Maritime Cook Islands

Circular 7 / 2008

To: Ship Owners and/or Operators of Cargo Vessels, Powered Barges, Tugs, Utility Vessels & Dredgers over 300 GT; Deputy Registrars, Surveyors and Other Interested Parties

Subject: Reminder - Long Range Identification and Tracking of Ships (LRIT)

Date: 25 September 2008

Required Action by Owners/Operators

A circular pertaining to Long Range Identification and Tracking of Ships (LRIT) was sent to all affected vessels in July (see http://www.maritimecookislands.com/news.php to review this).

With immediate effect, Owners/Operators of vessels subject to SOLAS V/19-1 are requested to register equipment for testing with Pole Star Space Applications Limited (Pole Star), the Authorized Testing Application Service Provider (ASP) appointed by Maritime Cook Islands (MCI). Contact Pole Star at: Email: lrittesting@polestarglobal.com Phone: +44 (0)20 7313 7400 or Fax: +44 (0)20 7313 7401.

Due to the large number of vessels currently undergoing testing, it is requested that Owners/Operators contact Pole Star as soon as possible and have their chosen Inmarsat C Mobile Earth tested and certified no later than November 30, 2008.

Required Steps for Testing and Certification

Contact Pole Star as soon as possible.
Complete the Fleet Registration Form supplied by Pole Star. Click here to download from the MCI website.
Once registration is complete, an activation code (Data Reporting and Polling Closed Network Identity or DNID) and other supplemental commands will be downloaded automatically to the vessel’s chosen Inmarsat C Mobile Earth Station. This will activate the automatic LRIT transmissions.
Following activation, there will be a period of testing in line with guidelines contained in MSC.1/Circ.1257. This is necessary to ensure the transmitted data is accurate and reliable. This testing will be carried out remotely by Pole Star. Upon successful completion, a test certificate will be issued. All vessels must hold such a certificate to comply with SOLAS V/19-1.

About LRIT

SOLAS V/19-1 Long-Range Identification and Tracking of Ships (LRIT) requirements entered into force on 1 January 2008 and have a compliance date of 31 December 2008.

LRIT allows Maritime Cook Islands to receive position reports from vessels flying the Cook Islands flag from anywhere in the world. This also allows national governments an overview of vessels in their territorial waters and off their coastlines.

The regulation requires transmission of the following information for LRIT purposes:

Identity of the ship (IMO Number and Vessel Name)
Position of the ship (latitude and longitude)
The date and time of the position

Application

LRIT equipment applies to the following vessels engaged in international voyages:

Cargo Vessels, including High Speed Craft, equal to or over 300 GT
Passenger ships, including High Speed Passenger craft
Mobile Offshore Drilling Units
Yachts equal to or over 300 GT, certified under the 'Large Yacht Code' or holding a Cargo Ship Safety Radio Certificate
Powered Barges, Utility Vessels, Tugs and Dredgers equal to or over 300 GT

Those ships operating exclusively in sea area A1 and fitted with an Automatic Identification System (AIS) are exempt from LRIT regulations.

Technology

The following platforms are considered most suited to the transmission of LRIT data, in order of practical suitability:

Inmarsat “Mini-C”-type Mobile Earth Station (as used for SSAS and / or commercial tracking applications);
Secondary Inmarsat C Mobile Earth Station (typically the “back-up / redundant” GMDSS largely on stand-by);
Primary Inmarsat C Mobile Earth

General information and LRIT requirements are available at www.lrit.com. Pertinent IMO resolutions can be found at www.lrit.com/regulation.html

This circular can be found online at http://www.maritimecookislands.com/news.php.