Topic 3 Vessel Traffic Services

Time Frame Week 4 - 5 | 4 hours

Learning Outcome | At the end of this topic, you should be able to:

Identify the different Vessel Traffic Services to be utilized in a certain voyage

Materials

Pen and Paper

Lesson 1 Vessel Traffic Services

Pre-Test

Instructions: Read the question carefully. Write your answers on the ANSWER SHEET
provided.

1. What do you think is the relation between the TSS and VTS?
2. Why do you think VTS exists?

Vocabulary List

1. Noxious. Physically harmful or destructive to living beings [noxious waste noxious

fumes]
2. Rammings. Refers to hitting a target by running oneself into the target.

Acronym

AIS. Automatic Identification System

Engagement Activity

Instructions. Follow tasks given below. Read the questions and write your answers on the
ANSWER SHEET provided.

1. On your OTG Drive, watch the video entitled “Singapore Strait.mp4”

2. Pay attention to reporting systems – how to report, what to report.
 3. What do you understand about the role of VTIS for safe passage on the Singapore
Strait?

MARINERS’ Legazpi
ALFAS Learning Module | Page 26

Vessel traffic services - VTS - are shore-

side systems which range from the
provision of simple information messages
to ships, such as position of other traffic
or meteorological hazard warnings, to
extensive management of traffic within a
port or waterway.

Generally, ships entering a VTS area report

Fig. 1 The VTIS headquarters at Singapore Strait. Photo from
to the authorities, usually by radio, and Ministry of Transport.
may be tracked by the VTS control centre.

Ships must keep watch on a specific frequency for navigational or other warnings, while they may
be contacted directly by the VTS operator if there is risk of an incident or, in areas where traffic
flow is regulated, to be given advice on when to proceed.

SOLAS Chapter V (Safety of Navigation) states that governments may establish VTS when, in their opinion,
the volume of traffic or the degree of risk justifies such services.

The Development of VTS

Traditionally, the master of a ship has been responsible for a ship's course and speed, assisted by a
pilot where necessary. Ships approaching a port would announce their arrival using flag signals.

With the development of radio in the late 19th century, radio contact became more important.
But the development of radar during World War Two made it possible to accurately monitor and
track shipping traffic.

The world's first harbour surveillance radar was inaugurated in Liverpool, England, in July 1948
and in March 1950, a radar surveillance system was established at Long Beach, California - the
first such system in the United States. The ability of the coastal authority to keep track of
shipping traffic by radar, combined with the facility to transmit messages concerning navigation
to those ships by radio, therefore constituted the first formal VTS systems.

The value of VTS in navigation safety was first recognized by IMO in resolution A.158 ([Link])
Recommendation on Port Advisory Systems adopted in 1968, but as technology advanced and
the equipment to track and monitor shipping traffic became more sophisticated, it was clear
guidelines were needed on standardizing procedures in setting up VTS. In particular, it became
apparent that there was a need to clarify when a VTS might be established and to allay fears in
some quarters that a VTS might impinge on the ship's master's responsibility for navigating the
vessel.

MARINERS’ Legazpi
ALFAS Learning Module | Page 27

As a result, in 1985, IMO adopted resolution A.578 (14) Guidelines for Vessel Traffic Services,
which said that VTS was particularly appropriate in the approaches and access channels of a port
and in areas having high traffic density, movements of noxious or dangerous cargoes,
navigational difficulties, narrow channels, or environmental sensitivity. The Guidelines also made
clear that decisions concerning effective navigation and maneuvering of the vessel remained
with the ship's master. The Guidelines also highlighted the importance of pilotage in a VTS and
reporting procedures for ships passing through an area where a VTS operates.

Revised VTS Guidelines

Revised Guidelines for vessel traffic services, including Guidelines on Recruitment, Qualifications
and Training of VTS Operators, were adopted as Assembly resolution A.857(20) in November
1997.

VTS and SOLAS

Vessel Traffic Services were not specifically referred to in the International Convention for the
Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974, but in June 1997 IMO's Maritime Safety Committee adopted a
new regulation to Chapter V (Safety of Navigation), which set out when VTS can be implemented.

A revised SOLAS chapter V on Safety of Navigation was adopted in December 2000, and entered
into force on 1 July 2002. Regulation 12 Vessel traffic services states:

Vessel traffic services (VTS) contribute to safety of life at sea, safety and efficiency of navigation
and protection of the marine environment, adjacent shore areas, work sites and offshore
installations from possible adverse effects of maritime traffic.
Contracting Governments undertake to arrange for the establishment of VTS where, in their
opinion, the volume of traffic or the degree of risk justifies such services.
Contracting Governments planning and implementing VTS shall, wherever possible, follow the
guidelines developed by the Organization. The use of VTS may only be made mandatory in sea
areas within the territorial seas of a coastal State.
Contracting Governments shall endeavour to secure the participation in, and compliance with,
the provisions of vessel traffic services by ships entitled to fly their flag.
Nothing in this regulation or the guidelines adopted by the Organization shall prejudice the rights
and duties of Governments under international law or the legal regimes of straits used for
international navigation and archipelagic sea lanes.
 There are two main types of VTS, surveilled and non-surveilled. Surveilled systems consist of one
or more land-based sensors (i.e. radar, AIS and closed circuit television sites), which output their
signals to a central location where operators monitor and manage vessel traffic movement.
Nonsurveilled systems consist of one or more reporting points at which ships are required to
report their identity, course, speed, and other data to the monitoring authority. They encompass
a wide range of techniques and capabilities aimed at preventing vessel collisions, rammings, and

MARINERS’ Legazpi
ALFAS Learning Module | Page 28

groundings in the harbor, harbor approach and inland waterway phase of navigation. They are
also designed to expedite ship movements, increase transportation system efficiency, and
improve all-weather operating capability.

VHF-FM communications network forms the basis of most major services. Transiting vessels
make position reports to a vessel traffic center by radiotelephone and are in turn provided with
accurate, complete, and timely navigational safety information. The addition of a network of
radars, AIS, and close circuit television cameras for surveillance and computer-assisted tracking,
similar to that used in air traffic control, allows the VTS to play a more significant role in marine
traffic management, thereby decreasing vessel congestion, critical encounter situations, and the
probability of a marine casualty resulting in environmental damage.

Source

International Maritime Organization. Vessel Traffic Services.

[Link]

Further Reading

MI News Network. Marine Insight. What are Vessel Traffic Services? October 11, 2019.
[Link]
MARINERS’ Legazpi
ALFAS Learning Module | Page 29