The system is based on Norcontrol IT's VTMIS 5060 and will provide continuous coverage of the Dover Strait Traffic Separation Scheme.

Round the clock coverage will be achievable by integrating radar, UAIS and VHF direction finding sensors into one composite traffic image that is distributed to all workstations.

Since mandatory reporting to both the French and British Coastguards within the Dover Strait began in 1999 the volume of shipping through the narrow channel has increased substantially.

UK figures for 1998, the last full year of voluntary reporting, saw 46,641 reports received whereas the figure for 2000 had leapt to 93,509.

Continuous 24/7 operation has been incorporated into the system's design, as has an extensive data management system that takes Norcontrol IT's port VTS database into the coastal VTS market.

MJ Information No: 17169