PORTS IN EAST MALAYSIA STATE MUST HAVE VESSEL TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

KOTA KINABALU (Malaysia), Aug 14 (Bernama) -- Ports in Sabah, an East
Malaysia state, must have the Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) to ensure
the safety and security of vessels to and from the ports, Deputy Chief Minister
Joseph Pairin Kitingan said Friday.

"There is a need for ports and shipping operators as well as those using our
seaway to use this system as it ensures all sea activties will be safe.

"It ensures the smooth running of vessels within the area of surveillance,"
he told reporters after launching the first VTMS in Sabah at the Sapangar Bay
Container Terminal near here.

Earlier, VTMS project manager Benjamin Nair said the system, located at
Sapangar Bay, would monitor within a 48km radius.

When asked by Pairin, who is also State Infrastructure Development Minister,
why surveillence could not go beyond 48km, Nair said it was because the location
of the port that was nearby the Royal Malaysian Naval Base.


"We are very fortunate that we are close to the naval base. So, beyond 48km
would be under the navy's surveillence," he said.

Nair also said that the system operated with sensors such as closed circuit
television (CCTV), very high frequency (VHF) direction finder and
single-sideband (SSB) radio, and could contribute substantially to the safety,
efficiency and security of maritime traffic and the protection of the
environment.

-- BERNAMA