Alcatel-Lucent and Indra have been co-selected by the Polish Maritime Office, Urząd Morski Gdynia, to provide a system that will enhance and provide safe and efficient vessel navigation and traffic services in one of the most heavily trafficked waters in the world, the Baltic Sea area around Poland. The new system will provide early warning of safety, security and environmental threats, both inshore and offshore and fully integrate support functions, including a crisis management center to aid rescue operations.
Under the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will provide a communications network of packet microwave radio transmission equipment, IP routers and switches, marine sensors (closed circuit TV, meteorological stations and radio direction finders) and VHF radio access to connect sensors, sites and personnel. In addition, the company will provide civil works and site infrastructure as well as solution integration, installation and commissioning, extensive training and design.
Indra will deliver its maritime platform solutions including radar equipment and software. This platform constitutes the core of the project, permitting integration of all remote sensors in order to provide authorities with a real-time picture of the vessel traffic situation and potential risks. The company will design a turnkey solution for the Gdynia, Szczecin and Słupsk Maritime Offices and provide a unified view of sea traffic along the whole Polish coast.
The new National Maritime Safety System will include an integrated network of marine sensors and secure and reliable communications equipment. Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) operators will be able to monitor sea traffic and weather conditions in real-time and identify and track vessels using sensor systems such as radars and the Automatic Identification System (AIS). A crisis management centre will provide authorities with access to the data delivered by the system as well as integrated communications support in the event of an incident.
Andrzej Dulka, head of Alcatel-Lucent in Poland said: “We have brought together Alcatel-Lucent’s expertise in communications and systems integrations with Indra’s experience of delivering integrated state-of-the-art Vessel Traffic Control and Monitoring Systems and sensors. What we are putting in place is a system that seamlessly integrates systems already in use with new equipment to give the Polish Maritime Office much greater visibility into possible threats or unusual situations that could impact shipping and travelers in and around Poland’s waterways.”
Manuel López Sastre, Maritime Traffic Director of Indra, said, “Indra’s solutions are based on a family of advanced maritime applications designed to provide full operation support from the ports to the National VTS Systems. Its modular component-based architecture based on COTS hardware and software platforms and extensive use of open standards, makes the system highly flexible in relation to functionality, scalability and maintenance Our work with Alcatel-Lucent will help us to improve the efficiency and security of maritime transportation around Poland.”
