Wärtsilä Voyage has this month completed an extensive upgrade of the Croatian National Vessel Traffic Management & Information System (VTMIS) with new Sea Traffic Management (STM) functionality.

Completion of this project confirms what has become the first STM installation in the Adriatic Sea. The customer, the Croatian Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, is now able to test the STM functionality throughout Croatian waters together with vessels which will also become STM-compliant as part of this contract.

“STM is a new paradigm in maritime safety. In Croatia, it can now be used as a powerful tool for space and time management, traffic organisation, search and rescue, just-in-time port co-ordination, early detection and elimination of safety risks, analysis of maritime traffic data, with a huge future potential in management of hybrid traffic (SOLAS and non-SOLAS),“ stated Zdravko Seidel, Head of Maritime Traffic Safety Department, Croatian Maritime Administration.

STM is a concept developed by the Swedish Maritime Administration Mona Lisa project, endorsed by the European Commission. It aims to define a set of systems and procedures to guide and monitor sea traffic in a manner similar to air traffic management. STM includes route optimisation services; ship-to-ship route exchange, enhanced monitoring, port call synchronisation, winter navigation. The goals behind the full deployment of STM by year 2030 are the following:

• Safety: 50% reduction of accidents;
• Efficiency: 10% reduction in voyage costs and 30% reduction in waiting time for berthing;
• Environment: 7% lower fuel consumption and corresponding reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

How it works: 

The VTMIS STM server located in Rijeka, Croatia’s principal seaport, has fortified functionality thanks to a host of Wärtsilä Ship Traffic Control solutions – including Wärtsilä Navi-Harbour and Navi-Port – to enable real-time ship-to-shore coordination that ensures traffic without congestion, efficiencies without safety concerns, and business volume with reduced environmental impact.

“We have provided solutions to improve the tracking and integration of targets, displaying of navigational and situational awareness in any areas of interest, a new generation of alarms and alerts in accordance with the set criteria and restrictions – all interfacing with the VTMIS Vessel Database,” states Filippo Menegato, Sales Manager, Wärtsilä Voyage.

“STM is a strong preliminary step toward the Smart Port; a port that uses digital solutions to overcome spatial constraints, pressure on productivity, fiscal limitations, safety and security risks. We’re very pleased with the outcome of this project and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Maritech Adriatic Ltd for their support as our distributor in this instance,” said Dmitry Rostopshin, Head of Ship Traffic Control Solutions, Wärtsilä Voyage.