Portal AtoN – Portel’s web-based tool, fruit of the collaboration with Puertos del Estado (Spanish State Ports)

Portal AtoN is the web tool developed by PORTEL and Puertos del Estado in 2010 which provides information about the status of the maritime navigation aids along the coast, regardless of the managing body or responsible entity. Also, it offers the responsible bodies various features to show the state of these aids in real time.

Currently it has more than 400 users who are part of Puertos del Estado, the 28 Spanish Port Authorities, regional bodies such as Ports of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Ports of the Generalitat of Valencia, Ports of Galicia, Public Ports Agency of Andalusia, Ports of Bizkaia and Guipúzkoa, Ports of Cantabria, Ports of Asturias, Ports of the Canary Islands, Ports of the Balearic Islands, DG of Ports of Murcia, Ministry of Defense, Directorate General of Coasts, City Councils, Nautical Clubs, Marine terminals and several service companies.

Additionally, this application allows communication with remote monitoring systems installed in the maritime aids as well as with the systems of other bodies like the Marine Hydrographic Insitute – the Spanish Navy (Ministry of Defense) and SASEMAR – Spanish Maritime Safety Agency of the Directorate General of the Merchant Marine (Ministry of Public Works and Transport).

AtoN’s multiple features

With Portal AtoN, the users can manage the maritime aids grouped into beaconings. For example, they can register service incidents, changes in some of the characteristics of these aids, etc. This management is handled on the website using a form and/or graphically trough a Google map.

The maritime aids managed from the web platform are inventoried with their exact geographic position, photos, status and other individual characteristics. Among these aids there are light signals (for example lighthouses), acoustic signals, day signals, DGPS, beacon signals, radar reflectors, AIS signals, etc.

Additionally, from the website, any user can download a KMZ file compatible with Google Earth with all the aids available on the Spanish coast.

Changes on the aid inventory are treated in the Lighthouse Commission, with its previous management carried out from the application itself registering all the reports and other requested procedures of the existing beaconings.

The application has an electronic registration module from which all the Navigation Aid documentation can be controlled and monitored.