Surabaya, IO – Adiwira Surya Susanto, Adinda Anggraeni Rahmawati S., and Christophorus Nathanael from Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) Class of 2020 Marine Engineering Faculty students and members of the Adhysta Team, were awarded a gold medal in the 34th National Student Science Week, for their innovative “Marine Autonomous Security System”. The prize was for the Written Idea Student Creativity Program presentation category, and was born out of their concern about the high number of foreign vessels fishing illegally in Indonesian waters, especially in the Natuna Sea.
Under the guidance of Wimala Lalitya Dhanistha, the Adhysta Team integrated a number of sophisticated technologies: unmanned vessel, frequency diverse array multipleinput multiple-output (FDA MIMO) radar integrated with Automatic Identification System (AIS), and holographic display system. FDA MIMO is a type of innovative radar that emits electromagnetic waves that will bounce back when they hit any vessel in any sea, which the radar will capture and track in real time.
“From these waves, we can discover the target vessel’s position and speed, as well as predict its next course of movement. It has a coverage range of 300 nautical miles, sufficient to cover the entirety of the North Natuna Sea,” said Adiwira “Adi” Surya Susanto, Adhysta Team Head, in the press release received by the Independent Observer on Thursday (16/12/2021).
The radar is integrated with AIS as its tracing system. AIS has two parts: the one on board the radar ship, and the one in the station onshore. According to the Regulation of the Minister of Transportation Number PM 7 of 2019, all vessels that have secured a sailing permit in Indonesian waters must have AIS installed on board and constantly turned on. Any vessel sailing in the territory without AIS, or with AIS turned off, is automatically categorized as an illegal foreign vessel.
Adi went on to explain that data from the radar is integrated ICBMS (IoT, Cloud, Big Data, Mobile, and Security) with their Team’s unmanned vessel and onshore AIS station. This allows the unmanned vessel to access a foreign vessel’s coordinates, and then issue a warning by using its system’s holographic technology. This technology traps air particles, then lights them using a laser beam in order to display an image in the air. This image allows the unmanned vessel to verify foreign ships and connect remote communication between officers manning the onshore station and the foreign ship. If the foreign ship insists on entering Indonesian waters without permission, the system will inform the RI Maritime Security Agency (Badan Keamanan Laut – “Bakamla”) and summon them for necessary follow-up action.
The system will be able to improve the effectiveness of illegal fishing monitoring by up to 85%, which means that the projected amount of fish saved from illegal fishing will be 1.6 million tons a year. This translates into a profit level of IDR 24 trillion a year, figuring fish export costs at USD 2.00 per kilogram.
Adi admitted to feel some surprise that his team was given the championship, because among other problems, they suffered miscommunications thanks to the restrictions of the pandemic that only allowed for online communication. However, he hopes that the Government will be interested in reviewing their idea and developing it, so that Adhysta’s Marine Autonomous Security System can serve as a vanguard of maritime security in Indonesia in terms of preventing illegal fishing. “And not just in Natuna, but also in other parts of Indonesia’s waters that are vulnerable to this crime,” he said. (est)