Setting the Standard for Maritime Domain Awareness

The Alaska Chadux Network monitoring center plays an instrumental role in aiding vessels’ compliance with our APC risk-mitigating routing measures, processing of deviations, and in relaying information to the Coast Guard and other responders in case of an emergency. Timely and accurate information is essential to early detection of a potential casualty or incident. Services provided by the monitoring center include:

• 24/7 live monitoring based in Alaska;
• assist vessel masters and owners/operators with monitoring vessel status;
• support for deviation requests;
• real-time locations of response resources in the region to render assistance;
• timely notification to the vessel's owner/operator, salvage providers, OSRO, and U.S. Coast Guard of a potential developing situation requiring vessel assistance; and
• integral part of your Safety Management System and APC best practices.

The Alaska Chadux Network created, sourced, and continuously funds a dedicated 24/7-staffed monitoring center operated by the Marine Exchange of Alaska that provides timely and accurate information on a participating vessel’s location and operating status to give the Network enhanced maritime domain awareness.

Our vessel monitoring center is located in Juneau, Alaska and is operated by trained professionals who know Alaska.

We support the operation and maintenance of one of the most comprehensive non-governmental Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) vessel tracking and monitoring network in the world, covering an area over 1.5 million square miles of navigable waters surrounding Alaska in an effort to protect crews, cargo, and Alaska’s coastline in an effort to protect crews, cargo, and Alaska’s coastline.

With over 130 terrestrial AIS receivers providing real-time information on vessels’ locations, complemented with redundant satellite tracking systems, the monitoring center has been instrumental in saving mariners’ lives, property, and aiding environmental compliance and response.

Knowing the exact location of the vessel combined with immediate notification of a problem or potential problem allows the vessel owner/operator the maximum amount of time to provide the required resources to correct the problem.

Our monitoring center identifies vessels at risk of an incident when they demonstrate certain operational characteristics or anomalies indicating potential problems.

The watchstander employs a suite of electronic “watchdogs” and “geofencing" tools to alert them for anomalies that could indicate loss of propulsion or if a vessel enters an area outside the prescribed vessel routing measure. Reports and information are then promptly transmitted to the vessel owner/operator, Coast Guard, and response providers, depending on the nature of the event. This initiative has become an essential part of the monitoring center’s operations.

The monitoring center applies the best available technologies of satellite and terrestrial Automatic Identification System (AIS) to provide this virtual “Safety Net” that contributes to the awareness of maritime activity in the Zone. Further supporting this web of high-tech informational receivers, the Network has funded expansion of terrestrial AIS sites in Western and Southcentral Alaska to enhance the capabilities of the system, as well as to transmit weather and safety information to vessels over the AIS network.