News

Heritage Seminar

IALA, in cooperation with Marinha Do Brasil, Diretoria de Hidrografía e Navegação, Centro de Auxílios Navegação Almirante Moraes Rego, will be organizing the 4th Heritage Seminar, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 27 and 28 May, prior to the 20th IALA Conference. The Seminar will take place over one and a half days and will include technical presentations on various relevant aspects related to lighthouse heritage and culture. There will be a technical visit to “Santa Cruz” Lighthouse, which is located on “Santa Cruz” Fortress – a historic monument that guards the entrance to Guanabara Bay.

The seminar objetives to share information on Lightouse heritage best practices to all IALA members, maritime authorities, marine Aids to Navigation service providers, universities, scientific bodies as well as to other consultants and AtoN stakeholders.

The distance from the Conference venue to “Santa Cruz” Lighthouse is 55km and it is one hour bus trip to get there.

The Lighthouse of Santa Cruz was established in 1839, inside the Fortress of Santa Cruz da Barra, which is a unique historic site in Brazil, with foundation stone putted in the year 1555 and walls built with stones cut and laid by hand, in an area of more than 7 thousand square meters.

In the fortress there is a collection composed of 45 cannons from the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as a chapel dating from 1612, with an image of Santa Bárbara from the 18th century.

Its location is privileged, limiting the entrance channel of Guanabara Bay to the East, which provides a view of the two main cities that border Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro and Niterói, as well as the external and internal part of the bay and the “Sugar Loaf” straight ahead, on the other side of the narrow canal.

The 4^th IALA Heritage Seminar aims to promote:

 An understanding that heritage and culture are themselves a vital ingredient of sustainability;

 Increases interest in the heritage issues dealt with within the ENG committee;

 Sharing of knowledge and best practices;

 Lessons identified from international experiences;

 Recognition that the significance of historical lighthouses extends beyond their navigational and architectural value and encompasses maritime culture, history, social history and environmental aspects (as set out in the Incheon Convention);

 Recognition that there is great value in documenting, researching, interpreting, and opening up heritage lighthouses for the benefit and inspiration of future generations; and

 Provide assistance for developing nations through education, training, technology and capacity building.

Please register as soon as possible here https://iala-brazil2023.rio.br/register_conference

COURSE ON PROCUREMENT PROCESSES AND PRACTICE FOR MARINE AIDS TO NAVIGATION

19 – 23 June 2023
IALA HQ, Saint Germain En Laye, France

About the course

Understanding procurement terminology, principles and processes is essential knowledge for those procuring AtoN goods and services. AtoN professionals are not necessarily procurement experts and do not need to be, but a good understanding of procurement best practices can be extremely useful to help navigate potential procurement issues. 

This course forms the full IALA Procurement course, incorporating the content of both the IALA Principles of Procurement and Managing the Procurement Process courses.

This course is open to all students irrespective of previous procurement experience but would be particularly suited to AtoN managers, those providing AtoN administration support and AtoN suppliers.

Benefits of participation 

How do I write a business case to purchase a new AtoN?  What should I include in a specification to ensure my new AtoN is fit for purpose?  How do I choose a supplier from a selection of tender submissions? 

The course will provide practical examples of AtoN procurement, and students will learn skills and be given practical tools that they can apply in their everyday work to assist with these typical procurement questions. 

Certificate 

Participants are awarded a certificate of successful completion of the course. 

Registration

PAP49

The 49^th session of PAP was held in person between 7 – 9 March 2023. This was last PAP meeting for the work period of 2018 to 2023 and the last meeting for Simon Millyard and Phil Day to whom we said farewell as they will not reconduct their position as chairs for next work period.

Key outcomes included:

• The draft 2023 – 2027 Work Programme.
• A draft input to IMO regarding IALAs activities regarding MASS.
• A draft proposal on an IALA workshop on MASS.
• A proposal for changing the name of the ENAV Committee to the Digital Technology (DTec) Committee

The PAP was also updated on many items including:

• IALAs involvement in the review of the STCW Code
• The AIS document review
• S-200 development
• Maritime Resource Name (MRN)

VTS/SAR VHF Communications Induction Course

The IMO, in collaboration with IALA, conducted an induction course for six Ethiopian participants from the Ethiopian maritime authority and the Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Service Enterprise on VTS/SAR VHF communications. The Maritime Sciences and Technology Institute (MARSATI) in Lebanon is hosting this five-day course. Trainers from the Jovellanos Centre, part of the Spanish Maritime Safety and Rescue Agency, delivered lectures using a mobile VTS simulator.

As part of the Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy, IMO intends to support countries participating in the Red Sea Area in improving security and safety. Thus, a number of activities are being carried out under the EU-funded “Regional Programme for Maritime Security in the Red Sea Area”. This training is the second activity organized jointly with IALA in favour of red sea participating countries. The third activity will take place in June 2023 for a group of beneficiaries from Yemen.

The training provided an opportunity to share best practices related to the safety of navigation, including the use of VTS, local port services, and aids to navigation.

20th IALA Conference 2023 -2nd Announcement

Read here the second announcement for the conference!

The early bird registration is extended to 14th February 2023! Register now.

Council 76

The 76th session of the Council meeting was held from 12 to 16 December 2022 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and by video conference. 32 new documents (recommendations, guidelines, and model courses) were approved as well as one workshop proposal and the budget for 2023.

As the president could not attend the meeting, the vice-president chaired session and brilliantly conducted this week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

After welcoming the new participants, each councilor reported on national matters. The Secretary General then briefed on the latest news about the secretariat. The Strategy and Policy section saw the validation of the Current Drivers and Trends and the Strategic Vision. A few more details were given about the transition period regarding the change of status. The treasurer went over the finance and audit committee report.

The technical documents were all approved and interesting discussions were prompted by VTS committee new documents. The revised standards were deemed ready to be submitted to the 14^th general assembly to be held on 3 June 2023. The Council gave approval to the election of Cap Spartel Lighthouse in Morocco as Lighthouse of the year 2023.

The Council endorsed new members and granted honorary membership to Barry Goldman.

The Council also approved the Terms of Reference for the newly established IALA Disaster Recovery Fund.

The full report is available at https://www.iala.int/meetings/76/ All the documents will be made available at the beginning of the new year.

Furthermore, the Council was delighted to visit the facilities offered by the convention center selected to host the 20^th conference. The council congratulated the Brazilian navy for the arrangements made during the Council week and was very hopeful for a wonderful conference ahead.