Absolute takes Fisheries Registration online in 17 countries

FFA has selected Absolute's Fleet Information System to provide on-line registration and renewal of fishing documentation for the Good Standing Register, covering 17 countries and territories in the South Pacific.

This Fleet Information System upgrades an existing Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) also supplied by Absolute.

During the sixth meeting of the Technical & Compliance Committee (TCC6) of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), FFA provided further details on the rollout of Absolute's Fleet Information System.

This includes the capability for shipowners to submit applications and renewals for Good Standing on the FFA Register electronically via the Fleet Information System. This is expected to commence from the 2011 fishing year onwards. Currently shipowners and their agents file paper based forms to register (or re-register) each year. The new on-line process is expected to streamline the application process and also includes a process for uploading digital scans of documents; such as flag state certificates and proof of corporate registration for the shipowner and charterer.

Upon successful registration the Certificate of Good Standing will now be issued as a digitally signed PDF file. During the transition period shipowners may file either on-line or using the older paper based system. The system provided by Absolute includes the capability to take both on-line and paper based applications and merge these into a complete record (paper applications are first scanned into the digital system)

As an additional feature for shipowners, once a registration has been completed on-line the shipowner can request access to their own VMS track data entirely free-of-charge. A shipowner may in turn authorize their agent and/or charterer to also view the ships location and track data also.

Further details are available in the following brochure: http://absolutesw.comhttp://web-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com:80/documents%2Ffis_fisheries_brochure.pdf