P&I insurance policy broker P. L. Ferrari & &Co is cautioning that the united state Treasury is reinforcing its controls and also monitoring to determine ships trading to approved nations or locations. And that makes switching off a vessel’s AIS transponder a really poor suggestion
“An indicator of potential evasion activity of ships arises when a ship ceases to transmit an AIS signal,” claimsFerrari “Such action, except where necessary to preserve the safety and security of theship, represents a serious breach of Safety of Life at Sea Convention, and is also likely to place the ship in breach of Flag State requirements. Where a ship is not in compliance with Flag State requirements, there may also be grounds to withdraw P&I cover on the basis of imprudent or unlawful trading (given the potential breach of sanctions), and / or disguising the ship’s location by manipulating or withholding the transmission of AIS data.”
While there might be legit factors to turn off or switch over to reduced power AIS signal, Ferrari claims that “it is of extreme importance that the Master, for whatever the reason, keeps a clear record in the records / log books noting the context and reason for doing so as evidence to the various interested authorities.”
