The next pair of Galileo satellites, Galileo 5 and 6, were successfully delivered into orbit on 22nd August. This launch marked the start of a new phase in the European satellite navigation programme where the full constellation will be deployed with short intervals between launches.

Galileo 5 & 6 satellites were carried aloft on a Soyuz rocket from the CSG, Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 12:27 GMT (14:27 CEST, 09:27 local time) on 22nd August. All the stages of the Soyuz vehicle performed as planned, with the Fregat upper stage releasing the satellites into their target orbit close to 23,500 km altitude, 3 hours 47 minutes after lift-off.

Photo reproduced by kind permission of ESA ©

On 8th August the (US) Federal Aviation Administration issued a new Notice-To-Airmen (NOTAM) restricting US operators from flying in the airspace above Iraq due to the hazardous situation created by the armed conflict. The new NOTAM supersedes previous FAA guidance for this airspace.

Furthermore, on 18th August the FAA issued a new NOTAM restricting US operators from flying in the Damascus Flight Information Region, which includes all of Syria. This replaces the current NOTAM in place that strongly advises US operators against flying in that airspace and requires them to contact the FAA before they operate in that airspace.

As the Airports Commission develops its thinking on the UK’s future airport strategy for government consideration during 2015, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) has now produced its own report outlining long-term strategic prospects for the growth of air transport.

Entitled The Future of Aviation, the CILT’s key point is that the economic,
environmental, and social benefits of aviation are only likely to be optimised if
the UK prospers at least to the same level as the rest of the world. As an
international activity the benefits to the UK from air transport will be not be
realised in isolation.

The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) – often referred to as drones – to help combat the threat of flooding has been given the official go-ahead to operate on a commercial basis by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Urban flood specialist Richard Allitt Associates (RAA), based in Haywards Heath in the south of England, has pioneered the use of UAVs, having worked alongside the Environment Agency and a number of water companies, including Severn Trent and Thames Water. The company’s new Remote Aerial Survey business (www.remoteaerialsurveys.co.uk) already has three qualified pilots and a number of UAVs capable of carrying imaging equipment designed to conduct diverse aerial surveys.

ACI’s 6th Arctic Shipping Summit will take place on 18th and 19th March 2015 in Montreal and will highlight the achievements of Canada’s Chairmanship of the Arctic Council and discuss the USA’s forthcoming plans.

It will review the need for improvements in infrastructure and advancements in technology as well as operational and logistical challenges encountered by shipowners and OSV operators in harsh Arctic conditions. The gathering will address key developments in transport and regulation in the Arctic as well as commercial and safety issues.

It was announced from Sunnyvale, California on 23rd July that Trimble had introduced its DPS900 piling system, a dedicated, land-based 3D machine control system for a variety of piling applications. Accuracy of the system is said to allow piling contractors to increase operational efficiency and reduce costs in the construction of building foundations, retaining walls, coffer dams, and solar or wind farm installations.

Trimble piling plan

Trimble DPS 900 screenshot

Trimble site tablet that runs the DPS 900 software in the piledriver’s cab

Trimble Zephyr Model 2 rugged antenna

Following the downing of Flight MH17, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) called on States to share information and intelligence so that airlines can make informed decisions about the safest routes to fly. This announcement was made from Montreal on 29th July. CANSO welcomes the establishment of a high-level Task Force agreed today that will urgently address this issue and the overall safety of aircraft over conflict zones.

Merseyside shipyard and engineering services company Cammell Laird has completed the first year of the second five-year period of its cluster contract with the RFA, it was reported in mid-July.

Cammell Laird CEO John Syvret said the first anniversary marked a period of significant progress and added that the company would now be redoubling its efforts to deliver the best possible service to the RFA. He emphasized that the RFA contract plays a key role in the company’s rapid growth in the commercial marine, offshore wind and civil nuclear markets. He said that the stringent health and safety, project management and quality requirements demanded by the MoD helped significantly in other markets.

RFA Fort Victoria in Cammell Laird’s Birkenhead yard

Aerial photograph of the shipyard with RFA and commercial vessels

Latest apprentice intake with RFA Fort Rosalie

In light of recent events impacting the aviation industry the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations has released a Special Edition of its e-News Broadcast which is partly reproduced here by kind permission of IFALPA – The Global Voice of Pilots / La voix des pilotes dans le monde.

“Given the recent press releases and statements, everyone is outraged at the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, and we should be. This violent act against our air transport system – peacefully engaging in global commerce – cannot be tolerated. Just as we did in the era of hijackings and following events where our own aircraft were used as weapons against us in acts of terror, we must take action.”

With the final conference due in September and following the second and final trial campaign which took place at the end of June this year, the I2C (Integrated System for Interoperable sensors & Information sources for Common abnormal vessel behaviour detection and Collaborative identification of threat) integration project has resulted in significant breakthroughs for enhancing sea border protection, it is understood.
Kongsberg Norcontrol’s I2C was implemented to enable automatic identification and tracking of vessels suspected of involvement in, for example, irregular migration, illegal fishing, drug trafficking and looting of cultural heritage.

Kongsberg Norcontrol’s I2C has resulted in significant breakthroughs for
enhancing sea border protection

On 18th July the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published a Safety Information Bulletin (SIB), taking into consideration the reported loss of flight MH17 in Eastern Ukraine. (See pdf here).

On 17th July EUROCONTROL was informed that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 17 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in the eastern part of Ukraine.

According to information with EUROCONTROL the aircraft was flying at Flight Level 330 (approximately 10,000 metres/33,000 feet) when it disappeared from the radar. This route had been closed by the Ukrainian authorities from ground to flight level 320 but was open at the level at which the aircraft was flying.

ESA will improve the identification and tracking of vessels anywhere on earth from 2018 under a public-private partnership with LuxSpace of Luxembourg and exactEarth of Canada, signed on 15th July at Farnborough International Air Show in the UK and running until 20th July.

Large vessels and all passenger ships irrespective of size are mandated by the IMO to carry AIS equipment. It transmits the course and speed as well as identification and position information to other vessels and shore stations.

While AIS has been deployed globally, it suffers from a major limitation because earth’s curvature limits its horizontal range to about 74 km from shore. This means that AIS traffic information sent out by vessels’ beacons is available only around coastal zones or on a ship-to-ship basis.

ESA will improve satellite-based ship identification and tracking in partnership with the European Maritime Safety Agency and exactEarth to meet the requirements of users, particularly those of government agencies such as coastal administrations. – illustration reproduced by kind courtesy of ESA ©

Founded in 1977, the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) is an association for business aviation in Europe. It takes part in regulatory discussions at various European institutions to tackle the challenges that threaten this sector and promotes the community as vital to Europe’s economic development.

It was announced on 15th July from Brussels that EBAA and the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA) have signed an MoU to promote the wide use of EGNOS – precision-based navigation (PBN) – at regional airports in Europe, following discussions at the European Space Solutions Conference in Prague in June.

Illustration courtesy of the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) ©

At the request of the Malaysian Government, Australia is leading the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. All the available data indicates the aircraft entered the sea close to a long but narrow arc of the southern Indian Ocean.

The underwater search is focused on a high priority area of up to 60,000 square kilometres of ocean floor – roughly the size of Tasmania.

The complexities surrounding the search cannot be understated. It involves vast areas of the Indian Ocean with only limited known data and aircraft flight information. While it is impossible to determine with certainty where the aircraft may have entered the water, all the available data and analysis indicates a highly probable search area close to a long but narrow arc of the southern Indian Ocean.

The Transport Select Committee in the UK Parliament, House of Commons (Lower House) has indicated that a full, independent, public inquiry must be convened to address whether commercial pressure from oil and gas companies affects the safety of offshore helicopter operations. Furthermore, this inquiry must also examine the role of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Members of the Transport Select Committee reflected early in July at the time its report was published.

Helicopter pilots operating around Britain’s shores and represented by the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) welcomed the findings of a UK Parliament House of Comons Transport Select Committee report into offshore helicopter safety, issued earlier this month.

General Secretary of BALPA, Jim McAuslan, said, “The Transport Select Committee report adds further weight to the urgent need for safety improvements to prevent accidents and make every offshore flight a safe one.”

The 15th IAIN World Congress will be held in the Clarion Congress Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic, from 20th to 22nd October 2015 and a welcome by Professor František Vejražka, Congress Chairman, now appears on the Congress website to be found at: www.iain2015.org,

Registration is due to open in December 2014.

Attached will be found the First Announcement of 1st October 2012 and the Second announcement of 31st December 2013.

The programme for abstracts and paper submissions:

1st September 2014: call for abstracts

1st December 2014: online registration and abstract submission opening

31st January 2015: deadline for abstract submission

15th March 2015: deadline for author registration

31st March 2015: confirmation of abstract acceptance and notification of authors

15th June 2015: paper submission and submission of camera-ready papers deadline

31st July 2015: announcement of paper acceptance

illustration courtesy iStock / Transcom

On 10th July the Transport Select Committee of the UK Parliament’s House of Commons (lower house) announced an inquiry into smaller airports (those with fewer than five million passengers per annum).
The UK Parliament’s Commons Transport Committee has invited written submissions by Friday 3rd October 2014. These may be submitted through www.parliament.uk. Search “Transport Committee” then “Inquiries” followed by “Smaller airports”, or start here.

On 1st July, from Washington DC the (US) National Transportation Safety Board’s first investigative report into parasailing safety was issued and found the activity is largely unregulated with serious accidents frequently caused by faulty equipment.

Because of the nature of an activity that often occurs in changing weather with parasailers suspended 500 feet or more above the water’s surface, accidents often result in death or serious injury.

Guidelines to help shipowners comply with a new International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulation requiring ship-specific plans and procedures for the recovery of persons from the water, were launched on 30th June by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the global trade association for shipowners.

Under the new SOLAS Regulation, from 1st July 2014 all ships are required to develop plans and procedures identifying both equipment to be used for recovery purposes and measures to minimise the risk to shipboard personnel involved in recovery operations.

The signing ceremony at the end of May for supply and installation of the Transas Full Mission Offshore simulator held in Batumi, Georgia. Seen here are representatives from each of Batumi State Maritime Academy (BSMA) and Transas Marine Black Sea.
Photograph courtesy Batumi State Maritime Academy (BSMA) and Transas Marine Black Sea ©

At the end of May 2014, Batumi State Maritime Academy (BSMA) and Transas Marine Black Sea signed a contract for supply and installation of the Transas Full Mission Offshore simulator. The simulator complex will be one of the most advanced in the Black Sea region, it is claimed.

For this project, Transas will develop simulator areas for three ports of Georgia: Batumi, Poti and Kulevi. In addition, the simulator will use the next generation universal hardware solutions. Use of the touch screen technology together with the dedicated hardware, makes it possible to use virtually any controls on the bridge without compromising training realism.

The latest Performance Review Report (PRR) of EUROCONTROL’s Performance Review Commission (PRC) was published in mid-June, giving an independent assessment of European Air Traffic Management’s (ATM) performance in 2013, it was reported from Brussels.

Safety levels are still high in Europe. There have been no fatal air navigation services (ANS)-related accidents since 2010 and the number of reported ANSrelated serious incidents in 2013 was the lowest seen in the past eleven years. “Despite this positive trend, we still need to improve the level of occurrence reporting and the assessment of incidents. The deployment of automatic safety data reporting could further improve trend analysis for the identification of safety risks,” observed Ralph Riedle, PRC Chairman.

Published here by courtesy of EUROCONTROL – © European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL). The information contained in this document may not be modified without prior written permission from the Performance Review Commission. The views expressed herein do not necessarily re flect the of ficial views or policy of EUROCONTROL, which makes no warranty, either implied or express, for the information contained in this document, neither does it assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of this information.

Towards the end of June the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced from Washington DC plans to issue the largest fine in its history against CTS Technology Co. Ltd., a Chinese electronics manufacturer and online retailer, for allegedly marketing 285 models of signal jamming devices to US consumers for more than two years.

The FCC applied the maximum fine allowed to each jammer model allegedly marketed by CTS resulting in a planned fine of $34,912,500. Said Travis LeBlanc, Acting Chief of the Enforcement Bureau, “All companies, whether domestic or foreign, are banned from marketing illegal jammers in the US. Signal jammers present a direct danger to public safety, potentially blocking the communications of first responders. Operating a jammer is also illegal, and consumers who do so face significant civil and criminal penalties.”

Nautilus International (formally NUMAST) is the trade union and professional organisation for maritime professionals at sea and ashore. The organisation represent 24,000 shipmasters, officers, officer trainees (cadets) and shipping industry personnel, such as ship pilots, inland navigation workers, vessel traffic services operators (similar to air traffic control), harbourmasters, seafarers in the oil and gas industry, and shore-based staff.

A few hours before Seafarers’ Day Nautilus International has called on the maritime industry to back a campaign to create decent working and living conditions for all seafarers.

IMO’s Day of the Seafarer (25th June) is an annual opportunity for the public to remember that seafarers deliver more than 90% of the goods in the supermarket and say ‘Thank You’ to seafarers. However, the Union would like the industry itself to go one step and further and ensure that all seafarers can enjoy the same standards of living and working conditions that shore-side workers enjoy.