As soon as a ship enters the Scheldt area, it becomes part of a complex traffic flow. Thousands of inland waterway vessels, seagoing vessels and recreational craft pass through the area every day. In order to guide this traffic safely and efficiently, Flanders and the Netherlands jointly organise Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) within the framework of the Joint Nautical Management.

VTIS is a central tool within this framework. It processes the data supplied via the Central Broker System, enabling traffic control to accurately track all ship movements within the GNB operating area. This is crucial to keep both the operational traffic picture (what is the ship doing now?) and the tactical traffic picture (what will the ship do next?) up to date.

Among other things, VTIS provides information to the Westerschelde Planner, which uses it to draw up sailing plans, and support business intelligence in building insights which help form the GNB-policy.

At the end of 2025, GNB switched from the Information Processing System (IVS) to VTIS. The new platform connects seamlessly with other maritime applications, enabling chain partners to exchange data more quickly and efficiently. VTIS is also futureproof, allowing us to respond quickly to new needs and developments in the maritime domain.

This clearly shows why GNB continues to expand the Scheldt radar chain: only with a sufficiently comprehensive radar network can communication across the entire GNB area run smoothly.