Half of vessels in Scotland ‘invisible’ to marine tracking systems – study

Nine of Scotland’s 11 marine regions were covered in the study (Chris Smith/PA) -

Researchers have said more than half the vessels in Scotland are essentially “invisible” to standard maritime tracking systems.

Heriot-Watt university researchers say only 43% of vessels within 10 kilometres of the Scottish coast broadcast an Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal, the standard tool used globally to monitor ship movements.