A report on the conference at Trinity House, London hosted by the General Lighthouse Authorities of the UK and Ireland, the Royal Institute of Navigation and the Knowledge Transfer Network.

Before introducing the programmed sessions Rear-Admiral Nick Lambert invited the delegates to hold 3 thoughts:

– That the day was not intended to be a ‘give GNSS a kicking’ event. Rather, it should aim to address how new technology might be used to make GNSS even better and more reliable.

– Given that the maritime environment is uniquely difficult and one where ‘backing up’ systems has been, and should be, a sine qua non, the marine user community is well placed to be a ‘bellwether’ for the management of wider societal need for the provision of resilient systems.

– At least part of the issue is the difference in outlook between the new generation of ‘digital natives’ and the present generation of practitioners and
those involved in preparing requirements and standards, who might be termed the ‘transitional generation’.

A report on the conference at Trinity House, London hosted by the General Lighthouse Authorities of the UK and Ireland, the Royal Institute of Navigation and the Knowledge Transfer Network.

Before introducing the programmed sessions Rear-Admiral Nick Lambert invited the delegates to hold 3 thoughts:

– That the day was not intended to be a ‘give GNSS a kicking’ event. Rather, it should aim to address how new technology might be used to make GNSS even better and more reliable.

– Given that the maritime environment is uniquely difficult and one where ‘backing up’ systems has been, and should be, a sine qua non, the marine user community is well placed to be a ‘bellwether’ for the management of wider societal need for the provision of resilient systems.

– At least part of the issue is the difference in outlook between the new generation of ‘digital natives’ and the present generation of practitioners and
those involved in preparing requirements and standards, who might be termed the ‘transitional generation’.

On 1 March 2016 INMARSAT marked the 25th anniversary of Inmarsat C by revealing that more than 600 distress alerts from vessels in urgent need were broadcast over the service in 2015. The disclosure demonstrates how the decision made by IMO administrations requiring all ships of more than 300 gross tons to be fitted with a Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) remains pivotal in protecting lives at sea. Inmarsat is the only safety services provider in the world approved to deliver GMDSS under the rigorous International Convention for the Safety of Life At Sea requirements.

Ronald Spithout, Inmarsat Maritime President, commented: ‘Over its lifetime, GMDSS has made the biggest single contribution to maritime safety since the advent of radio in 1899. We are immensely proud of Inmarsat C’s unparalleled contribution to GMDSS in the last 25 years. Thousands of lives have been saved and countless ships rescued as a result.’

There’s a video byte here, also on Inmarsat’s channel.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has published a new edition of the ICS Bridge Procedures Guide, widely acknowledged as the principal shipping industry guidance on best practice for safe navigation, which is used by seafarers and training institutes worldwide.

This fifth edition, it was reported on 1 March, has been comprehensively revised by an expert working group nominated by ICS’s member national shipowners’ associations, and replaces the previous edition published in 2007.

At the Royal Institute of Navigation, Small Craft Group (RIN SCG) members have been invited to participate in the beta testing of NavPac4, a new version of a celestial navigation software produced by HM Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO).

On 22 February Inmarsat together with Global Marine Networks and Network Innovations, announced the successful trial and subsequent commercial order for Fleet Xpress in Antarctic waters. Fleet Xpress had earlier been installed in the adventure cruise ship Ocean Nova (illustrated), and was reported to have delivered robust communications in one of the most hostile environments.

Early in February EUROCONTROL emphasised the importance of the ASM Handbook. Twenty years ago, a new page in ATM history was written: the Airspace Management Handbook, otherwise known as the ASM Handbook was first published. This is the reference guide for the application of the concept of the Flexible Use of Airspace (FUA) by civil and military airspace users.

The agreement includes the extension of cooperation between the two authorities to air traffic management (ATM)/air navigation services (ANS) and aerodromes’ safety domains, where EASA will support the SAAU in its endeavours to implement the relevant EU legislation. It is understood, further, that the SAAU is thus now among 43 European civil aviation authorities cooperating with EASA on ATM/ANS matters.

The (US) Institute of Navigation Satellite Division announced from Manassas, Virginia, on 17 February the winners of the 6th Annual ION Autonomous Snowplow Competition during the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. This event was held at Rice Park in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, in conjunction with the 130th Saint Paul Winter Carnival.

Sponsored by The ION Satellite Division and held in cooperation with the ION North Star Section, the ION Annual Autonomous Snowplow Competition is an international event open to college and university students, as well as the general public. It challenges teams to design, build, and operate a fully autonomous snowplow using state of the art navigation and control technologies to rapidly, accurately and safely clear a designated path of snow.

Earlier this month, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) announced that the EGNOS time service remained stable and properly synchronised to UTC time during a recent GPS timing anomaly on 26 January. That day users of the United States GPS system experienced timing issues.

During the GPS anomaly EGNOS remained stable and properly synchronised – proving just how important it is to have such a backup system after a number of
GPS satellites broadcast incorrect UTC correction parameters.

According to the US Air Force, the coordinated universal time message that was transmitted was off by 13 microseconds. During this anomaly EGNOS, which serves as an augmentation to the GPS, remained stable and properly synchronised to UTC.

Readers are invited to inspect this pdf which contains an introduction to the program. This solicits from small businesses scientific and engineering related R&D proposals that respond to specific technical needs described in the annual Solicitation.

Readers are, further, invited to study carefully the opening pages of this document which outline the application method.

Of particular interest to the navigation community will be: Section 9.04.04 Single-Chip eLoran Receiver to be found on page 72.

Due to numerous requests, the deadline for paper submission of the ENC 2016 has been extended by two weeks to 28 February 2016.

The 24th European Navigation Conference (ENC 2016), co-sponsored by EUGIN, Nordic Institute of Navigation, and IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society, will be held in the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, Finland during the period 30 May 30-2 June 2016.

On 4 February the Nautical Institute and Comité International Radio-Maritime (CIRM) the principal international association for marine electronics companies) launched a joint initiative to improve the usability of navigation and communication technology in ships.

Speaking at the International e-Navigation Underway Conference in a vessel steaming Copenhagen-Oslo-Copenhagen, David Patraiko, Director of Projects for the Nautical Institute, and Richard Doherty, Chief Technical Officer for CIRM, announced the development of the CIRM User Feedback Forum.

It was recognised that the best way to achieve usability in a system, product or service is to ask users what they think at each stage of the design. This is the principle that underlies the concept of human-centred design (HCD). Applying HCD is a key goal of the International Maritime Organization’s eNavigation strategy.

The Nautical Institute and the press release.

On 5 February marine aids to navigation manufacturer and service provider Tideland Signal Corporation announced that it has been acquired by Xylem Inc., a leading global water technology company dedicated to solving the challenging water issues. Tideland will now be part of the Xylem Analytics business and will stand side by side with brands such as YSI, SonTek and Aanderaa.

The (US) Institute of Navigation (ION) announced the recipients of the 2016 fellow memberships during the ION International Technical Meeting (ITM) and Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications (PTTI) in Monterey, California held from 25-28 January. Election to Fellow membership recognizes the distinguished contributions of The Institute of Navigation members to the advancement of the technology, management, practice and teaching the arts and science of navigation; and/or lifetime contributions to the Institute.

The Institute of Navigation also announced winners of its 2015 Annual Awards at the ION International Technical Meeting. This Awards Programme is sponsored by The Institute of Navigation to recognize individuals making significant contributions or demonstrating outstanding performance relating to the art and science of navigation.

British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon confirmed on 29 January the appointment of a new First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff. Vice-Admiral Sir Philip Jones KCB is to be promoted Admiral and appointed First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, in succession to Admiral Sir George Zambellas GCB DSC ADC DL in April 2016. Sir Philip is currently Fleet Commander and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff.

After a flag state has issued a certificate of competence, professionals still need to continue to train, learn and assess their performance. The latest edition of The Nautical Institute’s acclaimed magazine The Navigator examines how navigators can build on their basic competencies while at work. This was reported by the Institute on 2 February.

In this issue, Gilbert Maturan reveals how one maritime company, Teekay, helps its staff maintain competency and explains why it is essential if the mariner is to keep abreast of technical advances. The Nautical Institute also offers advice on why planning is a vital part of achieving greater competency.

The Navigator 11, and previous issues, may be downloaded from The Nautical Institute.

To be held 2 March 2016 at Trinity House, London, this event will explore the mix of technologies for future maritime navigation, and identify potential complements to GNSS.

The Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN) and the General Lighthouse Authorities of Great Britain and Ireland (GLAs) are running an event exploring all technologies for robust, costeffective ship navigation over the next fifteen years.

More on the IAIN calendar and at the RIN.

On 28 January the US Air Force announced from the 2nd Space Operations Squadron at the 50th Space Wing, Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, that verified users were experiencing GPS timing issues.

Further investigation revealed an issue in the Global Positioning System ground software which only affected the time on legacy L-band signals. This change occurred when the oldest vehicle, SVN 23, was removed from the constellation.

While the core navigation systems were working normally, the coordinated universal time timing signal was off by 13 microseconds, which exceeded the design specifications. The issue was resolved at 0610 MST, however global users may have experienced GPS timing issues for several hours.

The unstable political situation within and at the borders of the NM area had a significant impact on flight efficiency and the general environment, necessitating longer routes to avoid dangerous zones. Even under these circumstances the actual trajectory targets have been met showing that the European airspace structure offers appropriate capabilities.

European aviation traffic just missed the all-time high of 2008. Capacity shortfalls, mainly in Cyprus and France, made it difficult to achieve network delay targets with industrial action adding to the complexity.

A limited number of air traffic control centres (ACCs) generated delays in summer, largely due to insufficient flexibility in sector availability. Other ACCs struggled to cope with traffic increases in those sectors affected by the shift in flows resulting from geo-political events – and higher route charges.

Shortly before the end of 2015 ICAO reported from Montreal that the Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Dr. Fang Liu, had exchanged post-COP21 views and other developments with the European Commissioner for Mobility and Transport, Ms Violeta Bulc, (pictured) during a visit to Brussels.

Following discussions Commissioner Bulc held with ICAO Council President Dr Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, she and Secretary General Liu exchanged further points on ICAO’s framework for its Environmental Protection activities and its planning leading up to the 39th ICAO triennial Assembly (A39).

ICAO will be seeking the support of its 191 Member States at A39 in September 2016 on the proposed design and 2020 implementation of a new market-based measure (MBM) for international aviation emissions.

On 19 January 2016 the United States Coast Guard issued an alert (Safety Alert 01-16) reminding users that this past summer (2015), multiple outbound vessels from a non-US port suddenly lost GPS signal reception.

The net effect was various alarms and a loss of GPS input to the ship’s surface search radar, gyro units and Electronic Chart Display & Information System (ECDIS), resulting in no GPS data for position fixing, radar over ground speed inputs, gyro speed input and loss of collision avoidance capabilities on the radar display.

More on the subject with advice to mariners as to what they should do in
reporting disruption is to be found here.

Proposers’ Day 1 February 2016 – News has been received from the US that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is holding a Proposers’ Day on 1 February to inform potential contractors about the Atomic Clock with Enhanced Stability (ACES) programme.

ACES is a potential $50 million programme that seeks to develop battery powered atomic clocks that work to provide the military with synchronization and precision timing capabilities during navigation, communications, electronic warfare and reconnaissance missions in the event of a GPS shutdown.

Just over twelve years ago The Nautical Institute launched its international human element bulletin, Alert! The first issue came out in October 2003, as seafarers were getting to grips with new technology and automation. It was becoming clear that more attention needed to be paid to human-centred design and human factors engineering as well as seafarer training.

Since 2003, there has been a transformation in the industry’s understanding of the human element in ship design, construction, management and operation. The journal Alert! has played its part in that sea change.

Former Lloyd’s Register CEO Richard Sadler noted: ‘Every article in every issue over the years has dealt with the fundamentals of the human factor and increased the awareness of every reader. I am sure we could find evidence that this publication has directly or indirectly saved lives and accidents.’

Alert! #40 is available here.

Hidden Histories of the Information Age is a series of short radio programmes available on BBC Radio 4.
Today’s 15-minute programme, the fifth out of five, tells the story of how GPS helped navigation in the first Gulf War (1990 – 1991).
This link will take you to the BBC to listen to it.
This link will take you to the series web page where you can find the other four programmes as well, and this link will allow you to download it.

The programme should be available for 28 days.