Traffic Separation Scheme

Traffic Separation Scheme (T.S.S.) in Maritime Law

Note: There is more information on maritime/admiralty law here.

The following is a definition of Traffic Separation Scheme (T.S.S.), produced by Tetley, in the context of admiralty law: A method of regulating the flow of vessel traffic moving in different directions. The term is defined by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in its Resolution A/284 of November 20, 1973, as “a scheme which separates traffic proceeding in opposite or nearly opposite directions, by the use of a separation zone or line, traffic lanes, or by other means.” Today, traffic separation schemes are often part of Vessel Traffic Services (V.T.S.), (see this legal term in this law dictionary), in ports or restricted coastal areas. See Tetley, Int’l M. & A. L., 2003 at p. 237. See also Russell MacWilliam & Darryl Cooke, “VTS: lifting the fog of legal liability” [2006] LMCLQ 362-389.

Traffic Separation Scheme in Admiralty Law

For information on traffic separation scheme in this context, see the entry on traffic separation scheme in the maritime law encyclopedia.