Static and dynamic vessel data

There are two categories of information transmitted by a transceiver: static and dynamic data.

The vessel's dynamic data, which includes location, speed over ground (SOG) and course over ground (COG), is calculated automatically using the integrated GPS receiver.

Static data is information about the vessel which must be configured into the AIS transceiver. This includes:

Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI)
Vessel name
Vessel call sign (if available)
Vessel type
Vessel dimensions

In most countries the operation of a transceiver is included under the vessel's marine VHF license provisions. The vessel on to which the AIS unit is to be installed must therefore possess a current VHF radiotelephone license which lists the AIS system, vessel Call Sign and MMSI number.

Figure 1 : The AIS network