Sivil kystovervåking ifm Nasjonal Transportplan 2022-2033

In March/April 2019, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) was given the task of examining new technology and systems that could be of importance for the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) in connection with the development of the next National Transport Plan (NTP) for the period 2022-33. Technology is an area in rapid development, and new sensors with better performance emerge in the market at an increasing speed. In addition, new systems building on both existing and disruptive new sensors in combination with self-reporting systems are integrated more intelligently. An operator will thus experience a better situational awareness and operational picture than previously. At the same time, it will reduce the probability of situations that can cause harm and damage to both people and the environment. The most important findings of our work is that the pace at which the technological development takes place is increasing. New surveillance systems must therefore be developed in such a way that they are flexible regarding how new and important technology, as well as improvements and upgrades, can be implemented as quickly as possible. Proprietary, or stand-alone, systems must be avoided in order to meet future challenges. There are several technological developments that the NCA may start using in the coming NTP period. The most obvious one is the satellite-borne radar detection instrument and the landbased version of the same detector. These sensors have the potential of giving a much better situational awareness along the coast of Norway, especially since the military coastal radar stations are being closed down in 2020. In addition, there is ongoing work to develop landbased, as well as satellite-borne versions, of a number of sensors. These include different electro-optical sensors and synthetic aperture radars for microsatellites. The NCA should aim at utilizing these sensors, possibly in cooperation with other Norwegian public agencies. Surveillance systems that are developed to prevent ship grounding and collisions will soon be available. Such systems should be established along the coast, as a minimum in areas that are vulnerable to such events and where the sea traffic is most busy. New methods to visualize incoming data will also be on the market soon. Among these are virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). In a future concept for visualizing data at the Norwegian Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), such technology may potentially be implemented. An extended cooperation between different public agencies may also increase the value of data that each agency is in possession of. Here, BarentsWatch (BW) is already established as a portal for such cooperation, but may be further expanded. This also raises the question if the NCA should take a greater responsibility for developing a maritime situational picture (MP). Today, as well as in the future, only the Armed Forces are in possession of a recognized maritime picture (RMP), and the NCA should seek cooperation wherever possible. Both the NCA and the Armed Forces may benefit from an improved cooperation. This especially relates to the situation for new sensors to be placed along the coast of Norway.