Inmarsat and IMSO
collaborate to enhance maritime safety in
Vanuatu
24 May 2017
Five Inmarsat Fleet One units are being used
in a pilot initiative that aims to bring change
to the way ships that connect island communities
in the Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu
communicate.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO)
endorsed capacity-building pilot programme is
the result of co-operation between the
International Mobile Satellite Organization
(IMSO) and the Government of Vanuatu, under the
leadership of the Ambassador of Vanuatu to the
IMO.
Waterborne transportation plays an
indispensable role in the day-to-day life of
states relying on maritime transportation that
includes small island states. The Vanuatu
archipelago, for instance, stretches 1,300km
from north to south and comprises 82 small
islands, of which 65 are inhabited.
However, the small vessels used to connect
these islands typically fall outside the scope
of international maritime conventions and safety
standards, which tend to focus on large
commercial tonnage.
Safety standards on smaller vessels operating
in less developed countries have been a growing
concern for the IMO. Moreover, whether due to
overcrowding, rough weather or collisions, a
lack of adequate and efficient ship-to-shore
communication often compounds incidents.
“In small island states, vessels mostly
operate on coastal routes or in domestic waters
between neighbouring islands,” says Peter
Broadhurst, Inmarsat Senior Vice President for
Safety and Security.
“Despite providing a lifeline to the
communities they serve, vessels sometimes don’t
have their own lifeline if something goes wrong.
They can be poorly equipped to communicate in an
emergency, and often rely on mobile phones which
can go out of range.”
The five Fleet One units are destined for the
20m landing craft Valerie, the 28.5m
tugboat Warringa and three
cargo/passenger vessels Makila (22.5m
length), Kiwi Trader (31m) and
Vanuatu Ferry (57m). Installation and
training for the vessels’ Masters will take
place in Port Vila, the archipelago’s capital
city and site of its largest harbour.
The pilot project will see Inmarsat provide
three months of free data usage, while its 505
emergency and distress calling service is being
offered on a permanent basis. Inmarsat’s free
‘505’ distress calling service directs calls to
the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC)
best able to handle an emergency.
“Ensuring safety of life at sea is a matter
of optimum capacity utilised by the operators.
It can be best achieved through the development
of the right human skills and the use of
befitting technologies such as Fleet One, which
is expected to enhance capacity of operators, in
particular, for non-convention vessels operating
in the environment of small island states and we
intend to replicate such laudable initiatives in
other regions in the future,” said Capt. Moin
Ahmed, Director General of IMSO.
Fleet One ensures safety by supporting the
data demands of seasonal or sporadic users,
providing reliable connectivity for operations
moving in and out of VHF or mobile coverage
areas.
It gives seafarers sufficient data
availability to download weather reports and
navigational updates, to access email for
operational reasons, and to make simultaneous
voice calls and send SMS texts.
Vanuatu is establishing a National Emergency
Telecommunication Cluster, which will link
various governmental departments, humanitarian
agencies and logistics services, among others.
There is an aspiration for 505 calls to be
routed to the cluster to facilitate speedy and
coordinated responses.
Both the Ministry of Infrastructure and
Public Utilities and the Vanuatu Office of the
Government Chief Information Officer are closely
involved in the pilot programme. “To be
successful, initiatives of this kind must gain
the support and cooperation of local
stakeholders,” said Broadhurst.
“Initiating this project was a natural
response to our local seafarers’ safety, who are
too often cut off with the outside world once
they are off our coasts. The Inmarsat and IMSO
partnership has successfully resulted in the
equipment of five local vessels and we are
looking forward to extending the roll-out of
Fleet One to all 25 remaining Vanuatu domestic
ships trading inter-island when the pilot
project is deemed a success.
“Further in-kind support initiatives with
other leading organisations are being considered
to conclude the project and provide safety
services to the 25 remaining vessels trading
inter-island,” said H.E Laurent Parenté,
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of
Vanuatu to the IMO.