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tion has the potential to enhance ma- rine safety and the efficiency of navi- gation by: (1) providing a positive and all-weather means of identification; (2) complementing services (such as racons) currently on the ATON; (3) transmitting an accurate position for a floating ATON; (4) indicating whether a floating ATON is off station; (5) marking tracks, routes, areas, and lim- its; (6) marking offshore structures, such as wind farms; and (7)providing weather, tidal, and sea state data. In addition, the AIS ATON station may benefit the service provider by: (a) monitoring the status of the ATON; (b) tracking a floating aid that is off sta- tion; (c) monitoring and identifying marine traffic in the vicinity; and (d) allowing for remote control of ATON parameters. Only time will tell how many of these potential capabilities will be adopted and how widespread the use of AIS on ATON will become. The possibilities, though, are just be- ginning to be explored. February 2011 www.marinelink.com 27 Samsung Fights Pirates ... the 21st Century Way The 'Samsung Anti-Piracy Solution' was announced last month week, a solution that integrates three state- of-the-art technologies into a vessel with an important emphasis on safety: • A surveillance radar system which analyzes the distance, speed and moving direction of ships within 10 kilometers to automatically de- tect and track any suspicious activ- ity. • A night-vision technology that tracks and displays the movement of suspected vessels in real-time, generating high-quality infrared im- ages. • A high-pressure, remotely con- trolled water cannon that shoots a powerful stream of water as far as 70 meters to thwart the pirates’ ap- proach. The cannon – which has a maximum pressure of 10 bars, or equal to the force of 10 kilograms applied to an area of 1 square cen- timeter – can be controlled remotely from the bridge, thus reducing the risk of exposure of the crew to po- tential gunfire attacks. Samsung Heavy Industries plans to install this anti-piracy system on all the vessels the company builds from its shipyard in Geoje, located in the southeastern coast of South Korea.
