Thursday, February 05, 2009  

1.      In order to ensure your vessel is LRIT compliant, the appropriate equipment should be chosen.

 a.      MORP (Multi-Ocean Region Polling) equipment is strongly recommended.   Having MORP guarantees the continuity of service all over the world. Since 2006, all equipment should have MORP functionality.  Some manufacturers propose software upgrades to existing equipment.

 b.      Equipment designated for LRIT transmission should always remain turned on.

 c.      LRIT equipment should always be available to receive polls and to send Data Reports and acknowledgments.

 d.      Inmarsat-C equipment which is intensively used for emailing purposes should not be chosen for LRIT purposes.

 e.      Dedicated LRIT terminals are strongly recommended taking into account the fact that a busy terminal may not meet LRIT requirements.

 f.        Inmarsat-C and D+/IsatM2M equipment only covers A1, A2 and A3 sea regions, up to 70-75 degrees latitude.  If your vessels operate in higher latitudes you will be required to use the Iridium satellite system. 

 g.      Iridium LRIT compliant terminals are the only alternative for vessels navigating in A4 areas.

 h.      Iridium and D+/IsatM2M devices are a reliable alternative to Inmarsat-C equipment.

 2.      For LRIT conformance testing, CLS recommends that you plan conformance testing a few weeks before the vessel=s next Radio Survey.
 
3.      CLS also recommends that LRIT testing be conducted when the vessel is in open sea.

4.      A previous log out / log in is preferable before starting any LRIT conformance testing.