1 | P a g e I MO P E R F O R MA N C E S T A N D A R D S F O R G P S

UH lH For more details please visit: www.captyashpal.blogspot.com

IMO PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR MARINE
GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS)

(FOR MMD PHASE II EXAMINATIONS)

The Gl obal Posit i oni ng Syst em ( GPS) i s a sat ellit e- based posi t i oning,
vel oci t y and t i me syst em t hat has t hree maj or segment s: space,
cont rol and user. The GPS space segment i s composed of 24 sat ellit es
in si x orbi t s. The sat ellit es operat e in 20,200 km hi gh ci rcul ar orbi t s at
an incli nat i on angl e of 55 wi t h a 12- hour peri od. The spacing of
sat ellit es i n orbit i s arranged so t hat a mi nimum of four sat ellit es are
in vi ew t o users worl d- wi de, wi t h a posi t i on dilut i on of preci si on
( PDOP) of = 6. Each sat ellit e t ransmit s on t wo "L" band frequencies,
L1 ( 1575, 42 MHz) and L2 ( 1227, 60 MHz) . L1 carri es a preci se ( P)
code and coarse/ acqui sit i on ( C/ A) code. L2 carri es t he P code. A
navi gat i on dat a message i s superi mposed on t hese codes. The same
navi gat i on dat a message i s carri ed on bot h frequencies. Receiver
equi pment for t he GPS i nt ended for navi gat i onal purposes on shi ps
wit h maximum speeds not exceeding 70 knot s shoul d comply wit h t he
mi nimum performance requi rement s li st ed bel ow.

The words "GPS recei ver equi pment " as used i n t hese performance
st andards incl udes all t he component s and uni t s necessary for t he
syst em properl y t o perform i t s i nt ended funct i ons. The equi pment
shoul d incl ude t he foll owing mi nimum facilit ies:
ant ennas capabl e of receivi ng GPS si gnal s
GPS recei ver and processor
means of accessi ng t he comput ed l at i t ude/ l ongi t ude posi t i on
dat a cont rol and int erface
and posit i on displ ay and, if requi red, ot her forms of out put
The ant enna desi gn shoul d be sui t able for fi t t ing at a posi t i on on
t he shi p whi ch ensures a clear view of t he sat ellit e const ell at i on.

GPS RECEI VER EQUI PMENT SHALL COMPLY WI TH FOLLOWI NG
PRTFORMANCE STANDARDS AND:

1. be capabl e of receivi ng and processing t he St andard Posi t i oni ng
Servi ce ( SPS) si gnals and provi de posi t i on informat i on in l at i t ude
and l ongit ude Worl d Geodet i c Syst em ( WGS) - 84 co- ordinat es in
degrees, mi nut es and t housandt hs of minut es and t i me of solut i on
referenced t o UTC. Means may be provi ded for t ransforming t he
comput ed posi t i on based upon WGS- 84 i nt o dat a compat i bl e wit h
2 | P a g e I MO P E R F O R MA N C E S T A N D A R D S F O R G P S

UH lH For more details please visit: www.captyashpal.blogspot.com


t he dat um of t he navi gat i onal chart in use. Where t hi s facilit y
exi st s, t he di spl ay should i ndicat e t hat co- ordi nat e conversi on is
being performed, and should i dent ify t he co- ordi nat e syst em in
whi ch t he posi t i on i s expressed.
2. be capable of operat ing on t he L1 si gnal and C/ A code.
3. be capabl e of select ing aut omat ically t he appropri at e sat ellit e-
t ransmi t t ed si gnal s for det ermini ng t he shi p' s posi t i on wi t h t he
requi red accuracy and updat e rat e.
4. be capabl e of acqui ri ng posi t i on t o t he requi red accuracy, wi t hin
30 min, when t here i s no valid almanac dat a.
5. be capabl e of acqui ring posi t i on t o t he requi red accuracy, wi t hi n 5
mi n, when t here i s vali d almanac dat a.
6. be capabl e of re- acqui ring posi t i on t o t he requi red accuracy,
wit hin 5 min, when t he GPS si gnals are i nt errupt ed for a peri od
of at least 24 h but t here i s no l oss of power.
7. be capabl e of re- acqui ring posi t i on t o t he requi red accuracy,
wit hin 2 min, when subj ect ed t o a power i nt errupt i on of 60 s.
8. be provi ded wi t h at least one out put from whi ch posi t i on
informat i on can be suppli ed t o ot her equi pment . The out put of
posi t i on i nformat i on based upon WGS- 84 shoul d be in accordance
wit h int ernat i onal st andards.
9. have st at i c accuracy such t hat t he posi t i on of t he ant enna i s
det ermi ned t o wi t hi n 100 m ( 95%) wit h hori zont al dil ut i on of
preci si on ( HDOP) = 4 ( or PDOP = 6) .
10. have dynami c accuracy such t hat t he posi t i on of t he shi p is
det ermi ned t o wit hin 100m ( 95%) wi t h HDOP = 4 ( or PDOP = 6)
under t he condit i ons of sea st at es and shi p' s mot i on likel y t o be
experi enced i n shi ps.
11. generat e and out put t o a di spl ay and di git al int erface a new
posi t i on sol ut i on at l east once every 1 s.
12. generat e and out put t o t he di gi t al int erface course over t he
ground ( COG) , speed over t he ground ( SOG) and universal t ime
co- ordi nat ed ( UTC) . The accuracy requirement for COG and SOG
shoul d not be inferi or t o t he relevant Performance St andards for
Headi ng and SDME.
13. precaut i ons shoul d be t aken t o ensure t hat no permanent damage
can result from an acci dent al short circuit or groundi ng of t he
ant enna or any of i t s i nput or out put connect i ons or any of t he
GPS recei ver equi pment i nput s or out put s for durat i on of 5 min.
14. have a mi nimum resol ut i on of posi t i on, i .e. l at it ude and l ongi t ude,
of 0.001 minut es.
3 | P a g e I MO P E R F O R MA N C E S T A N D A R D S F O R G P S

UH lH For more details please visit: www.captyashpal.blogspot.com


15. have t he facilit ies t o process di fferent ial GPS ( DGPS) dat a fed t o
it . When a GPS recei ver i s equi pped wit h a different i al receiver,
st at i c and dynami c accuraci es shoul d be 10 m ( 95%) .
16. The equi pment shoul d provi de an indi cat i on of whet her t he
posi t i on calcul at ed i s likely t o be out si de t he requi rement s of t hese
performance st andards.
17. The GPS recei ver equi pment shoul d provi de as a minimum:

i . an i ndicat i on wi t hi n 5 s i f t he specifi ed HDOP has been exceeded.
ii . a new posit i on has not been cal culat ed for more t han 1 s. Under
such condi t i ons t he last known posit i on and t he t ime of t he last
vali d fi x, wi t h expli cit indi cat i on of t hi s st at e, so t hat no
ambi gui t y can exist , shoul d be out put unt il normal operat i on i s
resumed.
iii. a warni ng of l oss of posit i on.

Di fferent ial GPS st at us indi cat i on of:

iv. t he receipt of DGPS si gnal s; and
v. whet her DGPS correct i ons are being applied t o t he i ndi cat ed
shi ps posi t i on.
vi . DGPS i nt egri t y st at us and al arm; and
vii . DGPS t ext message displ ay.