Guidelines to Port

Meteorological Officers
 Role of the PMO

 The PMO is a representative of the National

Meteorological Service (NMS), and is the primary
contact with local marine authorities and the
maritime community at large.

 The international PMO network is vital to the

success of the JCOMM VOS Scheme, to;
 Maintain the strength of the international VOS.
 Maintain the quality and frequency of ships’ weather
reports.
 Responsibilities of the PMO

 Broadly defined by the WMO;

 WMO Technical Regulations (WMO No. 49).
 Guide to Marine Meteorological Services (471).
 Manual on Marine Meteorological Services (558).

 Specifically defined by the NMS having considered

the port being serviced, and the type and volume of
marine traffic.

 The range of functions will include:

 Functions of the PMO

 Recruit ships of any nationality into, and maintain

a national VOS fleet.
 Functions of the PMO

 Regularly visit ships recruited into the national

VOS fleet to;
 Maintain contact with the Observers.
 Provide ongoing training to the Observers.
 Maintain and inspect the meteorological and
selected oceanographic instruments.
 Check the presence and condition of supplied
handbooks, meteorological tables and charts.
 Maintain the ship's supply of logbooks, autographic
charts, muslin, wicks and other consumables.
 Recover and inspect completed logbooks and
autographic charts.
 Functions of the PMO

 Maintain accurate records of ships recruited into

the national VOS fleet, including;
 Full ship details, as required for WMO Pub 47. (fill
VOSClim Ship Recruitment Form)
 All instrumentation supplied and recovered.
 All instrument checks and calibrations, including
dates.
 Functions of the PMO

 Upon the request of the Master of any ship and

regardless of its country of recruitment;
 Check the meteorological and selected oceanographic
instruments.
 Provide advice or assistance on meteorological
matters.
 Functions of the PMO

 provide the following services to ships, regardless

of their nationality and country of recruitment;
 Perform a barometer check.
 Check meteorological code tables.
 Check instructions for Observers.
 Install TURBOWIN and Meteoclass software in sat-c
terminal
 Provide advice on bulletins, including a list of areas
for which forecasts are issued and to update the
relevant facsimile broadcast schedules.
 Functions of the PMO

 Promote and maintain liaison with;

 The NMS. (O/o DDGM(WF) Pune)
 Neighbouring PMOs.
 Harbour authorities and shipping companies.
 Merchant marine schools.
 Functions of the PMO

 Inquire from ship's officers of any problems that

may be experienced, such as
 The transmission of observations (meteorological or
oceanographic) to a Land Earth Stations (LES) or
other facility.
 Explain code 41 (For the transmission of
meteorological observations, free of cost)
 The reception and adequacy of forecasts, bulletins
and facsimile broadcasts, and to bring pertinent
comments to the attention of the NMS.
 Functions of the PMO

 Support complementary national, regional and

international marine programmes, such as;
 Drifting Buoy Programme.
 Argo Float Programme.
 Ship of Opportunity Programme.
 Automated Shipboard Aerological Programme.
 Keep in your mind

 Number of ships in VOS is not important

It is the number of ships which reports that
count
 Coded Observations are worthless if they
are not received at the Forecasting Office
 Doesn’t matter which country a ship reports
for, so long as it reports.
 Ship Visits

 Visits to IVOF Ships

 Visits to Foreign VOS

What makes an effective visit?

 IVOF - Before Visit

Preparation is the key

Prioritise ships to visit
 Read notes on last visit
 Check Observation’s quality

Be informed ready to target any problem areas

 During Visit

Purpose of visit - to thank for Observations, to

encourage, to train, to check instruments, to issue
supplies
Visit Master - discuss Observations programme,
forecasts, voyage, marine industry
 On Bridge - check instruments, stationery
 Ask to see Log book - discuss coding with duty
officer & discuss any coding errors
 View transmission format on hard copy of telex
messages
 Collect information required in VOSCLIM form
 After Visit

 Record details of visit in VOS database

 Follow up on any issues
 Advise by Email, or mail supplies
 Important Factors

 Real Time access to GTS SHIP

Observations
 Benefits of preparedness
 Constant monitoring of Observations and
follow up visits to ships are crucial
 Providing ships with clear instructions
 Some Pointers

 Remember Ships are doing us a favour -

thank and encourage them to ensure
continued Observations.
 Credibility - PMO is the interface between
Met Service & Maritime industry
 Visits provide intelligence on changes in
Maritime industry
 Discretion required with info learned
 On Board

 Same as national VOS

 Support, thank, encourage, discuss value of
their Observations
 If ship unknown - ask if doing
Observations?
 Look at logbook and transmission format
Discuss any coding problems
 Ship Recruitment

 Which ships to target?

Try to recruit newly constructed ship
 Seek permission from Shipping Company

Satisfy local requirements

- charter length, route, interest,
communications
 Barometer Comparisons on Foreign
VOS Ships

Find out the Barometer Type and Setting

before making the comparison

 Is it a PAB with MSL Correction Table?

 Is it an Aneroid set to MSL?
 Is it an Aneroid set to station level and used
with a MSL correction table?
 Comparison

Must compare like with like

 After comparison, calibration label issued

must not be ambiguous
 Ship’s Officer must understand how any
correction is to be applied
 Summary of Key Factors which make
PMO Effective

 Visiting
– Preparedness, Access to real time GTS OBs
 Recruitment
– Follow up
 Barometer comparisons
– Determining barometer setting, unambiguous labels
 Performance Monitoring
– Constant checking