Dubai-based Elcome International said it was playing a key role in building a new maritime communication network on the coastal area of Oman.

Under a subcontract awarded in April by Frequentis AG of Austria, Elcome has been supplying key components of the network, as well as system integration, installation, training and maintenance for equipment in the operations center and remote sites.

The network will provide the obligatory shore-based terrestrial and satellite-based Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) communication services covering Sea Areas A1, A2 and A3 of Oman’s territorial waters and beyond.

This includes an upgrade of the existing Navtex maritime safety information broadcasting system. In addition, the integrated system encompasses a new coast-wide automatic identification system (AIS) and a ground-based segment for receiving and processing Cospas-Sarsat distress alerts from emergency beacons.

Elcome, a leading marine solutions provider and system integrator in the Middle East, said the network had been deployed and operated by Qnective Middle East.

The local subsidiary of the Swiss company Qnective was awarded through its Omani partner company, Al-Madakhel Investment, a First Class A license for network construction and operation by Oman.

The Oman network will be managed from a dedicated Maritime Radiocommunication Operations Center (MROC), operated by Qnective Middle East in Muscat. The operations center is manned 24 hours a day. The MROC also has a large training facility.

Jimmy Grewal, the executive director of Elcome International, said: "This large-scale coastal infrastructure project is a good example of the full range of technical services Elcome offers."

“We specialize in designing, installing and supporting difficult and complex integrated systems,” he added.

The coastal infrastructure includes strategically located radio sites around Oman’s coastline from Khasab in the north to a location west of Salalah, as well as two Navtex transmission sites in Wattayah and Salalah to give coverage of Oman’s sea lanes out to 275 nautical miles.

AIS receivers and direction-finding antennae are co-located at remote radio sites to track and monitor vessels out to 30 nautical miles offshore, including Oman’s large commercial fishing fleet.

The entire maritime radiocommunication network should be completed in February 2015.-TradeArabia News Service