Coastguard and VTS to work together

Sunday 02 June 2024

A new Maritime Operations Centre is being set up at St Peter Port Harbour - bolstering resilience and saving money, we're told.

It means that Guernsey Coastguard and Guernsey Port’s Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) will be able to share systems, resources, and staff in the dedicated centre.

The centre is equipped with multi-site radar capability, satellite tracking, CCTV, maritime VHF radio, and electronic and paper charts. It also has equipment for conducting search and rescue missions, and a dedicated space from which these operations can be controlled. 

This can be used as a ‘Tactical Command Suite’ in the event of an emergency at sea requiring a multi-agency response.

Guernsey Ports says this reflects the approach adopted in other jurisdictions, including Jersey, where there is already dedicated operations centres combining VTS and Coastguard.

Pictured: St Peter Port Harbour.

The handling of Coastguard calls, which since 2015 has been managed by the Joint Emergency Services Control Centre (JESCC), will move to the new centre along with the other Coastguard operations.

JESCC will continue to handle calls received through the 999 emergency line. However there will no longer be a requirement for all its staff to be fully trained to cover the Coastguard function. In future they will pass on incidents to the Maritime Operations Centre.

The VTS staff have undergone additional training, along with three new team members, to also now cover Coastguard operations.

During the day, one dedicated VTS operator and one dedicated Coastguard operator are on duty, and can support one another as required. At night, a single operator is able to run services, with a qualified search mission co-ordinator on call if required.

It will all run out of the VTS service building at St Peter Port harbour (pictured top). 

Pictured: Harbourmaster Captain David Barker.

Harbourmaster Captain David Barker, who is head of Guernsey Coastguard, said the move will improve operational efficiency, reduce costs and create a fully-integrated control room dedicated to maritime operations.

“The co-location of our Coastguard and VTS functions makes best use of the first-class facilities at the signal station building, which was designed specifically for maritime operations.

“This reorganisation makes best use of our resources and personnel, with dedicated, specialised staff who are focussed solely on maritime operations.

“We are confident this will better meet the requirements of both VTS and Coastguard, improve operational efficiency and ultimately help to protect lives at sea, which is our greatest priority.”

Captain Barker thanked the multi-agency JESCC staff who had helped provide a lifeline Coastguard service.

“I would like to acknowledge and commend the dedication and professionalism of our coastguard staff, both within Guernsey Ports and at JESCC, whose focus, like my own, has always been on saving lives at sea.”

Pictured: The VTS service covers an area stretching from Fort Doyle at L’Ancrese to Platte Fougere Lighthouse, and east to the north of Herm, down to the south of Jethou and to Jerbourg Point, while Guernsey Coastguard’s responsibilities cover the whole of the Bailiwick's territorial waters, which comprise an area of around 1,400 sq nautical miles. It responds to around 200 incidents per year.

The VTS service was introduced in 2019, to improve safety in local waters, following the recommendations of an investigation into the 2014 grounding of the Commodore Clipper in the Little Russel.

Vessel movements in the Little Russel and the approaches to St Peter Port and St Sampson’s Harbours are now monitored and managed by fully qualified VTS officers, who are trained to international maritime industry standards, providing cover 24 hours a day, all year round.

Originally based in a temporary facility on the breakwater, in 2022 the VTS service moved to a new signal station building at the end of the White Rock Pier.

Guernsey Coastguard, which also comes under Guernsey Ports’ remit, manages the response to incidents at sea. This includes co-ordination of search and rescue operations in local waters. From next week, it will also move to the new operation centre, to be co-located with the VTS service.

Pictured top: Guernsey Port’s Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) in St Peter Port Harbour.