Wärtsilä's VTS for Two French Ports

The technology group Wärtsilä will supply its Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) solution to two of France’s leading ports, Calais and Boulogne. 

The Wärtsilä VTS will effectively manage vessel traffic in these busy harbors to deliver greater operational efficiency and safety. The order with Wärtsilä was placed in October 2019 by Région Hauts-de-France, the government entity responsible for this tender.

The system optimizes planning and traffic monitoring to reduce waiting time for vessels and allow just-in-time pilotage. It will be delivered during the ‘Calais Port 2015’ project deployment, which is one of the decade’s major French construction undertakings, and is the first maritime project within the European Union’s investment plan for priority infrastructures. Calais currently handles 10 million passengers, 44 million tons of goods, and 2 million trucks per year.

Wärtsilä will also supply a VTS simulator for the ongoing training of the port’s staff. Calais will be the first port in France to have its own advanced VTS simulator installed. The scope of this complete solution delivery also includes two solid state IALA Advanced radars, which will be integrated with the port’s existing radars, and seven operator workshops.