~METSERVICE |\ MetService NZ Marine Programme ~METSERVICE |\ MetService NZ Marine Programme Julie Fletcher Manager Marine Observations

MetService Marine Network NZ Marine Network at 1 Feb VOS Ships (37 Selected 4 Supplementary 7 Auxiliary) 7 Drifting Buoys

Marine Programme Objectives To maintain a VOS fleet of about 40 Sel Ships & a network of 7 Drifting Buoys to provide quality real-time marine data for NZ Forecasting Operations To exchange SHIP and BUOY data internationally to provide input to Global Models and for Climatological and Research applications

VOS Management All Ship visits as PMO Recruitment of VOS ships All correspondence with ships, shipping companies, WMO, etc Maintenance of VOS database Assistance to foreign VOS Monitoring of Ship OBs QC + follow up action

NZ VOS Fleet Changes in 2005 Recruited 2005 = 5 Decommissioned 2005 = 3 TurboWin Installations started Feb ships now using TurboWin on ships’ PCs

21692 Obs recvd from NZ VOS SHIPS in 2005

NZ VOS Instrumentation/Automation Precision Aneroid Barometer Marine Barograph Stevenson Screen + thermometers Sea Bucket TurboWin electronic logbook software –One Marine AWS- based on Sutron 9000RTU –Two Marine AWS planned for 2006

Communications Most ships send via SAT C - special access code 41 Few coastal ships phone/fax to 0800 number

Inspection Regime All NZ VOS inspected at least once per year Some ships receive several visits All barometers calibrated against PMO’s Vaisala PTB220AD Transfer Standard barometer which is traceable to National/International standards Foreign VOS ships visited when possible and on request

Challenges & Difficulties Volatility - constant change in ships, routes, personnel affects VOS programme Security issues from exposure of Ship details on web and the potential impact on VOS fleet Compliance with ISPS & Customs Regs Shorter port stays - more after hours & weekend visiting Language problems

Receipt of OBs Monitored No OBs can be first sign of problems Monthly count of number of Obs per NZ VOS ship Follow up ships identified as sending few or no Obs Use ‘Time of Receipt’ Monitoring tool developed by UKMO

OBs Quality Monitored PMO access to Real Time GTS OBs Forecaster & Data Entry feedback Daily summary of OBs with coding errors Use of Meteo France VOS QC Monitoring site UKMO monthly Monitoring Stats

Important Factors for successful VOS RealTime access to GTS SHIP OBs Use of monitoring tools to identify ships with problems Timely follow up to rectify problems Providing ships with clear instructions It’s about being pro-active

What could improve my job? Up to date on-line WMO No 47 Reliable callsign/ship name/Sat C matching Greater global communication between PMOs

Steering Strategies Number of ships in VOS not important - it’s the number that report that count Coded OBs must be received in real- time to be of maximum benefit to the Forecasting Office Doesn’t matter which country a ship reports for, so long as it reports.

PMO Job Its unique Meet many interesting people Visit a huge variety of ships Job is challenging Doing it well makes a difference PMOs efforts directly impact on the quality & quantity of OBs from Ships