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China’s digital lighthouse system has successfully passed its first major test — Typhoon Chanchu — guiding vessels safely away from the storm.
The first tropical storm of the year in the South China Sea sank at least 10 Vietnamese vessels and resulted in the deaths of at least 18 people.
The absence of casualties among Chinese ships was largely due to the Automatic Identification System (AIS) established by the Maritime Safety Administration, said Liu Gongchen, the director of the agency, yesterday. This system is designed to guide vessels and is regarded as the “digital lighthouses” for mariners.
By employing digital communication technology, AIS records and transmits information about ships, their speed, and direction; it receives maritime notifications from shore control stations and other vessels within the AIS network.
During the three days that Typhoon Chanchu raged across Chinese waters, local maritime safety authorities in Guangdong Province and eastern Shanghai sent out notifications regarding wind strength and the storm’s path through the AIS system. This information was relayed to both Chinese and foreign vessels in the storm-prone area, providing guidance for ships seeking shelter.
Mo Qi, deputy director of the Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration, noted that all vessels equipped with AIS in the path of Typhoon Chanchu remained safe.
China has been establishing these “digital lighthouses” since 2003, and by the end of 2004, it connected maritime vessels with 50 shore control stations, ensuring coverage for all major ports and shipping routes.
T. Huyền
