Maritime Traffic Management News

The IMO and the Republic of Korea have signed a suite of agreements to formally establish and boost the IMO-Republic of Korea Sustainable Maritime Transport Cooperation (SMART-C) program.The goal of the KRW 25.5 billion (approximately $20 million) SMART-C program is to promote sustainable maritime transport systems and a sustainable marine environment by building knowledge and developing technical capacity in developing countries via long-term thematic projects.This Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding will ensure long-term programming of several technical cooperation projects.

Navelink is a newly formed sea traffic management industry consortium initiated by the industrial companies Kongsberg Gruppen, Saab and Wärtsilä, three influential and significant maritime equipment manufacturers and service providers.The aim of the consortium is to reach a new global standard enabling scalable maritime information exchange. The consortium already has the Swedish Maritime Authority (SMA) boarded and has commissioned Combitech to deliver the infrastructure needed."Ship owners and operators, as well as coastal and port authorities and their service providers can benefit from the open infrastructure we are establishing.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is co-organizing a workshop with the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) to support the operationalization of e-navigation solutions, the first since Singapore’s election to the IALA Council in 2018.E-navigation, a concept driven by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and like-minded nations including Singapore, aims to make marine navigation safer and marine communications more reliable, as well as to reduce accidents and damage to the environment.Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive of MPA, said, “As one the world’s busiest hub ports with some 1…

Singapore is set to get new technology to help in preventing ship collisions.The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said it has engaged the services of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), Singapore Management University (SMU) and Fujitsu to develop new predictive technologies for maritime vessel traffic management. These predictive technologies will tap the power of artificial intelligence and big data analytics, to enhance navigational safety within the Port of Singapore. The initiative is in line with the Maritime Transformation Program unveiled during this year’s MPA budget…

To continue growing the maritime cluster and capturing new opportunities, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will strengthen the connectivity and inter-linkages of Singapore’s maritime cluster, build a vibrant innovation ecosystem and develop a future-ready and skilled maritime workforce. MPA will also enhance and top up the Maritime Cluster Fund (MCF)[1] by $100 million in support of our vision for Maritime Singapore to be the Global Maritime Hub for Connectivity, Innovation and Talent. MPA will strengthen Singapore’s connectivity to capture both physical and non-physical flows. This will enable Singapore to remain as a thriving hub for maritime activities and businesses.

As one of the wonders of the natural world, many consider the Great Barrier Reef one of the Earth’s most beautiful places. The marine environment in the area is extremely sensitive and with around 4000 commercial vessels passing every year, it is important for the vessel services operators working onshore to keep track of the traffic at all times. That’s where Saab comes in. Comprising nearly 3000 individual reefs and almost 100 islands, the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system. Located off the coast of Queensland, Australia it can be seen from space and is the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms. It also requires protection. To help, Saab will contribute through a Vessel Traffic Management Information System, or VTMIS for short.

The Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) has revealed the growing demand for marine driving licenses in the Emirate of Dubai as reflected by the high volume of applications for marine crews operating within local waters. In response, the DMCA’s Maritime Traffic Management team ensures the Skippers’ Evaluation course being provided to Skippers with a one-hour briefing class on ‘Marine Knowledge for Boat Operation’ with a focus on deepening and enriching modern marine knowledge in managing operational processes before undergoing formal inspection. This is a step forward in integrating maritime safety, operational efficiency and safe navigation along the local coastlines to position Dubai at the forefront of the world's most advanced, competitive and attractive maritime and logistics hubs.

The SESAME Straits project utilizes e-Navigation concepts to reduce maritime traffic congestion and hot spots, as well as improve traffic safety and efficiency. Leading up to the recent Singapore Maritime Technology Conference, the project conducted a successful demonstration in close collaboration with Maritime and Port Authority in Singapore. The SESAME Straits project (Secure, Efficient, and Safe maritime traffic Management in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore) is a 3-year joint Singapore and Norway project…

Defence and security company Saab has deployed its first Common Operating Picture (COP): an extension of Saab’s KleinPort port management information system (PMIS) that makes ports more efficient and competitive. As of November 1st 2016, Flinders Ports in Australia began live utilization of the KleinPort COP. KleinPort COP gives all authorized port stakeholders an easily accessible, map-based overview of their port. The information is layered to allow users to select only the data relevant to their area of responsibility.

Defence and security company Saab has been awarded a contract from the Curacao Ports Authority to install the latest version of Saab’s KleinPort for the Authority’s new Harbor Management System. Curacao Ports will be using KleinPort to manage its multi-harbor operations. System functionality includes the scheduling of vessel traffic and services, the dispatch of pilots and tugs, the recording of cargo data, full tariff billing and provision of comprehensive management reporting. “Curacao Ports required a new harbor management system that also met the needs of its tug subsidiary, KTK.

The Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) initiated the first full-scale trial of e-navigation in Norwegian waters in conjunction with e-navigation technology and services company NAVTOR. The project focuses on the way NCA receives vessel data. Until now, ships had to contact the authority via maritime VHF radio to verbally communicate routing information before both departure and arrival. NCA could then update vessel navigators on traffic and advise of any necessary changes in speed or routing.

The Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) has initiated the first full-scale trial of e-navigation in Norwegian waters in conjunction with e-navigation technology and services company NAVTOR. The test sees the ferry MS Stavangerfjord digitally sharing its routing information with NCA via NAVTOR’s NavStation ‘digital chart table’. The project focuses on the way NCA receives vessel data. Until now, ships had to contact the authority via maritime VHF radio to verbally communicate routing information before both departure and arrival.

As of June 26, 2015, Klein Systems Group Ltd. has changed its name to Saab Technologies Ltd. Klein Systems has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Saab AB since 2012. Saab is a $3.5 billion company serving the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions from military defense to civil security. Being part of the Saab organization has given Klein access to Saab’s financial strength and international resources. It has also allowed the company to offer additional products and integration options…

E-navigation specialist NAVTOR has set course for Asia, with the news that the Egersund, Norway-based business has opened an office in Singapore. The move comes in response to growing regional demand for simple, efficient and cost effective ENC distribution solutions, as the IMO’s ECDIS Mandate continues its gradual roll out. In Europe, NAVTOR is already a recognised leader in ENC distribution and an e-navigation pioneer, holding a preferred supplier position with companies such as Hurtigruten, Teekay, DOF and RCL Cruises. Its ENC service, which is used by owners controlling more than 70% of the entire Norwegian offshore fleet, launched in 2012…

The first of five Norwegian regional VTS Centers to be upgraded under the February 2013 VTS Framework contract between the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) and Kongsberg Norcontrol IT (KNC) has been completed. The NCA, Western Coastal Administration (KYV-V) officially celebrated the opening of the modernized Kvitsøy Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) Center, which was renovated as part of the 36 million NOK (4.4 mil euros) national VTS upgrade project, on June 11, 2014. With a new KNC developed C-Scope VTS system and six new radars…

Kongsberg Norcontrol IT said it will lead a three-year project called SESAME Straits (Secure, Efficient and Safe maritime traffic Management in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore), which aims to create solutions to significantly improve the safety and efficiency of ship navigation across the world. An important test-bed for IMO’s e-Navigation implementation strategy, the objective of the SESAME Straits Project is to develop and validate a revolutionary concept for a next generation Ship Traffic Management System (STMS) in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS).

The starting shot is about to go for the Swedish Maritime Administration’s EU-project, Monalisa 2.0. Innovations and Sea Traffic Management will lead to greater efficiency, higher safety and reduced environmental impact. Vessel traffic is increasingly intensive, leading to a growing risk of accidents. With a superior decision-making base for shipping and a new concept for Sea Traffic Management, the Swedish Maritime Administration – in cooperation with some 30 partners throughout Europe – aims to raise maritime safety.

IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu has launched this year's World Maritime Day theme, "Sustainable development: IMO's contribution beyond Rio+20", calling on Governments and the shipping industry to join together and provide a positive contribution towards formulating sustainable maritime development goals. Speaking at a reception to mark the launch of the theme, at the end of the first day of the 56th session of the Sub-Committee on Fire Protection (FP), Mr. Sekimizu said that, as the United Nations' international regulatory body for shipping, IMO has been, and continues to be, the focal point for, and the driving force behind, efforts to ensure that the industry becomes greener and cleaner.

China launches its largest & most advanced patrol vessel 'Haixun 01' in Wuhan, Hubei province. Haixun 01 is the first Chinese patrol vessel to simultaneously incorporate marine inspection and rescue functions. It will carry out missions regarding maritime inspection, safety monitoring, rescue, oil spill detection and handling, said Xu Guoyi, head of the Shanghai Maritime Bureau, which will manage the ship, which is expected to come into service in late 2012. The Haixun 01 is 128.6 meters in length with a design speed of 37 km per hour and  a maximum sailing distance of 10…

The IMO Council has endorsed a proposal by IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu to adopt “Sustainable Development:  IMO’s contribution beyond Rio+20” as the World Maritime Day theme for 2013. The theme was chosen in order to focus IMO’s efforts during 2013 on the commitments to be made at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, better known as Rio+20, to be held from 20 to 22 June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Addressing the IMO Council, meeting for its 108th session in London, Mr. Sekimizu said that IMO would renew its commitment to sustainable maritime development at Rio+20. “Twenty years ago, the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio adopted the so-called ‘Agenda 21’, which included a set of recommendations related to shipping and the role of IMO.

On October 29, the current European Commission, which according to schedule will be replaced by a new team from the end of next year, presented its final work programme. Of particular interest to tanker owners is that for 2004 the Commission confirmed its intention to present a proposal for an "Erika III" package on maritime safety before May 2004. 3) Regulation on the compliance with IMO flag State rules: the aim of this proposal will be to ensure that flag state rules are applied by all flag States in the enlarged EU. 5) Directive on Maritime Accident Investigation: this proposal will establish a legal framework for inquiries following accidents.