About Union VMS
Union VMS is an EU project with the goal of producing a free, open-source implementation of a VMS, vessel monitoring system.
The timing of the project is linked to the increased cooperation between member states and the EU Commission as well as the radical change of data exchange among the project parties due to the introduction of FLUX, the Fisheries Language for Universal eXchange.
Who is involved?
A number of member states and the EU Commission are project participants. Our agency, representing Sweden, is project manager. The project is resourced by Sweden and DG MARE.
As all member states are directly connected through FLUX, they have become more dependent upon each other to become system compliant in good time, a lesson learned from the first attempt to introduce electronic logbook reporting.
Achieving Compliance Through Cooperation
The Union VMS project firmly believes that cooperation is the only way for member states to achieve a level playing field for compliance amongst themselves.
Until now, member states have only cooperated in laying out the specifications for what needs to be done, but they have never worked together to implement their outlined requirements.
Focus Areas
This project aims to pave the way with a focus on:
- system implementation
- project methodology
- management reference models in respect to the coordination of geographically-diverse teams
- license and communication models
- governance organization.
Finance as a Driving Factor
Finance is also an important factor in driving this project forward. With cooperation, the entire community will achieve a greater economy of scale regarding both development and governance.
