TÜV SÜD Product Service has launched what it says is the UK’s first Automatic Identification System (AIS) testing service for the marine industry, and one of only two such services available worldwide.
Testing is performed to ensure that products are able to communicate with any other AIS equipment and are also compatible with other marine communications and navigation equipment.
TÜV SÜD says it can also certify AIS and other marine products against the requirements of the Marine Equipment Directive through its notified body, TÜV SÜD BABT.
"TÜV SÜD is now bringing choice to the market, ending the monopoly situation that the marine equipment industry has suffered," said Jean-Louis Evans, managing director of TÜV SÜD Product Service.
"Our commercial understanding means that we recognise the pressure manufacturers are under to get their new products on the market and a nine month backlog was obviously unacceptable. Feedback from our customers is that the launch of an alternative AIS service is long overdue for the marine industry."
The service will be available to customers via TÜV SÜD’s 45 locations in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
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