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To assist shipowners in complying with the requirements of solas V /19-1 (LRIT)

Shipping Notice: CISN 05/2008

Published 1st July 2008, 1:50pm

Printable Version

This shipping notice contains information to assist in complying with the requirements of solas V /19-1 (LRIT)

This notice is directed primarily at:

  • Owners, managers or operators of Cayman Islands ships and yachts over 300 GT

  • Masters of Cayman Islands ships and yachts over 300 GT

  1. Background

    1. Long Range Identification and Tracking of Ships (LRIT) is a maritime domain awareness initiative developed at IMO as part of the wider Maritime Security measures adopted following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. LRIT allows Administrations to receive position reports from ships flying their Flag wherever they are in the world. It will also allow Governments to receive similar position reports from all ships in the vicinity of their coastlines and territorial waters.

    2. LRIT is given effect through amendments to chapter V of the SOLAS Convention and the introduction of regulation SOLAS V/19-1.

    3. This regulation requires ships to transmit the following information for LRIT purposes:

      • the identity of the ship (IMO Number and Name),

      • the position of the ship (Latitude and Longitude), and

      • the date and time of the position report

    4. Owners of Cayman Islands ships will incur no costs associated with the transmission and receipt of the position reports required by LRIT.

  2. Application

    1. SOLAS V/19-1 applies to the following ships engaged on international voyages:

      • passenger ships, including high-speed passenger craft,

      • cargo ships, including high speed craft, of 300 GT and upwards, and

      • self propelled mobile offshore drilling units, when not on location.

    2. Yachts over 300 GT which are certified under the "Large Yacht Code" or hold a Cargo Ship Safety Radio Certificate are considered subject to the provisions of SOLAS V/19-1 and must comply with the requirements for LRIT.

    3. The above ships must be provided with the capability to automatically transmit the information specified in paragraph 1.3 as follows:

      1. ships constructed before 31 December 2008 and certified for operations:

        • in sea areas A1 + A2 and A1 + A2 + A3 not later than the first survey of the radio installation after 31 December 2008.

        • in sea areas A1 + A2 + A3 + A4 not later than the first survey of the radio installation after 01 July 2009. However these ships must comply with the requirements for ships certified for operations in sea areas A1 + A2 + A3 when operating in those sea areas.

      2. Ships certified solely for operations in sea area A1 and which are fitted with AIS are not required to comply with SOLAS V/19-1.

      3. Ships to which SOLAS V/19-1 applies which are constructed after 31 December 2008 must comply with these requirements upon delivery.

    4. If a ship owner is in any doubt as to the applicability of SOLAS V/19-1 to their Cayman Islands ships they should contact the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry who will advise accordingly.

  3. Functionality

    1. LRIT makes use of existing marine satellite technology to transmit position reports from ships to the Flag Administration and to other Governments with a legitimate right to the information.

    2. The following "platforms" are considered most suited to the transmission of LRIT data, in order of practical suitability:

      • Inmarsat "Mini-C"-type Mobile Earth Station (as used for SSAS and / or commercial tracking applications);

      • Secondary Inmarsat C Mobile Earth Station (typically the "back-up / redundant" GMDSS largely on stand-by);

      • Primary Inmarsat C Mobile Earth Station (typically the main GMDSS and system used for bulk email communications).

    3. From the ship, the position report is sent to a "Data Centre" via an "Application Service Provider" utilising a "Communications Service Provider". The data may also be also forwarded to entitled Governments with a legitimate right to the information via the secure "International Data Exchange".

    4. Position reports are automatically sent every six hours to the Data Centre, however additional position reports may be requested by increasing the position reporting up to each 15 minutes or "polling" for an immediate position report by entitled Governments.

  4. The Cayman Islands National Data Centre and Recognised Application Service Provider.

    1. The Cayman Islands has formed a National Data Centre for the management of LRIT data from Cayman Islands ships.

    2. In addition the Cayman Islands have appointed Pole Star Space Applications Limited as our Recognised Application Service Provider. "Pole Star" is a market leader in the provision of satellite ship tracking services and many Cayman Islands ships already subscribe to their commercial ship tracking service, "Purplefinder".

    3. By using "Pole Star" as the Recognised Application Service Provider and Inmarsat C as the data transfer conduit, hardware compatibility issues will be largely eliminated and equipment costs to ship owners minimised.

  5. Actions Required by Ship Owners

    1. Owners of ships subject to SOLAS V/19-1 will need to register the chosen Inmarsat C Mobile Earth Station for testing with the Recognised Application Service Provider. Contact details are included in Section 8, below.

    2. Once registered, an activation code (known as a Data Reporting and Polling Closed Network Identity or "DNID") and other supplemental commands will be automatically downloaded to the chosen Inmarsat C Mobile Earth Station onboard the ship. This will activate the automatic LRIT transmissions.

    3. Once the LRIT functions have been activated a period of testing, following the test specification guidelines contained in MSC.1/Circ.1257, is required to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the transmitted data. This testing will be carried out remotely by the Recognised Application Service Provider, who will issue a test certificate on successful completion. All ships must hold such a test certificate to comply with SOLAS V/19-1.

  6. Compatibility with Existing Hardware

    1. By utilising Inmarsat C, the GMDSS equipment on the majority of Cayman Islands ships will be able to support LRIT without modification or upgrading (however, note that a small number of Mobile Earth Stations are unable to support LRIT).

    2. Owners of ships with Mobile Earth Stations that do not support LRIT will need to either upgrade one of the Inmarsat C Mobile Earth Stations onboard or preferably install a "stand alone" LRIT terminal.

    3. The Recognised Application Service Provider can advise on known compatibility issues and their possible solutions.

  7. Timeframe for Cayman Islands ships.

    1. Regardless of the date of the survey of the radio installation, all Cayman Islands ships subject to SOLAS V/19-1 must be:

      • registered with the Recognised Application Service Provider,

      • hold a Test Certificate for LRIT, and

      • be capable of transmitting automatic position reports not later than 01 January 2009.

  8. Contact Details

    1. For general enquiries on LRIT matters and the application of SOLAS V/19-1 to individual ships and yachts, contact the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry on:

    2. For information regarding LRIT testing with the Recognised Service Provider, contact Pole Star Space Applications Limited on:

  9. Further Information

    1. General information on LRIT and the requirements for ship owners is available at www.lrit.com.

    2. The following documents adopted by IMO give full details on the LRIT requirements and its implementation onboard ships.

      • LRIT Regulation - IMO Resolution MSC.202(81)

      • LRIT Timely Establishment - IMO Resolution MSC.211(81)

      • Safety & Environment - IMO Resolution MSC.242(83)

      • Revised performance standards and functional requirements for the LRIT of Ships - IMO Resolution MSC.264(84)

      • Established of the International Data Exchange on an interim basis - IMO Resolution MSC.265(84)

      • Guidance on the implementation of the LRIT system - IMO Resolution MSC.1/Circ.1256

      • Guidance on the survey and certification of compliance of ships with the requirement to transmit LRIT information - IMO Resolution MSC.1/Circ.1257

      • Guidance to Search and Rescue services in relation to requesting and receiving LRIT information - IMO Resolution MSC.1/Circ.1258

      • Interim revised technical specifications for the LRIT system - IMO Resolution MSC.1/Circ.1259

For further information contact: Corporate Communications


SN-05 
notice 05/2008
This shipping notice contains information to assist in complying with the requirements of solas V /19-1 (LRIT)