Winning the first of seven planned AIS contracts for the overseas departments of France paves the way for a number of exciting opportunities for GateHouse in the French market.

The small island La Réunion, located in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, is one of the outermost regions of the European Union but at the moment it plays a central role at GateHouse. Together with the French company Kenta Electronics, GateHouse has signed a contract for an AIS system to be installed on La Reunion.

 

The client CETMEF (Centre d’Études Techniques Maritimes et Fluviales  - The Maritime & Fluvial Technical Study Centre), which is a technical department of the French Infrastructure Ministry, has already planned another six systems for the rest of the overseas departments.

 

This first contract consists of 10 network connected AIS sites, a mobile traffic centre and a control centre on the island. In France, CETMEF and the French Navy can connect to the system via a web-based solution for surveillance of the maritime traffic around the island.

 

When the system is installed it will cover the ocean surrounding la Reunion, parts of Madagascar, the Comorean Islands and specially the heavily trafficked Channel of Mozambique.

 

GateHouse CEO Michael Bondo Andersen says, “We are pleased to enter the French market and this provides us with new opportunities in this area. In June, we will present our AIS solutions to a very interesting group of potential French clients. We are expecting a lot from the French market and are in the process of having two of our core products - GAD and WebGAD – translated into French. This contract demonstrates once again that our tracking platform, ghTrack, which is at the core of all our tracking solutions, including AIS, is one of the best in the market “

 

About GateHouse

GateHouse offers a large range of technical software products – mainly within satellite communications and shore-based AIS – and consultancy services ranging from full turnkey operation of software development to specified test operations. In addition, GateHouse is involved in the defence market. To ensure top quality and continuous improvement in software development, GateHouse works in accordance with CMMI and is ISO 9001:2000 certified.

About ghTrack and AIS

ghTrack is a GateHouse-developed platform for asset tracking, applicable from small scale local deployments to wide area global systems. The ghTrack platform provides a highly scalable open architecture that can be used for all kinds of tracking (containers, ground transport, vessels, aircraft, etc.).

The automatic Identification System (AIS) is an international standard for ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore, and shore-to-ship data communication approved by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). AIS is used for automatic VHF transmission of information, like a ship’s position, heading, speed, identification, and cargo. Vessels carrying AIS transponders are able to get an overview of other AIS-equipped vessels within VHF range (up to 50 km), the main aim being to increase safety at sea. Also, coastal authorities and ports around the world are able to monitor and guide ships. The information can be displayed on different kinds of display systems, including electronic sea charts.

 

Please direct enquiries to:  Marketing Coordinator Mette D. Lilkær, Phone:  +45-7020-1909,
E-mail:  mdl@gatehouse.dk, www.gatehouse.dk

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