customers and radar suppliers. The vagaries of the propagation paths can also introduce unpredictable positional measurement errors affecting both angle and range even when an object is clearly detected. HF radar installation requires some careful selection of suitable coastal terrain which may not suit all potential VTS locations. Similarly, suitable sites will rarely support the necessary infrastructure (power, communications, access for installation and maintenance) and these need to be factored into the installation and operational costs. Finally, optimising the nature of HF radar may impose high workload on specialised, highly trained operators. If the limitations are acceptable, this technology offers valuable passive detection in open waters, expensive to obtain by other means (airborne sensors and satellite). Realistically, however, HF radar systems are not used for VTS purposes. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SARSAT) Satellite-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SARSAT) can provide vessel target information at ranges beyond that of shore-based sensors, including HF Radar. However, such services will probably only provide a single image of a specific area once per day through a few orbiting satellites. Images are stored on-board the satellite until they can be downloaded as the satellite passes over a ground station. The image is processed, following download from the satellite, to detect ships within the area and radar information (without identity) can be derived that can be used to recognise the type of vessel. This type of service is for analysis of vessel movement and not for any form of near real time monitoring. In addition to the latency between the required image capture and the download when passing over a ground station, there is also a further latency related to the processing of the received data. SARSAT may, for example, be useful for detecting illegal fishing activity in remote areas of a and for detecting oil spills and country’s Exclusive Economic Zone pollution. Specific Design, Configuration, Installation and Maintenance Considerations SARSAT is available from a variety of established service providers and does not require any special design, configuration or installation on the part of the VTS Authority. The VTS Authority will need to subscribe to a SARSAT image service and costs are involved on a per image basis. Once access to such a service has been established, the VTS Authority will be able to integrate the SARSAT target data as appropriate for his operational requirements.
customers and radar suppliers. The vagaries of the propagation paths can also introduce unpredictable positional measurement errors affecting both angle and range even when an object is clearly detected. HF radar installation requires some careful selection of suitable coastal terrain which may not suit all potential VTS locations. Similarly, suitable sites will rarely support the necessary infrastructure (power, communications, access for installation and maintenance) and these need to be factored into the installation and operational costs. Finally, optimising the nature of HF radar may impose high workload on specialised, highly trained operators. If the limitations are acceptable, this technology offers valuable passive detection in open waters, expensive to obtain by other means (airborne sensors and satellite). Realistically, however, HF radar systems are not used for VTS purposes. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SARSAT) Satellite-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SARSAT) can provide vessel target information at ranges beyond that of shore-based sensors, including HF Radar. However, such services will probably only provide a single image of a specific area once per day through a few orbiting satellites. Images are stored on-board the satellite until they can be downloaded as the satellite passes over a ground station. The image is processed, following download from the satellite, to detect ships within the area and radar information (without identity) can be derived that can be used to recognise the type of vessel. This type of service is for analysis of vessel movement and not for any form of near real time monitoring. In addition to the latency between the required image capture and the download when passing over a ground station, there is also a further latency related to the processing of the received data. SARSAT may, for example, be useful for detecting illegal fishing activity in remote areas of a country’s Exclusive Economic Zone and for detecting oil spills and pollution. Specific Design, Configuration, Installation and Maintenance Considerations SARSAT is available from a variety of established service providers and does not require any special design, configuration or installation on the part of the VTS Authority. The VTS Authority will need to subscribe to a SARSAT image service and costs are involved on a per image basis. Once access to such a service has been established, the VTS Authority will be able to integrate the SARSAT target data as appropriate for his operational requirements.
VTS36-34%20Draft%20revised%20%20V128%20ed%204%20rev%2017%20-%20chapters%201-8.docx