WEB WINDOW TO SOUTH WALES PORTS
With a few clicks of their computer mouse, international mariners and leisure sailors using the ports and harbours in the Severn Estuary will now be able to access a whole host of maritime information and live shipping and weather data following the launch of two new websites.
Associated British Ports (ABP), as the Statutory Harbour Authority for the Ports of Newport, Cardiff, Barry, Port Talbot and Swansea, has developed www.severnvts.co.uk and www.swships.co.uk to provide mariners and sailors with an on-line resource tool which will assist them to plan their trips and sailing schedules, as well as keep any users informed about maritime news and events in the region.
People logging on to www.severnvts.co.uk will be able to access live information including shipping movements, radar displays, tide and weather data, as well as the latest Notices to Mariners and Harbour Byelaws, port maps, news and events. One of the main features of the website is a webcam, positioned in ABP’s regional offices at Queen Alexandra House in Cardiff overlooking Cardiff’s lock entrance, which will create a ‘window’ into the port for anyone to view arriving and departing vessels.
www.swships.co.uk is a website accessed by authorised users and wholly dedicated to ensuring that South Wales Ports’ customers and their agents are able to communicate effectively with ABP in exchanging pre-notification and security information in a timely and efficient manner.
The launch of the two websites follows the commissioning of ABP’s £0.6 million landmark marine-control centre, called Severn Vessel Traffic Services (VTS), in May this year.For the first time, the state-of-the-art VTS centre allows all shipping and sailing movements to be monitored 24 hours a day from one central location. The introduction of the websites is a natural extension of the marine-management service ABP provides to shippers, mariners and leisure sailors alike, as Captain Philip Holliday, Marine Manager, ABP South Wales, explains:
“The Internet is an excellent way of communicating beneficial real-time information to all users of the South Wales Ports, their channels and approaches, be they commercial or leisure users. We hope that the sites will be the first port of call for anyone utilising the services of ABP in South Wales.”
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