Supplementing marine radar displays with information from automatic identification systems

Abstract

Radar was first used for the control of merchant ships from the shore (what would now be called vessel traffic services-VTS) in the 1940s and on merchant ships as an aid to navigation in the 1950s. After some difficulties in learning the operation of the new technique, radar became well accepted and was made a mandatory carriage requirement in 1980 for passenger ships and cargo ships over 300 gross tonnage under the provisions of the International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). During the 1980s automatic plotting of radar targets was introduced as an additional carriage requirement which is known as ARPA (automatic radar plotting aid). Today radar is carried by virtually all vessels, including many pleasure craft, and electronic plotting is commonplace. Most sea ports have radar available to assist port operations. Despite the wide acceptance of radar as an aid to navigation and its undoubted contribution to safety, traditional marine radar does have some limitations. (2 pages)