Tracking trials

The latter still gets a Port Strategy going over in this issue’s PostScript, but for this Viewpoint something more left-field caught my eye: consolidation. More specifically, consolidation in vessel tracking control in Vancouver harbour, which offers a stark reminder of the reduced worth of the human element of tracking in the advent of shiny computerised vessel tracking systems.

Vessel traffic controllers in Canada’s busiest port look set to be relocated to offices in Victoria on Vancouver Island, some 50 nautical miles to the south of Vancouver. Currently, they are responsible for the more than 3,000 merchant vessels and cruise ships that call at Port Metro Vancouver every year.

Local residents are up in arms about the closure, as the picturesque Vancouver Harbour attracts a strong pleasure boat contingent.

One aggrieved union representative said that “trying to monitor the Port of Vancouver from offices in Victoria is like trying to drive your car relying just on the screen display”.

On paper – which is certainly how the Federal government in Ottawa reached its decision – the move makes sense on an economic level. A heady C$900,000 will be saved by closing this Coast Guard station.

And with today’s modern technology, vessel tracking need not be done ‘on site’: AIS, radar, ECDIS, 3D displays all work together to ensure that ships can be tracked efficiently across oceans, through territorial waters and into ports.

So why should there be such concern over the consolidation of Canada’s vessel tracking services? The answer is response times. It takes a minimum of 30 minutes for the Canadian Coast Guard’s Sea Island base to reach an inner harbour emergency, compared with 5-10 minutes from the Kitsilano base. The Kitsilano base responds to about 300 calls annually, 75 to 100 of which are termed “life-at-risk” calls. May marks d-day for the Kitsilano station.

Tellingly, Port Metro Vancouver has spoken out against the closure which has been heavily criticised by organisations and residents in and around Vancouver.

It is certainly an emotive issue, but one that should come as no surprise given the pressure global governments are under to bring deficits under control. And while Ottawa is right to think that you can mechanise tracking services, the successful automating the saving of lives is something that we have not, as yet, managed to perfect.