Com Dev International Ltd. of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, announced at the end of April that its first experimental satellite, NTS, had successfully completed one year in orbit, validating the company’s high-performance detection capability for its advanced space-based AIS technology.

This technology enables the highly accurate tracking and monitoring of maritime traffic from pole to pole and across the globe, even in areas of high shipping density. Launched on 28th April, 2008, NTS has now mapped global shipping traffic to an extensive degree and has provided the technical foundation for an operational system which is currently under construction.

Initial operations of this system will commence in 2010, it is understood.