The European Commission accepted Georgia’s request to join the EU LRIT Cooperative Data Centre. Georgia’s application was made in November 2017 and was accepted in March 2019, as the country meets all the criteria needed.
Following, authorised users from Georgia are able to access LRIT information on Georgian flagged vessels worldwide and foreign vessels approaching their ports in a cost effective way.
The application made in November 2017 was considered in light of the criteria listed in the Council Resolution concerning the EU LRIT CDC, and was accepted in March 2019. The additional IMO assessments were completed in July 2019.
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Except Georgia’s new addition to the EU LRIT Cooperative Data Centre, Croatia, Montenegro and Tunisia are already a part of the centre.
The system was developed to enhance maritime security, but was extended in areas such as Search and Rescue (SAR), maritime safety and protection of the marine environment.
Vessels send automatic position reports every 6 hours, which are received by satellite, and securely transferred to data centres which manage LRIT information on behalf of flag States.
The European Union Cooperative Data Centre (EU LRIT CDC) then spreads LRIT information on EU-flagged ships around the world on behalf of all European flag States, and exchanges information with other data centres around the world.
Through its interconnection with other data centres, the EU LRIT CDC can provide Member State users, on request, with the LRIT information of any third country vessel bound to, or sailing within, EU waters.
This information is available to authorised users whenever a vessel is within 1,000 nautical miles of the coast of the flag State. The EU LRIT CDC is one of the largest data centres in the LRIT system. It tracks over 8,000 ships per day.