DNK Launches A-PNT Programme to Combat Navigation Signal Threats

Den Norske Krigsforsikring for Skib (DNK), Norway’s leading war risk mutual insurance provider, has introduced an industry-first programme offering members access to Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing (A-PNT) services to counter escalating risks from GNSS signal jamming and spoofing.

Programme Structure

The initiative enables DNK members to select from specialized A-PNT service vendors, allowing them to reduce insurance premiums while securing accurate and reliable positioning, navigation and timing data for their vessels. The programme provides comprehensive war risk insurance coverage for Norwegian-owned or controlled vessels and mobile units against threats including war, terror, piracy, and cyberattacks.

Growing GNSS Interference

DNK CEO Svein Ringbakken highlighted the sharp increase in GNSS interference over the past five years, particularly in the Black Sea, Baltic Sea, and more recently in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.

“GNSS signal interference can not only increase the risk of collision or grounding but also compromise critical safety systems,” Ringbakken stated. “This programme offers our members the opportunity to lower premiums by investing in cost-effective A-PNT solutions to maintain situational awareness, safety, and positioning integrity”.

Security Vulnerabilities

DNK Project Manager Alan Louis Belardinelli explained that readily available signal jamming and spoofing equipment enables hostile state or non-state actors to disrupt a ship’s GNSS positioning signals. “GNSS jamming and spoofing not only compromise situational awareness, the intentional manipulation of positioning data can also lead vessels into sanctioned or restricted zones,” he noted.

Technology Solution

Under DNK Board direction, the organization evaluated A-PNT solutions based on Iridium’s global network of 66 Low Earth Orbit satellites, which provides the world’s only pole-to-pole positioning and communications service. A DNK project group reviewed multiple PNT solution providers before selecting Iridium’s satellite network as the optimal choice for commercial maritime deployment.

“After extensive research, DNK found that the Iridium signal, which is 1,000 times more powerful than GNSS signals, is significantly more difficult to disrupt, adding a significant layer of enhanced positioning resilience,” Belardinelli explained. “Signal attacks can also play havoc with onboard digital systems that rely on GNSS to provide a source of timing, necessary for safe navigation and efficient operations”.

Rohit Braggs, Vice President of PNT at Iridium, emphasized that Iridium’s LEO satellite network delivers the strength, reliability, and trust demanded by today’s maritime environment.