A global map showing ocean traffic with exactAIS. Photo: exactEarth.

[Via Satellite 10-01-2014] Com Dev’s subsidiary exactEarth has received a contract from the Canadian government that effectively supersedes a 2012 agreement with new terms and an additional $1.6 million. The newly agreed upon contract is worth more than $17 million and extends the availability of satellite-based Automatic Identification System (AIS) data from exactEarth to the entire government. Previously the contract was limited to the Canadian Space Agency and Department of National Defence.

The Canadian government intends to use the exactAIS data service for maritime surveillance and security monitoring, search and rescue among other applications. According to exactEarth President Peter Mabson, the Canadian government’s use of exactAIS has grown exponentially since 2010.