Circular
letter
SN/Circ.244
GUIDANCE ON THE USE OF UN/LOCODE IN THE DESTINATION FIELD IN AIS MESSAGES
(adopted on 8 December 2004)
1.
The Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation (NAV), at its fiftieth session (5 to
9 July 2004) agreed on a Guidance on the use of UN/LOCODE in the destination
field in AIS messages.
2.
The Maritime Safety Committee at its seventy-ninth session (1 to 10 December
2004) concurred with the Sub-Committee's view and approved the annexed guidance
and encouraged the use of UN/LOCODE.
3.
Member Governments are invited to bring this information to the attention of
Vessel Traffic Services and masters of their ships and recommend them to use
the UN/LOCODE.
Annex.
GUIDANCE ON THE USE OF UN/LOCODE IN THE DESTINATION FIELD IN AIS MESSAGES
1.
Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a working system for ship
identification and tracking that has the capability to transfer predefined
messages to other ships and shore stations. One of such messages includes a
text field designated for destination.
2.
The mariner is able to enter ship's destination into the AIS at the start of
each voyage, and to keep this information up-dated. Evidence shows that
mariners are using different names for the same location when entering
destination data in their AIS units. This situation leads to confusion and
inefficiency in data interchange. Therefore, there is a need to harmonize data
input when entering port information, by adopting an available universal
protocol.
3.
The AIS field for destination allows for "free text" of up to 20
characters. This results in numerous variations in the spelling of the same
port, making it difficult for other ships and shore authorities to identify the
port uniquely. Also the use of the data in information systems is difficult or
impossible without considerable manual effort.
4.
It is recommended to use the existing destination field for entering both the
port of departure and the next port of call (space for 20 characters of 6 bit
ASCII is available), using the UN/LOCODE.
The
UN/LOCODE
The
UN Economic Commission for Europe's Recommendation 16, entitled,
"UN/LOCODE Codes for ports and other locations" states, inter alia:
"The
identification of a particular location is frequently required in information
interchange in international trade and transport, to direct the movement of
goods e.g. in ad-dresses, in shipping marks and in data elements identifying
ports of call, ports or places of loading and unloading, ports or places of
transhipment and destination etc.
The names of
such locations are often spelt in different ways and sometimes the same
location is give different names in different languages
(e.g. LIVORNO -
LIBOURNE - LEGHORN -LONDON - LONDRES - LONDRA WARSAW - VARSOVIE - WARSZAWA),
which creates confusion and difficulties in data interchange. The
identification in a unique unambiguous way of any place involved in
international trade is therefore an essential element for facilitation of trade
procedures and documentation. This can be achieved using agreed, unique coded
designations for such locations; this would have the added advantage of
permitting the exchange of data in a safer and more economic way."
Full information
can be found at:
www.unece.org/cefact/locode/service/main.htm
Recommended
use of the UN/LOCODE
7.
The recommended format is to indicate the port of departure at the first six
positions of the data field followed a separator and then the code for the next
port of call.
8.
In order to identify that it is a LOCODE, to separate the locations and to
indicate the "from" and "to" ports, a ">"
symbol should be used as a separator. See example below.
A ship is
leaving Dubai bound for Rotterdam.