On February 15, a solemn ceremony of commissioning of the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Vessel Traffic System (VTS) took place at the Russia Expo in the lecture hall of Pavilion No. 15 at VDNH in videoconference mode.

The new VTS was built in 2023 at the expense of FSUE “Rosmorport” own funds. Using modern technologies, the facility will increase the level of navigation safety, efficiency of navigation, protection of life at sea, of the marine environment and the coast. This VTS, the easternmost one in Russia, has become the 25th system in the country operated by the enterprise.

In the area of operation of the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky VTS, guaranteed detection and steady tracking of vessels in the Avacha Bay and on approaches to it at a distance of up to 30 nautical miles is carried out, and reliable radiotelephone communication with vessels and radar control is provided.

The solemn event in Moscow was attended by Andrei Kozlov, Deputy Director of the Department of State Policy for Maritime and Inland Waterway Transport of the Ministry of Transport of Russia, Kirill Gaida, Deputy General Director for Navigation Safety of FSUE “Rosmorport”, Andrey Kuropyatnikov, Director General of FSUE “Morsviazsputnik”, Sergey Sokolov, Vice-Rector of Russian University of Transport, as well as Vyacheslav Ukhanov, senior expert of the Expertise and Engineering Department of the Main Directorate of FAI “Russian Maritime Register of Shipping”.

Ivan Bunin, Captain of the seaport of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Vladimir Kozlov, Director of the FSUE “Rosmorport” Petropavlovsk Branch, and Rustam Nadzhiyev, Head of the VTS, were present online.

Andrei Kozlov solemnly handed Kirill Gaida a certificate of shore-based facility conformity issued on the basis of positive results of work of FAI “Russian Maritime Register of Shipping” on the inspection of the VTS.

The ceremony opened with the broadcast of a video about the activities of the new facility for ensuring navigation safety, filmed during the trial operation of the VTS.

Vladimir Kozlov in the video communication mode reported to the honored guests of the event and the management of FSUE “Rosmorport” that the VTS was ready to operation, after which the solemn commissioning of the facility took place. Rustam Nadzhiyev announced to the vessels on the radio about the launch of a new court.

“This is a truly unique facility built in a zone of seismic activity,” Kirill Gaida said. “It should be noted that the construction of the facility began at a time when many former foreign partners refused to supply us with technological equipment provided for by design solutions. We had to make adjustments considering the priority use of domestic equipment at the stage of the project implementation. Having managed to prevent the disruption of the project implementation and in some cases even improve technological processes, the Russian maritime industry has once again confirmed the limitless potential of its technological sovereignty and the possibility of realizing the most ambitious tasks using domestic solutions.”

At the end of his speech, Kirill Gaida thanked everyone who took part in the significant project for the maritime industry and the country, primarily the branch and partners who were engaged in the construction of the facility.

“I am sure that under the leadership of the Ministry of Transport of Russia and Rosmorrechflot, we will continue to successfully cope with the tasks set to ensure safe and uninterrupted navigation in the country's seaports,” he concluded.

Andrei Kuropyatnikov expressed gratitude to FSUE “Rosmorport” for creating the facility in very difficult conditions and noted that Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky VTS belonged to the first category of VTS and could service up to 5 thousand vessels annually. Thus, in the context of the development of the Northern Sea Route and the transportation of goods through the Northern Sea Route towards Asia, this facility acquires special importance.

“Modernization of port infrastructure is an additional driving factor to the social and economic development of the region. The commissioning of the vessel traffic system in the seaport of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is one of such factors. This is certainly a significant and timely event, given that the seaport is actively developing,” Ivan Bunin stressed.

He noted that the implementation of projects for the construction of port infrastructure will lead to an increase in the volume of cargo processed in the seaport, an increase in the number of vessel calls and, of course, the intensity of traffic in the waters of the seaport and on approaches to it. “Today, with the introduction of the VTS, public services have fully prepared for such changes,” Ivan Bunin added.

“The commissioning of the new facility will increase the level of services provided in the field of navigation safety in the waters of the seaport of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which receives vessels all year round, has a unique geographical location and is a base point on the approaches to the Northern Sea Route. Creating conditions for comfortable, trouble-free, highly efficient operation is a significant contribution to improving the convenience and safety of cargo transportation, as well as expanding the port's capabilities and reducing the risk of marine pollution,” Vladimir Kozlov said.

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Operation, maintenance in proper technical condition and development of existing, as well as the construction of new VTS is one of the priorities of FSUE “Rosmorport”. Currently, the enterprise has 25 VTS under its economic management, and all of them are maintained at the proper technical level and operate in accordance with the requirements established in the Russian Federation for them.

Following the annual plans, the enterprise, as prescribed, carries out the necessary measures for the modernization of equipment and reconstruction of VTS facilities in order to maintain the modern level of their technical equipment. These measures have helped to increase the efficiency of navigation on the approaches and in the waters of the relevant seaports, to bring to a higher level the safety of navigation, еру protection of life at sea and of the marine environment in the waters controlled by VTS.