Indian Economy News

India-France to jointly build, run space-based ship tracking system

  • IBEF
  • August 26, 2019

The world's first space-based Automatic Identification System (AIS) to monitor merchant ships on real-time basis will be built and operated mutually by India and France, the French space agency (Centre national d'études spatiales or the National Centre for Space Studies — CNES) said.

CNES President Dr. Jean-Yves Le Gall and Dr. K Sivan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), signed an agreement recently to start developing and production of a constellation of satellites on which studies have been in progress for over a year.

The settlement between the two space agencies was signed during Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi's visit to France.

Region critical to the deliberate interests of India and France, the several crucial Sea Lanes of Communications pass through the Indian Ocean.

As CNES said in an announcement that, the constellation carrying telecommunication (AIS), radar and optical remote-detecting instruments will be equipped for monitoring ships in the Indian Ocean.

By benefiting a wide scope of French economic interests, the system will cover a wide belt over the globe.

The International Maritime Organization's International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requires AIS to be fitted  on board all boats of 300 gross tonnage and upwards connected on international voyages, cargo ships of 500 gross tonnage and upwards not locked on international voyages and all passenger ships independent of the size. 

Satellite based, AIS is intended to give data about a ship to different vesels and to coastal authorities. 

Long-Range Identification and Tracking system (LRIT), can anticipate the position of a ship every six hours or at least four times each day while the terrestrial based AIS has an inclusion scope of 40 nautical miles.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

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