Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2021-05-31

Establishment of a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) to comply with the local and international legal requirements

- In accordance with the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) Resolution 15/03, it is essential to set up a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) to identify the location of multi‑day fishing vessels at sea, to launch Search and Rescue (SAR) Operations at disaster situations and to control illegal and unofficial fisheries activities carried out via maritime passages by using multi‑day fishing vessels. In 2015, a VMS using satellite technology was installed in 1,250 multi‑day fishing vessels registered under the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR). In addition to the said fisheries vessels, 4,200 other such multi‑day fishing vessels are required to be fitted with the relevant devices. As such, the proposal made by the Minister of Fisheries to take necessary action to install the said VMS through a procurement process conducted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) by using a grant of Australian Dollar 5.38 million provided by the Department of Home Affairs (DOH) of Australia, was approved by the Cabinet.