Boarding team networking on the move: applying unattended relay nodes

Abstract

As gaps in maritime legislative domain enlarge, threats to our maritime-based global economy are on the rise. Terrorist organizations can leverage every loose policy to use international waters for transferring (weapons of mass destruction) WMDs or to sabotage global trade in choke-points. To prevent any threat posed by terrorist organizations, the enhancement of situational awareness in a maritime domain is crucial for international organizations and states. To prevent any threat in the outer-most perimeters, Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) are conducted to enhance situational awareness. Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS) constitutes a huge portion of the MIO. Instant communication between the MIO assets and reach-back operations centers plays a critical role both for decision makers to make the best immediate judgments, and for boarding team members to conduct boarding safely. Although networks can be extended to the vicinity of a target vessel, or even onboard, the steel structures of naval vessels obstruct signals to propagate below the main deck. Extending the network below the main deck via a wireless ad-hoc network will enhance the situational awareness. Regarding the boarding of a non-compliant vessel, tracking positions of boarding team members and sustaining reliable and scalable communication links are essential in preventing hostile actions and enhancing reaction time.