Sierra Echo"VTS" Buoy off South end of Whidbey Island(Ed. note: This is basic information for newbies. I know this post is a little longer than most.)
If you ever wondered why a Washington State Ferry or other commercial vessel didn’t respond to your call on channel 16, there’s a reason; Vessel Traffic Services, more simply VTS. Imagine yourself as the Master of a container vessel or tanker listening to the uninitiated pleasure boater make a dire warning that someone has left their fenders down or the next guy trying make lunch plans, all while on channel 16.
VTS works much like the Air Traffic Control system, and has it’s own set of rules. The Navigation Rules state, “Such ships may discontinue their watch on VHF channel 16 while in the VTS area.” Think of VTS (shipping lanes) as a highway with a median.
The Captains of commercial vessels know the Rules, but aren’t always sure of what to expect from smaller boats. Vessels smaller than20 meters are required to keep out of the way of a vessel in a VTS lane.
As a pleasure boater you may use the channels listed below to communicate with commercial vessels. Be sure to try channel 13, (Bridge to Bridge) first. The default on channel 13 is low power. Typical calls are made for passing arrangements and during periods of fog. You may call a vessel or “Traffic” directly. It would be helpful to begin listening to “Traffic” to understand the nuances.
If you are in the fog, “Traffic” will give you the positions and speed of any conflicting vessels as follows. Make your broadcast as concise as possible. For example state:
Who you are
Hail; Seattle Traffic – Miss Alice
Response; Miss Alice – Seattle Traffic (sometimes, simply Traffic)
Where you are and Your Intentions
Hail; Seattle Traffic – Miss Alice, Eastbound Thatcher Pass for Anacortes, 6 kts
Response; Miss Alice, the Ferry Sealth has departed Ship Harbor for Orcas and I have a North bound tug and tow at Allen Island making 5 kts.
If you are making a long crossing “Traffic” may ask you to report in at various locations. “Traffic” will also announce your location to commercial vessels.
Additionally you may call a vessel directly. If you don’t know the vessel’s name you may identify it by location and type; example the Northbound Tanker at Turn Point. Usually the Master will thank you for calling.
When encountering large vessels, know that they typically travel at speeds of 20-25 knots. You should always pass astern of a large vessel. If you make a course change it needs to be large enough to be detected by eye and by radar.
Vessel Traffic lanes are marked on nautical charts and show the routes that commercial traffic follows. The benefit of a chart plotter in our part of the world really comes in handy for knowing where you are in relation to the traffic lanes. If you cross a traffic lane the rules state that you must do so at a 90 degrees, and that you may not impede a vessel that is participating in a traffic scheme, and that includes boat under sail.
Most traffic lanes are one and quarter miles wide, consisting of a half mile lane in each direction divided by a quarter mile separation zone (think highway median.) A few notable exceptions in are part of the world are Rosario Straight, where traffic is routed in only one direction at a time and the Straights of Juan de Fuca, where the lanes and separation zone are wider.
Vessels participating in the VTS lanes have the right of way over all other vessels, including sailboats.
VTS in the US and Canada share responsibility for a number of areas. Here’s a brief breakdown:
VTS Location, Channel, & Call Sign
Puget Sound South*, 14, Seattle Traffic
Puget Sound North**, 5A, Seattle Traffic
Haro Straight ***, 11, Victoria Traffic
Boundary Pass***, 11, Victoria Traffic
Entrance to Juan de Fuca***, 74, Tofino Traffic
*Bush Pt. in Admiralty Inlet and Possession Pt. in Possession Sound are the dividing lines for North and South Puget Sound
**including San Juans & Straight of Juan de Fuca that lies in US & Canadian waters
***including US & Canadian waters
Cooperative Vessel Traffic Service USA & Canada
November 5, 2007 update: gCaptain has a great photo essay follow up on VTS here.
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5 comments:
This is a nice, concise summary, Richard. I'm always amazed at the recreational traffic milling about in the traffic lanes. Sure, it's no problem most of the time, and in good visibility. But as a rule, I try to stay just outside the lane that's going my way. So northbound through Admiralty Inlet, for instance, I stay just east of the northbound traffic lane. Maybe I'm overly cautious, but this seems like the right way to run these high-traffic passages. If I'm riding a bicyle on the freeway (I've done this, actually), I don't ride in the traffic lanes...I stay on the right shoulder.
I learned a lot about VTS during my tour of the Coast Guard’s new Joint Harbor Operations Command (JHOC) in Seattle this June.
Thanks Tim
While looking around at news on the COSCO BUSAN hitting the Golden Gate Bridge, I discovered your site.
Very nice.
What I haven't seen in any reporting about the oil spill incident "yet" is why didn't SF Bay "VTS Traffic" take note of the close proximity of the ship to the north Tower of the bridge? In theory...Traffic should have been monitoring the ship's progress and somebody should have seen this "glancing blow" coming on the radar at the VTS center.
They didn't.
I'm certain they are scrambling in their office right now and developing a reason why...before the media figures this out and starts asking questions. Ordinarily, I wouldn't expect the VYS traffic guys to pay too much attention to ship movements. But in thick fog, "and" large ships moving about, I would expect a higher level of vigilance.
The EXXON VALDEZ accident showed us the flaw of "expecting" too much from VTS centers. They couldn't watch a single ship moving towards a reef out of the traffic lane...after they were even told of this action by the ship. Probably had something to do with the fact that the operator was stoned that night...as a drug test showed later.
Given the width of the Gate's entrance, you'd think somebody on the bridge of the ship, or at VTS center would have noticed that they were a little tight on the North Tower side of the channel.
I guess not, huh?
Anonymous:
You'd think between AIS, and MARPA capabilities, that Traffic might have seen it coming and have given them a heads up.
However, the rules clearly state the "Responsibility" for avoiding a close quarters situation (particularly in restricted visibility) lies with the Master, and in this case the Pilot who has intimate knowledge of his or her turf.
The EXXON VALDEZ incident wasn't even in scope of traffic control at the time. No radar covered that area and it was prior to systems like AIS. Todays system in Valdez covers the gaps in sensors with both better radar coverage and AIS. To cover for the sleeping or operator not paying attention, advancements in geospatial alarms monitor for these incidents before they happen so action can be taken to avoid them.
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