Protective Measures

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	The Prince of Wales Channel in Torres Strait represents a microcosm of the 1000 nautical mile long inner shipping route of the Great Barrier Reef and is used here to illustrate AMSA's layered approach to navigation safety.
	AMSA, in consultation with the Australian Hydrographic Office, has established routing measures in the form of a charted two-way route or, in some cases a recommended track. These provide guidance for mariners as to the safest tracks for ships to follow. The Australian Hydrographic Office maintains a good coverage of paper, raster and ENCs for the Great Barrier Reef area. This is a section of paper chart Aus 376.
	AMSA operates a cohesive network of aids to navigation, which is regularly reviewed to ensure it meets current requirements. Included in this network are buoys, lights, sector lights, racons and day marks. There is also a marine DGPS service, which provides enhanced GPS accuracy and integrity monitoring. Where warranted, real-time transmitting tide gauges and a current meter provide information for under keel clearance management.
	REEFVTS, a Coastal Vessel Traffic Service, is operated by AMSA and the State of Queensland's government maritime safety authority, Maritime Safety Queensland. In addition to automated position reporting via INMARSAT C, radar and AIS information is supplied to REEFVTS to enable the monitoring of shipping traffic with systems that can automatically identify ships that stray from ‘typical’ or ‘usual’ tracks. REEFVTS also provides a traffic information service to ships which assists with the safe management encounters between ships.
	The final layer in this total navigation safety system is the provision of pilotage. Two pilotage providers facilitate pilotage services throughout the designated pilotage areas. This provides ship masters with expert local knowledge to ensure the highest levels of navigation safety possible.


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