Navtor has teamed up with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to integrate automated mutual assistance vessel rescue (AMVER) into its digital chart table software NavStation.
The AMVER system is a constantly evolving safety net for ships in distress. Operated by the USCG, AMVER encourages ships to participate in a voluntary reporting scheme that details sailing plans, positions, deviations and arrivals to pinpoint locations and routes.
If AMVER receives a distress call from a vessel outside the reach of the USCG, or other participating coast guards, it can then alert nearby ships to come to the rescue in 24 hours or less.
“AMVER represents the very best of what seafarers have to offer, the highest tradition of mariner helping mariner,” said Benjamin Strong, director, AMVER maritime relations, USCG.
The tangible impact of that desire, he notes, is that the system has sent ships to 1,889 incidents in the last ten years, saving a total of 3,572 lives.
“A hugely powerful tool for search and rescue, but one that relies on ship participation to succeed. It can only ever be as strong as the network of vessels it attracts, so we have to continually grow that pool of volunteers.”
“The feedback we receive from seafarers is they want to ‘find a way to eliminate manual reporting’, easing an administrative burden which, we have to admit, adds to existing duties. We obviously wanted to help and were keen to leverage any available technologies or partners to do so.”
The Norwegian maritime technology company Navtor launched NavStation in 2014 as the world’s first digital chart table. The software ‘layers’ vital voyage information over ENCs to unite data on a single, integrated platform – putting, as the company says, “everything a navigator needs at their fingertips.”
One benefit of this integrated approach is the ability to simplify tasks, cutting administration through automated processes wherever possible. NavStation’s Passage Planning module slices admin time from an average of over three hours per voyage to around just 30 minutes.
The latest incarnation of NavStation has fully integrated, and automated, AMVER reporting as standard (when used with Passage Planning).
“Firstly, the integration makes AMVER reporting easy and allows participating vessels to continue their tradition of enhancing safety at sea. Secondly, it eliminates the risk of human error in reporting, making the system more accurate, reliable and robust. Thirdly, it makes it even easier for ships that are NOT enrolled in AMVER to participate. If a ship uses NavStation, and wasn’t an AMVER participant, then there’s now no reason not to get involved. All it takes is the push of a button to be part of this life saving network!
“As such, this is a win for the ship’s crew, a win for search and rescue personnel, and it’s an obvious win for anyone in distress at sea. We are delighted to partner with NAVTOR on a project that delivers such clear benefits for all AMVER stakeholders.”
