MACAIS www.macais.org
This project is a transnational partnerships and is co-financed by the Community Initiative Programme INTERREG III B 2000-2006 Azores-Madeira-Canary Islands. Its main purpose consists on supplying the three Regions with the most modern A.I.S. all ships with significant gauging and that sail on these islands’ surrounding waters up to a distance of about 20 nautical miles will have this system.
The Project has the following General and specific Objectives:
Ensure compliance with the revision of the convention dated from 1st July 2002 on Safety Of Life at the Sea that established that all ships of merchant navy had to acquire an A.I.S. System.
Knowledge - at a maximum distance of 30 miles - of dynamic and static parameters of ships that sail on the coastal waters of these three regions;
Endow the main Ports of the three Regions with maritime traffic information network in order to improve their competitiveness and integration in the intermodal transport networks.
Promote the Information Society between ships that sail on our waters providing them information, such as location, meteo-oceanographic forecast, pollution, etc.;
Increase technology development by implementing scientific applications in the framework of telecommunications, e.g. A.I.S.;
Encourage the interregional cooperation in public institutions.
Increase the human safety of life at Sea;
Assure more safety and efficiency of maritime shipping;
Guarantee greater Marine Environment Protection;
Improve heavy traffic situations for all sailors;
Optimise the traffic flow without any extra help to the sailors;
Avoid the occurrence of accidents, preserving the humane life and the marine environment.
The Automatic Identification System (A.I.S.) is a system of continuous and autonomous broadcasting. It operates on the maritime VHF band and has the capacity to exchange information, such as identification, location, ship’s course, speed, ship’s dimensions, draught, type of ship and cargo. This exchange of information is possible between ships and between themselves and the coastal stations.
The devices A.I.S. transmit information automatically and continuously about the location and speed of the ship; this information is to be received by shore stations as well as by ships sailing on the area. This device is, therefore, a valuable auxiliary to avoid collision when manoeuvring the ship.
The A.I.S. system enables an intercommunication ship/land/ship (to be centralized in Central Stations) and ship/ ships within a 10 miles radius. This value can change and reach maximum values of 30 miles, depending on the broadcasting conditions and aerial heights.
The A.I.S. can simultaneously serve on average 450 ships in a specific area. Consequently, as soon as the system reaches its limits, it automatically deletes the most distant ships, as they pose little risk in terms of anti-collision.
REDAIS www.redaisonline.com
The REDAIS Project has its starting point or its gravitational centre in the A.I.S. networks (Automated Identification Systems) implemented in the framework of the MACAIS Project. It is based on the consolidation and implementation of new services and competences, through the following goals:
- Increase of the safety of the A.I.S. networks in their integrity and availability aspects;
- Increase of the control and reaction competence of the A.I.S. system;
- Enlarging the universe of users;
- Interconnection with other sources of information;
- To optimize and render profitable the communication structure.
MACPORT
By the maximum increase of the New Technologies use, namely the Information and Communication ones, the main MACPORT goal is to implement Port Management Integrated Systems which will allow the improvement of the business processes, thus of port operators, by improving the Port – Port Operators union competitive position.
CLIMARCOST www.climaat.angra.uac.pt
The main goal of the CLIMARCOST (Clima Marítimo Costeiro-Sistema de Monitorização de Dados Meteo-Oceanográficos) is related with the contribution for the increase of safety and efficiency of the port and maritime activities, and the defence of coastal areas, so that it will allow a profit-related boost of the activities concerning the sea and coastal zones.
The geographical framework in which this project operates includes the Macaronesia area, namely the Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and Cape Verde.
In this context, the CLIMARCOST Project, besides continuing and consolidating the efforts developed in the Climat I and Climat II projects, regarding the climatic, meteorological and coast oceanography component, introduces a new field: the maritime agitation based on the coastal study, monitoring and disclosure, whether in real time (in order to support maritime and port-maritime activities), or statistical information concerning future works at the shore.
These are the most relevant activities:
To monitor and establish a network of Meteo-Oceanographic Buoys and autonomous data gathering stations.
To create Operational Centres that will receive, analyse and store all the information.
To promote and make available the information processed by the systems of Monitoring Meteo-Oceanographic data.