Improved Safety in Strait of Gibraltar

For several years the Spanish government has utilised wave buoys near the Ports of Tarifa and Algeciras in the Strait of Gibraltar to provide wave data to local maritime stakeholders. While this data is useful, the relative small size of the buoys combined with a very high volume of vessel traffic resulted in occasional impacts and loss of data. To overcome this, Puertos del Estado (OPPE) and the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) have invested in an AXYS WatchKeeper Metocean buoy, a much taller and more visible platform with substantially more capabilities.

Sidmar, which is AXYS' exclusive agent in Spain, deployed the WatchKeeper buoy at the mouth of the Port of Algeciras on 11th November 2010. A TRIAXYS buoy was re-deployed near Tarifa, on the western side of the strait during the same trip.

The 1.75 metre tall WatchKeeper buoy platform measures waves, currents, winds, air pressure, along with a variety of other parameters, then sends its data to shore each hour by GSM telemetry for loading onto the Puertos del Estado website for near real time display. The WatchKeeper is outfitted with an AIS AToN (Aid to Navigation) transponder that sends a position (message 21) and a met hydro message (message 8) to AIS equipped transiting vessels and land stations. These outgoing messages not only tell vessel operators the location of the buoy platform, but also what the local meteorological conditions are like. From this data they can make more informed decisions, such as whether to continue an approach to the Port or to hold position until the weather improves.

The installation of these two buoys marks the 13th and 14th platforms that AXYS and Sidmar have deployed for the Spanish government.

This effort was made possible through a program called SAMPA (Autonomous System of Measurement, Prediction and Warning), which is aimed at improving the knowledge of the atmosphere and ocean with direct application to environmental protection, navigation and port activities in the vicinity of the Bay of Algeciras.

Live data from these systems.