Under the regulations of SOLAS Chapter V/19-1, each Flag State has the responsibility to :

1. Establish a National LRIT Data Centre (or join a Regional or Cooperative Data Centre).
2. Appoint an Application Service Provider (known as the 'Recognised ASP') to manage the associated communications between the ship, the Communication Service Provider (CSP), and the DC.
3. Notify the IMO by official channels of the appointed Data Centre and Recognised ASP

Flag States are at liberty to appoint as many Testing ASP's as they wish. It is the responsibility of the ship operator to ensure that a ship has a valid LRIT Conformance Test Report onboard, following the appointment of a Testing ASP by the Flag.

The following general information is provided to assist Flag States with delivery of their obligations vis-a-vis LRIT:

Each Flag will need to instruct their chosen ASP (or ASPs) to issue a Conformance Test Report (CTR) on behalf of the Flag if this is required. FMS has a unique system that enables the Flag to monitor the progress of vessels that have registered with FMS for their compliance test and to additionally view, download or print a copy of the Conformance Test Report. We are currently the only commercial entity to offer this service.

Each Flag will need to develop a National Data Centre or appoint a Data Centre Service Provider to provide their LRIT Data Centre. The IMO documentation relating to all aspects of LRIT can be found on our Documentation page.

Once a Flag has formed an LRIT strategy, details must be provide to the IMO as specified in MSC.1/Circ.1298. Please refer to Appendix 1 on page 12 "Model of Letter for Communication of Information".

Fulcrum has a clear step-by-step guide that details the actions required by the Flag to establish a National Data Centre. This guide is available to our customers. The following guide to LRIT has been prepared by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and includes useful considerations for Flag States when considering their LRIT Data Centre: LRIT Handbook

Each Flag must provide the polygon co-ordinates for their baseline and territorial waters. This information is a pre-requisite to the establishment of any LRIT Data Centre. Fulcrum is able to assist with the entry of polygon data into the system (known as the LRIT Data Distribution Plan (DDP)). For further information about polygon co-ordinates, please refer to section 5 of the following document issued by the IMO: MSC.1/Circ.1259/Rev.1. Go to Section 5, which starts on p139. Guidance on polygons

Information about LRIT Conformance Testing

Fulcrum are Testing ASP for 60 Flag States, including the Bahamas, United Kingdom, Denmark, Marshall Islands, Liberia, Sierra Leone, St. Vincent & Grenadines. If you would like to appoint Fulcrum as a Testing ASP, please contact KDay at kday@fulcrum-maritime.com who will be able to provide you with copies of ASP Authorisations and an ASP Testing Agreement.

Full details of our testing procedures and a list of the Flags for whom we are authorised are available on the Ship Operators page.

The test is conducted following the requirements laid out by the IMO in MSC.1/Circ.1307. "Guidance on the survey and certification of compliance of ships with the requirement to transmit LRIT information". This document is available on our website along with copies of all other MSC circulars pertaining to LRIT.

Updated July 2010.