Maritime Leaders Launch Situational Awareness Security Solution

Tschudi Shipping Company, NAL Research, and SGM Technology AS today launched PntGuard, a maritime-security solution that provides pinpoint situational awareness.

A standalone navigational aid independent of all other bridge systems, PntGuard delivers instant alerts the moment a vessel’s position is falsified, providing true position data when other bridge systems are compromised.

Key takeaways:

·        Leveraging assured positioning, navigation, and timing (APNT) technology, PntGuard warns when GNSS/GPS is disrupted, providing an alternative authenticated, trusted position. Enabled by the Iridium low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network, PntGuard receives a secured PNT signal 1,000 times more powerful than GNSS/GPS.

·        The solution complements a vessel's navigation feed with accurate situational awareness and immediately alerts the crew to manipulation or interruption.

·        PntGuard comprises two compact components – an above-deck unit (receiver) that connects to the Iridium PNT service and a below-deck unit (bridge display) that shows both the falsified GPS track and the vessel's true position on a nautical chart in real time.

·        Shore offices can also receive an accurate record of a vessel’s true position at any time, proof that can be shared with charterers or insurers to defend against claims based on false data.

·        Alerts help companies mitigate against collisions and groundings (especially in low visibility, at night, and in dense traffic zones with risk to life, assets, and the environment); unintended or manipulated entry into restricted waters; claims of sanctions evasion/calling at ports in sanctioned states; port delays/disruptions to cargo logistics, including deviations causing delays, increased fuel consumption, and emissions; and charter disputes and insurance challenges when a vessel appears to have breached compliance boundaries.