Wartime technology inspires back-up shipping navigation system

A navigation system based on technology from the second world war is being installed to guide shipping around Britain in case of a mass failure of the satellite network.

The eLoran system went into operation along the east coast of England and Scotland on Friday and will be installed all the way round the British Isles by 2020. It gives the precise position of a ship-based receiver by comparing radio signals transmitted from powerful long wave transmitters around northern Europe.

These signals are tweaked to take account of local conditions at seven reference stations along the east coast, from Aberdeen to Dover. The system is entirely independent of satellites and its signals are a million times stronger than those from satellites so it should be protected from jamming.

The General Lighthouse Authorities of UK and Ireland, the bodies responsible for maritime safely in coastal waters, say they will be the first organisations in the world to deploy eLoran for passenger and cargo shipping.

"Satellite navigation is vulnerable to accidental interference - a severe solar storm could take down both GPS [the Global Positioning System] and Europe's new Galileo system - and threatened by deliberate jamming from devices that are available on the internet," says George Shaw, GLA's principal development engineer. "Losing these signals even for a short time can put vessels, lives and the environment at risk."

Although eLoran originated in the Loran - Long Range Navigation - technology developed to guide Allied shipping in the war, the modern electronic version is far more accurate and durable, Mr Shaw says. "You can get an idea of the difference by comparing a fuzzy black-and-white television of the 1950s with a high-definition colour set today."

P&O Ferries has been testing eLoran prototypes on its Dover-Calais route. "Pinpoint-accurate positioning and navigation is especially vital for us because we operate in the busiest shipping lane in the world," says Grant Laversuch, head of safety management at P&O.

"Our ships had occasionally experienced loss of satellite signal so we trialled eLoran as a crucial back-up to ensure we can navigate accurately at all times."

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"We hope our announcement of initial operational capability will stimulate the market and drive the price down," he says. "Eventually we expect to see combined satellite and eLoran receivers in which the eLoran component represents only a very small extra cost."

eLoran is unlikely ever to become a global system but there is also enthusiasm for it in east Asia: South Korea is negotiating technical collaboration with the UK while it establishes its own eLoran stations - particularly needed there because North Korea sometimes jams GPS signals.

Although initial adopters will be big shipping companies, Mr Shaw expects the technology eventually to spread to leisure craft and weekend sailors.

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