User Interface

The Ocean Alert user interface is constructed so that all major features are one click away, from any part of the system.

The menu button representing the current page is always highlighted with the tracking symbol, and drawn in a different colour - whether on the main menu or the banner menu.

The screen layout provides a blue top banner, which contains the head-up display and banner menu, and a white main page, containing the main menu on the left, the main page contents in the centre, and in some cases, a context-specific menu on the right side of the screen.

Banner Menu

The banner menu is at the right hand side of the blue top banner, and contains the 'logout', 'options' and 'help' buttons.

Options

Use 'options' to change your password, and other parameters relevant to your user account and login session.

Head-Up Display

The head-up display is located in the centre of the top banner, and provides:

The exact time (UTC) and date at which the contents of the page were last refreshed;
The message 'NO TERMINALS', in green, if the user has no terminals registered to their account (see New Users);
The message 'STATUS: OK', in green, if there are no current alerts or warnings;
The message 'ATTENTION', in black, if there ARE any current alerts or warnings;
'(number) ALERTS' in red, showing the number of currently active alerts, if any;
'(number) WARNINGS' in amber, showing the number of currently active warnings, if any.

The head-up display is visible from all pages in the system, in order that any change in alert or warning status will be immediately visible whenever any page is changed or refreshed.

The user should immediately investigate any alerts or warnings flagged in the head-up display by clicking on the appropriate main menu button ('alerts' or 'warnings', as appropriate).

Note that vessels which currently are displaying both alerts and warnings, will appear in both pages.

Main Menu

Alerts

The 'alerts' page shows a table of all vessels which are currently at alert status - ie. vessels from which the latest received position report message indicated an alert, and which have not been reset by an authorised website operator (see resetting alerts).

If the on-board hardware utilises 'latching' alert switches, the 'Switch State' column will indicate any alert button(s) which were latched in the 'on' position (ie. activated) at the time of the transmission.

Note that vessels which currently are displaying both alerts and warnings, will appear in both the 'alerts' and 'warnings' pages, as well as in the 'tracking' page which shows all vessels.

The tracking and status history of any vessel in the table can be viewed by clicking on the vessel name.

View on Map

Vessels for which the optional Map View subscription has been purchased (see Airtime and Service Options) will have a small 'globe' icon displayed in the left hand margin, next to the vessel name. Clicking on this globe icon will display the latest reported position of the selected vessel on a map - see the Map View help topic for further information.

Polling

'Polling' is the name given to the process of requesting a vessel's Ocean Alert terminal to transmit its current status and position report.

Vessels for which a polling airtime package has been purchased, and which still have remaining poll credits, can be polled by Operator users - in such cases, Operators will see a 'Poll' button on the right hand side of the table, for that particular vessel.

Clicking on the 'Poll' button will show the number of remaining poll credits for this vessel's Ocean Alert terminal, and ask the Operator for confirmation, before the poll request message is transmitted to the vessel terminal via satellite.

Poll request messages may be queued by the network, so it is not unusual for a poll request to take several minutes before the requested position report is received.

Resetting Alerts

After an alert condition has been triggered by activation of an on-board alert switch, causing the transmission of an initial 'ALERT' position report message, the vessel will continue to broadcast further 'ALERT' position report messages every 30 minutes until the alert condition is reset remotely.

This allows the authorities to continue to track vessels on which a security alert has been raised - even after the alert switches have been de-activated on board the vessel - until the designated company security authorities have taken appropriate action to confirm that any on-board emergency really has been resolved, according to the Ship Security Plan.

Once this has happened, the Ocean Alert terminal should then be remotely reset over-air from the Ocean Alert website, by an authorised user with at least Operator level access.

Important: the 'Reset' command should only be performed when the Competent Authority has ascertained that the alert condition is definitely over, and no security threat remains.

Operator level users (and above) will see a 'Reset' button at the right hand side of the vessel summary table for any vessel which is currently at alert status.

Clicking the 'Reset' button, and confirming the operation, will automatically send Email, SMS and/or FAX notification to designated 'cancel' level contacts (see alert setup), informing them that the 'ALERT CONDITION HAS BEEN RESET BY AN AUTHORISED WEBSITE USER'.

This will also remove the vessel from both the 'alerts' page and the head-up display summary count of alerting vessels. The 'Reset' button will disappear, and the vessel's 'Level' column entry will change from 'ALERT' to 'RESET', indicating that the alert reset command has been issued by an authorised user.

If the next message received from the vessel indicates that all alert switches on board the vessel are de-activated and the terminal is operating on external power, then the reset command message will be transmitted to the vessel terminal. The terminal should then respond by transmitting back a 'Normal' message, indicating that it has now reverted to Normal tracking at its programmed Daily Position Report (DPR) frequency.

Alternatively, if the next message from the vessel indicates that any alert switches on board which have not yet been de-activated (shown in the 'Switch State' column), or if the message indicates a 'POWERCUT' warning, then the reset command will not be transmitted to the vessel terminal, but will instead remain 'on hold' until a message is received confirming that the alert switches are cleared and/or external power is restored.

In these circumstances, the vessel will continue to send messages every 30 minutes at level 'RESET', and a notification email for each message received will continue to be sent to all defined 'warning' level contacts for the vessel's fleet.

IMPORTANT: the system MAY NOT report further alert conditions from the vessel while its status continues to be displayed at 'RESET' level, and therefore should NOT be considered to have been properly 're-armed' after an alert - whether it is a real or test alert - UNTIL its displayed level returns to 'Normal'.

Warnings

The 'warnings' page shows a table of all vessels which are currently at warning status - either as a result of the latest message received from the vessel containing a warning flag eg. 'POWERCUT', or as a result of two consecutive scheduled position report messages from the vessel being missed ('OVERDUE').

The actual warning condition(s) for each vessel are shown in the 'Warning' column - if the column is blank there are no warnings for this vessel. If several warning conditions are currently in force for the same vessel then multiple condition codes will be indicated.

The tracking and status history of any vessel in the table can be viewed by clicking on the vessel name.

Vessels for which the optional Map View subscription has been purchased (see Airtime and Service Options) will have a small 'globe' icon displayed in the left hand margin, next to the vessel name. Clicking on the globe icon will display the latest reported position of the selected vessel on a map - see the Map View help topic for further information.

Vessels whose warning status has been resolved (eg. as a result of on-board action, or receipt of a further position report message) will automatically disappear from the table as and when the next message is received.

It is not necessary (or possible) to 'Reset' a warning condition. The warning will automatically disappear from the 'warnings' page when the warning condition on board the vessel is resolved (eg. POWERCUT), or on receipt of the next message for OVERDUE vessels.

Vessels which currently are displaying both alerts and warnings, will appear in both the 'alerts' and 'warnings' pages, as well as in the 'tracking' page.

Users with Operator level access and above, may see the 'Poll' and/or 'Reset' buttons at the right hand side of the table - see sections on polling and resetting alerts.

Tracking

Clicking on the 'tracking' option in the main menu will show all vessels, including any at alert or warning status.

Users with Operator level access and above, may see the 'Poll' and/or 'Reset' buttons at the end of the table - see sections on polling and resetting alerts.

The tracking and status history of any vessel in the table can be viewed by clicking on the vessel name.

Vessels for which the optional Map View subscription has been purchased (see Airtime and Service Options) will have a small 'globe' icon displayed in the left hand margin, next to the vessel name. Clicking on the globe icon will display the latest reported position of the selected vessel on a map - see the Map View help topic for further information.

Save Log

Users with at least Operator level access to the vessel's fleet, will see a 'save log' button at the top right hand side of the vessel tracking history table.

Clicking on the 'save log' button will allow the user to download the vessel tracking log to a comma-separated-value (CSV) file, suitable for loading into a spreadsheet or database application, etc.

The number of messages which can be saved to the tracking log is limited to the lesser value of either the last 1,000 messages from the vessel, or all messages received within the last 90 days, or all messages received since the terminal airtime was commenced or transferred, or the terminal replaced under warranty.

Important: under some circumstances, eg. transfer of ownership or terminal replacement under warranty, the tracking history may be cleared by Satamatics.

If a permanent record of vessel tracking history is required, vessel operators are recommended to use the 'save log' feature regularly, and before transferring or returning a terminal.

Tracking History Map

Vessels for which the optional Map View subscription has been purchased (see Airtime and Service Options) will have a small 'globe' icon displayed at the top right hand margin of each page of the Vessel Tracking History table.

Clicking on the globe icon will display a map showing the lesser of the latest 90 days' tracking history of the selected vessel, or the last 100 messages received from the vessel, or all messages sent since the terminal airtime was commenced or transferred, or the terminal replaced under warranty.

See the Map View help topic for further information.

Alert Setup

The 'alert setup' page allows Fleet Manager users to setup alert notification details for the various condition levels:

urgent - alert activation
cancel - alert cancellation
alert - ongoing alert
exception - warnings including power cut
normal - daily position reports

Up to 5 email addresses can be provided per fleet, to be automatically notified by email when any of the above conditions are reported by any of the vessels in the fleet, according to the following rule (except TEST messages - see below):

Level	Action
urgent	send notification just for alert activations
cancel	send notification for alert cancellations and alert activations
alert	send notification for ongoing alerts, alert cancellations (cancel) and alert activations (urgent)
exception	send notification for warnings (exception), ongoing alerts (alert), alert cancellations (cancel) and alert activations (urgent) - ie. all message types except normal
normal	send notification of ALL message types to contact (ie. normal, warning, alert, cancel, urgent).

Vessels for which the optional SMS package is purchased, can have their alert activations and cancellations (levels urgent and cancel in the table above) sent automatically to up to 3 SMS numbers setup via the 'alert setup' page.

Similarly, vessels for which the optional FAX package is purchased, can have their alert activations and cancellations (levels urgent and cancel in the table) sent automatically to up to 2 FAX numbers setup via the 'alert setup' page.

NOTE: all 'test' messages (ie. where the keyswitch is in the 'test' position) are ONLY sent to 'normal' level email contacts, and are NOT sent to SMS or FAX contacts.

Important: SMS and/or FAX notification messages will only be sent for those vessels where the appropriate SMS or FAX package has been purchased.

The 'Fax' and 'SMS' columns of the 'alert setup' page show whether all vessels in each fleet are subscribed to the SMS and FAX services. Fleets where all vessels are subscribed are shown by a green 'tick', whereas fleets with no vessels subscribed show a red 'cross'. If a mix of vessels with and without subscriptions exists within the same fleet, a red warning triangle will be shown.

Each individual vessel's subscription to SMS and FAX is shown in the fleet setup page.

SMS/FAX Number Formats

Contact numbers for SMS and/or FAX notification must be added in international format, starting with '+' followed by the country's international dialling code, and can contain spaces or hyphens ('-') eg. '+44 1684-278610'.

Number	Valid	Reason
+441684278611	Yes
+44 1684 278611	Yes
+44-1684-278611	Yes
+44 (1684) 278611	NO	Parentheses () are not allowed
00 44 1684 278611	NO	Number must start with '+' to prefix the international dialling code, not '00'
+44 (0) 1684 278611	NO	Parentheses () are not allowed; UK codes (starting +44) MUST NOT include the national access prefix '0' before the area code; Restriction also applies to other countries which use a 'national' access code before area code when not using international prefix

Fleet Information Message

Some flag states or national coastguard agencies may insist that extra information must appear in any emails or FAXes which are automatically sent to them on behalf of vessel operating companies (eg. the company security officer's name and telephone number).

Users with at least Fleet Manager level access to a fleet can specify an information message to be included in all notification email or FAX messages sent by Ocean Alert for vessels in that fleet, on the 'alert setup' page. The Fleet Contact Summary Table's final 'Message' column will show either an 'add' button to allow a new information message to be specified, or an 'edit' button to allow an existing information message to be edited.

To delete an existing information message simply click on the 'edit' button, select the existing message text, and use the keyboard backspace or delete key, then click 'Apply Edits'.

Note that information specific to each individual vessel, eg. Vessel name, Callsign, IMO number and/or MMSI number, will be included in all notification emails or FAXes for that vessel, provided they have been set up correctly via the fleet setup page.

Fleet Setup

The 'fleet setup' page allows Fleet Manager users to :-

set vessel name
set vessel unique identification details:
- Call Sign
- MMSI number
- IMO number
rename fleets

Each individual vessel's name and unique identification details - Callsign, IMO number and/or MMSI number - will be included in all notification Emails and/or FAXes sent automatically by Ocean Alert for that vessel. See Alert Setup for further details.

Users who have User Manager access can also use the fleet setup page to:-

move vessels between fleets
create fleets (by moving vessels to new fleets)

Users at all levels can use the fleet setup page to:-

view vessel identification details
view each vessel terminal's Inmarsat Serial Number (ISN)
view the date and time at which a message was last received from the terminal
check the vessel terminal's airtime package validity and optional service subscriptions

Airtime and Service Options

Users at all levels can use the fleet setup page to check each vessel's terminal airtime package and subscriptions to the optional 'Daily Position Report' (DPR), 'Polling' (POLL), 'SMS notification' (SMS), 'FAX notification' (FAX) and 'Map View' (MAP) services.

Important: if a red 'warning' triangle symbol is displayed alongside the vessel details (at the right hand side of the table), then the vessel's airtime package is invalid or has expired.

Customers should immediately contact their dealer, or contact Satamatics, if the warning triangle symbol is displayed against any of their vessels.

Subscription to optional services is indicated by a 'tick' or 'cross' in the column for that service - if the column for a specific optional service does not appear, then no vessels have this subscription.

In some cases a 'tick' may be displayed along with a number. For example, a '6' in the DPR column indicates the terminal is subscribed for 6 Daily Position Reports (ie: one position report every 4 hours), and this number will remain unchanged while the terminal is subscribed at this level, whereas a number in the POLL column indicates the number of outstanding poll credits currently available for this terminal, and will decrease over time as the poll credits are used.

Holding the cursor over any of the 'tick', 'cross' or 'warning' symbols will normally generate a browser 'pop-up' indicating the exact meaning of the symbol.

User Setup

New Users

Anyone can create a new Ocean Alert user account by clicking on the 'new user registration' link on the Ocean Alert login page.

Once they have registered their user account and logged in for the first time, new users are automatically directed to the 'user setup' page, in order to complete their user account setup.

Invited users who have received email invitations to join a fleet managed by another user, will be prompted to accept (or reject) their invitations on this page.

New users who have purchased Ocean Alert terminals, can add their first terminal by clicking the add terminal button, and entering the appropriate identifying information (see terminals).

Existing Users

The 'user setup' page allows users to accept invitations to join fleets managed by other users, check which fleets they themselves have access to, and check their own individual user access level for each fleet.

Users with User Manager access level to one or more fleets, can also manage the set of user accounts which can access each fleet, by:

inviting other users to join the fleet
deleting other users from the fleet (this prevents them from accessing this fleet, but does not remove their login)
changing other users' access levels for this fleet
deleting empty fleets (with no vessels and no other users)

Note that User Managers do not actually have any control over other user accounts, other than controlling (including removing) their access to fleets which the User Manager is responsible for. For example, the User Manager cannot reset another user's password, or inhibit their login - users who forget their password must follow the lost password instructions on the Ocean Alert login page.

User Access Levels

There are four user access levels, as follows:

Viewer - ability to:
- view vessel status (via alerts, warnings and tracking)
- view vessel tracking history (via alerts, warnings and tracking)
- view (but not edit) fleet setup
- view (but not edit) own fleet access levels in user setup
- change own password via options
- reset own password, if forgotten, via 'Lost Password' on the login page
Operator - as for Viewer, plus ability to:
- poll vessels (via alerts, warnings and tracking)
- reset alert conditions (via alerts, warnings and tracking)
- view (but not edit) alert setup
Fleet Manager - as for Operator, plus ability to:
- edit fleet setup (but not move terminals between fleets or create fleets)
- edit alert setup
User Manager - as for Fleet Manager, plus ability to:
- manage other users access to fleets via the user setup page
- move terminals between fleets via fleet setup
- create new fleets (by moving terminals to new fleets) via fleet setup
- add terminals into existing fleets via the terminals page
- remove terminals from fleets via the terminals page
- delete empty fleets (with no vessels and no other users) via the user setup page

User access levels are assigned to users on a per-fleet basis, so for example, a user who has User Manager access to one fleet, may be a Viewer of another fleet.

All users who are invited to join any fleet by a User Manager, initially become Viewers as soon as they accept the invitation. If the User Manager wishes to grant them a higher access level then the User Manager can do this via the user setup page, but only after they have accepted the invitation and become a Viewer.

Terminals

The 'terminals' page allows the addition and removal of terminals to and from fleets.

Adding a terminal requires the user to enter the terminal's unique Ocean Alert Serial Number, SAT-101 Serial Number and ISN code, which are provided on a card in the accessory pack. They can also be found on the outside packaging (for the Ocean Alert S/N) and under the battery compartment (for SAT-101 S/N and ISN).

This information must be kept in a safe place, as it will be needed to re-add the terminal if it is ever removed for any reason.

It is also possible to specify a vessel name and fleet name - although entry of these details at this point is optional, as they can be set up later via the fleet setup page.

Adding a terminal for the first time will start the billing process (for monthly tariffs) and/or the fixed airtime period purchased.

Removing a terminal from its fleet is necessary in order to allow re-sale or transfer of Ocean Alert units between users.

Note however that removing a terminal does not stop the terminal from transmitting, although it does prevent it from being tracked and monitored using Ocean Alert.

NOTE: Once it has been added the first time, the billing process (or fixed airtime) continues even when a terminal is removed.

Once removed, an Ocean Alert terminal can only be re-added on presentation of the correct Ocean Alert serial number, SAT-101 serial number and ISN.

Moving a terminal between fleets which are administered by the same user, does NOT require the terminal to be removed. In such cases the 'modify vessel' feature (on the fleet setup page) can be used to move the terminal to a different fleet, which may either be an existing fleet to which the user has User Manager access, or a new fleet, to which the user will be automatically granted User Manager access.