Mumbai, December 03, 2007 (DefenceIndia News Service)

In a bid to increase surveillance on the high seas, Indian Navy is implementing a Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) programme which helps to obtain information on vessels passing through Indian territorial waters.

All the vessels are required to have a system which transmits details like flag of the ship, its cargo and other details, Flag Officer, Commander-in-Chief of Western Naval Command Vice Admiral J S Bedi said in Mumbai.

"Under MDA, we are tying up with the states to set up receiving stations on the shore which will augment our off shore stations working presently," he said.

"All the pictures (data) received through the receiving stations will be compiled and processed centrally so that we have the exact information about ships both in our territorial waters and beyond," Bedi said.

Maharashtra already has the required systems while Gujarat Maritmie Board is expected to install the receivers by the end of 2008 and talks are on with states across the Western coast to implement the scheme so that the integration can be done at the earliest, he said.

The data which is made available can be used by the Navy as well as by any other agency like the marine security wings and the Coast Guard, among others.

Bedi said this programme is closely linked with the network centric operations of the navy.

The next step in the programme will be a satellite-based long range identification system which will be done next year.