U.S. Navy warships will now sail through high traffic areas with transponders that advertise the vessel's position in real time. The gesture should help other ships recognize when an American naval vessel is operating nearby—but it will do little to help those same naval vessels detect and avoid other ships.
You can probably guess why the Navy is taking the step of requiring all warships to activate their Automatic Identification System (AIS) when sailing in areas with high ship traffic, such as the South China Sea or off the coast of Japan. Two U.S. Navy destroyers, the USS Fitzgerald and USS McCain have collided with merchant vessels this year. While both collisions are still under investigation, it seems pretty clear that in both instances one or both vessels involved was not aware a collision was imminent.
The AIS system is a global system designed to help mariners locate and identify ship traffic in their vicinity. AIS sends a ship's location, speed, and navigational status via VHF maritime transmitter every two to ten seconds. That information is freely shared around the world, including on the Internet. The system is designed to help avoid collisions, aid in search and rescue operations, and keep track of fishing fleets.
The U.S. Coast Guard requires most commercial vessels operating in American territorial waters to use AIS. The data can also be used to investigate incidents. For example, here's the data from the ACX Crystal, which collided with the USS Fitzgerald, showing the ship's movements before and after the accident:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/news/a28290/us-navy-ships-high-traffic-areas/?src=nl&mag=pop&list=nl_pnl_news&date=092117
Identifying where you are does not seem to be a great military strategy, even if it is only every now and then.
We have less vessels out there and very sophisticated techniques to know what is surrounding you up down and all around.
I'll just toss out there that what we need is more competency at the helm as that has served us very well over many years.
Stop the PC crap and get people commanding who know what they are doing.
