Minister Uraloğlu announces the launch of the Eastern Mediterranean Vessel Traffic Services system in Northern Cyprus on July 20.
Minister Uraloğlu stated that the system established in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as part of the Eastern Mediterranean Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) Project conducted by the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs will be put into service on July 20.
Uraloğlu reported that final preparations are underway for the commissioning of the system, which has been completed in the TRNC. He conveyed that they have completed the construction works, equipment installations, and software integration processes for the project.
"We have ensured the integration of AIS and radar data."
Uraloğlu pointed out that the Eastern Mediterranean VTS Project will further strengthen Turkey's presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, stating, "By commissioning the system on July 20, we will begin to effectively monitor vessel traffic in the maritime jurisdiction areas of the TRNC. With this project, we will protect our interests in our blue homeland and will be able to continuously monitor vessel traffic in the maritime area between the TRNC's surrounding seas and our country. Thanks to the software and critical hardware that we have developed entirely with domestic and national capabilities, we will also reinforce our technological independence in this field."
Uraloğlu noted that the project is being carried out by the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs, with HAVELSAN as the contractor. He mentioned that the Vessel Traffic Services Center established in Famagusta, along with the Traffic Monitoring Stations in Karpaz, Sadrazamköy, and Çayırova, have been integrated into the system. He emphasized that they have also ensured the integration of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) data from Selvitepe and the AIS and radar data from Kantara, and announced that they have completed the preparation processes and will put the system into service on July 20.
"We will conduct uninterrupted monitoring 24 hours a day."
Uraloğlu emphasized that the Traffic Monitoring Stations are among the main components of the system and continued as follows:
"Thanks to radars, cameras, communication equipment, AIS systems, and other sensors, we will conduct uninterrupted monitoring 24 hours a day. Any vessel within the scope of Vessel Traffic Services will be detected instantly, and the data obtained will be transmitted simultaneously to both the center in the TRNC and the Mersin Vessel Traffic Services Center. Our radars, which are the most important element of our Traffic Monitoring Stations, are the SERDAR 7M radars produced by ASELSAN using domestic and national resources."
Providing information about the benefits that the TRNC Vessel Traffic Services System will offer, Uraloğlu stated that many operations will be carried out, including vessel identification, uninterrupted monitoring and regulation of traffic, transmission of navigation information and general alerts, control of special areas, contribution to the tracking of illegal activities, issuing danger alerts, informing relevant institutions in emergencies such as accidents and fires, and sharing meteorological data.
Source: SeaNews Türkiye
