The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Danail Papazov officially launched the construction of the Coastal Center for Vessel Traffic Management in Varna. The activities of the coastal centers are regulated in the Ordinance on traffic movement, reporting and management systems and information services for navigation in the maritime areas of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The construction of the two coastal centers must be completed by the end of this year. They are part of the third phase of the project “Vessel Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS)”, funded under OP “Transport 2007-2013”. The total value of the project is nearly 40 million BGN. As a result of implementing the third phase of the project, the currently functioning part will be expanded and completed to cover the entire coastline and enable the integration of all communication subsystems into a unified national maritime information system. Within the project, a “National Center for Electronic Document Management for Maritime Transport (“one-stop shop”)” will be created in accordance with Directive 2010/65/EC
Integrated maritime surveillance is one of the main priorities of the EU’s integrated maritime policy. It aims to provide authorities interested in or working in the field of maritime surveillance with means for exchanging information and data. The European Commission and EU and EEA countries are jointly developing a Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE). It will include existing surveillance systems and networks and will give all interested authorities access to the information they need to carry out their tasks at sea. Thanks to the common information sharing environment, different systems will become operationally compatible, so that data and other information can be easily exchanged using new technologies.
The project “Vessel Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS) – Phase 3” creates conditions for the formation of a common data sharing environment, while simultaneously implementing navigation safety functions.
