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The Australian REEFREP System: A Coastal Vessel Traffic Information Service and Ship Reporting System for the Torres Strait Region and the Inner Route of the Great Barrier Reef

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2009

John C. Macdonald
Affiliation:
(Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA))

Abstract

The new Australian ship reporting system, identifier ‘REEFREP’, will be the core component of a Vessel Traffic Information Service (VTIS) covering the Torres Strait region and the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). It is the first such system to be considered by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) under the terms of the new SOLAS 74 regulation v/8-1, which entered into force on 1 January 1996 and allows for ship reporting systems adopted by the Organization to be made mandatory for all, or certain categories of vessels.

The REEFREP system, planned for implementation on 1 January 1997, extends for some 900 n.m. or about 1500 km along the Queensland coastline. It will be a VHF radio-based system with radars covering three selected focal points in the Torres Strait, off Cairns and in the southern approaches to the inner route. The system will provide a capability for a single Ship Reporting Centre to interact with shipping, enabling the provision of improved information on the presence, movements and patterns of shipping in the area and the ability to respond more quickly to an incident or pollution should this occur.

An interesting feature and a major factor in the system design is the remoteness of most equipment sites and the limited infrastructure available to support communications and data transmission requiring the application of advanced technology and video transmission, solar power generation and software engineering skills of a high order.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Navigation 1996

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References

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1 The IMO terminology for this type of area has since changed to ‘Particularly Sensitive Sea Area’ (PSSA).Google Scholar
2IMO (1995). Document NAV 41/5/2 (description of REEFREP system).Google Scholar