMENT, INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION (IMO) The maritime sector has come to rely he maritime sector drives the bearings using compass; terrestrial radio on GNSS for a huge array of applications global economy, with ships navigation; even sextants. This allows relating to position, velocity and precise transporting more than 80% ships to mitigate the impact of GPS dis- of world trade. Ships and ports ruption. universal and local time. Meanwhile, Thave come to rely on global navigation Regulations in the International the International Maritime Organization satellite systems (GNSS) for a huge array Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea continues to oversee the world-wide of applications relating to position, veloc- (SOLAS) require merchant ships to carry radionavigation system and play a ity and precise universal and local time. a receiver for a GNSS or a terrestrial It is perhaps not surprising that the radionavigation system, or other means, role in recognizing systems that may fallout from GNSS failure in the mari- suitable for use at all times throughout be developed in the future. In this time sector over a five day-period could the intended voyage to establish and article, Mr. Yamada addresses how cost GBP£1.1billion in lost gross value update the ship’s position by automatic the development of satellite-based added (GVA) in the United Kingdom means. But they must also carry a com- position systems — GNSS — has alone (or about 1.4 billion USD) – pass, a device to take bearings, and back- according to a recent study by London up arrangements for ECDIS. enabled a leap forward in the accuracy Economics, commissioned by Innovate The organization which oversees standards required of such systems UK, the UK Space Agency and the Royal SOLAS and has the remit for adopt- and has no doubt contributed to Institute of Navigation. [For more on ing carriage requirements, operational improved safety, efficiency and this study, see Brussels View in the July/ requirements and performance stan- environmental protection at sea. August 2017 issue of Inside GNSS.] dards for world shipping is the Interna- The threat of GNSS disruption to tional Maritime Organization (IMO). ships themselves is a real one. GPS inter- IMO (originally known as the Inter- Ingo Baumann is the column ference in the Black Sea was reported governmental Maritime Consultative editor for GNSS & the Law, and earlier this year, affecting as many as Organization, or IMCO) is the United the co-founder and partner of 20 ships. And the United States Coast Nations specialized agency with respon- BHO Legal in Cologne, Germany, Guard warned that a sudden loss of sibility for developing the regulations for a boutique law firm for European high technology projects mainly GPS signal had occurred on multiple ship safety and maritime security, and in the space sector. Ingo studied outbound vessels from a non-US port in the prevention of pollution from ships. law at the Universities of Muen- 2015. Loss of GPS input to the ship’s sur- IMO does not operate GNSS systems, ster and Cologne. His doctoral face search radar, gyro units and Elec- but has an important role in accepting thesis, written at the Institute for tronic Chart Display and Information and recognizing worldwide radionavi- Air and Space Law in Cologne, examined the international and System (ECDIS), resulted in a lack of gation systems which can be used by European law of satellite communications. GPS data for position fixing, radar over international shipping. Baumann worked several years for the Ger- ground speed inputs, gyro speed input When IMO began its work as the man Aerospace Centre (DLR), including as and loss of collision avoidance capabili- international regulatory body for ship- head of the DLR Galileo Project Office and ties on the ECDIS radar display. ping in 1959, one of its first tasks was to CEO of the DLR operating company for the German Galileo Control Center. However, ships do not rely on just adopt a revised SOLAS treaty, to update GNSS alone for position fixing. A ship- the 1948 SOLAS treaty. (The very first master can also deploy radar, or cross SOLAS treaty was adopted in 1914, in 40 InsideGNSS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 www.insidegnss.com the wake of the Titanic disaster, while SOLAS Convention. The apparatus was bulk should carry “an efficient electronic another version was adopted in 1929.) required to comply with system require- position-fixing device” (Assembly reso- When the 1960 SOLAS was adopted ments set out in SOLAS chapter IV on lution A.156(ES.IV) Recommendation on by IMO, terrestrial radio navigation sys- Radiotelegraphy and Radiotelephony the Carriage of Electronic Position-Fixing tems – including Decca Navigator and (SOLAS Chapter IV is now called Radio- Equipment). Loran A – were already in operation. communications). IMO’s Maritime Safety Commit- In these systems, a ship’s radio receiver By the late 1960s and early 1970s, tee was also noticing the potential for would measure transmissions from Loran C and Differential Omega radio accurate position finding which satel- groups of radio transmitters sending navigation systems were also becoming lites could provide. As with other devel- signals simultaneously or in a controlled operational in major areas of the world’s opments in technology with shipping sequence. By measuring the phase differ- oceans and they were combined with applications, IMO’s concern was to ence between one pair of transmissions early computer technology to provide ensure that the user would benefit from a line of position can be established. A electronic printouts of the ship’s posi- the new technology and that such new second measurement, from another pair tion. The then-Soviet Union’s Chayka systems would at least meet agreed per- of stations, gives a second line and the system also became operational. formance standards. intersection of the two lines gives the During this time, IMO Member A recommendation on accuracy ship’s position. States increasingly recognized the standards for navigation, adopted by In its chapter V on Safety of Navi- importance of using navigation sys- the IMO Assembly in 1983 (resolu- gation, SOLAS 1960 included a require- tems in maritime safety and prevent- tion A.529(13)), provided “guidance to ment for ships over 1,600 gross tonnage ing marine pollution, for example as an Administrations on the standards of on international voyages to be fitted aid to avoiding hazards. In 1968, IMO navigation accuracy for assessing posi- with radio direction-finding apparatus recommended that ships carrying oil or tion-fixing systems, in particular radio- – a requirement dating back to the 1948 other noxious or hazardous cargoes in navigation systems, including satellite EMBEDDED GPS SIMULATOR Retrot your legacy GPS with SAASM and CSAC Real Time GPS Simulator module allows transcoding of any GNSS signal to legacy GPS RF signal to meet Assured-PNT requirements! Based on our next-generation full-constellation real-time GPS Simulator technology, the RSR GNSS Transcoder™ is the world’s rst fully self-contained GNSS Transcoder/converter (real time GPS Simulator) that can take a baseband PNT/PVT signal from any GNSS receiver or positioning source and convert this to a commercial GPS L1 RF output signal within milliseconds. 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This study borne DGPS and DGLONASS Mari- was set at “4% of distance from danger additionally recognized the need for pro- time Radio Beacon Receiver Equipment with a maximum of 4 nautical miles”. vision of position information to support (MSC.114(73)) and for shipborne com- This was a fairly moderate require- the Global Maritime Distress and Safety bined GPS/GLONASS receiver equip- ment compared to today’s systems. System (GMDSS), by locating vessels in ment (MSC.115(73)). The Maritime Safety Committee distress. The needs of high speed craft, Reflecting the increased posi- had, in the meantime, begun to consider such as fast ferries, were recognized and tional accuracy provided by GPS and whether ships should be required – on the study noted that ships operating at GLONASS, an updated resolution giv- a mandatory basis – to carry means of speeds above 30 knots may need more ing the IMO policy for the recognition receiving transmissions from a suitable stringent accuracy requirements. and acceptance of suitable radio naviga- radio navigation system throughout Performance standards for ship- tion systems intended for international their intended voyage. borne GPS receiver equipment were use was adopted in 2003 by the IMO A study was initiated to look at the also adopted in 1995, and for GLONASS Assembly (resolution A.953(23)). operational requirements (including the receivers in 1996. GPS became fully This resolution made the accuracy need for reliability and low user cost) operational in 1995 and GLONASS in standards required more stringent and how such systems could be recog- 1996.