From 15 to 17 November, the First Latin American Seminar on Aids to Navigation was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, organised by the Academia Hidrovía de Capacitación en Ayudas a la Navegación together with the Servicio de Hidrografía Naval and IALA, with the aim of being the first regional meeting of Spanish speaking countries to inform about the General Work Plan of IALA for the next 4 years, as well as to disseminate the activities and scope of the Committees.
AtoN Requirements and Management (ARM)
Engineering and Sustainability (ENG)
Vessel Traffic Services (VTS)
Digital Technologies (DTEC)
The meeting was an excellent opportunity to promote capacity building initiatives, to identify the contributions that Spanish-speaking countries can make to IALA and to share with the representatives of the Latin American organisations present the most relevant topics addressed in the IALA Committees, Workshops and, as always, to discuss and share experiences and concerns related to the work on Aids to Navigation with colleagues and peers from different countries.
The Seminar was crowned with a visit to the ARA Almirante Irízar Icebreaker, the flagship of the Argentine Navy.
Del 15 al 17 de Noviembre se desarrolló en Buenos Aires, Argentina el Primer Seminario Latinoamericano de Ayudas a la Navegación, organizado por la Academia Hidrovía de Capacitación en Ayudas a la Navegación en conjunto con el Servicio de Hidrografía Naval y la Asociación Internacional de Señalización Marítima, con el objetivo de ser el primer encuentro regional de países de habla hispana para informar acerca del Plan General de Trabajo de IALA para los próximos 4 años, como así también difundir las actividades y el alcance de los Comités de Trabajo.
Requisitos y Gestión de AtoN (ARM)
Ingeniería y Sostenibilidad (ENG)
Servicios de Tráfico Marítimo (VTS)
Tecnologías Digitales (DTEC)
El encuentro fue una excelente ocasión para potenciar las iniciativas de refuerzo de capacidades, identificar las contribuciones que pueden realizar los países de habla hispana en IALA y para compartir con los representantes de las Organizaciones presentes de Latinoamérica las temáticas más relevantes abordadas en los Comités de IALA, Workshops y, como siempre, para conversar y compartir experiencias e inquietudes vinculadas al trabajo en las Ayudas a la Navegación con colegas y pares de distintos países.
Para coronar el Seminario, se realizó la visita al Rompehielos ARA Almirante Irízar, el buque insignia de la Armada Argentina.
The Twenty-Nineth Session of the Far East Radio Navigation Service Council (FERNS 29) was held at the Huanghai Hotel in Qingdao, People’s Republic of China, from 8 to 9 November 2023, convened by Maritime Safety Administration of the People’s Republic of China (CMSA). A one-day meeting of the Technical Working Group (TWG) was conducted on 7th November 2023 and a technical tour to Navigation Brilliance (Qingdao) technology company focused on smart navigation will be organised on 9th November 2023.
The Chairman, Mr. Li Hongyin, Deputy Director General of China MSA, welcomed all participants to Qingdao and recalled that the 1st FERNS meeting was held in 1992 and many developments have happened since. Chayka and Loran-C have been the focus of FERNS. The most updated information related to eLoran, DLoran have been presented and also other services and systems providing back up for GNSS and resilient PNT sources as VDES R-Mode and Enhanced Radar Positioning System. High accuracy service from BeiDou based on PPP and the number of PNT projects amalgamated in the POINT and TRACE projects have also been discussed.
IALA has an observer role in FERNS and Jaime Alvarez, IALA Technical officer has participated in the meeting providing the overview of the draft guideline on resilient PNT, S-200 product specifications, the outcomes from the 20th IALA Conference and the status of the IGO project.
The World-Wide Academy visited Shanghai as a part of the IALA level 1.1 AtoN Manager training in China which has come to a conclusion. 17 participants from 10 countries, including China, were hosted by the China MSA to follow the IALA AtoN manager training.
The Shanghai program included visits to the Wudong VTS Center, Shanghai Chart Center, China Maritime Museum, and Shanghai AtoN division, with a special focus on the most recent buoy tender ship. This was a great opportunity for participants to ask questions and exchange practices with China MSA.
The Phares de France Association, supported by the French State Secretariat for the Sea, and in collaboration with the International Association for Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA), is organizing on October 23 and 24, 2023 in Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France, a closing seminar for the celebration events of the bicentenary of the lighting on July 25, 1823 of the first stepped lens by Augustin Fresnel at the Cordouan Lighthouse.
Please note the following updates:
Registrations are no longer possible for the weekend preceding the seminar, all available places have been allocated. On the website, using the following URL: https://www.medoc-atlantique-travel.com/produits/phares-de-france/seminaire-fresnel-2023 you can still book for the period from Sunday October 22, 2023 evening to Wednesday October 25, 2023 noon, as detailed below:
Registration for the two days of the FRESNEL 2023 seminar, Monday October 23, 2023 and Tuesday October 24, 2023;
Visit to the Cordouan lighthouse on Wednesday October 25, 2023 morning;
Accommodation at Le Sunélia campsite, in Le Verdon-sur-Mer, with breakfast, from Sunday October 22, 2023 in the early afternoon to Wednesday October 25, 2023 in the early afternoon;
Meals on Monday lunchtime, Tuesday lunchtime, and Tuesday evening (no support for meals on Sunday evening, Monday evening, and Wednesday lunchtime);Registration deadline: Monday October 9, 2023.
The amount of participation is €100 per person (unless otherwise specified).
Please find attached information on the procedure to follow.
The newly elected council members for the period 2023-2027 met for the 78th session of the council on 3 June 2023. At this session, they elected the president from Brazil, the vice-president for India. They also elected the Treasurer, Captain Ian McNaught.
The Council elected the Finance and Audit Committee, which consists of:
Captain Ian McNaught (Treasurer), Trinity House, UK;
The Council member from Federal Waterways and Shipping Agency, Germany;
The Council member from Direction des Affaires Maritime, France;
The Council member from Light Dues Board Peninsular Malaysia; and
The Council member from General Director of Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine Chilean Navy, Directemar.
The Council approved the proposal to rename the ENAV committee as the DTEC committee.
The Council approved the Committee work programme for the period 2023-2027.
The Council decided to re-appoint Christina Schneider of the Federal Shipping and Waterways Authority of Germany Chair of the Legal Advisory Panel, with Henning Osnes Teigene of the Norwegian Coastal Administration remaining the Vice Chair.
The Council appointed the Committee Chair and Vice Chairs as follows:
Aids to Navigation Requirements and Management Committee (ARM):
Chair: Mr. R David Lewald, US Coast Guard
Vice Chair: Ms. Natasha McMahon, Canadian Coast Guard
Engineering and Sustainability Committee (ENG):
Chair: Mr. Alwyn Williams, GLA Research and Development, UK and Ireland
Vice Chair: Mr. Michel Cousquer, Cerema, France
Digital Technologies Committee (DTEC):
Chair: Mr. Hideki Noguchi, Japan Coast Guard
Vice Chair: Mr. Jorge Arroyo, US Coast Guard
Vessel Traffic Services Committee (VTS):
Chair: Ms. Monica Sundklev, Swedish Transport Agency
Vice Chair: Mr. Dirk Eckhoff, Federal Waterways and Shipping Authority.
The very intense week of 120 presentations during the technical sessions resulted in the following conclusions:
Sustainability and its link to the UN SDGs is of increasing importance and IALA is duty bound to raise the profile of this area in the committees. Members should continue to innovate sustainable approaches by recognizing, developing and reviewing the whole lifecycle of AtoN services.
In addition to GNSS, various space and terrestrial technologies are able to provide PNT and integrity information to the maritime user. IALA should continue to facilitate collaboration and standardisation taking a holistic approach to achieve resilient PNT.
To achieve digital transformation in the S-100 domain, the importance of collaboration and continued dialogue between IHO, IALA and other domain controllers is necessary. IALA should stand ready to assist coastal authorities with their transition to S-100 related products.
Autonomy is a driver to leverage the development of digital products. AtoN has a role in support of autonomous vessels and technology needs to be standardized to meet the future requirements of all vessels.
The IALA Risk Toolbox has proven benefits for members but should be enhanced to cover all ships on all voyages. The IALA Toolbox forms an essential part of assessment of risk and their mitigation requirements. Simulation techniques provide for a comprehensive assessment of mitigation measures.
IALA should encourage members to collaborate and have proper structures and procedures in place in order to prevent, identify, deal with and recover effectively from cyber security events. IALA has a role in supporting dissemination of lessons learnt in order to increase resilience against these threats.
VTS technology needs to take into account human factors with increased digitalization, including AI in VTS.
IALA acknowledges that virtual tools and the use of e-learning contributes to flexible, efficient and sustainable training. In addition, IALA recognizes its role in promoting the use of language testing tools to improve the communication capabilities of VTS operators.
Physical AtoN remains important to the mariner. IALA members should continue to pursue emerging technologies and approaches such as big data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), machine vision technology and drones to make their services more effective and meet the future needs of the mariner.
After a full week of seminars, technical sessions, exhibitions and more, the 20th IALA Conference held in Rio de Janeiro came to an end on Saturday 3 June. All the delegates could benefited from the knowledge and expertise shared through the week and looked forward to continuing the good cooperation in the coming years .
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
IALA complies with the General Data Protection Regulations of the EU. IALA will include a list of participants with their contact information on the website and in the report of this meeting. Any participant who wishes to remove their contact details from the participants' list should advise the Committee Secretary as soon as possible.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
3rd Party Cookies
This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.
Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.
Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!
