Finnish Maritime Administration to add Latest Computer Technology for Vessel Traffic Services.

(Bezons France) SOFRELOG has been awarded a contract to supply their SYTAR Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) System to the Finnish Maritime Administration. The system will monitor vessel traffic in Gulf of Bothnia waters serving ten of the Northern Finland's ports and terminals. The signing ceremony took place on the 3rd of September 1999 on-board the Finnish Icebreaker Flagship "Urho" with Mr. Kyšsti Vesterinen, the Director General of the Finnish Maritime Administration (FMA) and Mr. Georges Roy, President of SOFRELOG.

Annual vessel traffic movements in the area reaches 10000, often with difficult winter icing conditions in narrow channels. A single control centre will monitor maritime activity along more than 700 km of coastline through 10 radar stations (using a total of 13 radars), multiple video camera sensors, and other communication equipment. The system will be capable of integrating information from other local VTS systems, as well as a new Automatic Identification System (AIS) network which is under construction. The new facility is planned to be installed in two phases and completed for pre-operational use in September 2000.

To be operated in association with Gulf of Bothnia Coast Guard, the new system is intended to provide the capability for control of traffic, navigation assistance, pilot guidance, search and rescue operation, monitoring of ice conditions, and control of smuggling and other infringing activities.

One reason the FMA selected SYTAR was the need for extremely high reliability and performance. The remote unmanned sensors are often in very difficult to reach locations, especially during the harsh winter season. It was observed that SYTAR's reliable network communications technology has performed well in similar environments. SYTAR also enables many maintenance and adjustment function to be carried out remotely from the control centre.

SYTAR has been installed in a number of prominent port and waterway systems. Among these are the Ports of London UK, Marseilles, Tunis, Calais, Dakar in Senegal, Abidjan in the Ivory Coast and Cotonou in the Benin Rep. In cooperation with port authorities, the Ports of Rouen and Bordeaux pilot associations are using SYTAR for pilotage assistance. In addition, SYTAR is used by The Royal Danish Navy for coastal monitoring, The Canadian Coast Guard for monitoring the Pacific coastal waters in the vicinity of Vancouver Island, the Kiel Canal in Germany for lock control, as well as multiple stations on the Dover Strait.

Back to News Mainpage