Tunisia having recently become a Contracting Government to the European Union Cooperative Data Centre (EU LRIT CDC), attended the LRIT Session of the 5th SSN/LRIT Group Meeting, which was held at EMSA on 21 May 2019. Tunisia was welcomed to the meeting where LRIT data quality issues and new developments were discussed. The participation of Tunisia to the 5th SSN/LRIT Working Group was sponsored by the EU funded SAFEMED IV project.

Background

Following the European Council Resolutions of 2 October 2007 and 9 December 2008, EU Member States decided to establish a European Union LRIT Cooperative Data Centre (EU LRIT CDC). The EU LRIT CDC disseminates LRIT information on EU-flagged ships around the world on behalf of all European flag States, and exchanges information with other data centres around the world. The system was initially set up for the purposes of maritime security but was soon extended for use in areas such as Search and Rescue (SAR), maritime safety and protection of the marine environment. Ships send automatic position reports every 6 hours, which are received by satellite, and securely transferred to data centres which manage LRIT information on behalf of flag States