VZCZCXRO2349
RR RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
DE RUEHLO #0512 0511054
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 201054Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7490
INFO RUWDQAC/COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
RUCOWCW/COGARD OSC MARTINSBURG WV
RHEFHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS LONDON 000512 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO IO/C FOR M. MORRISSEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: IMO AORC ASEC UK
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION (IMO): 
REPORT OF THE FIRST SESSION OF THE AD HOC LONG RANGE 
IDENTIFICATION AND TRACKING(LRIT) GROUP OF THE MARITIME 
SAFETY COMMITTEE, LONDON, 29 JANUARY - 1 FEBRUARY 2008. 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: The ad hoc LRIT group met from 29 January to 
1 February under the chairmanship of Dr. Sam Ryan 
(Canada), who at the opening session was elected as 
Chairman for the present and subsequent sessions. The 
group was convened by MSC 83, under MSC circular letter 
2835, to consider necessary amendments to the LRIT 
technical specifications and standards, to consider test 
programs for LRIT, and to witness and accept LRIT tests. 
As this was the first meeting of the group, inputs and 
discussion centered on the details of LRIT communications 
and the international LRIT data exchange. All technical 
inputs to this session were submitted by the U.S. and all 
U.S. objectives were met. END SUMMARY. 
¶2. The group adopted as its agenda the provisional agenda 
set out in MSC/ad hoc LRIT 1/1. Only three other papers 
were submitted to this session, all by the United States. 
The United States is developing the international LRIT 
data exchange which is the heart of the LRIT system. 
U.S. contributions to the group are therefore critical. 
MSC/ad hoc LRIT 1/3 was on U.S. clarifications and 
assumptions regarding the LRIT technical specifications. 
MSC/ad hoc LRIT 1/3/1 proposed U.S. amendments to the 
LRIT technical specifications. MSC/ad hoc LRIT 1/3/2 was 
a detailed schema of proposed LRIT message formats. 
¶3. During previous sessions of the committee, a number of 
contracting governments, including the USG, had indicated 
their intentions to establish a national LRIT data 
center. The IMO Secretariat advised the group that an 
official notification in this matter is required. The 
U.S. Coast Guard will provide an official notification to 
the IMO Secretariat. 
¶4. The group, based on the U.S. input documents, prepared 
draft proposed amendments to the technical specifications 
and, building on the U.S. message formats document MSC/ad 
hoc LRIT 1/3/2, prepared extensible markup language (xml) 
schema for LRIT communications. The secretariat, as the 
developer of the LRIT data distribution plan (DDP), 
prepared a matrix of guidelines for the implementation of 
the DDP. Notwithstanding its terms of reference, the 
group agreed to prepare for the consideration of the 
committee draft amendments to the approved LRIT 
performance standards. 
¶5. The group also considered related issues for the 
timely establishment of the LRIT system. This discussion 
focused on the approval of shipboard equipment, notably 
shipboard equipment already fitted that may meet LRIT 
performance standards, e.g., GMDSS INMARSAT-C. The group 
agreed that this issue should be brought to the attention 
of MSC 84. 
¶6. The next session of the group is scheduled for 11-14 
March 2008 in London at a venue yet to be determined. 
¶7. The report of the group will be forwarded to MSC 84 to 
be noted, with the final session of the group to be sent 
for approval. 
TUTTLE