The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s safety advisory notice released on 30 August advises operators flying to Brisbane Airport to consider the use of pitot probe covers and, when used, ensure rigorous processes are in place to confirm the covers are removed before flight.

The release of this advisory notice follows the publication of the ATSB’s preliminary report into an airspeed indication failure on take-off of an Airbus A330 at Brisbane airport on 18 July 2018. The ATSB found that local engineering support crew placed covers on the pitot probes soon after the previous landing. Inspections during the aircraft’s turnaround did not identify their fitment and they remained on the aircraft for its departure. This resulted in unusable airspeed information being displayed to the flight crew.

Australian science and technology will be front and centre in the ASEAN region as Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, formally launched its presence in Singapore on 18 September.

The announcement coincided with Singapore-headquartered investment company, Temasek, becoming the third largest investor in the A$232 million CSIRO Innovation Fund, managed by Main Sequence Ventures.

The CSIRO Innovation Fund supports new spin-outs, start-ups, and Small and Medium Enterprises engaged in the translation of research generated in the Australian publicly funded research sector, including the CSIRO and universities.

Winning a prestigious 2018 Governor of Victoria Export Award further cements OMC International’s reputation as an industry leader in under-keel clearance (UKC) management, Executive Director Dr Terry O’Brien AM said in a communique? issued on 17 September. Dr O’Brien received the Business Services Award trophy from the Governor of the State of Victoria, Australia, the Hon Linda Dessau, at a reception at Government House on the night of 14 September. The award was ‘For outstanding international success in the professional business services including …engineering…’

With regard to Brexit and clarifying the position on pilot licensing, UK Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Head of Flight Operations, Rob Bishton, commented on 14 September: ‘In a no-deal Brexit scenario, UK pilots operating UK-registered aircraft will not need to have their current licence reissued. Both commercial and private UK pilot licences would remain valid for use on UK-registered aircraft as the United Kingdom is a signatory to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Chicago Convention. Our licences are internationally recognised – including by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) – both now and after 29 March 2019.

The CAA annual report

On 11 September the (UK) Met Office and Met Éireann revealed the list of storm names for the coming season. First introduced in 2015, this is the fourth year the Met Office and Met Éireann (the meteorological service in the Irish Republic) have jointly run the ‘Name our Storms’ scheme, aimed at raising awareness of severe weather before it hits.

This year the first storm will be ‘male’ and named Ali, while the second storm will be ‘female’ and named Bronagh, following the alternating male/female pattern established by the US National Hurricane Center in the 1970s.

The International Harbour Masters’ Association reports that Sabrina Delelis has been appointed Secretary of the organisation in succession to Anne Carnegie who has departed after six years in the post.

As part of the continuing celebrations of IMO’s 70th anniversary, the organisation we will be opening its HQ to the public within the framework of the annual London Open House Weekend initiative.

This exciting event, a first for IMO, will take place on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 September 2018 from 1100 to 1600, and will give the public a rare opportunity to visit the building (see illustrations) and learn about the role and importance of IMO.

In this regard staff at IMO would appreciate it if readers could help to spread the word by forwarding the following link to friends and colleagues.

It was reported on 5 September that The Nautical Institute had signed an updated administrative agreement in support of the Chartered Master Mariner (CMMar) programme – a new professional maritime standard. This agreement, signed by the Master of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, Captain Rob Booth (pictured, right), and the Chief Executive of The Nautical Institute, Captain John Lloyd (left), has been refined to establish clarity of requirement for UK and international applicants and to ensure administrative support and record keeping continue to be delivered by The Nautical Institute.

The CMMar award serves to recognise mariners who have benefited the maritime industry, enhanced their professional capabilities and demonstrated a willingness to help others.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is highlighting the >need for a shared understanding or ‘shared mental model’ of a ship’s passage plan by bridge crew and harbour pilots to ensure a safe voyage. The ATSB’s investigation into the near grounding of the bulk carrier Aquadiva in Newcastle Harbour (New South Wales) on 12 February 2017 also underlines the importance of a ship’s bridge crew and harbour pilot engaging in effective communication and information exchange to develop this shared understanding or mental model of a ship’s passage plan.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is urging pilots to ensure they use effective see-and-avoid techniques to avoid traffic conflicts when flying at non-towered aerodromes.

Investigation by the ATSB into a traffic conflict between a Robinson R22 and a Cessna C208 highlights the importance of pilots maintaining a constant visual lookout to avoid traffic conflicts. This was reported by ATSB on 5 September 2018. The ATSB found that despite the use of the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) and the certified air/ground radio service (CA/GRO) to advise of their positions by both pilots and instructor on board VH-MFH (MFH was on a training circuit) the pilot of VH-SJJ moved onto the runway before he had visually identified the helicopter.

It was reported from Mombasa on 4 September that CANSO, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation, has identified key areas of focus for improving the safety, efficiency and effectiveness of air traffic management (ATM) in Africa paving the way for a seamless sky. From robust industry partnerships, to embracing tools and technologies and finding common solutions to common problems, CANSO has called on the ATM community in Africa to leverage the power of partnership and innovation and work together to improve performance across the region.

The CANSO Africa Conference 2018 was hosted by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and supported by lead sponsor Aireon in Mombasa, Kenya, on 3-5 September.

IAIN Member IAAC – the Israeli Association for Automatic Control – has as its main goal and focus the promotion of Automatic Control theory, practice and education in Israel.

On 5 November 2018, the IAAC will host a Guest workshop on Model Predictive Control: Concepts, Algorithms, Tools, and Applications. Speaker: Professor Alberto Bemporad, Institute for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy. Organizer: Professor Per-Olof Gutman, Technion. Location: Daniel Hotel, Herzliya, Israel.

On 7 January 2019, the IAAC workshop Vision-Aided Navigation will be held. Organizers: Harel Kraus, Elbit Location: Daniel Hotel, Herzliya, Israel.

For more details

In addition readers are invited to note that the IAAC co-sponsored 27th Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation, MED 19, will be held in Akko, Israel, from 1-4 July, 2019.

It is understood from IAIN Member ECDIS Ltd that seafarers’ results during on-line 1.27 Generic tests almost perfectly agree with the recently published list of observations made by Port State Control inspectors. Apparently there are still knowledge gaps, in particular with the new S52 PL 4.0 updates.

ECDIS Ltd report that over 1000 users in August 2018 alone refreshed their annual competency in IMO ECDIS 1.27 Generic tests with the company’s renowned course which is now on-line at a non-profit price, or available for download.

Water is crucial to life on Earth. But today, its over-exploitation and pollution present challenges for the environment, economies and global living standards. These issues are addressed by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the annual World Water Week, which runs from 26-31 August 2018 in Stockholm. This was reported by ESA on 27 August.

World Water Week provides an ideal opportunity for thousands of participants from academia, industry and government to exchange ideas on this year’s theme of Water, Ecosystems and Human Development. Organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute, the week-long forum promotes collaborative action to help solve the looming water crisis. The event takes place as Europe recovers from an exceptionally dry and hot summer, which caused a drought in northern countries, for example Denmark and Sweden.

News was received from the Institute of Navigation (US) on 16 August that Nominations for ION Fellows and Annual Awards are now being accepted. The ION Annual Award Program is sponsored by The Institute of Navigation and recognizes individuals making significant contributions or demonstrating outstanding performance relating to the art and science of positioning, navigation and timing.

Readers are invited to nominate a deserving colleague for the ION Fellows and Annual Awards. Nominations are due on or before 15 October 2018.

It was announced on 22 August that Nokian Tyres and tractor manufacturer Valtra had earlier in the year set the world record for snow removal with an autonomous tractor. The record was set in March 2018 using an unmanned Valtra T254 Versu tractor equipped with Nokian Hakkapeliitta TRI tyres. Operated without a driver, the tractor ploughed snow on a closed road in Southern Finland at 73.171 kph (45.466 mph).

What would you do with an unmanned tractor?

OMC International, provider of under-keel clearance technology for ports and harbours, has helped Lyttelton Port Company (LPC) significantly reduce the volume of dredging required to upgrade the Port’s entrance channel, through use of Dynamic Under Keel Clearance (DUKC®) technology.

Later this month (August) one of the world’s largest dredgers will start work enlarging the entrance channel to Lyttelton Port, New Zealand.

With container ships having doubled in size in the past ten years, the channel deepening project is necessary to ensure the Port can accommodate larger vessels and support Lyttelton’s future as the South Island’s major international trade gateway.

To receive early bird registration rates for ION GNSS+ 2018 readers are invited to complete registration by 24 August.

The ION Satellite Division is bringing back complimentary Short Courses taught by internationally recognized GNSS experts and educators on 24 September. Presented in a lecture-style learning environment, ION Short Courses are for professionals at all levels of their career, from the novice to the experienced practitioner and academic.

On 14 August the European Space Agency (ESA) reported that Bhutan’s first ever satellite along with others from Malaysia and the Philippines were released into their respective orbits from the International Space Station on 10 August.

While the launch was a first for Bhutan, it was just another day on the International Space Station that was built and is maintained by thousands of people across the globe.

Launched in 1998, the Space Station is the culmination of years of international planning and partnership between the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, and participating European countries. In its 20 years of operation the Space Station has hosted many international flight crews, launched global operations and conducted research from the world-wide scientific community. It is not only a technological achievement but a successful testament to partnership across borders.

Pacific PNT 2019, 8-11 April 2019 Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii

The (US) Institute of Navigation’s Pacific PNT Conference is a global cooperative development of Positioning, Navigation and Timing technology and applications where policy and technical leaders from Japan, Singapore, People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Australia, the United States and more meet to discuss policy updates, receive programme status updates and exchange technical information.

Special topic sessions will concern BeiDou, Cosmic / Formosat and QZSS.

See ION’s site or this flyer for details.

Introducing the Turrem Data Group, otherwise known as TDG, who play an important role instructing the maritime community in the dangers of data insecurity in its many forms.

Recent years have seen rapid growth in the reach and complexity of cyber-attacks in the maritime business. Without doubt cyber security has become a major concern and should be considered as an integral part of overall safety management in shipping and offshore operations.

Take a look at the latest issue of Phish & Ships, their web-based publication and consider joining their mailing list.

The ICAO Council made important headway on 27 June on the key international standards supporting the planned timeline for the UN aviation agency’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, or CORSIA, during its 214th Session.

This adoption of the First Edition of Annex 16, Volume IV, to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention), comes less than two years after ICAO’s 192 Member States achieved their historic agreement on CORSIA at the Organization’s 39th Assembly, an emissions-offsetting first for any global industry sector.

In the words of ICAO Council President Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu: ‘Gaining agreement on this new Volume IV to Annex 16 is critical to helping States and airlines to operationalize CORSIA per its established deadlines.’

This year’s heatwave continues to sweep across Europe, with wildfires reported across the continent, as the current heat scorches land and vegetation in countries such as the UK, Sweden and Greece.
This video link shows two images from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission indicating farm land and other topography around the capital of Germany, Berlin.

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite provides a view over Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Famous as a resort on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, this coastal strip along the Red Sea is peppered with bars, restaurants and hotels. The ancient Greeks and Romans are thought to have taken their holidays in Egypt as long ago as the 4th century BC.

This striking true-colour image shows the Gulf of Aqaba at the top centre, feeding into the Red Sea – home to some of the hottest and saltiest seawater in the world. The Red Sea is connected to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, one of the world’s busiest waterways.

CommOCEAN 2018 aims to provide communication skills and inspiration to communicators across a range of experience levels. Many sessions are suitable for all, but some elements of the programme will run simultaneously and are tailored for those looking to build their communications skills and to those looking to move their communications to the next level. Delegates should choose the most appropriate sessions for their skills level.

The core programme will offer inspiring and insightful addresses from leaders in marine science communication, presentations and workshops covering communications techniques and platforms, and examples of marine science research communications campaigns. The event will also feature talks on current marine science projects and an exhibition of public engagement materials and techniques.