Two leading French ports to have Wärtsilä VTS
Written by Nick Blenkey
The Wärtsilä VTS will effectively manage vessel traffic in the French harbors of Calais and Boulogne to deliver greater operational efficiency and safety.
Wärtsilä is to supply its Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) solution to two of France’s leading ports, Calais and Boulogne.
Calais is France’s leading port for passenger traffic and the second largest port in Europe for RO/RO vessel traffic. Boulogne-sur-Mer is France’s leading fishing vessel port.
The Wärtsilä VTS will effectively manage vessel traffic in these busy harbors to deliver greater operational efficiency and safety.
The order with Wärtsilä was placed in October 2019 by Région Hauts-de-France, the government entity responsible for the tender.
The system optimizes planning and traffic monitoring to reduce waiting time for vessels and allow just-in-time pilotage. It will be delivered during deployment of the “Calais Port 2015” project deployment, the first maritime project within the European Union’s investment plan for priority infrastructures.
Calais currently handles 10 million passengers, 44 million tons of goods, and two million trucks per year.
“Wärtsilä’s Smart Marine Ecosystem approach utilizes connectivity and the latest digital technology to raise the efficiency and safety levels of not only individual ships and complete fleets, but also port operations as well,” says Dmitry Rostopshin, General manager, Ship Traffic Control Solutions, Wärtsilä Marine. “The VTS solution is a central part of this approach, which delivers tangible benefits to all the various stakeholders.”
Wärtsilä will also supply a VTS simulator for the ongoing training of port staff. Calais will be the first port in France to have its own advanced VTS simulator installed.
The scope of the complete solution delivery also includes two solid state IALA Advanced radars, which will be integrated with the port’s existing radars, and seven operator workshops.
The Wärtsilä VTS software has extensive functionalities, and the solution is modular, scalable, and accessible for future upgrade developments.
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