## New Vision for Maritime Traffic - a new development in maritime transport safety assurance

In Japan, fatalities and the number of missing persons involved in marine accidents tend to be decreasing as the number of marine accidents stays almost the same, but still many lives are lost every year.

It is suspected that the potential high risk of marine accidents may be caused by larger, faster vessels and foreign registered vessels, that are not totally aware of the Japanese navigation rules in the vicinity of the Japanese ports.

The Basic Act on Ocean Policy (effective July 2007) stipulates a comprehensive and systematic promotion of policies regarding the oceans. Responsibilities of the Government regarding assurance of efficient and stable maritime transportation as well as safety on the ocean are clearly set forth under this Act. A new approach by the maritime transportation safety administration, the goal of which is to establish a society without maritime accidents, is in demand to benefit economic development and a better society for citizens.

Additionally, installation of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) into vessels has been enacted as an obligation since July 2007, and it provides static information as well as dynamic information of vessels in real-time.

The Japan Coast Guard has been controlling and supporting vessel navigations to avoid collisions and shipwrecks with accurate tracking of data of vessels by upgrading AIS stations along the domestic seacoast.

The Japan Coast Guard established "New Vision for Maritime Traffic" for the coming generations as guidance to the new direction of the maritime traffic safety policy and specific measures.

(It was delivered at the MLIT Transport Policy Council Maritime Subcommittee, and approved by the Minister of MLIT in June 2008.)

● Principle measures of the “New Vision for Maritime Traffic”

The following 6 principle measures of the “New Vision for Maritime Traffic” are to be implemented for the next 5 years:

1 Reinforcement of maritime accident analysis and planning functions for counter measures.

2 Improvement of navigation safety measures and efficiency with availability of AIS.

3 Promotion of maritime accident prevention activities carefully enough to be appropriate to regional characteristics.

4 Provision of relevant safety information utilization characteristics.

5 Promotion of safety measures utilizing cutting-edge technologies such as IT.

6 Improvement and maintenance of aids to navigation.

### 1. Reinforcement of maritime accident analysis and planning functions for counter measures

The Japan Coast Guard performs maritime accident analysis by taking advantage of on-site presence, and utilizes investigation analysis by the Transport Safety Board at the same time to reduce maritime accidents.

* AIS (Automatic Identification System) is a system used on ships for information (such as unique identification, size, course and speed) that can be automatically exchanged with other nearby ships. It requires AIS to be fitted aboard international voyaging ships with gross tonnage of 300 or more tons, passenger ships with gross more tons, passenger ships with gross tonnage of 300 or less tons and non-international voyaging ships with gross tonnage of 500 or more tons.

Organization of Japan Coast Guard and relevant government agencies

Deployment of individual measures

No effects on maritime accident reductions

Co-operative actions and unified measures of the agencies

Marine Safety liaison Conference

Actualization of maritime accident reductions