Seminar on Arctic Navigation
IALA hosted a seminar on Arctic Navigation from 9 to 10 November 2017. The Seminar was following-up a meeting held in February 2010 at IALA Headquarters attended by Arctic nations where a number of actions were agreed by the participants.
The seminar was attended by 38 delegates, representing 8 countries and 6 Sister organisations.
The seminar was structured with presentations on relevant topics. Conclusions were agreed on the second day.
The seminar generated six conclusions:
- A harmonized approach should be adopted for marking polar routes and providing digital services with common standards of provision, web-based services and other means.
- IALA-NET is a suitable platform for exchanging and storing historical AIS data for statistical analysis and the use of Risk Management tools.
- Since connectivity is a primary enabler for development in the Arctic, the limited communication infrastructure continues to be a major challenge.
- VDES-SAT could provide virtual AtoNs and other e-navigation services in the arctic. The frequency allocation needs to be supported at ITU.
- A multi-system approach should be developed for resilient PNT, using a mixture of GNSS and terrestrial systems and a multi-system receiver.
- There is a significant shortage of hydrographic survey data to give a comprehensive set of (simplified) ENC for Arctic voyages. Crowd sourcing of hydrographic data can give a significant contribution.
The output documents were forwarded to the IALA Council to note and to all IALA Committees for future development.
Attendees enjoyed an ice breaker reception on the first day.
Please download the report here.
