1. The purpose of the guide is to clarify the procedural, equipment and training guidelines that Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) must operate under in Denmark.

2. For the purpose of this guide:

1. Competent authority: The authority designated to be responsible for vessel traffic services (VTS) and ship reporting systems.
2. VTS provider: The authority authorised to maintain and operate ship reporting systems or a vessel traffic service under this guidance. The VTS provider is the responsible operational VTS authority and, as such, is responsible for maintaining and operating a ship reporting system or vessel traffic service in accordance with this guide.
3. Ship Reporting System (SRS): A system that collects and exchanges information in a defined geographical area. SRS is used to provide knowledge of the traffic in the area and contributes to navigational safety, including search and rescue, vessel traffic services and pollution hazard prevention.
4. Vessel Traffic Service (VTS): A service, implemented by the contracting government, with the ability to interact with vessel traffic and respond to evolving situations within a VTS area. The purpose of VTS is to contribute to the safety, efficiency and environmental protection of ship traffic. VTS has the capacity to interact with ship traffic, including providing information and guidance to solve specific traffic situations.
5. VTS centre: A centre from which the VTS provider operates a ship reporting system and/or vessel traffic service.
6. VTS area: The defined, formally declared operational service area of the VTS. A VTS area can be subdivided into sectors.
7. VTS operator (VTSO): A person who is trained in VTS service, is duly qualified and who performs tasks in a VTS centre.
8. Allied services: A service, other than VTS, involved in the safe and efficient passage of a ship through a VTS area, such as pilotage, tugs and towage.
9. Ship routing system: A system that aims to minimise the risk of accidents. It may consist of one or more route measures, such as traffic separation systems, bi-directional routes, recommended routes, avoidance areas, coastal traffic zones, traffic separation roundabouts, caution areas, and deep-water routes (ship route system also referred to as a route system).
10. IMO: United Nations International Maritime Organisation.
11. IALA: International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities.

3. It follows from section 6(1)(3) of the Act on Safety at Sea that the Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs is authorised to take measures and lay down rules on reporting systems and route systems to ensure safe navigation, including vessel traffic services. Furthermore, pursuant to section 8a of the Act on Safety at Sea, the Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs may, after negotiation with the Minister of Defence, lay down rules on the surveillance of Danish waters and ships calling at ports.

3.2 In addition, the vessel traffic service shall be organised to meet the relevant guidelines that IMO has adopted VTS services¹, and as far as possible in accordance with IALA standards, recommendations and guidelines, etc.

3.3 The operation of the vessel traffic service shall be organised to comply with the operational requirements of Articles 5, 7, 8, 9, 14, 16 and 17 of the Monitoring Directive.

4. Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002 (Monitoring Directive), as amended, imposes a number of obligations on Member States in relation to the operation of mandatory ship reporting and routing systems and vessel traffic services in their territorial waters.

According to Article 5 of the Monitoring Directive, member states must monitor and ensure that ships entering areas covered by IMO approved mandatory ship reporting systems comply with the system's rules.

Similarly, Articles 7 and 8 require Member States to ensure that ships entering areas covered by IMO-approved ships' routing systems or vessel traffic services apply and comply with the guidelines and requirements laid down for these.

Furthermore, it follows from Article 9(3) of the Directive that VTS centres responsible for monitoring compliance with the rules of vessel traffic services and vessel routing systems shall have sufficient and appropriately trained personnel and suitable communication and ship monitoring equipment, and that these services and systems are operated in accordance with relevant IMO guidelines.

4.2 These provisions are implemented by Executive Order no. 1021 of 26 August 2010 on Technical Regulations on a Traffic Monitoring and Information System in Danish Waters and Ports, as amended.

5. In Denmark, the Great Belt VTS and Sound VTS vessel traffic services operate the established ship reporting systems in their respective areas. The ship reporting systems are approved by the IMO and thus mandatory to participate in for the ships covered. Based on the ship reporting systems approved by the IMO, the Danish Maritime Authority sets the Danish rules on ship reporting obligations.

5.2 For the Great Belt, please refer to the current Executive order on the BELTREP ship reporting system operated by Great Belt VTS.

5.3 For the Øresund, please refer to the current Executive order on the ship reporting system SOUNDREP operated by Sound VTS. Sound VTS is established jointly between Denmark and Sweden.

5.4 In the Fehmarn Belt, a temporary and voluntary vessel traffic service VTS Fehmarn Belt has been established. The purpose of VTS Fehmarn Belt is to ensure the safety, efficiency and environmental protection of shipping traffic in connection with the construction of the tunnel connection under the Fehmarn Belt between Denmark (Lolland) and Germany (Femern). VTS Fehmarn Belt is a joint venture between Denmark and Germany.

VTS Fehmarn Belt has been notified to IMO member states in Circular Letter No. 4397 from 1 April 2021. Before termination of the temporary VTS Fehmarn Belt, international shipping traffic shall be duly informed.

6. Nothing in this guide relieves the master of their overall responsibility for all aspects of the ship's operation, including the responsibility for safe navigation.

6.2 The vessel traffic service, whether initiated by the VTS centres or the participating ship, shall exercise such care that VTS operations do not interfere with the master's responsibility for safe navigation. Furthermore, navigational support from VTS centres should not be considered an alternative to pilotage.

6.3 Should the master choose to disregard any instruction given by a VTS centre in a mandatory ship reporting system, the master may be required to report the ship's intention.

6.4 The need for a VTS should be assessed and reviewed through a risk assessment.

6.5 Communication from the VTS should be timely, clear, concise and unambiguous.

6.6 Where possible, the VTS provider is encouraged to make use of automated reporting.

6.7 Where appropriate, the operation of VTS should be harmonised with ship reporting systems, ship route measures and other allied services.

6.8 In the event that two or more contracting governments have a common interest in establishing a VTS in a particular area, the governments involved should establish a joint VTS based on an agreement between the parties involved.

6.9 It is encouraged that IALA standards and associated recommendations, guidelines and model courses are followed as far as possible when establishing and operating the VTS centres.

7. For the purpose of this guide, the Danish Maritime Authority shall be regarded as the competent authority which regulates vessel traffic services and declares VTS areas, etc., as authorised by the contracting government. The Danish Maritime Authority is considered the "competent authority" according to IMO Resolution A.1158(32).

7.2 Naval Command is pre-designated as the responsible operational VTS authority. Naval Command is thus a "VTS provider" according to IMO Resolution A.1158(32).

8. The contracting government shall:

1. Create a legal basis to codify SOLAS convention rule V/12.
2. Designate and authorise a competent authority.
3. Take appropriate action against ships reported to be non-compliant with applicable regulations, etc., in a VTS area.
4. Consider future technical developments regarding VTS, including other relevant developments.

8.2. The competent authority must:

1. Establish a regulatory framework for the establishment and operation of VTS centres in accordance with relevant international conventions, IMO resolutions, IALA standards and national legislation.
2. Authorise a VTS provider to operate VTS in specific VTS areas.
3. Ensure that VTS training is duly authorised and that VTS operators are duly certified3; and
4. Establish a framework for compliance and enforcement in case of violations of applicable rules in each VTS area.

8.3. The VTS provider must:

1. Ensure that the VTS centres under their responsibility comply with and follow the regulatory framework set by the competent authority and others.
   Set operational goals for each VTS that are in line with the objective of contributing to safety of navigation, efficiency of ship traffic and protection of the environment. The operational objectives must be routinely evaluated to ensure their achievement.
2. Ensure that VTS centres under their responsibility use the equipment, systems and facilities necessary to provide a VTS.
3. Ensure that VTS centres under their responsibility are properly staffed and that VTS operators are duly qualified and trained in accordance with clause 14.2
4. Collaborate with other authorities in accident investigations.
5. Through the establishment of procedures and maintenance of equipment, ensure that the equipment needed to maintain communication and monitoring of ship traffic is always reliable.
6. Ensure that the ship traffic is continuously monitored from one or more workstations for each sector.
7. Ensure that a continuous listening watch is maintained on designated VHF radio channels and watch on non-VHF means of communication if they are part of the declared service.
8. Record and store data of the traffic picture, including communication on designated VHF radio channels, in the VTS area with all relevant information needed to identify and document incidents.
   8.1) For mandatory ship reporting systems, the VTS provider shall keep the relevant information for at least 90 days. For vessel traffic services, the VTS provider shall retain the relevant information for at least 30 days. The information must be made available to the Danish Maritime Authority, the Danish Maritime Accident Investigation Board or the police upon request.

9. The VTS provider must report ships that are a danger to navigational safety, the environment or that violate applicable legislation to the relevant authorities.

9.2 The VTS provider must report observed incidents in the VTS area that are assessed as infringements, cf. articles 5, 7 and 8 of the Surveillance Directive, to the Danish Maritime Authority within 30 days from the time of observation.

9.3 Incidents in the VTS area that deviate significantly from the normal situation or that could have resulted in an accident (near misses) are reported to the Danish Maritime Authority.

9.4 Only offences and incidents committed in Danish territorial waters, or the Danish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) must be reported.

9.5 Reporting shall follow the guidelines in IMO Resolution A.432(XI) on violations of the International Rules of the Sea and shall, in addition to the principles in the resolution's form, include an explanation of the process and a number of screen shots over a sufficient period of time in order to identify and document the violation.

10. The VTS provider shall establish a safety and quality management system to ensure that the purpose of the ship reporting system or vessel traffic service is fulfilled. Safety and quality management systems shall, as a whole, follow recognised standards for quality management systems and shall at least contain:

1. A description of the purpose, objectives, etc., of the ship reporting system or vessel traffic service,
2. A description of the VTS provider's organisation and responsibilities,
3. Requirement that operational procedures or process descriptions are established at each VTS centre for all tasks deemed important to fulfil the purpose of the ship reporting system or vessel traffic service,
4. A description of training, beyond the generic basic course, and training of personnel,
5. Procedures for evaluating the effectiveness of the quality management system and achievement of objectives; and
6. Relevant records to document fulfilment of purpose, objectives and any deviations,
7. Establish a framework and ensure that procedures are in place to ensure that technical errors on the equipment is repaired without undue delay.

10.2 The operational procedures or process descriptions shall include instructions to VTS operators on communication with ships in the VTS area.  The instructions must include the matters that are important to maintain effective and safe communication with the ships. Including, among other things;

1. General standards for calls to and from ships,
2. Procedures in cases where ships request navigational guidance in accordance with IMO and IALA guidelines.
3. Procedures for calling when ship behaviour may cause imminent danger to other ships, grounding, collision with bridges or other structures or damage to the environment,
4. Procedures for communication with allied services.
5. Condition and access to shipping lanes, canals, etc., and status of navigational aids,
6. A hazard that threatens a ship, and
7. Communication language in general.

10.3 If conditions exist that prevent the VTS provider from exercising its services in whole or in part, this shall be immediately communicated to shipping by issuing navigational warnings as provided for in the operational procedures.

11. For each calendar year, the VTS provider shall submit to the competent authority an annual report containing the previous year's relevant and essential operational data for the mandatory ship reporting systems and, to the extent possible, for vessel traffic services.

11.2 The VTS provider shall organise at least once a year an internal audit of the fulfilment of the purpose and effectiveness of the quality management system. The interval for internal audits can be deviated from by agreement between the VTS provider and the competent authority.

11.2.1 When assessing a deviation from the range, the competent authority shall take into account the overall risk, the previously issued audit reports and the annual reports of the VTS provider.

11.3 An external audit of the fulfilment of the purpose and effectiveness of the quality management system is performed At least every five years. The audit is carried out by the competent authority or an authorised body independent of the VTS provider.

11.4 Audit reports shall be submitted to the competent authority within two weeks of their preparation.

12. The VTS provider shall ensure that the VTS operator has in-depth knowledge and skills of all relevant aspects of ships that are important for assessing the safe navigation of ships, their compliance with applicable navigational regulations, the individual impact of ships on navigational safety in the area and their potential impact on the marine environment.

12.2 VTS personnel are considered competent when they are adequately educated, trained and have the necessary qualifications for their VTS duties. This includes, among other things:

1. Successfully complete generic VTS training approved by the competent authority.
2. Successfully complete on-the-job training at the VTS centre where they are employed.
3. Undergo periodic assessments and revalidation training to ensure competency levels are maintained; and
4. Be in possession of an appropriate certification.