The Hydrographic Enterprise has performed a new arrangement of floating warning signs (buoys) on the Morskoy Canal - a navigable approach channel in the Gulf of Ob in the Kara Sea. To ensure the safety of navigation, buoys equipped with automatic identification system (AIS) stations were installed for the first time.

The new placement of buoys was performed as part of the reconstruction of the Marine Canal - after a new turn was created in its northern part. In total, the employees of the Hydrographic Enterprise installed 22 buoys, six of which (at the entrance to the canal, at the exit from it and at the turning point) are equipped with AIS stations. Such stations broadcast a radio signal that allows ships to identify the type of buoy and its coordinates in all weather conditions. This will provide the safety of navigation on the Sea Canal in the face of increased cargo traffic. Before they didn’t use buoys with AIS stations on the Northern Sea Route.

After the placement of the buoys on the Morskoy Canal, an open water testing was carried out - the so-called sea trials, during which they check the location of the signs, the reliability of their identification in the daytime and at night. Vessels did not have to stop on the canal during the placement of buoys and open water testing.

In the future, the Hydrographic Enterprise plans to improve the operation of buoys on the Northern Sea Route. “In navigation in 2022, we will put into trial operation the System for monitoring the operation of navigation aids on the Yenisei River. The system will allow not only determining the coordinates of the buoy, but also controlling its operation. To do this, we will install a set of sensors on each buoy that will collect information about the state of the power supply and other characteristics. The received data will be transmitted by radio channel from buoy to buoy, and then compiled in the monitoring center on the shore,” said Andrey Oleinikov, Chief Engineer of the Hydrographic Enterprise.

Source: Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Hydrographic Enterprise"