Written by LP | 07 May 2010

In March 2010, the  Malaysia Marine Department commissioned a AIS-based Remote Monitoring  System  for 15  lighthouses in the Sabah Marine Department. The Marine Department previously monitored their lighthouses using GSM but with their extensive AIS Base Station network covering all of Malaysia, the decision was made to monitor the lighthouse using the AIS network.   

Pharos Marine/Automatic  Power, Inc’s ATONIS  AIS  aid to navigation  transponders were selected  to monitor  the status of the lighthouses. In addition to lowering the lifecycle cost of the monitoring system, the ATONIS unit also provides another means of navigation to the mariner.  

The ATONIS not only transmits AIS Message  21 to  report  the  lighthouse status to the  mariner, but also autonomously transmits a safety Message 14 whenever the lighthouse operates at reduced efficiency.

Official Press Release : Automatic Power, Inc to Supply ATONIS AIS Transponders for AIS Aton Monitoring to Malaysia