Search and rescue centre for world’s largest island

With the addition of the GMDSS module for the Frequentis Maritime control room solution, MarTRX, in Aasiaat, Greenland, search and rescue authorities onshore, or ships in the immediate vicinity of a vessel or person, can now be rapidly alerted to a distress incident.

TELE-POST, Greenland’s postal and telecommunications provider, selected Frequentis in summer 2019 to provide an integrated maritime control room solution for the Technical and Operator Centre in Aasiaat, Greenland, increase safety at sea. TELE-POST has now permanently switched off the old platform and completed the transition without any outages.

“We are delighted that Frequentis has been able to complete the site acceptance of the GMDSS remotely, allowing us to overcome the pandemic travel restrictions to complete the modernization of Greenland’s coastal radio. It was essential for us that the platform could be put into operation and function in tandem with our previous system during the acceptance period. We feel confident to operate the MarTRX system for years to come in benefit for the safety of Greenland’s maritime community”, says Flemming Drechsel, Chief Wholesale Officer of TELE-POST.

Greenland is the largest island in the world, with a population on around 56,000, and its important location between the Arctic, Canada and the Nordics make it part of extensive fisheries and a major cruise destination. Additionally, the impact of global warming, melting ice caps and rising sea levels draw attention to the importance of an efficient and reliable distress communication tool. The Frequentis system in Aasiaat enhances transmitting of voice messages, weather forecasts and navigation warnings on any selected HF transmitter/s and VHF transmitter/s in any combination, from any operator workstation.

“The Frequentis MarTRX solution can be customised to meet differing needs of the maritime industry, including coastal surveillance, and vessel traffic services. We are pleased to have successfully completed site acceptance for the GMDSS solution remotely, proving our determination and commitment to supporting our customers with their goals.”, said Khashayar SaravandiRad, Frequentis Vice President Maritime.

Despite COVID-19 travel restrictions, the Frequentis maritime project team completed a successful remote site acceptance test (SAT) for its Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) for Greenland/Austria, 6th October 2020.

By Jake Frith