The innovative Guardian solution also automates Marlborough’s warning light systems. After a fatal collision by a large vessel with a smaller non-AIS enabled vessel, a manually operated ‘warning light’ system was put in place in the narrow waterway. The lights are now automatically enabled by Guardian, so smaller non-AIS enabled vessels can see a visual indicator that a large vessel is en route. A similar solution is being implemented at Pelorus Sounds to warn when mussel harvesting vessels are moving in high-traffic areas. The Weather Information System is highly intuitive, allowing the crew of commercial vessels to view nautical charts with weather information overlaid in real time. Marlborough District Council uses the Guardian:protect solution to monitor marine traffic including the daily Cook Strait ferries, commercial fishing vessels and over 80 cruise ships that visit Marlborough Sounds every year.  Information delivered by the Guardian solution may soon be integrated to the Marlborough Cruise Guide App, providing accurate site-specific weather information and vessel traffic. This will make comprehensive, accurate AIS information accessible to the much wider recreational boat audience and marine adventure seekers through their mobile devices. Grogan continued, “The solution will also provide us with a rich resource of trends and patterns over time to help develop future navigation and warning systems.” Vesper Marine’s Guardian:protect solution creates protection zones around hazards and marks safe anchorage zones using virtual aids to navigation. With sophisticated analytics for determining vessel behaviour, vessels are automatically alerted of potential risks along with the Marlborough Sounds control team. The alert messages are sent directly to the vessel’s navigation systems. Additionally, messages can be sent to warn vessels who are breaking maritime rules and making undeclared anchor stops. vespermarine.com