HOW IT WORKS

Most vessels now carry a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver and this is a mandatory requirement (for vessels over 300gt) as part of the Global Marine Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). By connecting the GPS to suitable radio equipment, the vessel may be interrogated by a shore station over VHF channel 70 using Digital Selective Calling (DSC) and can automatically respond with information relating to the vessel’s course, size, passage and cargo. Ships may also use suitable systems to identify each other accurately and quickly for collision avoidance.

Vessels may be routinely polled and their positions automatically plotted within a vessel tracking system. As well as being conveniently visually displayed, vessel information is stored in the system’s database, providing a valuable log of vessel movements.

VTS2000 currently supports Sailor VHF VTS equipment (RT2048/RM2042, including basket) or suitable VHF DSC VTS radio equipment from other manufacturers which supports NMEA0183 protocols, e.g. ICS Electronics. It works with the widely used TCP/IP networking protocol to give simple and scalable tracking network solutions, even over the Internet.

VTS2000 works by transmitting a special DSC command via the VHF radio to the on-board radio, if appropriate, the radio will return the vessel's current position etc. The system can be set so that only vessels in a specific area, heading or type respond. The received vessel information is logged and the positions displayed on a high quality Livechart digital chart. The level of detail shown can be set by the user.