Feature Story

U.S. Coast Guard watchstanders train to master VMS

A NOAA chart showing enforcement zones

GLOUCESTER, Mass. – In a small, dimly light conference room, U.S. Coast Guards watchstanders are huddled around a table with pen in hand. Scribbling notes down about the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS). A system they know, but want to master.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) held the VMS training at their National Marine Fisheries Service facility in Gloucester, Mass., to expand communications with the Coast Guard by increasing the knowledge of the system and how it works.

Watchstanders from the 1^st District Command Center use the system often to monitor local fishing vessels. The system can aid with search and rescue and fisheries missions.

The training consisted of becoming familiar with how the system works and hands on experience with some of the equipment fisherman use on a daily basis.

“It’s nice to have a view of how it (VMS) exactly performs,” said Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Petrarca, a 1^st District Command Center response coordinator and one of a dozen watchstanders attending the training.

VMS, created in 1998, is used on commercial fishing to allow environmental and fisheries regulatory organizations to monitor, minimally, the position, time at a position, and course and speed of fishing vessels. They are a key part of monitoring control and surveillance programs at the national and international levels. VMS may be used to monitor vessels in the territorial waters of a country or a subdivision of a country, or in the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) that extend 200 nautical miles from the coasts of many countries.

William Semrau, a retired Coast Guard captain and northeast VMS program manager, fed Coast Guard watchstanders information on how the system works with satellite technology and global positioning systems. He went through slides during a presentation showing the actual program the Coast Guard and NOAA use on an everyday basis.

“We want to have everyone understand and feel comfortable with the program,” said Semrau. “Training the Coast Guard helps make them smarter with the system and it’ll help us. I think it’s very important to know how to use this tool.”

After several hours of training, watchstanders discussed the VMS program and why using it would benefit the maritime industry. A few hours of training can aid monitoring organizations for a lifetime.

GLOUCESTER, Mass. – U.S. Coast Guard watchstanders, from the 1st District Command Center, conduct Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) training at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service facility in Gloucester, Mass., March 9, 2011. The training consisted of becoming familiar with how the system works and hands on experience with some of the equipment fisherman use on a daily basis. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Luke Clayton.