C3OT

São Paulo Pilotage uses the services of the Traffic Coordination, Communications and Operations Center (C3OT), one of the most modern and up-to-date in the world.

 

Cameras strategically located throughout the Port, state-of-the-art meteorological and oceanographic equipment for measuring wave height and period, direction and intensity of marine currents and wind, variation in tidal height and visibility will allow monitoring, in time real, of the entire navigable channel of the port of santista, in its 20 kilometers and 67 terminals and berths. The purpose of all this is to ensure even more agility and safety in the maneuvers of increasingly larger ships that have been frequenting the Port and that require extra care in the narrow and winding Santos navigation channel.

 

Until the inauguration of C3OT, monitoring was done only by AIS (Automatic Identification System). It is a transceiver that transmits information about the ship, its location (dimensions, position, course, speed, final destination and type of cargo). Since its inauguration, C3OT continues to make use of AIS, but now integrated into the camera system and meteorological data information.

 

To increase security in a channel that shares the traffic of ferries, yachts, fishing and passenger boats, in addition to an intense movement of large ships, twelve cameras were positioned that cover the entire channel and also the terminals. With this, it is now possible to monitor the ship throughout its journey, with zoom capabilities capable of detailing each maneuver.

 

The images are transmitted in real time to the C3OT, which has a video wall equipped with ten 46-inch LCD screens. Any emergency is immediately communicated to the pilot by radio.

 

Stronger waves or undertows, for example, modify sea conditions and the new devices show the exact situation in real time. The height of the tides is also evaluated in real time, from five stations installed along the channel.

 

Among the equipment, Pilotage also has a visibility meter, capable of preventing situations of low visibility, such as the sudden formation of fog that could compromise navigation safety.

 

All pilotage boats are equipped with AIS and each one of them, while transporting the pilots, constantly monitors the area, informing the C3OT by radio of any anomaly, such as, for example, a certain ship moored with soft cables, oil stains or obstacles at the docking site.

 

The C3OT Room is installed on the third floor of the São Paulo Pilotage building and has a wide view of the canal. It has a video wall with 10 monitors, 3 consoles fully equipped with means of communication and data entry, a system capable of integrating all other subsystems and a situation or crisis room. Operations activity is carried out in a hermetic and highly functional environment, with a wide view of the channel, and an access control system. C3OT operators have decades of experience and are, without a doubt, the most important component of its operation.