European regulations require that fishing vessels operating within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) are constantly monitored by Fisheries Monitoring Centres (CSP).  The McMurdo VLINK VMS is a powerful vessel monitoring system that is easy to manage with a secure, scalable infrastructure to suit the needs of individual governmental authorities.  McMurdo Marine Solutions is a major systems provider and have supplied over 6000 VLINK Satellite Beacon Transponders to fishing vessels and fleets.

Fishing vessels experience some of the toughest conditions on Earth and with that in mind the VLINK Satellite Beacon Transponder has been designed to withstand whatever the sea can throw at it, at temperatures from -20 to +50ºC.  The beacon incorporates a powerful 65 channel SKYTRAQ GPS receiver and the internal memory can store position data for up to 90 days.  Installation is simple and the kit includes a variety of mounting options to suit all types of vessel.  The beacon has a very low power consumption and correct performance can be checked on board using the interface unit which is installed on the bridge.

The VLINK Vessel Monitoring System uses the Iridium satellite communication network to offer true global monitoring and tracking of the fishing vessel.  McMurdo Marine Systems operates as the service provider via its dedicated VMS server, which allows the Monitoring Center (CSP) to poll any vessel for an up to the minute status report of position, course and speed and also adjust how often updates are send by the beacons, to collect a position history of a vessel etc.  Total data confidentiality is guaranteed using secure encryption and reliability is assured with the use of backup and standby network and system equipment.