Coastguard and VTS combine in new Guernsey Maritime Operations Centre

A New Maritime Operations Centre is being created at the end of St Peter Port harbour.

Guernsey Coastguard and Guernsey Port’s Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) will share systems, resources and staff.

The same joint approach already operates in Jersey, and it is said it will reduce costs and improve resilience.

The VTS service was introduced five years ago to improve safety in local waters. It was originally in a temporary base on the breakwater, but moved to a new signal station building at the end of the White Rock Pier in 2022.

Fully qualified VTS officers, trained to international maritime industry standards, provide cover 24 hours a day, monitoring the harbour in a similar way to air traffic control at the airport.

From this week, Guernsey Coastguard will move into the new operations centre, co-located with VTS. The coastguard's job is to manage the response to any incidents at sea - including coordinating search and rescue operations.

The centre has multi-site radar capability, satellite tracking, CCTV, maritime VHF radio, and electronic and paper charts. It can also be used as a ‘Tactical Command Suite’ in the event of an emergency at sea requiring a multi-agency response.

Calls to the Coastguard will move to the new centre, although the Joint Emergency Services Control Centre (JESCC) continue to handle calls received through the 999 emergency line. They will pass incidents onto the Maritime Operations Centre, and staff will not have to be separately trained for the Coastguard service.

VTS staff have had extra training, and the team has been boosted by three new members, to cover Coastguard operations.

Harbourmaster Captain David Barker, who is head of Guernsey Coastguard, says the move creates more flexibility within the service.

 “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 focused 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.”