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REPORT
REPORT
Intro “An accident that happens when radio communication failed in maritime”
- VTS Centers monitor the traffic in many highly frequented areas. They also give
instructions and advice in critical situations.
- Note: Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) are being used in waterways worldwide as a means of
diminishing operational and environmental risk in maritime transportation. Their
functions include:
- Vessel traffic management, by an active and passive traffic organization service.
- Visual and electronic aids to navigation
- Crisis management for search and rescue and pollution -Information services including
publications, radio broadcasts, navtext, satellite acquisition of safety and traffic data for
commercial and military purposes and port state control implementation surveillance.
- But VTS operators are also human beings and mistakes may occur in their analysis. It has
to be taken into consideration that a VTS operator only has a restricted view of the
situation. He can only follow the movements of the participating vessels on the radar
screen. He does not know, for instance, the characteristics of the ships. Therefore it is
difficult for him to give exact advice to avoid dangerous situations. Communication
problems and neglect of radio calling procedures make the situation even worse. Due to
communication misinterpretations accidents occur as the following examples show.
In May 1995 the German motor vessel „Aphrodite" collided with the Maltese motor
vessel „Anglia" in the entrance to the port of Rostock (Germany). One of the reasons
was that the VTS-operator did not inform the vessels involved sufficiently well about
the traffic situation in the narrow entrance, it remains unclear whether this was due
to a lack of English skills or for other reasons.
Article 50
Working hours of stations
Explanation:
50.1
every station of the maritime mobile service and the maritime mobile-satellite
service shall have an accurate clock correctly regulated to Coordinated Universal
Time (UTC)
- NOTES: MARITIME MOBILE SERVICE A PERSON IN CHARGE IN WATCHING THE
VTS MACHINE AND ALSO THE NAVTECH TO NAVIGATE
50.2
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), reckoned from 0000 to 2359 h beginning at
midnight, shall be used for all entries in the radiocommunication service log and in
all similar documents of ships compulsorily equipped with radiocommunication
apparatus in compliance with an international agreement; this same provision will
apply, as far as possible, to other ships.
- The Green