There is no doubt that 2020 was a difficult year for so many around the world.

Many IAIN Member organisations had to postpone meetings, some to dates beyond the year’s end and well into 2021 or even beyond. Within IAIN, Officers took the difficult decision to postpone our own IAIN 2021 World Congress. The possibility to hold Congress in 2022 will be reviewed at the next Officers’ meeting in May 2021. All the international and intergovernmental organisations with which IAIN is involved have also had their own programmes and plans impacted.

However, 2020 has also seen great innovation: humankind at its best, collaborating and working together to achieve things previously thought impossible. From global collaboration on vaccine development to local communities providing support for the needy in their streets, great things have been achieved by so many. Institutes of Navigation have played their part too, often with more people able to contribute virtually than would be possible in-person. Positioning, navigation and timing has, at last, become widely recognised as the invisible utility underpinning and enabling our modern world. I believe we should all feel proud of how our knowledge and co-operation have enabled so much innovation and are contributing to safety and sustainability.

On behalf of myself, Simon Gaskin, our Secretary General, and the IAIN Officers, may we take this opportunity to wish you and your families all the best for a successful and rewarding 2021.

Best wishes,

John Pottle, President IAIN.

The objective of this booklet is to provide guidance on the safe use of electronic navigation and associated systems on leisure vessels. Navigating a leisure vessel has always required the skipper/navigator to use all available information and that has never been more important than now, with the availability of ever increasing sources of information. Good navigational safety is still dependent on the continuous assessment by the skipper/navigator of all the navigation-related information available on the vessel – and not just over-concentrating on some, however beguiling they may be.

Of the accord President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen said: “It was worth fighting for this deal because we now have a fair and balanced agreement with the UK, which will protect our European interests, ensure fair competition, and provide much needed predictability for our fishing communities. Finally, we can leave Brexit behind us and look to the future. Europe is now moving on.”

The European Commission’s Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier, said: “We have now come to the end of a very intensive four-year period, particularly over the past nine months, during which we negotiated the UK’s orderly withdrawal from the EU and a brand new partnership, which we have finally agreed today. The protection of our interests has been front and centre throughout these negotiations and I am pleased that we have managed to do so. It is now for the European Parliament and the Council to have their say on this agreement.”

You may want to read this or this to get a better picture of the accord.

The ION GNSS+ 2021 Abstract Deadline is March 5, 2021.

Submit your abstract today for the Institute of Navigation’s (ION) GNSS+ 2021: GNSS + Other Sensors in Today’s Marketplace, the 34th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division. ION GNSS+ 2021 will take place September 20-24, (Tutorials September 21) at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri. A virtual option is available.

The early bird registration discount deadline is approaching. Save $50 on registration rates for The ION International Technical Meeting (ITM) and Precise Time and Time Interval (PTTI) 2021 virtual meetings, being held January 25-28, 2021 in Pacific Standard Time (PST). Complete your registration by Monday, January 4.

The two are combined into one virtual meeting to be held January 25-28, 2021.

The Navigation 2021 organisers are inviting papers in the following categories:

– Peer-reviewed: Your abstract and, if accepted, paper will be peer reviewed and published to be indexed and searchable. Your presentation will be invited in a parallel technical session at the conference.

– Presentation: Your abstract will be reviewed and, if accepted, you will be invited to present your work in a parallel session at the conference.

– Poster: Your abstract will be reviewed and, if accepted, your poster will be displayed in the virtual exhibition hall. We plan to encourage delegate interaction through poster presentations during the networking sessions.

The best peer-reviewed papers will be invited to submit for consideration to be published in the Journal of Navigation.

From our Austrian member institute, the Österreichischer Verein für Navigation, we have received word of the latest issue of their regular publication, The Navigation Flashlight. It is published three times a year, currently in its twentieth year of publication and it is in German.

With many seafarers facing a second December away from home, Nautilus launched its campaign in late 2020 calling for government and industry to carry out as many crew changes as possible to ‘deliver seafarers home for Christmas’.

400,000 seafarers were thought to be stranded on ships worldwide due to the failure of government to allow travel to and from vessels during the Covid-19 crisis. Research by the Union shows that almost all seafarers have been directly affected by the pandemic.

Nautilus has been inundated with requests for support from these seafarers, who have been dealing with issues such as exhaustion, redundancy, and cuts to pay and conditions. Many have either been stranded at sea, away from their loved ones, or trapped at home unable to earn a living.

The Union launched a petition urging governments and the United Nations to work together to ensure that seafarers are designated as key workers in every country, and to enable global crew changes.

On 15 December the RAF and French Air forces carried out a joint intercept exercise, scrambling both countries’ Quick Reaction Alerts (QRA).

Typhoons from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire linked up with Armée de l’Air Rafale aircraft to intercept a simulated non-NATO military aircraft entering the UK Airspace. The key objective of the scramble was to exercise and practice NATO Long Range Aviation procedures within the UK and French Flight Information Regions (FIR) and develop the tactical co-ordination involved with international cross-FIR border operations.

Radar equipment is being installed at the University of Birmingham as part of a demonstration intended to test and prove the precision of quantum-enabled radar detection capabilities.

A key part of keeping everyday life secure is being able to detect dangerous or unsafe situations before they occur. Quantum enabled radar technology research, undertaken by academics at the UK Quantum Technology Hub Sensors and Timing, aims to do precisely this.

Radar detection is a deceptively complex necessity in the modern world: it is required for a surprisingly wide range of sectors. For example, high precision radar will ensure autonomous vehicles can detect hazards well ahead of time. Hub academics are also developing next generation distributed radar systems, which will transform surveillance by providing much greater coverage and maintaining real-time situational awareness in highly congested and cluttered environments.

The final report was accepted by the Maritime Safety Committee, and now goes to the IMO Council and will thus complete its statutory journey.

IMO is currently much concerned, rightly, at the need for Governments and the shipping industry globally, with its wildly varying standards of management and care, to resolve the issue of crew members, out of contract and so unpaid, being isolated in foreign ports during the pandemic, and unable to return home to families. This requires governmental action, and will take some time to resolve to any degree of satisfaction.

Progress can be reported on navigational issues such as increasing standardisation of Port State Control, domestic ferry safety and effective water space management.

Marine aids to navigation manufacturer Sealite welcomes Francis Zachariae (FZ), Secretary-General of the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) to speak on his organisation in a forthcoming webinar.

Francis will discuss the history of IALA and the organisation’s focus on the development of standards and guidelines to ensure the safety of all mariners. He will also discuss IALA’s strategic move towards becoming an intergovernmental organisation (IGO).

The webinar will be held on December 15, 2020, 1100 hrs Paris time. Previous webinars can be viewed here.

You can register here.

Some 20 helicopters carried the 1,300-strong 2 PARA Battlegroup into action on 4 December on Exercise Wessex Storm. Troops, vehicles and stores were lifted by Royal Air Force Chinook and Puma support helicopters, protected by the sensors and weapons of Army Air Corps Wildcat reconnaissance helicopters and Apache attack helicopters. This was reported by the (UK) Ministry of Defence on 4 December.

The training is about confirming the UK’s 2 PARA Battlegroup’s skills and readiness to serve as the lead infantry unit within 16 Air Assault Brigade, the British Army’s global response force. Some 150 troops from the French 2e Reégiment Etranger de Parachutistes and a 40-strong platoon from the US Army’s 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment are taking part. Their involvement is about growing understanding of each other’s capabilities and tactics, meaning our airborne forces are better prepared to operate together on future operations.

IMO is asking recreational boat owners worldwide to take part in a global survey on how they deal with fouling on their craft, as part of a major project to help address the spread of aquatic invasive species.
The survey is available here: https://www.glofouling.imo.org/recreational-boating-survey

This is for owners of all types of sailing boats, motorboats and yachts is being carried out by IMO’s GloFouling Partnerships Project, which aims to protect marine ecosystems from the negative effects of invasive aquatic species.

Royal Air Force personnel and Typhoons have conducted a week of training in Turkey as part of a package of the NATO Alliance’s assurance measures to one of its key allies. This was reported by the UK Ministry of Defence on 24 November.

As part of the UK’s contribution in delivering on its NATO commitment of Tailored Assurance Measures to Turkey, No IX(B) Squadron Typhoons based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, spent three days exercising alongside the Turkish Air Force F16s at the 3rd Main Jet base, Konya, in south central Turkey.

It was reported from Middletown, Rhode Island, on 19 November that KVH Industries, Inc. announced that Furuno is offering AgilePlans® maritime VSAT connectivity in Japan.

The KVH AgilePlans programme is a Connectivity as a Service (CaaS) subscription-based model offering a comprehensive solution for maritime satellite communications.

Without a costly capital outlay, the AgilePlans service is said to eliminate barriers to upgrading to VSAT or switching from a competitor. It includes high-speed connectivity with unlimited e-mail and texting via KVH’s mini-VSAT BroadbandSM HTS network, TracPhone® HTS-series hardware, with installation in as many as 4,000 ports and locations, cybersecurity protection, KVH OneCare™ maintenance, and no long-term commitment, all for one monthly fee.

It was reported from Perth, Western Australia on 18 November that Canadian software company Helm Operations (Victoria, BC) and Western Australian marine consultant Tiller Technical (Perth, WA) have signed a new partnership agreement to help vessel operators digitalize their operations.

As part of the partnership, Tiller Technical will use its industry expertise and local knowledge to help companies implement and use Helm CONNECT – Helm’s industry-leading harbor services and fleet management software – to modernize, digitalize, and streamline their operations.
Since launching in 2016, Helm CONNECT has become the world’s fastest growing maritime software platform, now used by more than 220 companies and 4000 vessels worldwide to help manage fleet operations, including vessel maintenance, regulatory compliance, personnel management, and vessel scheduling and billing.

The next round of internship opportunities at ESA is now published and opportunities will remain open until 10 December 2020.

Internships last from three to six months and opportunities are available in engineering, science, IT, natural/social sciences, business and administration services.

In the words of the ESA’s communiqué: ‘You can browse this year’s opportunities directly on our recruitment website. Then simply create your candidate profile, upload your CV and add your motivation letter to submit your application.’

It was announced from Montréal on 9 November that ICAO and the International Forum for Aviation Research (IFAR) had formalised a new agreement aimed at accelerating and improving the effective assessment of new aviation technologies and innovations.

The agreement establishes two new ICAO-IFAR Expert Groups which will review latest innovations in the areas of urban air mobility and AI in aviation. After their first year, each group will report back to ICAO and IFAR and the two organizations will use the findings to optimize and formalize IFAR’s future contributions to ICAO and international aviation.

ICAO Secretary General Dr Fang Liu commented: ‘This new collaboration will see IFAR’s community supporting ICAO’s activities by sharing its consensus view on current areas of technical challenge and opportunity, and in turn, ICAO will augment its ability to engage with and benefit from IFAR’s processes and expectations.’

William A O’Neil, Secretary-General Emeritus of the IMO died in the UK on 29 October at the age of 93.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim expressed his sincere condolences to the Canadian Government, Mr O’Neil’s remaining family, and the condolences of the entire IMO membership and staff.

‘It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of Mr O’Neil, who was a great friend and mentor who made a huge personal contribution to securing globally applicable safety, security and environmental standards,’ Mr Lim said. Mr O’Neil was Secretary-General of IMO from 1990 to 2003.

On 20 October the International Harbour Masters’ Association (IHMA) announced that its new President is Captain Yoss Leclerc of the Port of Québec. He succeeds Captain Allan Gray, President and CEO, Halifax Port Authority, Canada.

Captain Leclerc was elected on 8 October at the conclusion of the IHMA Ordinary General Meeting held remotely for the first time due to COVID-19 restrictions. The OGM was contributed to online by delegates from 13 countries.

In a statement to members Captain Leclerc pledged to help the Association meet the challenges facing Harbour Masters to ensure the sustainability of ports in the future.

It was reported from Montréal on 22 October that ICAO Secretary General Dr Fang Liu reiterated the UN agency’s call for national governments to assure the sustainable funding of their civil aviation authorities (CAAs).

Dr Liu highlighted: ‘State aviation authorities have been facing drastic reductions to their funding and this has led to significant gaps between performance and oversight expectations and available resources. To overcome these challenges, a cooperative and collaborative approach with industry, and regional and international organizations, is key.’

The Institute of Navigation’s (ION) biennial Pacific PNT meeting, scheduled to take place April 19-22, 2021 in Honolulu Hawaii, has been rescheduled to take place in the spring of 2022.

ION Pacific PNT is the global cooperative development of Positioning, Navigation and Timing technology and applications where policy and technical leaders from Japan, Singapore, China, South Korea, Australia, the United States and more meet to discuss policy updates, receive program status updates and exchange technical information.

Specific dates for ION Pacific PNT 2022 have not yet been announced, however abstracts are being accepted through November 1, 2021. The 2022 dates will be announced once they are finalized.

The Nautical Institute is launching an online campaign promoting mentoring at sea, thanks to generous funding from the TK Foundation.

Entitled ‘Mentoring at Sea – The 10 Minute Challenge’ the campaign features a series of five short films that cast a spotlight on the many ways in which mentoring improves life at sea while helping mariners to grow professionally. Released fortnightly, each film documents seafarers of all ages, nationalities and ranks discussing the fundamental aspects of mentoring, whether giving or receiving. Participants speak passionately about the positive impact of sharing knowledge and experience with others.

Nominations for The Institute of Navigation’s (ION) Fellows and Annual Awards Program are now being accepted. Nominations are due no later than 15 October.

The ION Annual Awards 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 (PNT).
Nominations may be submitted now for ION’s Fellows and Annual Awards here.