Isle of Man Ship Registry Stands Alone for LRIT

The Isle of Man Government has signed a contract with Pole Star Space Applications Limited for the provision of a dedicated ‘National Data Centre’ for Long-Range Tracking and Identification, for vessels registered in the Isle of Man.

Dick Welsh, Director of the Ship Registry said

‘We are proud to have taken this proactive step of being one of the first Governments to make a firm financial commitment to LRIT. We believe that Pole Star Space Applications Limited are market leaders for the provision of LRIT services, they have a proven track record and we are confident that they will provide us and our clients the services required by the deadlines imposed by IMO.

Many of our clients already subscribe to their ‘Purplefinder’ product, so we are hoping that most of their vessel’s equipment will be compatible, minimising the cost to them. The cost of setting up the Data Centre and the daily position reports will be paid for by the Isle of Man Government.

Testing will commence shortly and it is our intention to have all vessels registered in the Isle of Man fully compliant by 1 January 2009, ahead of the deadline set by IMO.’