IALA Council 02, Nice, France

The 2nd Session of the IALA Council was held from 9 to 13 June 2025 in Nice, France, alongside the United Nations Ocean Conference.

The session opened with remarks from IALA President Marcos Almeida and Secretary-General Francis Zachariae. The president then welcomed new councillors from China and Japan and mentioned that formalities for the Secretary-General’s employment highlighted the need for updates to the General Regulations.

The Secretary-General gave important updates including:

  • Membership: 346 total, including 39 Member States.
  • Staffing: 15 full-time employees, with 2 new hires planned (Document Controller & Legal Advisor, Executive Assistant).
  • Headquarters: Plans to relocate to a new building due to capacity constraints; negotiations with France are ongoing.

Updates were given from several countries on VTS initiatives, environmental innovations, heritage projects, and strategic maritime planning.

It was reported that the Policy Advisory Panel discussed IALA’s role in sustainability and autonomous maritime operations (MASS). The Change of Status transition to Intergovernmental Organization (IGO) was nearing completion. The Staff Rules had to undergo several updates approved, including clauses on data protection and Secretary-General nomination requirements. A New Drafting Group was created to establish a policy on co-sponsorship of documents with other IGOs.

The World-Wide Academy reported a record training activity with over 280 trainees in 2024. Also, numerous missions and training were delivered in Iraq, Indonesia, and multiple other countries. The Academy’s recognition was growing as leveraging IGO status for expanded outreach and funding.

The Council noted the 2024 Audited Financial Statements, approved the proposed appropriation of the 2024 result and approved the reappointment of RSM France as Statutory Auditors for the period (2025 to 2027). The Council also expressed its wish to consider a new call for tenders with a view to eventually changing auditors in 2027.

The Council approved the revised 2025 budget and the committee work programme 2025-2027.

The Council noted the committee meetings and events plan and approved the seminar proposal on VTS experience and challenges.

The Council approved the following documents:

G1052, Ed3.2, Quality management system for Marine AtoN service delivery.

G1106, Ed3.0, Producing an IALA S-200 series Product Specifications.

R1005, Ed3.0, Conserving and promoting heritage Marine Aids to Navigation.

G1093, Ed1.2, Management of transfer of surplus lighthouse property.

G1189, Ed1.0, Measurement of marine light performance.

G1190, Ed1.0, on Harmonised IoT protocol for visual AtoN.

G1111, Ed2.1, Establishing functional and performance requirements for the VTS systems equipment.

G1111-1, Ed1.1, Producing requirements for the core VTS system.

G1027, Ed2.0, Simulations in VTS training.

G1128, Ed1.7, Specification of e-Navigation Technical Services.

G1191, Ed1.0, Maritime Service Registry (MSR) Technical Specification.

G1192, Ed1.0, VDES authentication.

G1193, Ed1.0, VDES signal measurement.

The Council noted the report on S-200 PS development and approved the S-200 Ed.2.0.0.

The Council approved the following liaison notes to:

NIPWG on Development of S-125 Marine AtoN PS.

RTCM regarding the 10402.n Standard.

IEC on request regarding redistribution of the S-421 schema.

And on redistribution of SECOM OpenAPI specification.

The Council approved the proposal from ENG to change the selection process of the Heritage Lighthouse.

The Council approved the following membership:

Affiliate Industrial for:

  • Boyas Del Sur, Venezuela
  • Carlier Chaines SA, France
  • Baroda Polyform Private Limited, India

Affiliate for:

  • Dragados y Balizamientos S.A, Argentina

And noted the following changes:

Merger of Membership with effect from 1st January 2025:

  • Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Board in the United Kingdom, were integrated into the Member State, led by the United Kingdom Department for Transport. This has resulted in the loss of one member from 1st January 2025.

Change of category from Associate membership to Member State for:

  • Uruguay
  • Russian Federation

Change of category to Associate Affiliate membership for:

  • Plovput Split: following on the ratification of the Convention by Croatia, this organization which used to be a second National member in Croatia as a specific agency, has requested to change its category to Affiliate membership.

The Council noted the resignations from Affiliate Industrial membership for:  

  • Inca Philippines, Philippines
  • Nanhua Electronic, People’s Republic of China
  • MarineLabs Data Systems Inc., Canada
  • IBK Fibertec GmbH, Germany
  • PT Jaya Admiral, Indonesia

The Council noted the update on membership and decided to terminate National membership for:                                                       

  • Direction Générale de la Marine Marchande, Republic of Congo.
  • Sitronic CS, Russia.

The Council approved the following tentative dates and venues for the following sessions:

  • Session 03: 8 to 12 December 2025, Mumbai, India.
  • Session 04: 8 to 12 June 2026, HQ or invitation.
  • Session 05: 7 to 11 December 2026, HQ or invitation.

The report is available at https://www.iala.int/meetings/02-2/

IALA AISM
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