Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, Yap Ong Heng (left) and ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin (right) review the first ICAO Training Package developed by one of its newly-established Regional Training Centres of Excellence, in this case the Singapore Aviation Academy.

It was announced from Singapore on 10 July that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has launched the first ICAO Training Package (ITP) developed by one of its newly-established Regional Training Centres of Excellence (RTCEs).

The new Personnel Licensing Management Course ITP was developed by the Singapore Aviation Academy (SAA). It is a blended course offered online and in the classroom and targets technical, managerial, and administrative staff involved in personnel licensing activities of civil aviation authorities and service providers. It enables participants to identify essential components and processes of a States’ personnel licensing system for flight crew, air traffic controllers, and aircraft maintenance engineers.

This report gives an update on the progress of the two IAIN co-sponsored documents that were submitted for consideration by the International Maritime Organization at its Maritime Safety Committee meeting (MSC95), which was held in London from 3 to 12 June 2015. Other items considered of interest to IAIN discussed at this meeting are covered in the accompanying report.

A proposal on a way ahead to develop guidance on the so-called ‘S-mode’ for
the design of shipboard navigational equipment, as part of IMO’s work on the
implementation of e-navigation to enhance safety of navigation and protection of the marine environment (document MSC 95/19/12).

An information document on Marine Autonomous Systems (MAS), introducing an initiative to explore the application of the existing IMO regulatory framework to MAS to ensure their safe, secure, environmentally sound and sustainable operation (document MSC 95/INF.20).

This report gives an update on the progress of the two IAIN co-sponsored documents that were submitted for consideration by the International Maritime Organization at its Maritime Safety Committee meeting (MSC95), which was held in London from 3 to 12 June 2015. Other items considered of interest to IAIN discussed at this meeting are covered in the accompanying report.

A proposal on a way ahead to develop guidance on the so-called ‘S-mode’ for
the design of shipboard navigational equipment, as part of IMO’s work on the
implementation of e-navigation to enhance safety of navigation and protection of the marine environment (document MSC 95/19/12).

An information document on Marine Autonomous Systems (MAS), introducing an initiative to explore the application of the existing IMO regulatory framework to MAS to ensure their safe, secure, environmentally sound and sustainable operation (document MSC 95/INF.20).

The 95th session of the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization was held at IMO headquarters in London from 3 to 12 June 2015. Close to 900 delegates from 116 countries attended the eight-day meeting, as did representatives from intergovernmental organizations and 49 non-governmental organizations including the International Association of Institutes of Navigation (IAIN).

The 95th session of the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization was held at IMO headquarters in London from 3 to 12 June 2015. Close to 900 delegates from 116 countries attended the eight-day meeting, as did representatives from intergovernmental organizations and 49 non-governmental organizations including the International Association of Institutes of Navigation (IAIN).

The volunteer Koninklijke Nederlandse Redding Maatschappij (Royal Dutch Sea Rescue Institution) has noted a decrease in experience among recreational boaters. First-time sailors increasingly do not own their craft, they rent them. Furthermore, more people simply rent their craft without proper preparation for their trips or sufficient knowledge of their craft. The free app: KNRM Helpt is an all-in-one aid in preparation of a passage, providing weather information, chartletsmaps and logs. Sailors in need of rescue or assistance can use the app to call for help.

The app and accompanying website have been developed to increase safety in Dutch waters and facilitate a quick response in case of an emergency. KNRM is trying to make it easier to prepare better for a trip and prevent emergencies.

The global shipping industry, represented by a wide cross section of international shipowners’ associations and seafarers’ unions, has collectively updated the industry’s Guidelines on Large Scale Rescue Operations at Sea. This is in response to the continuing crisis in the Mediterranean, in which merchant ships and their civilian crews have so far assisted in the rescue of over 50,000 people. But the Guidelines are also applicable to other regions where ships may have to assist with rescue operations involving large numbers of migrants or refugees, for example in the waters of South East Asia.

An important aspect of the revised Guidelines is the additional attention given to ensuring that rescued people are looked after safely once they have been embarked on board commercial ships, whilst also ensuring the safety, security and welfare of the seafarers undertaking such rescue operations, which often involve a significant degree of risk.

The Guidelines can be downloaded here

At all airports in Canada, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) is responsible for the application of the 100% hold baggage screening requirements. In March 2012, CATSA launched an extensive multi-year financing plan to replace the existing hold baggage screening equipment in all Canadian airports with more efficient Standard 3 equipment. With the approval of CATSA, Montreal’s airport commissioned ALSTEF in December 2014 to carry out the modifications related to the replacement of the screening machines in the trans-border terminal of Montreal-Trudeau International Airport.

Aéroports de Montréal is the third airport, after Nice and Roissy Charles de Gaulle, to entrust ALSTEF with the integration of Standard 3 CTX 9800 machines in its baggage handling facility; strengthening the ALSTEF position as a leader in this type of integration.

ECSAT and Harwell personnel raise the flags. © ESA – all rights reserved

On 9 July Jan Woerner, ESA Director General, and Jo Johnson, UK Minister of State for Universities and Science, watched ESA Member States’ flags rise for the first time at the Agency’s first centre in the UK.

Two hundred space leaders from the public and private sectors came to ESA’s European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT) on the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire, joined by the first ESA Director General, Roy Gibson, after whom the new building is named. They also celebrated the opening of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory’s Space Development and Test Facility on the campus.

Tim Peake speaks to UK Minister Johnson and Jan Woerner. © ESA – all rights reserved

ESA’s first British astronaut, Tim Peake, took part in the celebrations via Skype from Star City in Russia, where he is training for his mission to the International Space Station in December.

A new inter-agency platform for information sharing on migrant smuggling by sea was launched on 6 July by the IMO, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in order to better understand unsafe mixed migration by sea. This was reported that day in a briefing by IMO.

It is anticipated that the platform will assist in improved monitoring of incidents associated with unsafe and irregular mixed migration by sea, on a global basis, with a view to better analysis of trends.

The IMO/IOM/UNODC platform will include a joint database on migrant incidents and on suspected smugglers and vessels.

It was announced from London on 1 July that the Airports Commission published its final report, which sets out recommendations to the government for expanding aviation capacity in the UK.

The Commission’s analysis shows that expanded airport capacity is crucial for the UK’s long-term prosperity. While each of the three schemes shortlisted was considered a credible option for expansion, the Commission has unanimously
concluded that the proposal for a new northwest runway at Heathrow Airport,
combined with a significant package of measures to address its environmental and community impacts, presents the strongest case and offers the greatest strategic and economic benefits – providing around 40 new destinations from the airport and more than 70,000 new jobs by 2050.

Prof. Ing. František Vejražka reports that after careful consideration there is to be a change of congress venue and it will now be held at the Corinthia Hotel Prague.

In addition, according to Prof. Ing. František Vejražka, Congress Chairman, the deadline for acceptance of papers has been extended to 15 July. Currently the conference team is working on assigning papers to sections and preparing them for distribution to reviewers. IAIN national institutes will be approached and asked to recommend four members to serve as reviewers.

More information will be found at: www.iain2015.org

Prof. Ing. František Vejražka reports that after careful consideration there is to be a change of congress venue and it will now be held at the Corinthia Hotel Prague.

In addition, according to Prof. Ing. František Vejražka, Congress Chairman, the deadline for acceptance of papers has been extended to 15 July. Currently the conference team is working on assigning papers to sections and preparing them for distribution to reviewers. IAIN national institutes will be approached and asked to recommend four members to serve as reviewers.

More information will be found at: www.iain2015.org

Transas Group reported on 1 July changes in its brand positioning. Taking into account the strong success of Transas and its brand awareness in the maritime IT market, dominating position in several key segments of this market, Transas shareholders made the decision to focus the Transas brand on the maritime business alone.

Brand focusing as well as strong consolidation of the Transas Marine international business will support ambitious plans for the development of Transas as a global leader of maritime IT, it is understood.

Transas went on to report that other business segments of the Group, ncluding aviation technologies and non-marine simulation, will be rebranded in accordance with the new strategy.

Mr Ki-tack Lim (Republic of Korea) has been elected as the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), with effect from 1 January 2016, it was announced by the organization on 30 June. This is for an initial term of four years and is subject to approval by the next Assembly).

Mr Lim is currently president of Busan Port Authority. He served as the Republic of Korea’s Deputy Permanent Representative to IMO from 2006 to 2009 and was Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation (FSI) from 2002 to 2004.

It was announced from Washington on 25 June that the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in partnership with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), has begun a safety reporting programme called the Safety Review Process (SRP). This 18-month pilot programme, open to all bargaining-unit employees, allows FAA employees who work in the Aircraft Certification Service (AIR) to elevate safety concerns without fear of retaliation.

US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx commented: ‘It is critical that our DOT employees have the opportunity to work in an environment where they are comfortable coming forward with safety concerns. This new safety review process will further advance our culture of safety and help ensure that the flying public has the best, safest experience possible.’

Standard TV signals could one day be used for tracking aircraft, following a proof of concept trial led by the UK air traffic control company, NATS, in conjunction with Thales ATM UK and Roke Manor. This was reported by NATS in mid-June.

For two years NATS, working with Thales and Roke Manor, has been testing whether the same signals delivered to televisions across the country could simultaneously be used to detect and direct aircraft.

The trial, part funded by Innovate UK, was carried out primarily over London with a Thales concept demonstrator using signals from the Crystal Palace transmitter. The results of the trials were then validated by Roke Manor. Up to thirty aircraft were tracked at any one time at altitudes of up to 10,000 feet, although more would have been possible had additional equipment been used.

UK air traffic delays in May dropped by almost half compared to the same month last year, it has been reported by the National Air Traffic Service (NATS). There were 1,502 minutes of NATS-attributable en route delay – a 47.6% drop from May 2014’s figures. While the average en route delay per flight remained historically low at 0.42 seconds – which was down almost half from the 0.81 seconds in May 2014 – 99.95% of flights last month had no en route delay.

In May 2015 NATS handled 214,176 flights which was a steady increase in traffic as it was up 0.3% compared to May last year.

It was announced on 12 June that following the tragic and sudden passing of the European Space Agency Council Chair, Harald Posch, the Council has elected Bo Andersen of Norway and Jean Yves Le Gall of France as Co-Chairs. A Deputy will be named by Austria at a later date, it is reported. They will serve until the end of the current Chairmanship on 30 June 2016.

Paris Air Show
Full-size Ariane 5 and Ariane 1 mockups at the ESA Pavilion, 2015 Paris Air and Space Show. Credits: ESA-CB PROD, 2015.

ESA was present at the Paris Air & Space Show at Le Bourget in week commencing 14 June with a pavilion offering guests an overview and updates of its activities, 40 years after the signing of the ESA Convention.

It was announced from Montréal early in June that some 600 participants from 48 States and 18 international and regional organizations had gathered in Maputo, Mozambique the previous month for a special four-day series of meetings for AFI Aviation Week hosted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin opened the event, which was designed to further the development of the aviation network supporting Africa and delivered important results in the areas of safety, security, facilitation and human resources capacity-building. All present recognized the value of the AFI Aviation Week’s consolidated meetings and agreed that it should become an annual event on Africa’s aviation calendar.

Europe’s latest Galileo satellite was unboxed at European Space Agency’s technical centre in The Netherlands in May, bringing the total number of satellites at the site to four. This was announced from ESA on 10 June.

The European Space Research and Technical Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk is the largest satellite test facility in Europe, with all the equipment needed to simulate every aspect of the launch and space environment under a single roof. It is an essential stop on the way to space for Europe’s Galileo satellites, built by OHB in Bremen, Germany, with navigation payloads from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd in Guildford, UK.

The eleventh Galileo satellite, known as FOC FM-09, being slid out of the 4.5 metre diameter Phenix thermal-vacuum chamber. Weeks of testing simulated the airlessness and temperature extremes of orbital space, taking place at the ESTEC Test Centre in Noordwijk, The Netherlands during May 2015. © ESA – Id 341381

It was announced on 10 June from Washington that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that Miss Susan, a shallow draft towing vessel with two barges, and Summer Wind, a deep draft bulk carrier, collided on 22 March 2014, because the towing vessel crossed the Houston Ship Channel, impeding the passage of the bulk carrier that was transiting inbound, which could only transit within the channel.

This collision resulted in the release of 168,000 gallons of fuel into the Houston Ship Channel from the breach of the forward barge and the hospitalization of two crewmembers in Miss Susan for inhalation-related injuries. As a result, the NTSB recommended that crews in vessels transporting hazardous materials receive appropriate training, personal protective gear, and access to irectreading
air monitoring equipment.

It was announced from Houston on 2 June that Tideland Signal Corporation (Tideland) has been awarded a contract to supply its SeaBeacon® 2 System 6 radar beacons (racons) to the General Lighthouse Authorities (GLAs) of the United Kingdom and Ireland on behalf of Trinity House, London1, in accordance with the current EU procurement legislation and the Public Contract Regulations 2015.

This contract was awarded under the terms of a joint-GLA framework agreement, which includes the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) and the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) as well as Trinity House.

Following extensive testing of a number of different radar beacons, Tideland was awarded a contract to supply racons to the GLAs for four years with an option for an additional year. This is a continuation of the contract that Tideland has had with the GLAs for the supply of racons from 2011 to 2015, during which time over seventy units were supplied.

Information has been received from Professor Emeritus Akio Yasuda of the Laboratory of Satellite Navigation and President of Institute of Positioning, Navigation and Timing of Japan, Tokyo, Japan about IS-GNSS 2015 to be held from 16 to 19 November in Kyoto, Japan.

The 9th International Symposium on Mobile Mapping Technology (MMT 2015) will be hosted by the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Australia, in Sydney from 9 to 11 December 2015.

MMT-2015 will be an open forum to discuss the most recent technologies and their applications, to exchange experiences and to promote future research aiming at technological advancement and improved professional practice in the fields related to mobile mapping.

The Symposium will feature keynote speakers, oral and interactive poster sessions, industry panel discussions, technical case studies; pre-Symposium workshops and a trade exhibition, as well as a variety of entertaining social events.