GAO issues report on vessel tracking systems

The waterfront of the future? Maybe...GAO says the Coast Guard needs to review which systems it needs. (these ships are actually part of the Missile Defense Agency)

For those keeping up with vessel tracking technology, Bryant’s Maritime Blog alerts us that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report on the review of vessel tracking systems used by the Coast Guard.  Specifically, the report focuses on the duplication of data that the two primary long range tracking methods provide which include the IMO specified Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) and commercial Long-Range AIS.  The GAO report noted that the Coast Guard has not coordinated or planned how it will use LRIT or Long Range AIS data, and questions whether or not the two independent systems are even necessary.

The report also discusses some of the shortfalls of the different vessel tracking systems, including the difficulties in the tracking of smaller non-commercial vessels who are not required to have AIS or LRIT.

Read the report here.