The latest edition of IMO News, No 4 of 2012, was issued at the end of the second week of December and contains, on page 10, a reference to the Secretary General’s attendance at VTS 2012 hosted in Istanbul by the Directorate General of Coastal Safety, Turkey and IALA. At this event Koji Sekimizu introduced the watchwords “Accident Zero”. This is an initiative encouraging IALA and VTS providers around the world to indicate the number of consecutive accident-free days they achieve.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents over 80% of the
world’s merchant fleet, has issued a new position paper on Arctic shipping. As the Arctic becomes more accessible, ICS has set out some key principles with regard to the future governance of Arctic waters.

A reminder has been received from Professor Adam Weintrit, Chairman of the TransNav Conference, and Tomasz Neumann, Secretary of the Organizing Committee about the above event to be organised by the Faculty of Navigation, Gdynia Maritime University and the Nautical Institute. It is to be held from 19th to 21st June 2013 in Gdynia, Poland.

Registration is now available on the TransNav 2013 Conference website.

The European Commission launched on 28th November two Calls for Proposals under the 2012 Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) multi-annual and annual programmes, making € 1.265 billion available to finance European transport infrastructure projects in all transport modes – air, rail, road, and maritime/inland waterways – plus logistics and intelligent transport systems, and all EU Member States.

The 737’s flight data record had been inhibited on the controllers’ displays for a total of 27 minutes, which was equivalent to a flight distance of about 222nm (411 km). During this period, none of the controllers involved were aware of the aircraft’s presence in their respective airspace. There was a loss of separation assurance. The ATSB has examined the recorded radar data and found no separation conflicts in the affected airspace during that time.

Flight plan changes go live

According to ICAO State Letter (AN 13/2.1-08/50) – 25th June 2008, “The nature
and scope of the amendment [to flight plan content] is to update the ICAO model
flight plan form in order to meet the needs of aircraft with advanced capabilities and the evolving requirements of automated air traffic management (ATM) systems, while taking into account compatibility with existing systems, human factors, training, cost and transition aspects.”

October proved to be a month tempered by bad weather and industrial action, with varying consequences for air traffic in Europe, it was reported by EUROCONTROL in November. While Hurricane Sandy had no effect on delays, it meant a reduction of an estimated 1,000 Europe-North Atlantic flights. Adverse weather across European airports did however mean significant delays for major airports, particularly London Heathrow.

On a statement issued from Montreal at the end of October ICAO and CANSO reflecting their commitment to more comprehensively address runway safety issues worldwide over the next two years. The two organisations were joined by over 100 expert participants in Cape Town at the joint ICAO/CANSO Eastern and Southern African Regional Runway Safety Seminar.

14th November it was reported from The Netherlands that Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) Member CEOs met the European Commission (EC) Vice President Siim Kallas to discuss the best approach for the next evolution of the Single European Sky (SES).

This ambitious EC policy on SES, aiming at ensuring a strong future for air transport in Europe, was recognised by the CEOs. All agreed that Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), Airlines, Member States and the Commission should work in the same direction with their efforts to have a competitive and growing air transport sector, based on performance and innovation.

In his conclusion Vice President Kallas emphasised the need for a pragmatic
approach to deliver the SES.

On 24th October the European Space Agency (ESA) reported that a helicopter recently flew over an Alpine valley to gather data on how Europe’s two satellite navigation systems – EGNOS and Galileo – will work together in future.

The helicopter flew over the Galileo Test and Development Environment – GATE – in Berchtesgaden, Germany. The helicopter flew a variety of manoeuvres, from fast loops to mid-air hovering, to see how satnav signals were received in
practice.

David Broughton, Secretary-General reports “The first week of October saw around 120 speakers and delegates from 24 countries gather for the 14th World Congress of the International Association of Institutes of Navigation (IAIN), held in Cairo – a respectable number in light of the difficulties affecting the wide area.”

IAIN President, Dr Refaat Rashad, presented the Association’s John Harrison Award for An Outstanding Contribution to Navigation to the recently-retired IMO Secretary-General, Admiral Efthimios Mitropoulos.

The IAIN Necho Award for A Special Achievement was presented to Professor Bradford Parkinson, the Father of GPS.

At Congress Captain Dick Smith RN was elected President of IAIN.

On 14th April 1912, the White Star liner Titanic was transformed in a few short hours from the world’s most celebrated ship into a name forever associated with disaster.

Marking the 100th year since that ill-fated ship foundered, the IMO Council decidedthat the World Maritime Day theme for this year should be IMO: One hundred years after the Titanic.

The US Positioning Navigation & Timing Advisory Board met in Arlington, Virginia, on 14th and 15th August and IAIN President Dr Refaat Rashad represented the Association.

Notes of the meeting, with some interesting papers, are to be found at:
http://www.gps.gov/governance/advisory/meetings/2012-08/ where links to agenda items can be found as well.

IFALPA has now issued an Aerodrome & Ground Environment Briefing Leaflet with the title Aerodrome Emergency Hand Signals, a copy of which is attached here as a pdf.

On 15th August the US Coast Guard Public Affairs Office announced from Honolulu that a series of tests to the Global Positioning System will be conducted at various times between 19th August and 9th September, 2012, which may cause GPS service to be unreliable or unavailable to mariners and other users.

On 7th August 2012 the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) issued a statement outlining forthcoming important operational runway designations at Madrid-Barajas (LEMD) airport.

On behalf of Sindicato Español de Pilotos de Líneas Aéreas (SEPLA), the Spanish Air Line Pilots’ Association, IFALPA has issued a notification of these changes and a copy is to be found in this pdf reproduced by kind permission of IFALPA.

On 31st July the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) issued a report into an aviation incident the previous October. At 1500:51 Eastern Daylight-saving Time on 8th October 2011, a breakdown of separation (BOS) occurred 59 km north-east of Armidale, New South Wales between a Boeing 737-8FE (737), registered VHYVA, and a Gulfstream IV (G-IV), registered VH-CGF. VH-YVA was flying Brisbane to Sydney and VH-CGF was en route from Melbourne to Coolangatta, Queensland.

With its base in HQS Wellington on the Thames the International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA) is a professional, non-profit making body, primarily concerned with promoting professional standards of pilotage worldwide in the interests of pilots’ safety. It has some 8,000 members in over 40 countries. IMPA seeks to achieve its principal objective, the promotion of professionally sound and
safe pilotage.

Another London-based organisation is the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the principal international trade association for shipowners, with a membership comprising national shipowners’ associations from 36 countries, representing over 80% of the world merchant fleet, in all sectors and trades.

It was reported on 26th July that IMPA and the ICS have joined forces to update a brochure aimed at shipping companies and seafarers, reminding them of the vital need to ensure that ladders used for pilot transfers are safe and always rigged correctly.

Poster available as pdf

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents global shipowners and 80% of the world merchant fleet, has welcomed the decision by the IMO Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation (held from 2nd to 6th July in London) to take action to address operating anomalies with ECDIS, and to reject a proposal to establish a new recommended route for all ships in the Mozambique Channel that
would have been approximately 1,000 miles long.

It was announced from Washington on 6th June that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is dispatching an investigator to assist the Government of
Nigeria in its investigation into the crash of a Dana Air Boeing MD-83 airplane,
Flight #0992.

On 3rd June at about 1151 local time, the airplane, en route from Abuja to Lagos, Nigeria, crashed outside the airport into a two storey building. All 153 passengers and crew onboard were fatally injured, and an undetermined number of ground fatalities and injuries also occurred.

At the end of June the defence and security company Saab announced that the company’s advanced fifth-generation R5 family of AIS products were now commercially available.

Said Stefan Karlsson, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Saab TransponderTech., “The new R5 AIS products from Saab are the first to incorporate software-defined radio (SDR) transceivers together with newly developed high-speed analog-to-digital converters in a type approved Class A system. The result is a dramatic improvement in receiver sensitivity, stability and signal processing compared to our already exceptional R4 platform.”

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) study found that in 2011 ten of 102 experimental amateur-built (E-AB) aircraft built by their owner crashed on their first flight. And 14 of 125 aircraft that had been bought used crashed on the new owner’s first flight.

The study, which was launched last year, evaluated all E-AB accidents that occurred in 2011. The data show that powerplant failures and loss of control in flight are the most common accident occurrences by a large margin, highlighting the importance of pilots having the information and training necessary to safely operate their aircraft.

It was announced from Washington DC on 24th May that the US National Transportation Safety Board made three new safety recommendations to the US Coast Guard, known as M-12-1, M-12-2 and M-12-3.

NOAA’s National Weather Service and the National Safe Boating Council (NSBC) have again come together to encourage recreational boaters to know their risks, learn the rules, and be prepared before taking the helm this summer during National Safe Boating Week from 19th to 25th May.

According to the US Coast Guard, there were more than 4000 boating accidents,
including 758 deaths, in 2011. 70% of all fatal boating accident victims drowned, and of those, 84% were reported as not wearing a life jacket. Once in the water hypothermia can become a significant threat to survival even if wearing a life jacket.

UK’s National Air Traffic Service has appointed Commander Ewan Kelbie to head up its defence strategy department, developing products for the military market in the UK and abroad.