AIDS TO NAVIGATION

Aids to Navigation are placed along coasts and navigable waters as guides to mark safe water and to assist
mariners in determining their position in relation to land and hidden dangers. Each aid to navigation is used to
provide specific information. An aid to navigation (ATON) is any sort of marker which aids the vessels in
navigation; the term is most commonly used to refer to nautical or aviation travel. Common types of such aids
include lighthouses, buoys, fog signals, and day beacons.
According to the glossary of terms in the US Coast Guard Light list, an Aid to Navigation is any device external
to a vessel or aircraft specifically intended to assist navigators in determining their position or safe course, or
to warn them of dangers or obstructions to navigation. Several aids to navigation are usually used together to
form a local aid to navigation system that helps the mariner follow safe channels. Such aids to navigation also
provide a continuous system of charted marks for coastal piloting.

Types of Aids to Navigation :

The term "aids to navigation" encompasses a wide range of floating and fixed objects (fixed meaning attached
to the bottom or shore), and consist primarily of :

•Buoys - floating objects that are anchored to the bottom. Their distinctive shapes and colors indicate
their purpose and how to navigate around them

.•Beacons -Which are structures that are permanently fixed to the sea-bed or land. They range from
structures such as light houses, to single-pile poles. Most beacons have lateral or non-lateral aids
attached to them.

Lighted beacons are called "LIGHTS", unlighted beacons are "DAY BEACONS" .Both Buoys and Beacons may
have lights attached, and may have a sound making device such as a bell or horn. Both Buoys and Beacons
may be called "marks”
Light House :

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or another type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps
and lenses and to serve as aids to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.

Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs, rocks, and safe entries to harbors; they also
assist in aerial navigation. Once widely used, the number of operational lighthouses has declined due to the
expense of maintenance and has become uneconomical since the advent of cheaper and often much more
effective electronic navigational systems.

Fixing ship’s position with two bearings from two light houses
 Fixing ship’s position with two ranges (distances) from two light houses /land marks

Fixing ship’s position with one bearing (distance) and one range from same light house
Light Vessel

LANBY (Large Automated Navigational Buoy)

RACON
RADAR beacons which transmits RADAR signal visible on ship’s RADAR, which helps to determine ship’s
position.

RAMARK ( RADAR Marker , found only in Japan )

 RACON ( Morse code B , _ … )

RACON( Morse code C -.-. ) RAMARK

Navigational Buoys

Navigational Buoys marking safe way for Ship’s Navigation

Buoys marked on charts

Automatic Identification System (AIS)

The AIS System : The AIS system works with VHF system. The AIS antenna are situated on the Monkey Island of
a vessel and data of vessels are exchanged within vessels and all data will be displayed on the monitor.

Data Exchanged by AIS system

 IMO number
 Name and Call Sign
 Length and Beam
 Type of ship
 Ship’s position
 Present time
 Course Over Ground (COG)
 Ship’s draught
 Type of cargo
 Destination and Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA)
Automatic Identification System (AIS)
Technology allows aids to navigation to be in the form of an electronic layer on a nautical chart - an Automatic
Identification System (AIS) mark.
Background to AIS aids to navigation AIS aids to navigation can be used to mark hazards or channels. They will
appear as symbols on the vessel’s AIS receiver and can be displayed on a vessel’s AIS, RADAR & ECDIS. The
attributes associated with the symbols give the details of the hazards that are being marked. There are three
types of AIS aids to navigation: Real, Synthetic and Virtual AIS.
The Synthetic AIS : The Buoy is physically present but the AIS signal is transmitted from Shore AIS tower and
this will show the buoy with all AIS information on ship’s AIS , RADAR or ECDIS.
The Virtual AIS
• A land transmitter will transmit signal for virtual AtoN
• This virtual AtoN will appear on AIS, RADAR and ECDIS screen and mark the position of AtoN.
• Vessels can safely navigate using this AtoN displayed on RADAR or ECDIS.

• Onshore or Offshore Virtual AIS Beacons (Transmitter) will transmit multiple signals and it can create
many AtoN.
• One transmitter can create up to 65 AtoN.
• The required antenna height is only 7 meters.
NAVIGATION WITH CONVENTIONAL BUOYS

Ship sailing through buoys Picture appears on

RADAR/AIS/ECDIS

NAVIGATION WITH VIRTUAL AIS

Ship sailing ( no visual buoys ) Picture appears on

RADAR/AIS/ECDIS
ADVANTAGES OF VIRTUAL BUOYS

• No danger of being damaged or drifted out of position.

• If AIS system is fixed on conventional buoys and if the buoy is damaged or drifted out of position then
AIS will be useless.
• THE VIRTUAL AIS SYSTEM is very special .Vessels will receive accurate AIS information. But there will be
no buoys in that place.

ADVANTAGES OF VIRTUAL AIS

• Very easy to install & maintain

• Very cost effective. Only 1 Ground transmitter can replace 65 buoys.
• No danger of being washed away by the tide, flood or Cyclones.
• No danger of being damaged by vessels or theft.
• AtoN can be added, removed, shifted or repositioned easily.
• No need for special vessel, workers, workshop. (All these are needed to repair and maintain the
conventional buoys.)
• Both AIS and Virtual AIS signals can be received by Android and iphones.
• One transmitter can provide coverage up to 50/60 miles.