The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries has approved BlueTraker VMS for use on fishing vessels for automatic position reporting
The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries has tested the BlueTraker VMS 2100 and 2200 transponders for their compliance to the Norwegian regulations of 11 June 2010 regarding the requirements of equipment to be used aboard fishing vessels for position reporting. Data exchange between the vessels and the Directorate of Fisheries in Norway was tested.
EMA, together with Radio Holland Norway, EMA’s distributor in Norway, has announced that the BlueTraker equipment has been found compliant with these regulations.
Moreover, the test results imply that the BlueTraker VMS 2200, the hybrid model incorporating GSM/GPRS and Iridium communication, is even more cost effective in this region as more transmissions can be made via the GSM/GPRS network. GSM/GPRS coverage in Norway spans further out into the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which starts with the edge of territorial sea and can span up to 200 nautical miles from the coast. Vessels can therefore significantly cut their airtime costs by transmitting their position reports proportionally more via GSM/GPRS than via satellite.
VMS transmissions were made in the NAF format, which is the standard format of electronic data transmissions for fisheries not only in Norway but also in other countries of the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) and Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO). This means the BlueTraker VMS 2100 and 2200 is NAF format compliant.
Norway has one of the largest fishing industries in Europe and is an important new market for BlueTraker VMS, developed by EMA. With this approval, Norwegian fishing vessels can now choose the BlueTraker VMS for their VMS equipment.
