Relevant documents and M-notices: SOLAS Chapter V, MGN 634
SOLAS Chapter V regulation 19-1 requires passenger ships and cargo ships of 300GT and over to be fitted with a type-approved system to automatically transmit the following information:
The identity of the ship
The position of the ship (latitude and longitude)
The date and time of the position provided
These reports are sent at 6-hourly intervals to a LRIT data centre.
Power
LRIT equipment must be powered from the ships main and emergency electricity sources, and must either have an internal GNSS or be able to interface with the ships fitted GNDSS.
Who is entitled to the ships reported information?
Start by reading the relevant part of SOLAS quoted below, then think about the passage of a UK ship from Harwich to Montreal described below.
The Administration shall be entitled to receive such information about ships entitled to fly its flag irrespective of where such ships may be located;
A Contracting Government shall be entitled to receive such information about ships which have indicated their intention to enter a port facility, as defined in regulation XI-2/1.1.9, or a place under the jurisdiction of that Contracting Government, irrespective of where such ships may be located provided they are not located within the waters landward of the baselines, established in accordance with international law, of another Contracting Government
A Contracting Government shall be entitled to receive such information about ships entitled to fly the flag of other Contracting Governments, not intending to enter a port facility or a place under the jurisdiction of that Contracting Government, navigating within a distance not exceeding 1,000 nautical miles of its coast provided such ships are not located within the waters landward of the baselines, established in accordance with international law, of another Contracting Government; and
A Contracting Government shall not be entitled to receive, pursuant to subparagraph .3, such information about a ship located within the territorial sea of the Contracting Government whose flag the ship is entitled to fly.
So, imagining a UK flagged ship going from Harwich to Montreal, having engine issues and anchoring in the Seine to carry out some repairs, before going north of Ireland near to Greenland to avoid bad weather and approaching Montreal via the Belle Isle Strait and the Bay of St Lawrence:
The MCA is entitled to this information regardless of where a UK flagged vessel is.
As you’ve reported that you intend to visit Canada, the Canadian flag state is entitled to this information, except while you’re in the Seine (inland of the French baseline) or while you’re in UK territorial sea (12 miles from land).
You then sail across the Atlantic, straying quite far North to avoid poor weather. The Danish flag state is entitled to this information while are within 1000 miles of the coast of Greenland (an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark).
When can a ship stop sending LRIT information?
Masters of ships are authorised to cease broadcasting LRIT data while the ship is undergoing repairs, modifications or conversions in dry-dock or in port, or is laid up for a long period. The MCA should be informed and an entry made in the Official Log Book; see the details in MGN 634 part 6.
Masters may also switch the LRIT off in exceptional circumstances and for the shortest duration possible where the operation is considered by the master to compromise the safety or security of the ship. In such a case, the master shall inform the Administration without undue delay and make an entry in the navigational log book setting out the reasons for the decision and indicating the period during which the system or equipment was switched off.
The flag state administration can decide not to provide LRIT reports for ships entitled to fly their flag, for security or any other reasons, at any time.
Conformance Test Reports
Authorised Testing Appliance Service Providers (ATASPs) are appointed by the MCA to carry out conformance tests on LRIT systems. This is done when the equipment is installed and a Conformance Test Report (CTR) is issued by the ATASP on behalf of the MCA. This CTR should be checked during the Initial, Renewal or Annual survey for the ships Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificate or Passenger Ship Safety Certificate.
MCAQs
What information is contained in a LRIT report?
How often must a LRIT report be transmitted?
Which ships are obliged to send LRIT reports?
Your LRIT equipment is found not to be working. You decide to ask the MCA for a temporary dispensation to allow you to sail; would emailing your position to the company DPA every three hours be a good temporary alternative while the LRIT equipment is fixed?
You are sailing as master on a UK flagged vessel in the S China sea during a period of tension between Taiwan and China. Can you turn your LRIT off? Where would you record this and who would you inform?
Which flag states are entitled to access the vessels position information and when?