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Fedje Vessel Traffic Service Centre ((ノルウェー語:Fedje trafikksentral)), commonly abbreviated Fedje VTS, is a vessel traffic service and pilot station situated on the island of Fedje in Fedje, Norway. Its main responsibility is handling traffic headed to the offshore bases and refineries at Sture and Mongstad. Piloting has been provided out of Fedje since time immemorial. This gradually became more organized, and from 1953 a hut was erected on the site of the current station. It was rebuilt in 1977, and then demolished a rebuilt again in 1992, this time opening as Norway's second VTS. Since 1994 the nearby Fedje Heliport, Høgden has been used to fly pilots to ships. ==History== Pilots have been employed along the coast of Norway since prehistory. In early times pilots had a competitive regime, where several candidates would race to reach a potential ship to collect the fee. Because of the hard competition, pilots would often fare out in too harsh conditions, frequently meeting an early death. however, the occupation was amongst the best paid in rural areas. Fedje list located along the main sea lane from the north to Bergen and therefore has been an important base for pilots. From 1720 there were introduced piloting exams. During the 19th century there were often several pilots working out of Fedje. The pilots owned their own boats an hired an assistant, often thei rown sons, to operate the boat for them.〔Brekke & Skaar: 48〕 From 1899 the competitive pilot system was abolished and a new piloting law was introduced, establishing the Naval Pilot Authority.〔 By 1910 there was only one pilot left at Fedje. This was dramatically changed during the First World War, when series of British convoys traveled up and down the coast. Soon there were four pilots stationed at Fedje, and when needed experienced fishermen were also used. After the end of the war in 1918 things settled down and from 1920 there was only a single pilot working out of Fedje. This was further increased to two in 1927. During the 1930s each of them had an average thirty missions per year. Pilots were required to have a house with a good view of the open sea towards the direction of the sea lane. Of this reason placing houses at Hesthaugen was popular amongst the pilots. There was a new boom in pilot demand during the Second World War, with an average 69 missions per year.〔Brekke & Skaar: 49〕 During the war the Luftwaffe installed a radar mast at Hesthaugen, on the current site of the center. It was predominantly used to guide German aircraft to Herdla Airport.〔Skogseth: 369〕 Two assistants were hired in the late 1940s; these were to walk on Hesthaugen spotting for vessels. This was supplemented through the use of radio, which allowed ships to communicate the need for pilot via telegram.〔 At the site of wartime radar station there was in 1953 erected a hut for the pilots. Three years later a proper pilot's vessel was procured. Traffic increased during the 1970s, especially due to the establishment of Mongstad Refinery.〔Brekke & Skaar: 50〕 Two other contributing factors were vessels traveling to Årdal, Høyanger and Bremanger.〔Tangen: 231〕 A larger station was therefore erected in 1977, on the same location. By 1983 the station had six pilots, eight shippers and two vessels.〔 The need for a vessel traffic service arose with the construction of the bases and refineries at Mongstad and Sture. This created a situation with 2,500 annual shiploads of oil combining with 20,000 annual ships in other traffic. The national authorities approved the center in 1990, allowing construction to start in June 1991. This included construction of three radars, one on Fedje, one at Vikingneset on the Gulen island of Byrknesøyna, and one on Marøy. Fedje VTS cost 31 million Norwegian krone and was funded entirely by the operators of the bases, Statoil and Norsk Hydro. The facility opened on 1 September 1992, as the second VTS in Norway. The establishment created twelve new jobs.〔 Starting in September 1994 a trial service with using helicopters to fly the pilots to larger ships was introduced. To facilitate this, Fedje Municipality established a heliport on the island.〔Ministry of Fisheries: 86〕 The same year the VTS was given the responsibility for administrating the seas around three oil platforms—Statfjord, Gullfaks and Troll. Originally Fedje was responsible for its own pilot dispatching. In 2002 the Coastal Administration carried out a centralization of the dispatching and relocating it to the newly established Kvitsøy Vessel Traffic Service Centre. However, Fedje VTS retained an around-the-clock two-man staff. A major accident took place within the jurisdiction of the center on 12 January 2007, when the Cypriot cargo vessel MV ''Server'' went aground on the south side of Fedje. Fedje received 40 million kroner in 2009 to upgrade its computer and radar equipment. Unlike other investments and operating costs, these were paid for directly by the state instead of through shipping fees. Trials started in 2013 with the VTS also supervising the access to Bergen from the south. In particular Vatlestraumen and Hjelteskjæret were critical points where multiple sea lanes meet. Due to surplus working capacity amongst the two people on duty, this could be carried out without additional cost. The boathouse received a major upgrade in 2014, receiving a dormitory section and a new workshop. The same year a new computer system was installed along with upgrades to the radars. This allows for additional accuracy and better integrates multi-source real-time data. Should the Stad Ship Tunnel be completed, traffic organization through the tunnel will be handled by Fedje VTS. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fedje Vessel Traffic Service Centre」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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