Hakan Kaya, Ship Traffic Services Manager of the General Directorate of Coastal Safety, said that the traffic in the Turkish Straits will be managed with the native and national software prepared soon by HAVELSAN.
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure General Directorate of Coastal Safety provides services 24/7 to ensure the safety of navigation, life, property and the environment at sea with 104 vessels of various types and classes and its experienced staff.
There are a total of 5 Ship Traffic Services Centers under the General Directorate of Coastal Safety, the Bosphorus, the Dardanelles, Mersin, Izmit and Izmir. In the Ship Traffic Services Center in Turkey, a total of 327 staff, 215 of whom are Marine Traffic Operators and the chief operator, work for the safety of navigation at sea.
A total of 74 staff work at the Ship Traffic Services Center in Istanbul, including 47 Marine Traffic Operators and chief operators. The Ship Traffic Services Center is located in Istanbul, and it has an important role in ensuring the safe passage of ships in the Turkish Straits region, maintaining the ship traffic organization, and especially in emergency management and coordination. While ensuring the safe passage of ships through the straits, immediate response is provided to ships that break down, are in danger or experience any emergency.
Native and national software will be used
The Ship Traffic Services Center in Istanbul will soon switch to a native and national software with the Turkish Straits Ship Traffic Services System Upgrade Project carried out in collaboration with HAVELSAN. With this software, all this ship traffic will be monitored and managed. Temporary acceptance tests in the software process are about to be completed.
Hakan Kaya, Ship Traffic Services Manager of the General Directorate of Coastal Safety, said, “With the Turkish Straits Ship Traffic Services System Upgrade Project, which we are conducting together with HAVELSAN, soon we will be able to monitor and direct all this ship traffic with native and national software.”
Kaya said, “We have a total of 5 Ship Traffic Services Centers in the Bosphorus, Dardanelles, Mersin, Izmit and Izmir. In these centers, we have a total of 327 staff, of which 215 are Marine Traffic Operators and chief operators. Our staff, who are on duty 24/7, have an important role in ensuring the safe passage of ships especially in the Turkish Straits region, maintaining the ship traffic organization, and especially in emergency management and coordination.
Stating that there are more than 100 sea vehicles deployed throughout Turkey, Kaya said, “When we detect a problem with maritime traffic in our area of responsibility, we receive notifications via radio or various communication channels, and we will respond quickly and effectively through the sea vehicles of our institution, which are located in various parts of the Bosphorus or outside the Bosphorus. In addition, we respond quickly and effectively to the notifications received by our more than 100 different classes and types of marine vessels deployed all around Turkey. We are in constant communication with the ships in our area of responsibility via radio. Therefore, when there is an emergency, we direct the ships with our experienced staff here and we intervene quickly and effectively with our sea vehicles stationed in the Bosphorus.”