GMV to increase Europe’s maritime surveillance capabilities

GMV has secured a contract from the European Defence Agency (EDA) to develop the new software applications of the third phase of MARSUR (MARSURIII).

The overall objective is to improve the operational use of MARSURIII in maritime missions and operations carried out under the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), the policy framework through which Member States are developing a strategic security and defense culture in Europe to preserve and strengthen international security.

At the end of 2005, European leaders agreed to launch a project devoted to maritime surveillance (MARSUR) through EDA, with the aim of creating a European network that would link together existing national systems. Common standards were needed to ensure maritime safety and security, as the European Union has more than 14,500,000 km2 of sea area under its remit, over which around 12,000 vessels sail every day.

Since its inception, MARSUR’s capacity has evolved through different phases to integrate various technological improvements. While the previous phase of the project (MARSUR II) focused on network maintenance and updating MEXS, the software that ensures the automatic exchange of maritime surveillance data between participating countries, MARSURIII will upgrade the MEXS and user interface (MUI) technology, enable the exchange of restricted information, and improve the system’s interoperability with other maritime security networks, mainly with the EU’s Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE).

The new software applications to be developed by GMV for MARSURIII will be based on the company’s Socrates system. This system comprises a set of tools that provide solutions for maritime surveillance, enabling data exchange between all network users, especially between emergency response teams; inter-agency task allocation for surveillance missions, providing decision support to optimize resources; advanced image analysis and exploitation capabilities; video playback with the possibility for simulcast, metadata display, etc.; and lastly, a data repository capable of data mining, delivering advanced report generation capabilities.

The enhanced capabilities will translate into better maritime surveillance coverage within the MARSUR network, which currently includes Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.