Communication & Information Technology

Chapter 12

INTRODUCTION

●Recent sea transportation is a complex business. It needs the use of latest and modern technology to make its operations efficiently.●Maritime technology is becoming more sophisticated. One of it is the use of communication and information technology (CIT).●CIT or IT enables all maritime business to come together to produce dedicated services & procedures.

COMPUTERIZATION

●Computers become standard equipment in maritime industry.●Factors driving the development:

●Shippers require more value-added services.●Containerization require more dedicated IT to support the development of the service.●Ports are becoming more sophisticated.

COMPUTERIZATION

●International consignment movement is becoming more computerized. ●Widespread usage of electronic documentation.●Market research data is essential. On-line computer access to data banks is important.●Cost of setting up computerized operation is getting lower.●Dedicated software for maritime services.

INTERNATIONAL MARITIME SATELLITE ORGANIZATION

(INMARSAT)

●Based in London. Established in 1979. Its goal to enable merchant ships to stay in touch across the oceans and to call for help in an emergency.

●World’s first mobile satellite communications operator. In other words, provides communication worldwide.

●Today Inmarsat owns and operates three global constellations of 11 satellites flying in geosynchronous orbit 37,786 km (22,240 statute miles) above the Earth.

●Provide links for phone, fax & data communications to more than 210,000 ships.

●It has more than 80 partner countries

Types of INMARSAT

●Inmarsat A - provides two-way direct-dial

phone connection as well as fax, telex and data services at rates between 9.6kbps up to 64kbps.

●Inmarsat B- supports global voice, telex, fax

and data at speeds from 9.6kbps to 64kbps, as well as GMDSS (the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System) - compliant distress and safety functions.

Types of INMARSAT

●Inmarsat C- is one of the most flexible mobile

satellite message communication systems in the World, it has the ability to handle commercial, operational and personal messages just as easily as distress and safety communications.

- offers two-way, store-and-forward packet data communication via a lightweight, low-cost terminal.

Types of INMARSAT

- the only system in the world that, on its own, allows ships to meet the majority of the communications requirements of the GMDSS.

●Inmarsat D- Inmarsat D+ is a two-way data

communication services that uses very small equipment. It is fitted with GPS-assisted satellite roaming and meets the requirements for Ship Security Alert Systems (SSAS).

Types of INMARSAT

●Inmarsat E- A global maritime distress

alerting service using small emergency position indicating beacons that automatically send message to maritime Rescue Coordination Centers.

Types of INMARSAT

●Inmarsat Fleet- actually a family of networks that includes the

Inmarsat-Fleet77, Inmarsat-Fleet55 and Inmarsat-Fleet33 members.

- Incorporating voice and data recognition- most advanced maritime service, helps meet the

requirements of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code.

- fleet77: equip to meet the latest GMDSS

INMARSAT Coverage

Inmarsat Fleet F77

Inmarsat A

Inmarsat D

Inmarsat C

Inmarsat B

e.g: product

INMARSAT services

●Position and data reporting (Inmarsat C)

●Distress alerting (Inmarsat E)

●Vessel management (Inmarsat A, B)

●Video/image transmission (Inmarsat A,B)

●Maritime safety information (Inmarsat C)

●Electronic data interchange (Inmarsat A,B)

●Others – Email (Inmarsat A,B,C)

- Pay-phones.

INMARSAT services

Wide range of services includes:1.Position & Data Reporting●Reporting ship position automatically.●Take position coordinates from vessels’

navigation equipment & transmit periodically via satellite to head office.

●Also supports the transmission of data such as ship course, speed at certain interval.

●INMARSAT –C

INMARSAT services

2. Distress Alerting●Global Maritime Distress and Safety

System (GMDSS) - international satellite technology and ship-board radio systems.

●Ensure rapid, automated alerting of shore-based communication and rescue authorities

●Provides faster & accurate global distress alerting service.

●Alert delivered via INMARSAT-E to maritime rescue coordination center (MRCC) within 2 minutes.

INMARSAT services

3. Vessel management●Fleet operators can monitor

inventory, track spare parts & place orders.

●Access weather routing services to shippers.

●Managing staff records, support cargo planning & monitor ship maintenance.

●INMARSAT-A and B.

INMARSAT services

4. Video/image Transmission

●Transmit video or still image. ●TV & news can be transmitted to ships.●Also allows video conference.●Shoreside engineers could assists in ship

repair.●INMARSAT-A and B.

INMARSAT services

5. Maritime Safety Information●Known as International SafetyNET service.●Provide weather analysis, warnings &

predictions for certain geographical area.●Sent to ships which subscribe.●INMARSAT-C

INMARSAT services

6. Electronic Data Interchange●Used to submit documentation in

advance (Custom, BOL, CP etc.).●More efficiency & shorter laytime.●INMARSAT-A & B.

7. Others:●E-Mail = INMARSAT-A,B and C.●Pay-phones

EDI

●What is EDI? EDI stands for ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE.

●The development of EDI standards was ●closely monitored by the industry and a message

development group. ●set up early in the life of the EDI Association to

consider new Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transportation or trade (EDIFACT) standards for the shipping industry.

ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE

●Electronic Data Interchange: The transfer of structured data, by agreed standards from applications on the computer of one party to the applications on the computer of another party by electronic means (fully computerized).

●Electronic Data Processing: ●Computerized handling of information (e.g. business data).●For shipping: Fast documentation & reporting of cargo status.●Reduce cost by eliminating errors and simplify the transfer of information process.

ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE

●For shipping company, there is a need to connect their system with one another.

●Speed up transaction & eliminate replication of data. Communication with:

●Third parties (custom, port authorities)●Internal & group companies●Business partner ( agents, customer)

●Between these three – paperless booking, invoicing, as well as insurance & banking transactions.

EDI IN PORT (Example)

●Data about each cargo inside of container can be stored easily using bar-code reader.

●Movement of cargo through the terminal automatically controlled by system.

●Automatic categorization of container based on voyage, port, size etc.

●Develop the stowage plan @ stacking model.●Paperwork necessary can be produced by the

system.

EDI IN PORT (Example)

●Computer calculate stability of ships.●After departure, produce list of containers.●Charges associated including demurrage calculated by computer.

Benefits of EDI

●Faster discharging and loading containers.●Increased productivity through faster

turnaround of containers and vessels.●Better monitoring of the storage of

containers (leading to increases in stacking area’s capacity).

●High level accuracy of information.●High level of consistency of the information

given to various parties in the chain of transport

Benefits of EDI

●With EDI, order entry becomes fast, cost efficient, and error free without manual re-entry.

●EDI improves a company’s relationship with customers and suppliers.

●EDI reduces inventory and inventory carrying cost by reducing and or eliminating order lead times.

●EDI standardizes programs and procedures, therefore allowing data to be controlled more easily.

Benefits of EDI

●EDI helps to automate tasks and relocate people to other tasks.

●Because consumers have different expectations, EDI helps to deliver a product or services that meet consumer expectation with regard to price and time frame, therefore increasing sales.

●EDI’s speed of transmission helps a company to gain a competitive edge.

●EDI reduces the paper flow between organizations, which can reduce cost and increase speed and ease of use.

●Gains in productivity from EDI help companies reduce existing labor.

Benefits of EDI (Paperless)

Internet EDI (IEDI)

●Internet Electronic Data Interchange (INT-EDI) arise due to the problems that small business facing of. ●The main problem they have to face of is in term of cost of implementation EDI. ●The high cost that the users of EDI need to concern is on the value added network (VANs). ●Even though the using of VANs is highly recommended and required by the other partners or parties regarding to the security of documents and data transferred, small business still resist to implement and use it as a tool or medium data transferred.

Internet EDI

●Most of these small firms are tend to use the internet as the main of data transferred which means there is no VANs usage.

● The using of this INT-EDI day to day become wider because of some beneficial gained to those small firms.

●Thus, the I-EDI trading techniques aim to improve the interchange of information between trading partners, suppliers and customers by bringing down the boundaries that restrict how they interact and do business with each other

Electronic devices in container terminal

1.Microwave technology■Employ to track the placing and pick-up of containers by

recording relevant data on tags installed on the containers.

- include a tag that allows data read and write.

■Example: In ship-to-rail- would reduce the crane’s waiting time when the spreader is in ship’s hull. So, human resource can be saved and performance of port terminal is appraised.

■This system is called Prime Mover tracking system (PMTS)-enables the terminal supervisor to track and unloaded containers at any time while containers are in the terminal.

■PMTS enables the operator to track the containers and feed back the location of the containers to the central information system where data can be checked.

2.Tagging technology in transporting cargo by rail

■Bit advance than microwave technology especially for countries that use high speed freight trains (160km/hr: Japan and German).

■This technology used antenna to create an inductive radio frequency field to activate and receive data from tags.

■It contains a transmit-coil with associated tuning and matching components, and a receive-coil.

■When a consignment is loaded on the train, the computer will be able to provide relevant information on content of containers loaded on the train- information is pass to the yard operator/ staff.

■Then, based on the information given, it will be transferred to the crews of the train.

■Automated vehicle identification (AVI) reader reads the tags on each wagon and sends a message to the central computer to compare the manifest with information in the central computer.

■In the mean time, the wagons are weighted to check for load discrepancies. Both sets of data are then sent ahead of the train to the next stop.

3.Barcode scanner ■help customs decide whether physical inspection of

containers is required particularly when vessels unload thousands of container simultaneously.

■capable of providing prompt information required by customs when vessels are at berth.

■Barcode scanner is a wireless scanning technology that communicates with the host computer.

■the wireless system provides effective services to most terminal operators and operational systems.

4.Radio frequency microcircuit system (RF)

■was developed to identify the containers when traffic at terminals reaches the peak.

■this system is suited for operation in harsh and outdoor environment.

■ This system consists of the reader or antenna transponders (tags), an interrogator and computer interface tags.

■This RF offers high-speed and remote electronic identification of equipment.

■one application of RF is in monitoring the movement of containers and their status in the terminal.

■the system can also track containers entering and leaving the terminal through the gate or as they pass the scanning points in the yard.

5.Voice recognition technology ■ VTR provides communication between the crane

operator and the ground personnel during loading and unloading of a vessel.

■once activated, crane operators speak into a microphone, the machine recognizes words or phases and then converts them into electronic impulses for the micro-or host computer.

■ It a high performance units operate at an accuracy rate of 99.5%.

■Advantage: message recording-assist the terminal operator in providing the final report on the position of containers loaded on the ship.

THE END!THANK YOU…