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Multiple shipowners trial jamming and spoofing-resilient ship positioning system
Several shipowners have trialled a new electronic navigation tool that uses PNT information from a LEO satellite constellation to provide accurate ship positioning, even in seas affected by GNSS interference
Frontline, Wallenius Wilhelmsen, Tschudi Shipping have trialled an electronic navigation tool to provide secure ship positioning in sea areas where signals from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) are jammed or spoofed. This device includes assured positioning, navigation and timing (APNT) technology and connectivity to Iridium’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites for global coverage.
This LEO satellite network transmits secured PNT signals which are 1,000 times more powerful than GNSS/GPS and is resilient to jamming and spoofing. This secure information is used by other bridge electronics, such as ECDIS, for accurate positioning and then by crew for safe voyage execution.
Tschudi Shipping and SGM Technology from Norway teamed up with Virginia, USA-headquartered NAL Research to develop and test PntGuard.
Tschudi Shipping business development manager Henry Tschudi said PntGuard complements a vessel’s navigation feed with accurate information for greater situational awareness, and it immediately alerts the crew if there is GNSS manipulation or interruption.
“PntGuard is a proven maritime solution to protect against GPS jamming and spoofing,” he said, explaining how some ships the Lysaker, Norway-headquartered company manages have suffered from GPS jamming or spoofing.
GPS interruption, which occurs mainly in the eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea, Red Sea, Arabian Gulf, Russia’s far east and in the Arctic, “impacts shipping, logistics and offshore operations” Mr Tschudi said.
NAL Research developed PntGuard from its experience with more than 10,000 APNT products installed on vehicles and other non-maritime assets. With support from SGM and Tschudi Shipping, it fast-tracked adapting this technology for maritime applications and tested it on ships.
PntGuard relies on the PNT capability of Iridium’s LEO constellation with a receiver unit, bridge interface and display and SkyRouter onshore laptop application for multi-operator use.
“Iridium PNT is 1,000 times stronger than GPS and it is encrypted,” said NAL president Rob Bills. When applied with GNSS, it provides true positioning even in sea areas affected by GPS jamming.”
NAL tested this APNT technology during the Jammertest events in northwest Norway in 2024 and 2025 and it has been trialled since on vessels owned and operated by Scandinavian shipping companies including Frontline, Wallenius Wilhelmsen and Tschudi Shipping.
“We got real-world results during a six-month pilot of PntGuard involved six different shipping companies and 10 operating ships of multiple types,” said Mr Bills.
“This solution was applied across different vessels that operated over 100,000 nautical miles worldwide, including in areas affected by GPS jamming, and our product worked effectively.”
This included voyages through the Arabian Sea, Middle East Gulf, Red Sea, eastern Mediterranean, eastern Baltic Sea and in the Arctic, where guinea-pig ships encountered GNSS attacks and still sailed safely due to PntGuard.
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