The Long-Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) regulation
will enter into force on 31 December 2008 and will apply to
the following ships engaged on international voyages:
· all passenger ships including high speed craft,
· cargo ships including high speed craft of 300 gross
tonnage and above, and
· mobile offshore drilling units.
LRIT requires that ships shall be fitted with LRIT equipment
to transmit automatically the information (ship's ID, position,
date/time of position) as follows:
Ships constructed on or after 31/12/2008 ;
Ships constructed before 31/12/2008 and certified for operations
in sea areas A1, A2 and A3 not later than the 1st survey of
the radio installation after 31 December 2008; and
Ships constructed before 31/12/2008 and certified for operations
in sea areas A1, A2, A3 and A4 not later than the 1st survey
of the radio installation after 1 July 2009 . However, these
ships shall comply with the provision of paragraph 2 above
whilst they operate within sea areas A1, A2 and A3.
The Sea Areas refer to the following GMDSS specifications:
Sea Area A1 - Within range of a VHF coast station with continuous
DSC ** alerting
Sea Area A2 - Outside Sea Area A1, but within range of an
MF coast station with continuous DSC ** alerting
Sea Area A3 - Outside Sea Areas A1 and A2, but within coverage
of an INMARSAT geostationary satellite with continuous alerting
Sea Area A4 - Outside Sea Areas A1, A2, and A3, i.e. polar
regions
Ships, irrespective of the date of construction, fitted with
an automatic identification system (AIS), as defined in SOLAS
regulation V/19.2.4, and operated exclusively within sea area
A1, as defined in SOLAS regulation IV/2.1.12, will not be
required to comply with the provisions of SOLAS regulation
V/19-1.
Ships operating exclusively in coastal Sea Area A1 will be
exempt, while ships operating into near-coastal Sea Area A2
which are not fitted with Inmarsat C GMDSS will be required
to fit a dedicated LRIT terminal and ships operating into
polar Sea Area A4 above 70 degrees Latitude will require a
dedicated LRIT terminal that operates in conjunction with
an approved low-earth orbit communication service provider.
To discuss the supply and installation of a dedicated, stand-alone
transceiver as the best solution for LRIT compliance, contact
us at
