The genesis of the Amver system ultimately finds its roots in the RMS TITANIC disaster in 1912.
Ships passing within sight of the ill-fated passenger liner were unaware that it had hit an iceberg
and was sinking. Upon later investigation, those who had seen the distress flares from the stricken
ship admitted they thought they were merely part of the maiden voyage celebrations!
However, the resultant idea of a ship reporting system that could identify other ships in the area
of a ship in distress, which could then be sent to its assistance, would not become a reality until
the advent of computer technology. As late as the mid-twentieth century the world's commercial
shipping fleet and burgeoning air transport system lacked an available full-time, global emergency
reporting system. On April 15, 1958 the United States Coast Guard and commercial shipping
representatives began discussions which led to the creation of Amver.
Originally known as the Atlantic Merchant Vessel Emergency Reporting (AMVER) System, it became
operational on July 18, 1958. Amver began as an experiment, confined to waters of the North Atlantic
Ocean, notorious for icebergs, fog and winter storms. Vice Admiral Alfred C. Richmond, Coast Guard
Commandant at the time, called on all commercial vessels of U.S. and foreign registry, over 1,000
gross tons and making a voyage of more than 24 hours, to voluntarily become Amver participants. The
basic premise of Amver, as a vehicle for mariner to help mariner without regard to nationality,
continues to this day.
The first home of the Amver Center was at the Customs House in downtown New York City, due to the
fact that many commercial cargo and passenger lines operating in the Atlantic maintained offices
nearby, and Amver's success would depend on close ties to the merchant fleet. Subsequent homes for
the Amver computer would include Washington, D.C; Governors Island, New York; and now at Martinsburg,
West Virginia. A Visitors Center has continuously resided in New York, currently at the Coast Guard's
Battery Park Building, just a few blocks from the old Customs House.
The system's first computer was an IBM RAMAC (Random Access Method Accounting Control),
characterized as being able to "evaluate information and determine the position of vessels through
dead reckoning." The product of the computer was a "Surface Picture" or "SURPIC" of an area of the
ocean, indicating the Amver-participating ships in the vicinity. The world's oldest maritime radio
station, Sweden's Gothenburg Radio (SAG) which began operating in 1905, was the charter network
participant in 1958.
Only two years after Amver began, its database had grown to 5,000 vessels for an average of 770
ships "on plot" during a 24-hour period. The system began receiving sail plans, position, diversion
and final (arrival) reports from all around the world. Even today, Amver remains the only worldwide
ship reporting system, though several similar "regional" systems have been created.
By 1962, Rescue Coordination Centers (RCCs) in England and Ireland were offered and began using,
search and rescue (SAR) information from Amver. By 1963, Amver was plotting vessels on voyages
worldwide. It soon became evident the more ships that participated in the system, the more effective
it became. The system's technology allowed international SAR agencies to locate a ship in distress,
and determine how many, and what type, vessels were in the vicinity. In its first decade of service,
Amver information proved its worth in a variety of rescue and disaster scenarios.
In the early years, Amver-participating ships responded to situations as varied as an engine room
explosion which seriously injured two crewmen aboard the M/V CHRYISSI; a 17-year old Norwegian seaman
injured in a fall aboard the M/V GYLFE; a 10-year old boy experiencing sharp abdominal pains aboard
the M/V WOLVERINE STATE; an SOS reporting a fire aboard the Japanese M/V SUWAHARU MARU; and, an
expectant mother needing medical aid aboard the SS DORIC.
In 1966, the Coast Guard moved its regional headquarters from the Customs House to Governors Island,
in upper New York Bay. The move included the Amver Center and consolidated all New York area Coast
Guard activities, including a Rescue Coordination Center, at one site. One year after the move,
AMVER's title was revised to read Automated Merchant VEssel Reporting program.
Amver's second decade was marked by rapid technological progress. It took Amver only a short time,
in the view of its operators and customers, to prove its cost effectiveness as a SAR tool. After all,
participation was free of any costs! In critical situations of a fire, flooding or medical emergency,
SAR mission coordinators found Amver invaluable in saving precious response time. In 1967, Spanish
radio stations Cadiz Radio (EAC), Vigo Radio (EAF), and Santa Cruz de Tenerife Radio (EAT) joined the
Amver network of coast radio stations. This increased the system's coverage in the eastern Atlantic
and Mediterranean regions.
By 1968, an additional 37 coast radio stations in the Pacific and 28 in the Atlantic were
cooperating partners in Amver and the international effort to pursue and promote the safety of life
at sea. As a service to the maritime community, frequencies of participating radio stations were
published in the quarterly AMVER BULLETIN Magazine.
In 1971, the system was formally expanded worldwide as operations were shifted to Washington
hosted on a Control Data Corporation mainframe computer at the Department of Transportation Systems
Center. Amver's name required revision once again to reflect its global reach. But at this
point, the AMVER acronym was so well known in the industry that the Coast Guard was reluctant to
change it. Instead, the title was changed to the "Automated (computerized) Mutual-assistance (its
basic premise) VEssel Rescue (its stated purpose) System. Today, due to its global acceptance and
familiarity, it is simply called Amver.
Amver took its place in the history of the 1960s and 1970s by playing an important role in the U.S.
space program. Amver was a part of the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Skylab Programs, providing the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with a prospective maritime support plan in the
event of a space flight emergency. At the same time, Amver continued its job of protecting mariners
at sea, as in the case of a Scottish seaman aboard the M/V TYNE BRIDGE whose life was saved when an
Amver SURPIC produced a nearby passenger liner with a doctor on board.
Amver's growing reputation pulled in new cooperating radio systems to the network. Twelve stations
in the United Kingdom joined in 1978 and were directly responsible for a dramatic increase in the
number of participating vessels. By 1980, Amver Center specialists were processing 2,000 reports
every 24 hours.
On October 4th, 1980, Amver made its mark in the world news media by orchestrating the response to
an engine room fire and flooding aboard the Dutch liner PRINSENDAM, carrying 519 passengers and crew.
The tanker WILLIAMSBURGH, the M/V GREATLAND, the S/S SOHIO INTREPID and the S/S PORTLAND diverted.
The 1,095-foot tanker arrived on scene in less than 7 hours, and ultimately took 175 survivors aboard
from lifeboats, motor launches and life rafts. In recognition of Amver's role in the safe evacuation
of everyone on board, the Government of Norway mandated that all its merchant ships participate in the
Amver system.
Amver development has followed the state-of-the-art from punch cards and vacuum tubes, through the
printed circuit board, to the microchip. In 1982, database maintenance operations were shifted to two
Prime 750 mini-computers installed at the Operations Computer Center on Governors Island.
In October of 1982, the first joint Amver/satellite-alerting rescue occurred, using the experimental
Argos and Cospas-Sarsat system. December of that year saw the U.S. Maritime Administration and the Coast
Guard sign an agreement making Amver participation mandatory for U.S.-flag shipping, and suspending the
requirement for the filing of reports to the overlapping USMER reporting system. This benefited many U.S.
masters, already Amver participants, who were juggling reports to two parallel systems, and allowed for
a consolidated plot of all U.S. shipping worldwide.
On the occasion of the concurrent 25th Anniversaries of Amver and the International Maritime
Organization in 1983, IMO published an open letter to all mariners, endorsing the value of the Amver
system. That year, Amver participation grew by 16 percent. In 1985, a snapshot of Amver's last three
years had the system tracking 87,543 voyages.
The decision was made in the late 1980s to become even more proactive in Amver recruitment by
exhibiting at, or attending, industry exhibitions and trade shows, such as Posidonia (Greece); the
Seatrade Tanker Show (UK); SMM (Germany); Cruise Shipping (USA); SASMEX (UK); NEVA (Russia); Maritime
Cyprus, and Super Yacht (France).
The U.S. Coast Guard also created an annual Amver Awards Program as a way of rewarding those ships
which remain "on plot" for at least 128 days in a calendar year. These awards have become instrumental
in Amver recruitment and retention. Amver awards are a tribute to the support of a ship's crew,
management, and ownership, which is so integral to the program's success.
Amver award ceremonies have been hosted by U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad; and maritime
industry organizations, such as the Norwegian Shipowners Association; the German Shipowners
Association; and the Propeller Club of the United States (Ports of Piraeus, London and Limassol),
among others.
The awards consist of a Letter of Appreciation to the company, a Certificate of Merit to each ship,
and a colored Amver pennant, representing a ship's continuous participation in the program: blue for
(1) year; gold (5) years; purple (10) years. A distinctive plaque is presented for (15) years, an
engraved pewter plate for (20) years, and an acrylic globe for (25) years.
In addition, several special annual awards have been subsequently created by maritime organizations
such as LLP, Ltd. (Publishing) (UK); PTT Telecom Netherlands (U.S.) (Satellite Communications) Inc.;
Argus Business Media (SAFETY AT SEA Magazine) (UK); the Association For Rescue At Sea (AFRAS); and
the New York Council of the Navy League, honoring ships involved in rescues requiring extraordinary
shiphandling, heroism or danger.
With the advent of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), the role of Amver was
redefined to complement the emerging technology. Rescue coordination centers around the world seized
on the value of Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBS), Inmarsat-C and Digital Select
Calling terminal auto-alarms to "take the search out of search and rescue." Then, attention could be
turned to Amver as a tool for the rescue phase of the operation. As the industry became familiar with
this technology, Amver-participating ships have been instrumental in investigating potentially
accidental alerts, thus saving limited SAR resources for actual emergencies, and saving money and
lives.
The beginning of the 1990s saw the need for the entire software package of Amver to be rewritten
in UNIX/Windows technology to keep pace with the evolution of data processing. This new version would
provide more capacity; mechanisms for recurrent routings and maintaining ships on station (e.g.,
research ships or fishing factory ships); graphic plot depiction; and parser capability, once again
bringing Amver current with the state-of-the-art. Home for the Amver Center was moved to the
Operations Systems Center, a new facility designed and built to consolidate many Coast Guard computer
systems at Martinsburg, West Virginia. Contracted out to civilian operation, this facility released
many staff members for reassignment throughout the Coast Guard.
In 1992, an Amver-participating ship recovered famed French yachtswoman Florence Arthaud after her
trimaran capsized during a solo race. This resulted in Amver's first exposure on national network
television on the NBC "Today" Show. Host Joe Garagiola conducted a live interview with Ms. Arthaud
while a filmed segment, shot in the Rescue Coordination Center on Governors Island, explained Amver.
During the Columbus Quincentennial celebrations in New York, Amver hosted the arrival of the 35 Tall
Ship masters of OPSAIL 1992 to a receiving line of dignitaries including Secretary of Transportation
Andrew Card, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Coast Guard Commandant, Admiral John Kime.
The Amver rescue of explorer Tim Severin from the 60-foot bamboo sailing junk HSU FU, while
reenacting the voyage of its Chinese namesake in the year 218 BC, received mention in the pages of
National Geographic magazine. In 1994, a television crew from "60 Minutes New Zealand," aboard a
vintage PBY plane, filmed the actual ditching of the aircraft at sea and their rescue by a Norwegian
Amver-participating ship. Later that year, six Amver-participating ships converged on the burning
Italian cruise ship ACHILLE LAURO to recover 504 of the 976 survivors. And, in the largest single
Amver operation in its history, a flotilla of 41 ships from 18 nations searched over a six-day period
to recover the only two survivors of the 31 crewmembers from the sunken bulk carrier SALVADOR ALLENDE.
As Amver sought to enhance its stature in the international arena, award ceremonies featured the
first participation by a sitting Head of State, President Glafkos Clerides of Cyprus. Other
presentation officials included Prince Albert of Monaco and Secretary General William O'Neil of the
International Maritime Organization. In 1995, the Amver Visitors Center in New York City hosted a
visit by King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway, following in the footsteps of his father, King Olav V,
who also visited the Amver Center in 1968.
Other distinguished guests at the Amver Visitors Center have included former National Security
Advisor VADM John Poindexter; Mr. Vasily Kuprianovsky, Personal Advisor to Russian President Yeltsin;
Greek Coast Guard RADM Nicholas Kalyvas; cruise ship OCEANOS SAR mission coordinator, South African
Air Force Colonel George Hallowes; Turkish Coast Guard Commandant RADM Ekmel Totrakan; Mr. Christoph
Hinz, Director General, German Ministry of Transport; classes of the World Maritime University and
industry, media, military and diplomatic officials from many nations.
Following a visit and presentation to Chinese government officials at the Shanghai Maritime Academy,
the Peoples Republic of China announced its intention to allow vessels of its COSCO national fleet to
participate in Amver. Just several months later, in April of 1996, the Chinese container ship GAO HE
rescued a retired U.S. Navy captain from his stricken sailing vessel in the Pacific.
Taking advantage of the media-conscious era of the 1990s, Amver's visibility has been heightened
by its feature in several episodes of the syndicated weekly television series "Coast Guard,"; the
Public Broadcasting System/Cable program "World Business Review," hosted by former U.S. Secretary of
Defense Caspar Weinberger; and a radio talk show on WPWA in Philadelphia.
Development of the "information highway" led to an analysis and evaluation of the potential
benefits to Amver of economies and efficiencies presented by global e-mail, the Internet, and
customized communications/ship-management software packages. In conjunction with the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and COMSAT (the U.S. signatory to Inmarsat) Amver has
assisted in the development of "compressed message" software to move report data at high speed and
low cost to encourage more frequent, user-friendly reporting and thus increase plot accuracy at a
time when many shipping companies are removing full-time radio officers from GMDSS-compliant ships.
Today, over 22,000 ships from hundreds of nations participate in
Amver. An average of 4,000 ships are on the Amver plot each day and
those numbers continue to increase The Amver Center computer receives
over 14,000 Amver messages a day.. Over 2,800 lives have been saved by
Amver-participating ships since 2000. The success of Amver is directly
related to the extraordinary cooperation of ships, companies, SAR
authorities, communication service providers and governments in
supporting this international humanitarian program to protect life and
property at sea.
In the coming years, Amver officials will turn their attention to
negotiating with other nations and major national ship registries to
solicit their endorsement and active encouragement of ships under their
purview to enroll in the Amver system, thus keeping it vibrant, vital
and successful. Amver will continue to work with commercial ship
tracking companies to find new ways to integrate their clients vessel
positions into the Amver system. Amver will also act as a resource for
SAR authorities managing maritime incidents in the newly navigable
waters of the Arctic.
http://www.amver.com/amverhistory.asp