The hunt for smuggling intensifies at sea and before ships even “catch” the country’s ports and customs. The Independent Public Revenue Authority is gaining access to the Marine Traffic Enterprise Plan ship monitoring and maritime information platform, an investment that will allow thousands of ships to be monitored from the ADEA’s central operations room on Amfiaraou Street in Kolokynthos.

By decision of Pitsilis, the start of the system’s operation is set for September 14. What makes this move so important is the capabilities of the Marine Traffic Enterprise Plan platform.

New capabilities

The system uses AIS (Automatic Identification System) technology to track ships and collect a variety of information about their movements. It offers tracking of up to 240,000 vessels through a network that combines ground stations, satellite coverage and roaming, ensuring they can be located even in the deepest parts of the oceans.

The platform allows up to three AADE users, with individual credentials, to monitor in real time the current position of vessels, their course, their sailing speed, the history of their routes, as well as the ports and dates of departure and estimated arrival.

Controllers thus gain a powerful tool as the platform provides the ability to replay ship movements with a history of up to five years, which is considered essential for analysing patterns and detecting unusual or suspicious movements and events.