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      • Video on D.R. Consulting Gig
      • Reward Increased in Hunt for Dolphin Killer
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      • Humungous Crane To Slice Up Wrecked Car Carrier
      • Avoid Getting Screwed by Georgia; Just Go Around
      • Radar Detects 'Fowl' Weather in Keys
      • Old Abe the Naval Architect
      • $20,000 Reward in Dolphin Killings
      • Great Lakes Search for Sunken Planes
      • Great Harbour Advises D.R. Boatbuilder
      • Despite Sewage Apocalypse, Mayor Blames Boaters
      • Loopers Will Need NY Certificates
      • Dorian Dog Story 'Spiked'
      • $209,000 for 61-Foot Hatteras MY
      • Refloating Effort Progress
      • Free Bahamas Cruising Guide
      • New Florida Anchoring Bans
      • Propane Fire
      • Psychedelic Fibers Advance Knot Theory (Video)
      • Wanted on the Waterways 1/4/2020
    • Ken Fickett's Blogs
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  • Owners
    • Moving Aboard
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  • Home
  • About
    • A Family Affair >
      • Ken Fickett
      • Becky Fickett
      • Travis Fickett
      • Jessica Fickett
    • Mirage Manufacturing
    • Factory Support
    • Careers
    • Contact
  • Boats
    • TT35 >
      • TT35 Specifications
      • TT35 Key Features
      • TT35 Design Discussions
      • Towing Resources
      • PRESS
    • N37 >
      • N37 Specifications and Layout
      • N37 Photo Gallery
      • N37 Brochure
    • GH37 >
      • GH37 Specifications and Layout
      • GH37 Photo Gallery
      • GH37 Brochure
    • N47 >
      • N47 Specifications and Layout
      • N47 Photo Gallery
      • N47 Brochure
    • GH47 >
      • GH47 Specifications and Layout
      • GH47 Photo Gallery
      • GH47 Brochure
    • GH74
  • Great Design
    • Trawler Truths >
      • Trawler Truth 1
      • Trawler Truth 2
      • Trawler Truth 3
      • Trawler Truth 4
      • Trawler Truth 5
      • Trawler Truth 6
      • Trawler Truth 7
    • Design Discussions >
      • Twins vs Single
      • Shoal vs deep draft
      • Stability vs Ballast
      • Fishtail Rudders
      • Space Age Core
      • Core Materials
      • Unsinkability
    • Economy
    • Our Naval Architect
  • Construction
    • Lamination
    • Interior
    • Rigging
  • Trawler Times
    • News >
      • California Humpbacks Perform Rare 'Triple Breach' (Video)
      • Betrayal in Georgia? Anchoring Rules Appear Worse Than Ever
      • Ga. Wreck Removal Delayed Again: Anchor SNAFU
      • Chesapeake's Tangier Island: Enjoy it While You Can
      • Robert Peek, Beloved Deep Creek Lockmaster, Has Died
      • U.S. Agency Warns of GPS Interference
      • Rudy and Jill's ICW Tips
      • A TT35 Day at the Sausage Factory
      • Cat or Monohull Sailboat Versus a Trawler (Images, Long)
      • Loopers Warned To Linger Post-Sally
      • Coast Guard Shallow Draft Navigation Survey
      • Forget Lithium for a Moment: Why Old-Fashioned Batteries Explode
      • Tracking Hurricane Laura Live (Streaming Video)
      • The Downsides of Cruising (Comprehensive)
      • Circumnavigator Who Eschewed Instruments Dies at 104
      • Maritime Liens: Don't Let Your Boat Get 'Arrested'
      • Gulf Stream Is Slowing Down
      • Attention Cruisers, Perseids Meteor Shower Peaks Next Week
      • Ladies Publish Great Loop Tell-All
      • New NOAA Model Forecasts Another Sahara Dust Cloud Arriving This Week (Animation)
      • TT35 Demonstrations Set for Next Week
      • Prep for a Busy Hurricane Season
      • It's a Marina! It's a Mooring! No, It's a French Design (Video)
      • Giant Floating Chain Saw To Rip Up Wrecked Car Carrier off ICW
      • Lock Sked Final: Great Loop Doable, But...
      • Georgia Caves, Defangs Draconian Anchoring Law
      • Heads Up, Boaters: Here Comes the Red Dust from Africa
      • Bahamas Changes It's Mind: Keeps Covid Test Requirement
      • Insurance? Tell All or Risk Claim Denial
      • Gulf 'Dead Zone' Bigger Than Connecticut
      • GPS Spoofing Mystery: AIS Crop Circles & Ghost Ships
      • Yanmar To Install Fuel Cell Propulsion in Boats
      • Bahamas To Boaters: Welcome Back, Wear a Mask
      • Covid Concerns Fuel Coast Guard Retention Drive
      • Birthday Gift for Her 70th, a TT35
      • Above Average Hurricane Season Forecast
      • Foreign Boaters Get Some Relief as Restrictions Eased
      • Catalina Island Reopened for Arriving Boats
      • When a Boat Isn't: Supreme Court Decides
      • Coast Guard Adopting 'i911' for Your Location
      • Makeover: Storm Early Warning System Explained (Video)
      • The Reality of Quarantine in Paradise
      • 92-Footer Sinks Off California
      • New York to Loopers: You May Be Out of Luck
      • Badass Origins of Boating Law
      • Can Cannabis Save Florida Waterways?
      • Tale of a Terrible Boat
      • Boating and Social Distancing (Video)
      • Powering Through a Mexican Gale
      • Bahamas Says Stay Away, Get Out
      • Composting Heads Are a Good Option
      • TT35 Ad Campaign: The Un-Tug
      • Coronavirus Song: 'Drone Shot of My Yacht'
      • Smuggler's Run: Florida's Own 'Mini-Loop'
      • Virtual Tours of Old Ironsides
      • BoatUS to Gulfport, Don't Break Law
      • Luperon's Swimming Robber or Maybe Not
      • Georgia Begins Undoing Anchoring Ban
      • Gulfport Joins the War Against Cruisers
      • Video on D.R. Consulting Gig
      • Reward Increased in Hunt for Dolphin Killer
      • Our Favorite Fugitive Arrives in Mexico
      • Humungous Crane To Slice Up Wrecked Car Carrier
      • Avoid Getting Screwed by Georgia; Just Go Around
      • Radar Detects 'Fowl' Weather in Keys
      • Old Abe the Naval Architect
      • $20,000 Reward in Dolphin Killings
      • Great Lakes Search for Sunken Planes
      • Great Harbour Advises D.R. Boatbuilder
      • Despite Sewage Apocalypse, Mayor Blames Boaters
      • Loopers Will Need NY Certificates
      • Dorian Dog Story 'Spiked'
      • $209,000 for 61-Foot Hatteras MY
      • Refloating Effort Progress
      • Free Bahamas Cruising Guide
      • New Florida Anchoring Bans
      • Propane Fire
      • Psychedelic Fibers Advance Knot Theory (Video)
      • Wanted on the Waterways 1/4/2020
    • Ken Fickett's Blogs
    • Cruising in the Time of Covid: Think Outside The Loop
  • Owners
    • Moving Aboard
    • The Odyssey Begins
    • The Search For Adventure
Picture
GPS Spo0fing Mystery: AIS 'Crop Circles' & Ghost Ships

By RICK SPILLMAN
Old Salt Blog
(Reprinted with permission)

On June 5, 2019, the offshore supply boat Princess Janice was operating from a Nigerian oil terminal when suddenly the AIS (Automatic Identification System) an automatic tracking system showed the vessel a continent away, circling above Point Reyes, CA, eventually veering off above Utah. The false AIS reading continued for over two weeks.

Princess Janice was not the only ship with false AIS data. A total of 12 ships’ AIS positions appeared to be thousands of miles from their actual position, traveling in circles or ovals, often partially over land. Most of the vessels reported circling positions off the coast of Northern California, though two were shown off Madrid, one to the vicinity of Hong Kong and another to the Chinese city of Shanwei.

The circular or oval tracks of the false AIS readings have been dubbed “crops circles” by the press and were first observed near in December 2019 near oil terminals in China and later near terminals in Iran. The difference is that the previous Chinese and Iranian AIS circles were close to the vessels in question, unlike the recent observations which have been many thousands of miles away.

What is happening? No one really knows. The anomalies were first reported by Sky Truth, an environmental non-profit. Researcher Bjorn Bergman of SkyTruth presented his findings at the annual meeting of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation on the 5th of May. When asked at the briefing if this was the result of GPS spoofing or some fault in the vessels’ AIS system, Bergman replied that he was uncertain.

In the case of the earlier Chinese “crop circles” researchers with Sky Truth and Global Fishing Watch concluded that what they were observing was an actual disruption of the underlying global positioning system (GPS) — or more broadly the Global Navigation Satellite System — and not just a shipboard AIS malfunction. They knew this because other GPS sources in the area, Strava GPS fitness trackers, were also producing rings. 

The false AIS positions continue to be present in China. Bergman writes in the Sky Truth blog:
A quick recent check of the data showed that this GPS manipulation is ongoing at oil terminals in four of the cities (Shanghai, Dalian, Fuzhou, and Quanzhou) where we had detected it last year. We still don’t know if this manipulation is specifically intended to mask ship traffic or if there is some other reason for disrupting GPS.

Critically, while we could confirm that GPS interference caused the rings of AIS positions on the Chinese coast, we don’t yet know if that is the case with the positions over Point Reyes. An alternative is that this is simply a malfunction affecting the individual ships’ AIS systems. We were able to confirm that the false circling positions over Point Reyes occur in data from all available AIS providers (Orbcomm, Spire, and ExactEarth) and in AIS positions received by both satellites and terrestrial receivers.

But why Point Reyes?  Bergman writes: So far it remains a mystery why these circling AIS tracks are appearing specifically at Point Reyes and a few other locations. It’s tempting to speculate that there might be some connection to a major U.S. Coast Guard communication station in Point Reyes which was an important historic location for developing maritime communications technology. While the Coast Guard left the area several years ago, volunteers continue to maintain at Point Reyes the only operational ship-to-shore maritime radio station.

​Still, it’s unclear why this location would somehow appear on AIS trackers. The fact that individual vessels in many different locations have been affected is puzzling and it’s unknown if any of these examples reflect actual disruptions of the GPS system. However, some studies, such as a yearlong cruise by researchers of the German Aerospace Center which measured instances of GPS interference even during high seas transits, indicate that we may still have a great deal to learn about the true extent of global disruptions to this critical navigation system.
GPS spoofing has been a serious concern for some time. In 2013, we posted about the work of University of Texas Professor Todd Humphreys who demonstrated GPS spoofing by taking over the navigation systems on the 213′ yacht White Rose.  More recently, in 2017, at least 20 ships operating in the Black Sea, off the Russian port of Novorossiysk discovered that their GPS located them more than 32 kilometers inland, at Gelendzhik Airport. Western intelligence sources are concerned that the Russians were testing a new form of cyber-warfare.

And now, how, why, and who is causing ghost ships to cruise in circles over Port Reyes and other ports around the globe remains a deeply troubling mystery.

Thanks to Irwin Bryan and ‎Sharon Thimot Shalno for contributing to this post.
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