Research Vessel Delivery-Receipt Range Tests

Summary

In July 2026, MotionInfo's StationKeeper shore stations transmitted AIS safety messages from aids-to-navigation (AtoN) to research vessels underway along the U.S. East Coast. Each vessel's delivery receipt — its acknowledgement / AIS position — was captured back at a StationKeeper receiving station, confirming end-to-end delivery over the vessels' real operating ranges.

Five vessels were reached — four university/state research vessels plus the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster — with receipts confirmed from close aboard out to roughly 15–16 nautical miles. A companion two-way exchange with the training ship TS State of Maine is documented separately.

Vessels reached with confirmed receipts

15–16 nm

Max confirmed delivery-receipt range

Every brand

Displayed identically across chartplotters

Jul 1–3, 2026

Test window

Vessels Tested

Vessel photos and specifications from each operator's public materials. Click a photo to enlarge.

R/V Hugh R. Sharp

University of Delaware · UNOLS regional research vessel · homeport Lewes, DE

Length146 ft (44.5 m)
Builder / YearDakota Creek Ind. · 2006
PropulsionDiesel-electric, Z-drive
MMSI367063060

Receipt confirmed at 0.13 nm — MERR Institute station, Lewes DE (07-01, pos-gap 30 s).

Photo: University of Delaware, College of Earth, Ocean & Environment.

R/V Palmetto

South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources · offshore fisheries research vessel · Charleston, SC

Length110 ft
Hull / PowerSteel · twin Volvo Penta 600 HP
RoleOffshore marine fisheries
MMSI338004751

Receipt confirmed at 2.28 nm — Sullivan's Island SC station (07-01, ×3 receipts).

Photo: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

R/V Joanne Daiber

University of Delaware · coastal research vessel · homeport Lewes, DE

Length46 ft
DeliveredJune 2014
RoleCoastal / unmanned-vehicle platform
MMSI338169577

Receipt confirmed at 3.63 nm (pos-gap 0 s).

Photo: University of Delaware, College of Earth, Ocean & Environment.

NOAA Ship Nancy Foster

NOAA Office of Marine & Aviation Operations · oceanographic research ship · homeport Charleston, SC

Length187 ft (57 m)
Commissioned2004 (hull R352)
RoleMapping · fisheries · oceanography
MMSI369912000

Receipt confirmed at 5.59 nm underway (SOG 7.7 kn, pos-gap 2 s).

Photo: NOAA / Office of Marine & Aviation Operations.

R/V Savannah

UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography · UNOLS coastal research vessel · homeport Savannah, GA

Length92–104 ft
Builder / YearWashburn & Doughty · 2001
PowerTwin 470 HP Caterpillar C18
MMSI303117000

Longest-range receipt: 14.6–15.9 nm — Wassaw NWR & Tybee Island GA stations (07-01, SOG ~9 kn). Also completed a two-way ACK (see below).

Photo: UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.

Delivery-Receipt / Acknowledgement Range

Each row records a confirmed receipt: a vessel received the shore AtoN broadcast and its acknowledgement / position was received back at a StationKeeper station. Range is the vessel-to-station distance at the moment of receipt.

Vessel	MMSI	Receiving station	Receipt (UTC)	Pos gap	Range (nm)	SOG (kn)
R/V Sharp	367063060	MERR Institute, Lewes DE	07-01 19:59:27	30 s	0.13	0.1
R/V Palmetto	338004751	Sullivan's Island SC	07-01 19:42:47–19:43:00 (×3)	49–61 s	2.28	0.1
R/V Joanne Daiber	338169577	—	07-01	0 s	3.63	0.6
NOAA Ship Nancy Foster	369912000	—	07-01	2 s	5.59	7.7
R/V Savannah	303117000	Wassaw NWR GA	07-01 16:06:23	1 s	14.62	9.0
R/V Savannah	303117000	Tybee Island GA	07-01 16:06:28 / 16:20:53 / 16:20:59	0–2 s	14.26 → 15.85	~9

Pos gap — interval between the vessel's transmitted AIS position and the receipt (position freshness; smaller is tighter). Range/arrow notations reproduced from the corrected range-test log; the arrow (→) and hyphen ranges denote values across multiple receipts. Receipt times are UTC.

Two-Way Exchange — R/V Savannah & TS State of Maine

Beyond one-way delivery, StationKeeper demonstrated full round-trip messaging. The R/V Savannah was messaged on July 1, 2026; the vessel's officer saw the message and sent back an AIS Message 12 "ACK.", which was captured by both the Tybee Island Lighthouse and Wassaw Island StationKeeper stations — a complete shore-to-ship and ship-to-shore exchange.

Over the same period, Navesink (Twin Lights) Lighthouse transmitted an AIS message received aboard the training ship TS State of Maine in New York Harbor, with the vessel's acknowledgement received back at the lighthouse.

Conclusion. StationKeeper delivered AIS safety messaging from shore aids-to-navigation to vessels underway, displayed identically across every major chartplotter brand, with delivery receipts confirmed over the vessels' actual operating ranges and a two-way exchange demonstrated end to end. The messaging capability NOAA is evaluating works on real vessels, at sea, today.

References

Full testing report (PDF) — StationKeeper AIS Messaging Tests: Delivery-Receipt Range Results →
Companion report — TS State of Maine Two-Way AIS Exchange →
Companion report — UNH Research Vessel AIS Message Testing →
NOAA Fisheries — Messaging Mariners in Real Time →