In 2016 the City of Antwerp took over management of the waters on the Eilandje – Antwerp’s oldest port area – from the Antwerp Port Authority. The area around Bonapartedok, Willemdok, Kempisch Dock, Kattendijkdok, Houtdok and Asiadok therefore form an urban area and thus fall under the authority of the City of Antwerp for berth management, safety and the policing.

This historic port has evolved into a modern attraction for passenger ships and offers berths for house boats and pleasure craft in the center of Antwerp.

This new responsibility forced the city to invest in radio equipment for maritime communication for the city’s port service, supplemented with maritime radios for operational personnel.

Quality and reliability were the most crucial aspects, so they selected Omnitronics partner Sonal to implement the project in 2016. Sonal chose Omnitronics IPR400 Gateways and RediTALK Dispatch to complement desired base stations and mobile radios.

Based on Sonal’s recommendation, the City decided that integrating Omnitronics IPR400 S2 Radio over IP gateways to Radio Activity Kairos KA-160 repeaters would be the ideal solution to manage communications across the their maritime channels.

An antenna combining system is used to connect multiple maritime channels and the AIS receiver onto one antenna. Three RediTALK-Flex Dispatch stations, one for the main operator and one for a second operator, manage the city’s port radio communications.

A spare RediTALK-Flex licence is available as backup in case a situation arises where a dispatcher needs to work away from the control room on a remote laptop or tablet.

For the unlikely event that the city should need support, 24/7/365 omnicare Support and Maintenance is available.