Chapter 13, 28 FebruaryIcelandic Coast Guard

ERS/VMS/AIS

• The ICG is a law enforcement agency responsible for

– maritime surveillance for safety and security

– monitoring and response on the ocean around Iceland

• The operation is based on – gathering, analyzing and

distributing information – close cooperation with the

neighbouring countries in order to create as accurate a surface picture as possible, at any given moment, to ensure maritime safety and security

The Icelandic Coast GuardThe Icelandic Coast Guard

• Safety and security surveillance and law enforcement at sea

– Protection against illegal activities such as illegal migration and illegal drug trafficking

– Fisheries control and enforcement– Pollution surveillance and response– Natural resource and ecology protection– Salvage and rescue diving– International cooperation

• Search and rescue• Emergency medical transport• Explosive Ordinance Disposal “EOD”• Hydrographic surveying and nautical

charting• Assistance to law enforcement on land• Civil protection

The tasks of the Icelandic Coast Guard

• The Icelandic EEZ is an area of 754.000 km2 – There are ca. 1600

vessels on the Icelandic registry.

• Up to 1000 vessels can be at sea at the same time.

• Vessels from Greenland, Faroe Islands, Norway and EU are licensed to fish in the Icelandic EEZ.

• Over 1800 vessels arrive from abroad to Iceland every year.

Activity in the area

Icelandic SRR• 1.9 million km2

– Icelandic Coast Guard responsible for Maritime and Aeronautical SAR in the area

– JRCC operated by Icelandic Coast Guard

Icelandic Search and Rescue Region

Assets

• Ocean Patrol Vessel (OPVs)• Coastal Patrol Vessel (CPV)• MPA• Search and Rescue (SAR)

helicopters

The Integrated System

• Maritime related services combined in a single centre– Maritime Traffic Service

• VTS• Vessel monitoring centre

– Fisheries Monitoring Centre• Fisheries VMS

– Schengen Border Control– Coastal Radio

• Compliance with GMDSS

– Coast Guard Operations• General Maritime Surveillance

coordination• MRCC + ARCC =JRCC

Integrated System - Single Point of Contact

Crew List

Ship Registry

Fishing licencesSchengen - ISPS

Port call

Position

Entry – Exit

Catch/activity

Sightings

Coast Guard databaseSafe Sea Net database

Operation centre•VMS•FMC•MTS•MRCC – ARCC = JRCC•GMDSS•Coast Guard

•112 (Emergency hot-line)

•Civil Protection•State Police

•Voluntary SAR

Compiled files automatically distributed to relevant recipients.

State PoliceCustoms

Directorate of FisheriesIcelandic Maritime Administration

Port security officersNEAFC – NAFO

Other States

Fisheries VMS Safety VMS

VDS

NEAFC POS - Catch and Activity – Notifications and Authorisations.

Vessels in tracking Vessels in tracking

Coast Guard vessels

Coast Guard aircraft

Other States

AIS

PSC

Coastal Radar

LRIT

Coast Guard Operation Centre Information Flow ChartCoast Guard Operation Centre Information Flow Chart

The VMS

• Tracking is primarily for safety– Reporting frequency

• Ships 24 m > one-hour• Ships < 24 m every 15

minute– One-hour if outside the

VHF coverage but must then have appropriate tracking device installed

• Passenger ships every 15 minute

– Same reports used for safety and fisheries control

• Closed areas monitored at operations centre

Bilateral VMS

• Bilateral tracking agreements with;– Greenland

– Faroe Islands

– Norway

– Russia

• Automatic procedures• Daily catch reporting

– Full “Electronic Reporting” from the vessels Electronic Logbooks is being tested

• Vessel Detection System (VDS) – VDS has been used by the Icelandic

Coast Guard since 2001

– Based on Low Earth Orbiting Satellites using radar

• Image window 300 x 300 kilometres

– Automatically correlated with VMS information

– Unknown targets highlighted

– Found to be especially useful to have a snapshot of distant areas

– Can make maritime surveillance more cost effective, especially the airborne surveillance

VDS during the redfish season in the Irminger Sea

VDS

Processed VDS image of vessels fishing for redfish in the Irminger Sea 19th May 2007

Catch and fishing effort reporting

• The Icelandic Coast Guard – Receives catch and activity

reports from all foreign fishing vessels authorised to operate in the IEEZ

• All reports are stored in a database • Data automatically transmitted to

patrol units and used for comparison during inspections at sea

• Full access to received data for the Directorate of Fisheries

– Receives same reports from NEAFC CP vessels operating in relevant Regulatory Area waters from the NEAFC Secretariat

• Data is accessible for NEAFC inspectors on scene

Automation

Distribution of data

• Catch and activity– Compiled list transmitted every

few hours

• Position list– Transmitted as plain text, file for

import into inspection database and as data for display in the patrol units ECDIS

• Schengen list - Port-call list– Summarised lists transmitted

every few hours to several recipients

• Missing reports list– List of vessels which have not

transmitted required reports, such as Catch

Automation, cont.

• Warning lists– Compiled every few hours

– Comparison of VMS position list against;

• Ship registry

• Fishing licence database

• Suspension list

• Crew list

– Transmitted to all patrol units, operations centre and operations division

ERS

• Iceland is preparing a full ERS with reporting from Electronic Logbooks– Electronic Logbooks already a requirement in Iceland

• Reporting software as an add-on has been introduced and used by some vessels

– ERS to fulfil RFMO requirement• NEAFC

– Bilateral ERS

– Content of reports still being discussed• Possibility to include additional data • Today's report format and message types may still be used• Broadband online connection to fishing vessels may however introduce

new possibilities

Use of AIS

• AIS system already established in Iceland

– Used for;• Tracking for vessel safety

– Is now replacing existing dedicated VHF reporting system

• As fisheries VMS is using the same data, AIS is applicable for fisheries control within its area of signal distribution

– Additional value for fisheries control• Patrol vessels and aircraft equipped with

AIS– Remote identification possible

Integration of different sensors -

Building the recognised Surface PictureBuilding the recognised Surface Picture

International fisheries enforcement

• Obligations for fisheries control in the NEAFC Regulatory Area– Coast Guard with inspection

and surveillance presence• OPV - MPA

– Automatic forwarding from the NEAFC Secretariat of;

• VMS positions• COE – ENT – CAT – TRA – POR –

COX and EXI reports from CP vessels and cooperating non-CP vessels

– All VMS information visible at Integrated Operations Centre and in ECDIS of relevant surveillance unit

Questions ?Questions ?