Kongsberg to develop Norwegian VTS

Kongsberg Norcontrol IT (KNC) has been chosen by the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) to develop a new national Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), which will use its C-Scope maritime surveillance system. Norway has five VTS centres covering ship traffic along its coast; they are located in Horten, Brevik, Kvitsøy, Fedje and Vardø. Under the five-year contract, which started this February, Kongsberg will replace the VTS systems currently in use at all five centres.The company says it will implement its C-Scope system at the centres, which first entered service for the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) in 2011.

"The C-Scope system for NCA will build upon the VTS system in Singapore, so it will be based on a proven installation in one of the world’s busiest waterways," says Fred Fredriksen, senior project manager, KNC.

Headquartered in Kongsberg (Norway), the company explains that its system provides satellite-based earth observation data integrated with terrestrial RADAR, AIS, and electro-optic sensors in addition to Radar Data Processing and automatic de-clutter technology.

The Norwegian VTS will include a number of additional new features, such as remote traffic display for mobile devices, 3D traffic visualisation and an integrated chat client.

Under the contract, Kongsberg will also deliver a VTS simulation system, to be located at the NCA office in Haugesund, which is the national centre for VTS competence. The simulator will be able to display both a simulated and live VTS traffic image.

In addition to the installation in Haugesund, smaller VTS simulators will be set up at the other VTS centres to conduct local training.

"With simulators based on and integrated with the real systems, Kongsberg can provide the ‘Full Picture’, supporting the strict training requirements for VTS operators and helping to ensure high competence throughout the organisation," says Tone-Merete Hansen, sales manager Norway, Kongsberg Maritime, simulation.

By 2018, the regional VTS centres of Horten, Kvitsøy, Brevik, Fedje, and Vardø will be completed and online with the new Norwegian VTS, says Kongsberg.

(The Digital Ship)