NEW DELHI, October 15 — The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways on Thursday evening declared the nationwide operationalization of the indigenously developed, software-defined Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) across all 12 Major Ports of India.
Co-developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) and the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), the indigenous system integrates long-range coastal radar telemetry, Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders, hydro-meteorological buoys, and electro-optical thermal surveillance to deliver real-time 3D tracking of maritime traffic up to 30 nautical miles seaward.
Shipping officials underlined that deploying indigenous VTMS directly reduces vessel turn-around times and pre-berthing waiting delays by up to 40 percent, supporting logistical cost reductions under the Sagarmala initiative and advancing sovereign goals established in the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
The regulatory architecture of the Major Port Authorities Act 2021, the geographical distribution and cargo profiles of India's 12 Major Ports (such as JNPT, Paradip, Deendayal, and Chennai), the Sagarmala coastal logistics framework, and International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions (SOLAS, ISPS Code) are high-yield study areas across UPSC Civil Services (GS-III: Infrastructure & Transport Logistics) and State PSC exams.