Scope and Team

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Scope and Team

• Identify GIS and vessel tracking applications for
  inland waterway transport on the UMR.
• Document appropriate technologies to implement a
  vessel tracking system.
• Develop a prototype GIS-based vessel tracking
  system to assist in implementing an appointment
  or scheduling system.
• Research Team
• Ray Mundy, Ph.D.
• James F. Campbell, Ph.D.
• Will Winter, Denise Franke, Amrita Sinha

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Real-time Tracking of Tows

• Provides more accurate locations of tows.
• Allows lockmasters to better manage lockages.
• Supports implementation of an appointment or
  scheduling system.

• May provide collateral benefits Safety,
  Security, Environmental Protection, Operations.

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Vessel Tracking

• Technology for tracking tows in real-time is well
  developed.
• Vessel tracking is well established in many
  locations
• Large operators on the UMR.
• U.S. Coast Guard VTS areas and IRVMC.
• St. Lawrence Seaway.
• European inland waterways.
• Port security and fisheries enforcement
  world-wide.

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GIS Use on the UMR

• Static Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are
  widely used by organizations on the UMR for a
  variety of purposes
• Safety and security.
• Environmental protection.
• Navigation.
• Users
• Federal, State and local governments (e.g.,
  Corps, U.S. Coast Guard)
• Tow operators.
• Environmental organizations.
• Etc.

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Vessel Tracking Examples

• Tow operators.
• U.S. Coast Guard IRVMC and VTS.
• St. Lawrence Seaway.
• RIS in Europe.
• Other Examples
• SmartLock.
• VIPS.
• Panama Canal.
• Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS).

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Tow Tracking

• Large operators track their own tow boats.
• Some use commercial systems.
• Others have proprietary systems.

• The U.S. Coast Guard tracks all hazardous cargoes
  on the UMR (IRVMC).
• Neither the Corps nor the Coast Guard have
  real-time tracking of all commercial vessels on
  the UMR-IW.

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Memco
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Tow Configuration
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Ingram
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Internet Mapping
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Zoomed In
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Tracking System Providers

• BOATRACS (now owned by AirIQ)
• 400 commercial fleets gt800 inland workboats.
• WATERCOM (Mobex)
• WATERCOM developed by ACBL in 1980s using radio
  towers.
• Others
• BargeTrak (StarTrak originally rail car
  tracking)
• River-Trac (ACBL)
• Satamatics SASCO Information Technology
  Systems, LLC Meridian Intellitrans, LLC
  TransCore, etc.

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U.S. Coast Guard

• Tracks hazardous cargoes on UMR via Inland Rivers
  Vessel Movement Center (IRVMC) in St. Louis.
• Tracks all commercial vessels at vessel traffic
  service (VTS) locations.
• AIS (Automated Information Systems)
• Expanding AIS throughout all navigable waterways.

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IRVMC

• Formed by Coast Guard in April 2003
• to ensure public safety, prevent sabotage or
  terrorist acts, and facilitate the efforts of
  emergency services and law enforcement officers
  responding to terrorist attacks.

• Tracks all certain dangerous cargoes (CDCs) in
  near-real time.
• Uses regulated navigation areas including UMR-IW.
• Applies to all towing vessel operators and
  fleeting area managers responsible for the
  movement of barges carrying CDCs.

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CDCs

• Explosives and blasting agents.
• Poisonous gases and liquids.
• Ammonium nitrate and certain fertilizers.
• Radioactive materials.
• Bulk liquefied chlorine gas, and other liquefied
  gases.

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IRVMC Reporting

• Owners and operators of covered barges hauling
  CDCs are required to report position and other
  information to the IRVMC.

IRVMC REPORTING POINTS UPPER MISSISSIPPI
(UMR) UP DOWN 796 796 DEPARTING LOCK DAM
3 752.8 752.8 DEPARTING LOCK DAM 4 679.2
679.2 DEPARTING LOCK DAM 8 583 583
DEPARTING LOCK DAM 11 493.3 493.3 DEPARTING
LOCK DAM 14 410.5 410.5 DEPARTING LOCK DAM
18 324.9 324.9 DEPARTING LOCK DAM 21 241.4
241.4 DEPARTING LOCK DAM 25 200.8 200.8
ARRIVING and DEPARTING MELVIN PRICE (DB)
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IRVMC Data

• Required to report to the IRVMC via email or toll
  free telephone or fax
• Name of barge and towboat,
• Name of loading, fleeting and terminal facility,
• Estimated time of arrival (ETA) at
• loading, fleeting and terminal facilities,
• 148 designated reporting points,
• Planned route and estimated time of departure
  (ETD) from facilities,
• Any significant departure from previously
  reported information.

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IRVMC Timing

• Timing of reporting to the IRVMC
• 4 hours prior to loading and to getting underway
  with CDCs - and dropping off and picking up CDCs
  from a fleeting area,
• At entry into, and departure from, the covered
  geographic area,
• Upon arrival at the final destination with a
  covered barge (if within the reporting area),
• At any time ETA varies by 6 hours from the
  previously reported ETA,
• When directed by the Coast Guard.

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IRVMC Tracking Display

• Have GIS display of vessels throughout U.S.
• Limited mapping capabilities.
• Position updates hourly and as required.
• Tracking data provided by operators
• Large tow operators send data electronically from
  their traffic centers.
• Smaller operators use fax and phone.
• Focus is on safety and security.

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U.S. Coast Guard VTS Centers

• Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) Centers

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VTS Centers

• Vessel Traffic Services Centers
• Provide monitoring and navigational advice for
  vessels in confined and busy waterways.
• Shift from safety and navigation emphasis to
  security.
• Integrate data broadcast from vessels and from
  land-based sensors at central location.
• Vessel data AIS
• Land-based sensors radar, VHF, infrared, closed
  circuit TV.
• Put no additional burden on the mariner.

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AIS

• Automatic Identification Systems.
• Developed by IMO (International Maritime
  Organization) to improve maritime safety, protect
  the environment, and improve VTS operations.
• Includes ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore and
  shore-to-ship communications.
• Automatically broadcasts position, ID, and other
  static, dynamic, and voyage related data.
• Receives data from other AIS units.

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VTS New Orleans
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VTS New Orleans
Sensors and cameras transmit data back to the
vessel traffic Center.
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VTS Vessel Display
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VTS Louisville

• Operates on a 13 mile stretch of the Ohio River
  during high water.
• Guides vessels through waters near the Falls of
  the Ohio.
• Operated as a part-time on demand" service.
• Manned by Active and Reserve duty personnel.
• Operates 45 days each year on average, but has
  operated for as long as 106 days.

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St. Lawrence Seaway

• 15 locks 740 long
  80 wide 30 deep.
• Montreal Lake Ontario
• 22-24 hours transit time.
• 2 U.S. locks.
• 5 Canadian locks.
• Welland Canal
• Connects lake Ontario and Lake Erie.
• 27 miles, 8 locks (Canadian).
• 3 Seaway Traffic Control Centers
• AIS implemented starting in 2002.

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St. Lawrence Seaway

• Bi-national cooperation.
• United States
• 2 locks (Eisenhower and Snell) in middle of
  Seaway.
• Managed by St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp.
  (SLSDC - agency within DOT).
• Canada
• 13 locks at ends of Seaway.
• Managed by St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp.
  (SLSMC - private not-for-profit corp.)
• Locks owned by Government of Canada.

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St. Lawrence Seaway
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Seaway Control Center
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St. Lawrence Seaway
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Seaway TMS and AIS

• Traffic Management System (TMS)
• Manages data for all transits and vessels.
• Broadcasts safety and navigation information to
  vessels.
• AIS integrated into TMS in 2002.
• Vessels also report at call in points.
• Cost 2.1 million.
• Estimated savings 300,000/year.
• Do not generally re-sequence vessels at locks.
• Little variability in lockage times (all lockages
  are a single ship).
• Traffic management still relies heavily on voice
  transmissions.

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AIS and TMS Cost
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Europe - RIS

• RIS River Information Services
• a concept for harmonized information services
  which supports traffic and transport management
  in inland navigation, including interfaces to
  other transport modes.

• Broad geographic and functional scope
• 30,000 km of waterways in 11 countries.
• 11,500 vessels (mainly self propelled).
• 77.5 billion ton-miles in 2003.

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Comprehensive

• Uses common systems to link
• Pilots.
• Tow companies.
• Lock, harbor and terminal operators.
• RIS operators.
• Waterway authorities.
• Emergency responders.
• Also used for
• Law enforcement.
• Statistical data collection.
• Waterway charges and port fees.
• Broader than U.S. Coast Guard IWS (Intelligent
  Waterways System) initiative.

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Many Projects

• INDRIS 1998 2002
• Explored AIS and inland ECDIS (electronic chart
  display information systems).
• Developed framework and standards for
  communications and data.
• Identified value added services beyond VTS.
• COMPRIS 2002-2005 (44 partners).
• Final phase before full-scale implementation.
• Provides architecture and standards for RIS
• Functional, Information, Data, Physical and
  Organizational.

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RIS Benefits

• Primary benefits
• Improved competitiveness of the inland waterways.
  
• Optimized use of lock and terminal
  infrastructure.
• Improved safety and security.
• Enhanced environmental protection.
• Benefit Cost ratios
• 5 for society.
• 3.5 for pilots.
• 1 for waterway authorities.

from an INDRIS demonstration project on the
Rhine River.
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SmartLock

• Lock navigation aid to assist pilots in the lock
  approach. 
• Developed for Port of Pittsburgh.
• Provides precise information, in near-real time,
  including
• Distances between the tow and lock, and
• Conditions at the lock, such as dam opening,
  river wind conditions.
• Uses differential GPS (DGPS) for high accuracy.

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SmartLock Example

• Provides the pilot with information overlaid on
  an electronic navigation chart (ENC). 
• Example A tow approaching Emsworth lock from
  upstream.
• Distances of the bow and stern from the guide
  wall.
• Distance from the bow to the bullnose. 
• Information about conditions (wind, dam opening,
  current, etc.). 

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Benefits Costs

• Improves reliability, predictability, safety and
  efficiency at the lock. 
• Cost-savings include
• Allowing locking in fog (58 million/yr).
• Speeding lockages by 10 minutes (10 million/yr).
  
• Reducing accidents (gt1 million/yr).
• SmartLock costs
• Towboat cost approximately 14,000.
• Cost at lock estimated at less than 13,000. 

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Other Applications

• Panama Canal.
• VIPS Vessel Identification and Positioning
  System
• Developed by Volpe Center.
• Used for Columbia River, Boston Harbor, Cape Cod
  Canal.
• VMS (vessel monitoring systems) for fisheries.

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Panama Canal

• 80 km with 6 pairs of locks in 3 sets.
• 8-10 hours to transit.
• CTAN (Communication, Traffic Management and
  Navigation) system since 2000.

• Track well in advance of arrival.
• Pre-arrival notice of 96 hours.
• Use portable GPS/AIS units for transit (150).

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VIPS

• Extends technology from Panama Canal and St.
  Lawrence Seaway
• Focus on port security.
• Combines AIS (Automatic Identification Systems)
  information and shore and ship-based remote
  sensing.
• Geographic display includes automated alerts.
• Also used for navigation and environmental
  protection.

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VMS

• Vessel Monitoring Systems.
• Required by NMFS for compliance in certain
  off-shore fisheries.
• Hourly polling for locations of vessels.
• Many commercial providers of VMS systems
  world-wide.
• Use satellite-based systems.
• Argos, Inmarsat, OrbComm, Boatracs, etc.
• Cost split between owners and government.

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Technologies for Vessel Tracking

• Find vessel position.
• GPS, Triangulation with satellites or shore-based
  antenna.
• Communicate vessel position to shore station.
• Satellite, VHF Radio, AIS.
• Integrate information for traffic management.
• Communications links to traffic center.
• Integration software.

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Technologies
Lock
Land Station
Traffic Center
1. Positioning
3. Integration
2. Communications
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Technologies

• Vessel Location.
• GPS accuracy to 10 meters.
• DGPS accuracy much better.
• Other satellite systems lesser accuracy.
• AIS.
• Land Communications.
• Standard telecom methods
• Satellite, radio, microwave, land lines, etc.
• Internet.

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Satellite-based Positioning

• Current satellite systems provide a variety of
  options
• ARGOS, Inmarsat, Boatracs, OrbComm, etc.
• Technology Assessment of Mobile Satellite System
  Alternatives, U.S. Coast Guard RD Center,
  1998.
• Many vendors provide packages (equipment
  software) for communications and positioning.

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Inmarsat OrbComm

• Inmarsat
• Focuses on maritime safety worldwide and GMDSS
  (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System).
• Heavily used for ocean carriers and fishing
  fleets.
• OrbComm
• 30 satellites provide global coverage.
• Received Coast Guard contract in June 2004 to
  provide AIS capability.
• Plan new satellite launch in 2006 for AIS.
• Partners provide tracking and communication
  services.

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Boatracs

• Maritime version of QUALCOMMs OmniTracs.
• Accuracy 100 meters.
• Combines location and secure communications.
• Leases space on satellites.
• Provides automatic hourly updates and position
  with every message.
• Used on UMR and in TSA sponsored test on Columbia
  and Snake Rivers in 11/2003.
• Cost per boat 3500 150/month for messaging.

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AIS

• Ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore and shore-to-ship
  communications with broadcasting radius 20-30
  miles.
• Required on commercial vessels on international
  voyages.
• Towing vessels over 26 feet and 600 hp.
• Self propelled commercial vessels over 65 feet.
• Passenger vessels with more than a specified
  number of passengers.
• Vessels in VTS and Vessel Movement Reporting
  Service (VMRS) areas.

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AIS Data Equipment

• Automatically broadcasts static, dynamic, and
  voyage related data.
• Static data
• Vessel ID, length and beam, type, antenna
  location.
• Dynamic data
• Position, course, speed, heading, rate of turn.
• Voyage related data
• Draft, hazardous cargo type, destination, ETA.
• Receives data from other AIS units.
• Vessel unit includes positioning (e.g., GPS),
  microprocessor and VHF-FM transceiver.

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AIS Benefits

• Improved safety and security
• Safer operations in foul weather.
• Better environmental protection.
• Better emergency response.
• Improved efficiency
• Reduced transit times.
• Better scheduling of lockages and vessel tie-ups.
• Better scheduling of inspections and pilotage
  services.

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AIS on the UMR?

• Coast Guard Recognizing that AIS may ultimately
  be requiredwhat waterways should be implemented
  before others?
• ACBLs response
• Add AIS on Mississippi River below St. Louis and
  give high priority to this Illinois River.
• Give lesser priority to Upper Mississippi.
• doubts thatAIS will substantially improve the
  mariners ability to safely and efficiently
  navigate the Mississippi River

Letters to Docket Management Facility, Dept. of
Transportation, RE USCG-2003-14878-75 and
USCG-2003-14757-101
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Vessel Tracking Lockage Information System

• Collects, manages and displays appropriate
  information for a scheduling system.
• Integrates tow tracking and traffic (and lock)
  management.
• The information needed depends on the type of
  traffic and lockage management.
• Geographic scope ranges from
• Single lock and adjacent pools.
• Multiple locks and pools.
• Entire riverway.
• Vessel location data ranges from
• Existing data (OMNI).
• Near-real time locations (e.g., every hour).
• Real time locations.

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Issues for Finding Tow Locations

• Key issues are how and when to find and
  communicate tow locations.
• How much does real time or near-real time vessel
  tracking add for reducing congestion?
• How much positional and temporal accuracy is
  needed on the UMR?
• Cost increases with positional and temporal
  accuracy (more call in points or more frequent
  updates).

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Tracking Questions

• What type of vessel tracking is best?
• Ability to partner with other relevant parties?
• U.S. Coast Guard?
• Carriers?
• When will AIS be required on the UMR?
• How to find locations?
• Automatic Remote sensing, AIS, etc.
• Manual (reporting by tows).
• When to report locations?
• At specified call in points How many?
• At periodic intervals How often?

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Alternatives

• Track tows using the existing (OMNI) data.
• Track tows using near-real time data reported by
  the vessel/carrier (IRVMC).
• Track tows using real time tow tracking with
  traffic management centers (St. Lawrence Seaway).
• Do nothing.

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Tow Tracking Summary

• Real time and near-real time tow tracking is
  certainly feasible on the UMR.
• Technologies for tow tracking are well tested.
• Integration of tow tracking and lock scheduling
  is feasible, but not yet in place.