World Maritime Day (28 September)
COMSA Industrial will provide new communications systems to the Maritime Rescue centres located in the North-Northwest area (Bilbao, Santander, Gijón, Finisterre, La Coruña and Vigo) and on the Mediterranean coast (Barcelona, Tarragona, Castellón, Valencia, Almería and Tarifa).
Totalling more than 5 million euros, both contracts will involve the replacement of current analogue equipment by voice systems with Internet protocol (VoIP). This new technology will facilitate the sharing of resources between the Centres as well as their interconnectivity, and in the event of contingencies in one location, others will be able to assume control and take up the coverage of the affected site.
These contracts are in addition to those that COMSA Industrial has been managing for more than a decade for the Spanish Maritime Safety and Rescue Agency along the entire Spanish coast, which have included the installation, integration and implementation of radiodetermination and communications systems.
The 20 Coordination Centres that exist in Spain manage the human and material resources to respond to emergencies, prevent and preserve the marine environment and carry out surveillance and traffic control tasks. The information received by the centres through sensors is processed by the VTS monitoring system (Vessel Traffic Services) and presented on maritime cartography. In this way, the controllers can track vessels continuously and automatically. Also, voice systems integrate both maritime and aeronautical high frequency (VHF) and short wave (HF) communications, facilitating communication with vessels and the coordination of aerial resources for surveillance and rescue work.
Among the most emblematic projects that COMSA Industrial has carried out during the last decade, the renovation of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres of Algeciras, Palma de Mallorca, Finisterre and Vigo stand out. The renovation of the Huelva centre is also currently being completed.
Electronic equipment for the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre of Vigo (Spain)
