Welcome to Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) website. This website is primarily a resource for national VOS Program Managers and Port Meteorological Officers (PMOs), but it is also intended to provide an overview of the international VOS Scheme to ship owners, ship agents, Masters and crew members interested in joining the scheme.
» VOS Scheme
The VOS Scheme is an international program comprising member countries of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) that recruit ships to take, record and transmit weather observations whilst at sea.
Since 1999, the marine activities of WMO, as well as those of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, have been coordinated by the Observation Coordination Group (OCG) for the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS).
The VOS Scheme is a core observing program of the Ship Observations Team (SOT) of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS).
» More about the VOS Scheme.
» Port Meteorological Officers
Port Meteorological Officers (PMOs) are a vital component of the VOS Scheme. PMOs are responsible for recruiting ships into, and maintaining the national Voluntary Observing Fleet (VOF), as well as servicing ships from other national VOF that may call at their port.
PMOs are also becoming increasingly involved in supporting complementary and supplementary national, regional or international marine meteorological or oceanographic programs.
» More about Port Meteorological Officers.
