NRP Portugal

especially in the light of the set of requirements and criteria established in the 1st phase for a SeaHighwayservicewithportsofcallinthePortugueseportsystem.Thetwopilotsaretheservices: Leixões‐Tilbury‐Rotterdam‐Leixões,operatedbySAMSKIP; Sines‐LaSpezia‐Sines,operatedbyMSC.Based on the experience already accumulated from the pilots and the respective use of theinfrastructure,thenewfinalreportfortheprojectisbeingwrittentobepresentedtotheEuropeanCommissioninthe2 nd Semesterof2008,asagreedwiththeCommissionrepresentatives.5.MonitoringshippingalongtheAtlanticcoastline(VTS‐VesselTrafficSystems)The main general objectives of this project, which allows for the control of all sea traffic up to 50nautical miles from the coast of mainland Portugal, are to improve safety and security, manage seatrafficandpreservetheenvironmentalheritageinthenationalcoastalzone.ImplementationoftheVTSSystemisessentialforachievingthe3Governmentpolicies: Safety/SecurityPolicy;o IncreasethesafetyofvesselsinPortuguesecoastalwatersandintheCabodaRocaandCabodeS.VicenteTrafficSeparationSchemes;o Increasesafetyforhumanlife;o Supporttheorganisationofcoastalsearchandrescue;o Guaranteemorenationalsecurityanddefenceconditions;o Support anti‐intruder measures and those to prevent the landing of illegal personsandillicitactivitiesincoastalwaters;ando Supportfuturemanagementsystemandmaritimesurveillancedevelopments. EnvironmentalPolicy;o Protectandimprovethemarineandcoastalenvironment;ooGuaranteegreaterapplicationoftheprincipleofpolluter‐payer;andEnsure that the transportation of dangerous merchandise is kept away from thecoast. EconomicPolicy.o Improveportactivityefficiency;o Encourageeconomicdevelopment;o Providesupportformoreeffectivecontrolandsupervisionofcoastalfishingactivitiesandothereconomicactivities;ando ContributetoabetteruseofthePortugueseExclusiveEconomicZone;TheVTSSystembasicallyconsistsofasetofcomponentssuchasradars,shipautomaticidentificationsystem(AIS),meteorologicalsensors,VHFvoicecommunicationsystems,dataprocessingandmergingsystems,interalia,whichintegrateinacomplexwaytoallowforthemonitoringandcontrolofseatraffic.WiththeVTSSysteminstalledonthecontinent,twolevelsofservicebecameavailable: TheCoastalservice,coveringthewholeofthecoastformainlandPortugal;and The Port service, covering the ports of Aveiro, Figueira da Foz, Viana do Castelo, Faro andPortimão.In coastal VTS, detection, communication and control capacity, by means of radars, ship to shorecommunicationandthenewautomaticidentificationsystem(AIS),extendstoadistanceof50milesoffshore,withconstantcoverageandpermanentcontrol–roundtheclock,365daysperyear.InportVTS,thesametypeofsensorswillcovertheapproximationzonesuptoaround15milesoutsidetherespectivelimits,theauthorisedanchorages,thebarsandnavigationwithineachport,facilitatingevenmoreapproachoperationsandentryintoNationalPorts.Budgetedatover100millionEuros,themainlandVTSprojectisofhightechnologicalcomplexity.Thesystemconsistsof:54