The improvement of safety and efficiency of vessel traffic in coastal waters and fairways by means of shore-based guidance has been realised by most European maritime countries through Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) systems. Those systems have different operational objectives according to the different geographical areas which they serve and the prevailing physical, meteorological and traffic conditions. Their operational procedures differ also depending on the hard- and software applications and the philosophy of responsible parties in respect of the level of traffic management needed (information, advice, instruction). <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office' />

Existing VTS systems are almost in all cases stand alone installations with no permanent link to other systems. The main purpose of the VTMIS-NET project is to establish an information exchange network of existing VTS in Europe which also provides links with other maritime information sources, such as hydrographic and meteorological services. The challenge will be to inter-link existing facilities with a wide variety of hard- and software without requiring large parts of the modules in use to be replaced.