On 30.04.09, the Romanian Border Police has officially inaugurated the Integrated System of Observation, Surveillance and Control of Traffic on Black Sea (SCOMAR).
The official opening ceremony took place in Constanta, at the premises of the Constanta County Inspectorate of Border Police, in the presence of the vice-prime minister, minister of Administration and Interior, Mr. Dan NICA and of the General Inspector of Romanian Border Police, Principal Police Quaestor, Mr. Nelu POP.
To this event participated also representatives of the Presidential Administration, Government and ministries involved in the SCOMAR system, European Union partners and companies involved in the system implementation, representatives of the central and local public administration, of the authorities coordinating the activity in Constanta port, etc.
SCOMAR is an operational surveillance system based on state-of-the-art technology which enables timely detection, tracking, recognition and identification of vessels carrying out illegal trafficking activities in the Black Sea.
The system was designed in cooperation with partners from the European Union, with a total budget of 24,60 MEURO (PHARE Funds and co-financing) being rendered operational in the light of Romania’s joining the Schengen area.
The bird’s-eye view images provided by this integrated system will be exploited by other co-beneficiary authorities also, such as: Ministry of National Defence, Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Agriculture and others.
Noteworthy, is the fact that by means of an intense activity carried out by the specialists of the Romanian Border Police and the Ministry of Administration and Interior it was managed, in the absence of external consultancy, to ensure the necessary technical assistance for SCOMAR implementation, yielding a budget saving of about 500.000 Euro.
Background information:
Integrated System of Observation, Surveillance and Control of Traffic on the Black Sea (SCOMAR) has as main objectives the observation, surveillance and control of the Romanian border at the Black Sea.
The organization of the Complex System of Observation, Surveillance and Control of Traffic on the Black Sea (SCOMAR) allows:
Improvement of the state border surveillance in the maritime area; Improvement of the navigation security in the operational area of the system; Decreasing of the illegal activities in the territorial sea and in the contiguous area; Ensuring continuous surveillance of the covered area; Setting up a database regarding the maritime activity in the sea area; Decreasing the number of patrolling boats, surveillance leading implicitly to an important economy of fuel and resources.Description of the system:
The system is made up of the following subsystems:
the Sensor Station Subsystem which includes Sensor Stations (SS) equipped with optoelectronic and radar sensors; the communication subsystem which enables the data exchange (transmission of images, voice and data), in real time, between the Sensor Station Subsystem and the Command and Control Center; the Command and Control Center subsystem centralizes and analyses all information received from the Sensor Station Subsystem and by other interconnected systems; intervention operational units (naval, land, air).SCOMAR is ready for surveillance and monitoring, constantly (24/7), providing a tactical image of the water surface in the maritime, territorial area, contiguous and exclusive economic area (up to 100 sea miles out at sea) of the air activity and terrestrial situation.
In order to attain this objective, the envisaged system was designed to guarantee timely detection of boats and vessels so that they are located before reaching the coastline shore thus giving the Romanian Border Police the essential reaction time required in order to be able to undertake the necessary actions.
The sensor stations subsystem detects, identifies and tracks suspect vessels using the radar and sensor functions by transmitting the video images and obtained signals to the Command and Control Center, where the threat is analyzed and assessed.
The decisions are made in the centralized Command and Control Center (CCC) in which the information collected by the system’s sensors is available and presented into an organized and structured way. In addition, the communication links are available for the upper CCCs and for other external agencies and organizations.
Financing:
The system was designed in cooperation with national and the European Union partners, with a total budget of 24.60 million Euros (by Phare funds and co-financing), being rendered operational in view of Romania’s joining the Schengen area.
Taking into account the complexity of SCOMAR project, its deployment was done gradually, being financed by several contracts comprised in the Phare Financing Memorandums (2003, 2004 and 2005).
By means of an intense activity carried out by the specialists of the Romanian Border Police and the Ministry of Administration and Interior it was managed, in the absence of external consultancy, to ensure the necessary technical assistance for SCOMAR implementation, yielding a budget saving of about 500.000 Euro.