Council 71
The 71st session of the IALA council was held by video conference on the 3rd and 4th of June 2020. All councilors were present, despite the numerous time zones. The Council could proceed in a great spirit of cooperation and the testimonies of the important work that IALA’s members are continuously providing through the world was highly appreciated. Report available here for members.
And here is a highlight of some of the decisions taken at the meeting:
Virtual Committee meetings
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, IALA decided all the Committee meetings in the second half of the year would be held as virtual meetings.
It has been foreseen that a more extended period than one week of the ordinary Committee meeting would be needed considering the time differences around the globe and efficiency of the remote and virtual meetings. The secretariat believes that communication is vital, and the procedure and details will be conveyed to members via circular letters and information posted on the website.
Heritage lighthouse of the year
Since the Heritage Lighthouse of the Year was established in 2019, ENG 11 reviewed a high calibre of nominations submitted, emphasising the variety and cultural value of lighthouses around the world. In all, 16 nominations from 9 member countries were received for consideration in this, and in future years’ accolades. And, ENG shortlisted the following three nominations;
- Santo Antônio da Barra Lighthouse, Brazil
- Kõpu Lighthouse, Estonia
- Mahabalipuram Lighthouse, India
Council 71 decided the Santo Antônio da Barra Lighthouse, Brazil as the IALA Heritage Lighthouse of the Year 2020.
Guidance document
Revocation of Guideline 1072
ARM reviewed the Guideline 1072 on AtoN Information Exchange and Presentation and considered if the contents of Guideline 1105 on Shore-side Portrayal Ensuring Harmonisation with e-Navigation related information may be incorporated.
The Committee concluded that both guidelines are point-in-time documents that have been overtaken by events. Therefore, the Committee recommends the revocation of Guideline 1072 and significant revisions to Guideline 1105, to be coordinated with the VTS Committee, and the proposal has been approved by Council 71.
Guideline G1143 – Unique Identifiers for Maritime Resources Ed.2.0
The draft document was an update of Guideline 1072 on the MRN. Since the first edition of the document, ARM revised the document reflecting the developments in the domain. The revision includes more examples of MRN, and MRN for publications, and the wildcard for use where it is unknown or impractical to assign any namespace identifiers.
Council 71 decided to send Guideline G1143 edition 2.0 back to the ARM Committee for further discussion.
New publications
VTS manual 2020
The VTS Committee updates and publishes the VTS manual every four years. The VTS manual 2020 (Edition 7) became more clear and concise to assist better those who are in any way involved in the policies and management responsibilities.
The Council approved the VTS Manual. The Secretary-General expressed his warmest thanks to Neil Trainor of AMSA who devoted a lot of work to this new edition of the VTS Manual.
IALA publications catalogue
The secretariat keeps trying to enhance the accessibility and visibility of the technical guidance documents. This catalogue covers the technical guidance and contains an over-all view of the standards, recommendations, guidelines, and model courses in force with a summary. IALA hopes this document could be useful for the work of all the members.
