Saab's Maritime Solution Protecting Great Barrier Reef
As one of the wonders of the natural world, many consider the Great Barrier Reef one of the Earth’s most beautiful places.
The marine environment in the area is extremely sensitive and with around 4000 commercial vessels passing every year, it is important for the vessel services operators working onshore to keep track of the traffic at all times. That’s where Saab comes in.
Comprising nearly 3000 individual reefs and almost 100 islands, the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system. Located off the coast of Queensland, Australia it can be seen from space and is the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms. It also requires protection.
To help, Saab will contribute through a Vessel Traffic Management Information System, or VTMIS for short. Serving the Great Barrier Reef and Queensland’s ports in Australia, it will replace the current solution and help authorities to coordinate traffic at five ports in Queensland.
In an area that includes some of the world’s most sensitive sea-lanes, it will improve maritime safety and navigation efficiency, safety of life at sea, and protect the marine environment at the Great Barrier Reef and ports in Queensland.
Saab was selected by Australian Maritime Systems Group (AMSG) to provide the Government of Queensland in Australia with the VTMIS.
“Queensland’s existing Vessel Traffic Service operations would undergo a major systems upgrade to help meet the modern demands of international shipping and environmental safeguards. Operators will be able to provide detailed information to ship captains on sea conditions, ship traffic and potential hazards, as well as to intervene where developing situations dictate”, says Mark Baily, Minister for Main Roads and Ports from the Government of Queensland.
The VTMIS is powered by Saab's V3000 vessel traffic services system and KleinPort Port Management Information System, providing operators with a validated real-time traffic overview. The information is received from radar, CCTV, meteorological sensors, automated digital broadcasts from the ships themselves, and first-hand information from maritime service providers.
“Our maritime traffic management solution has proven itself in the most demanding environments. It is a strong solution for protecting 3000 km of sea lanes running through sensitive areas as the Great Barrier Reef and its surroundings. Together with our partner AMSG, we look forward to supporting the government in Queensland with the best technology available on the market”, says Anders Carp, head of Saab’s business area Surveillance.
