It was announced on 15 January 2015 by Inmarsat, provider of global mobile satellite communications services, that its enhanced maritime product list now has two new services designed specifically for Inmarsat’s Global Xpress network: Fleet Xpress and FleetBroadband Xtra.

Fleet Xpress is a hybrid service which will operate over the Global Xpress Kaband network, and incorporate Inmarsat’s L-band FleetBroadband service as back-up, providing an advanced connectivity service for maritime customers anywhere in the world. This service will be available when Global Xpress (GX) commences global commercial services early in the second half of 2015. Fleet Xpress will be an Inmarsat managed service sold through the company’s experienced GX Value Added Resellers (VARs).

To allow maritime customers to benefit from high-speed broadband connectivity between now and global commercial introduction of the Global Xpress network, Inmarsat has announced an additional service, FleetBroadband Xtra. This service will overlay capacity from the first Global Xpress satellite (Inmarsat-5 F1), which is already operational, in the Indian Ocean region, with the existing L-band connectivity. As the next two Global Xpress satellites are launched, covering the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean regions, FleetBroadband Xtra will expand to include the additional Ka-band capacity as each satellite enters commercial service.

Significant progress was made in 2014 to make regulation of the UK’s General Aviation (GA) sector more proportionate and evidence-based the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said earlier this month (January).

Chages support the CAA’s new top level principles for GA regulation as it:

• Only regulates directly when necessary and does so proportionately

• Deregulates where it can

• Delegates where appropriate

• Does not gold-plate, and quickly and efficiently removes gold-plating that already exists

• Helps create a vibrant and dynamic GA sector in the UK.

At the time of writing, 12 January, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is responding to a general cargo vessel, experiencing mechanical issues near the Great Barrier Reef.

Antigua and Barbuda-flagged general cargo vessel, Thor Commander, reported on 11 January she had damaged her main engine. The vessel is drifting approximately 31km north-east of Perkins Reef in the Swains Reefs group, about 379km north-east of Gladstone.

AMSA has tasked a tug from Gladstone to respond and two merchant vessels are nearby to assist after responding to a broadcast to shipping in the area. The tug is expected to arrive on Tuesday morning (13 January).

It was announced from Brussels on 5 January that Estonia had become EUROCONTROL’s 41st Member State on New Year’s Day.

With the accession of Estonia, EUROCONTROL covers all 28 European Union
states. This event reinforces EUROCONTROL’s status as being truly pan-European.

Even before becoming a member state, Estonia actively participated in the network and has contributed to improve Europe’s ATM performance. Over the last six years fifteen airspace design improvement packages have been implemented and two more are planned.

To reach the next level of safety, the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued on 7 January a final rule that requires most US commercial airlines to have Safety Management Systems (SMS) in place by 2018. The rule builds on the programmes many airlines already use to identify and reduce aviation risk.

On 7 January 2015 Transas reported from Bulgaria positive progress of the Bulgarian Vessel Traffic Management and Information System (VTMIS) – the Phase 3 project. Since its announcement, the project had met its required milestones and is ready to move forward to its next phase. Being a part of the European safety system SafeSeaNet, Bulgarian VTMIS is expected to be fully operational by mid-2015.

Shortly before Christmas ICAO announced from its HQ in Montreal that some 3.2 billion passengers used air transport for their business and tourism needs in 2014. This was according to preliminary figures on scheduled services released on 18 December by the Organization. The annual total passengers figure was up approximately 5% compared to 2013 and is expected to reach over 6.4 billion by 2030, based on current projections.

World scheduled freight traffic, measured in freight tonne-kilometres (FTKs), grew strongly by 4.6% in 2014, a rebound from the 0.4% growth rate registered in 2013. This is a reflection of improvement in world trade.

The International Civil Aviation Organization will be holding the Second High Level Safety Conference (HLSC2015) from 2 to 5 February 2015 at ICAO Headquarters in Montreal, Canada.

In particular, the Conference will also be invited to discuss emerging safety issues, including the global tracking of aircraft and risks to civil aviation arising from conflict zones.

As part of its policy to offer an ever more efficient and safe waterway to users, Voies Navigables de France continues to provide electronic navigational charts for all. This was announced from Béthune, on 29 December 2014.

The navigational charts of the Franco-German Rhine between Basel, Gambsheim and the large-gauge Niffer/Mulhouse reach are now available on http://www.vnf.fr/vnf/content.vnf?action=rubrique&rub_id=1830.

On 24 December Qatar Airways reported that the world’s first Airbus A350 XWB (Xtra Wide Body) and the airline’s fourth A380 had arrived in Doha simultaneously.

The A350 aircraft, for which Qatar Airways is the global launch customer, is set to commence service on the Doha-Frankfurt route starting in January 2015.

The world’s first A350 XWB aircraft to be delivered flew to Doha from France, following a handover ceremony and press conference which were attended by Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, HE Akbar Al Baker, senior Airbus and Rolls-Royce officials, and more than 150 international media in Toulouse.

The Liberian-registered container ship Rena left the New Zealand port of Napier at 1020 on 4 October 2011 bound for Tauranga. The master had given an estimated time of arrival at the Tauranga pilot station of 0300 the following day. The master calculated the estimated time of arrival by dividing the distance to steam by Rena’s normal service speed. The calculation did not account for the unfavourable currents that normally prevail down that stretch of coastline…

The full report here.

The President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili and President of Latvia Andris Berzins visited Batumi State Maritime Academy (BSMA) to open the renovated state-of-the-art simulation centre on 27 November. The Full Mission Offshore simulator, which has become the extension of the existing simulation complex, has been developed and installed by Transas Marine. Now, the BSMA boasts one of the most advanced simulator complexes in the Black Sea region, it is claimed.

In Chicago on 8 December CANSO, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation, was presented with a major award for its contribution to the aviation industry. During events to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Chicago Convention CANSO also signed an agreement on cyber security which will ensure a common and united approach to tackle this significant and evolving threat.

Coast Guard aviators have patrolled the nation’s skies for nearly 100 years, but it wasn’t the pilots who first helped get the airplane off the ground.

On a stretch of empty sand in the Outer Banks of North Carolina 111 years ago, a group of surfmen from Life-Saving Station Kill Devil Hills guarded the shore near the town of Kitty Hawk. The surfmen lived hidden away between the Atlantic Ocean and Albemarle Sound, within the sparsely populated lands of the Outer Banks….

It was reported by IALA from St Germain-en-Laye, France, on 15 December that Francis Zachariae of Denmark is to be the Secretary General of IALA with effect from 1 February next.

It was reported on 15th December that the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) have agreed the establishment of an independent inquiry following the disruption caused by the failure in air traffic management systems on the afternoon of Friday 12 December 2014.

The CAA will, in consultation with NATS, appoint an independent chair of the panel which will consist of NATS technical experts, a board member from the CAA and independent experts on information technology, air traffic management and operational resilience.

Responding to the major air traffic control shutdown that took place yesterday (12 December), Mrs Louise Ellman, Chair of Transport Committee said on 13 December: “I am very concerned about this major breakdown in UK air traffic control and the impact of the disruption this failure has caused on airports, airlines and passengers. In such circumstances safety remains paramount, but going forward it is vital that we establish what happened yesterday, and what NATS must do in order to ensure the same problem does not recur in future. The Committee will ask the Secretary of State these and other questions when he appears before us on Monday.”

“I also hope that the Committee will call NATS and the CAA to give evidence to us, so that we can get to the bottom of what led up to this weekend’s events.”

Following a technical fault with the flight data system used by air traffic controllers at Swanwick in the south of England on 12 December the (UK) National Air Traffic Service (NATS) confirmed later in the day that the system had been restored to full operational capability and a thorough investigation was underway to identify the root cause, it is understood.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has joined with other UN agencies in calling for concerted action from the international community to address the deeply concerning problem of the loss of life, injury, trauma and serious human rights violations affecting migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees travelling by sea, it was reported from IMO in London on 10 December

In a joint statement, IMO, along with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that closer co-operation between States of origin, transit and destination, and other relevant actors, was critical to reducing loss of life at sea, addressing the drivers of dangerous sea journeys, as well as ensuring that responses by States upon arrival and disembarkation uphold human rights and dignity, and address specific needs for protection of migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees.

Welcome Estonia – EUROCONTROL has reported that on 26 November 2014, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure of Estonia, Mrs Urve Palo, signed the documents for the accession of her country to EUROCONTROL.

New studies look to potential social issues of drone use – As part of the strategy to support the development of the European market for civil drones (or Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems – RPAS) adopted by the European Commission last April in its communication COM(2014)207, DG ENTR (Enterprise in Industry) has commissioned two studies addressing some aspects of the societal issues linked to the development of civil drones applications.

The European Commission has published two studies on social issues linked to the development of civil applications of drones. – Picture by kind permission of EUROCONTROL

The International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA: www.impahq.org) based in HQS Wellington on London’s Victoria Embankment reports that it has issued in hardback form the above title. Running to 234 pages, (ISBN: 978 1 85609 635 5) this handsome volume has a cover price of £ 75.00. The publisher is Witherby Seamanship International of Edinburgh (witherbyseamanship.com)

For long there have been few books on the subject of maritime pilotage and only one example comes to mind with this reviewer, that published by the Nautical Institute on pilotage and ship handling in 1990. There are references in other publications to pilotage such as in the IALA Aids to Navigation Manual.

The ubiquitous pilot launch in service embodies excellent seaworthy characteristics. Throughout the world pilot organisations are investing in new fleets of pilot vessels and experts such as naval architects will say that pilot craft are a challenge to design and to build for the cutter has to demonstrate very high reliability in performing a safe task under severe operating conditions.

IMPA on Pilotage is a valuable work outlining the legal and statutory elements of pilotage, how it is conducted and methods of ship handling along with requirements, training and certification of pilots and even an introduction to fatigue management.

In order to carry out their duties marine pilots must embark onto and disembark from ships at sea by either the traditional method of a pilot ladder or by helicopter. In a section in this book Captain Alex Amos informs that so far there has been no development of a successful alternative method. In their time pilots will recall poor examples of the ladder provided of which the illustration here ably displays.

UK airports should be better placed to minimise the impact of disruption on passengers thanks to good practice guidance published by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) early in November.

This guidance sets out key principles and recommended practices to help airports work effectively in partnership with airlines, ground handlers and the many other organisations working within airports so they are better prepared for large disruption and can manage it effectively when it does occur. With the aviation industry now gearing up for the winter season, the guidance is a timely reminder of the practical steps airports can take to make sure they are prepared for bad weather and protect their passengers.

Guidelines can be found here.

On 4 December the International Transport Forum at OECD released projections for modal shares, and emissions at the Lima COP20 conference.

Transport in the urban centres of emerging economies is becoming a major battleground for combatting climate change. Large cities in China, India and Latin America each with over 500,000 inhabitants will more than double their share of world passenger transport emissions by 2050 to 20% (2010: 9%), if current urban transport policies remain unchanged. It is understood that 38% of the total growth in world surface transport passenger emissions to 2050 will come from big cities in these three regions in such a business-as-usual scenario.

Illustration by kind permission of EUROSTAR ©

Many European states have ambitious renewable energy targets for the year 2020. In order to meet these targets, they will have to use renewable, sustainable ways of generating electricity – and wind turbines are useful devices for doing this.

However, wind turbines can potentially have a detrimental impact on the performance of surveillance systems used in air traffic control. A wind farm with many wind turbines could create false targets or lose or corrupt information on an aircraft’s position.

This is still an ongoing concern and EUROCONTROL announced on 20 November that it had recently published an update to its recommended methodology on assessing the potential impact of wind turbine structures on surveillance systems. It also gave suggestions for mitigation options.

How to Assess the Potential Impact of Wind Turbines on Surveillance Sensors

Guidelines reproduced by courtesy of EUROCONTROL.

It was announced from Montreal on 25 November that the seventh ICAO Air Services Negotiation Conference (ICAN2014) wound up on a record note in Bali, Indonesia, the previous week, with 78 States/territories and one regional body taking full advantage of ICAN’s unique and cost-effective multinegotiation facility to expand air transport liberalization and market access.

Some 440 negotiators conducted 550 meetings during the five-day ICAN marathon, which led to the signing and initialling of 530 air service agreements and arrangements.

ICAO at seventy

Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) has raised concerns about the implications for masters of the recent reports of the launch of the new EU Frontex operation ‘Triton’ which will apparently have a reduced budget and focus on border control in place of the Italian ‘Mare Nostrum’ that is credited with saving more than 150,000 migrants in the Mediterranean.
Brian Orrell OBE, Chairman of the Advisory Board of SRI commented: “The obligation of masters to assist persons in distress at sea is steeped in maritime tradition and legal history. It is therefore of concern if budgets for search and rescue in the Mediterranean are being reduced. This may increase the number of search and rescue missions that masters have to undertake, as well as their risks of criminal prosecution for any perceived failure to attend to persons endangered at sea.”