Welcome to another edition of the IALA e-Bulletin. General Assembly As I write the Secretariat has been busy preparing for the First General Assembly of the organisation. This historic moment in our calendar will be held from 18 to 21 February 2025 and we are most grateful to our generous host, the Maritime and Port […]
The Coast Guard Navigation Center (NAVCEN) is a command within the Marine Transportation Systems Management Directorate. It brings together a unique set of specialists and capabilities to data in support of waterways management activities. Located in Alexandria, Virginia, the NAVCEN’s team of 53 uniformed and civilian members is drawn from technical domains including prevention and […]
Annual Report and Accounts for 2023 to 2024 This report issued in July contains a performance review, outlining how the organisation has performed against its corporate plan; financial statements for the financial year 2023 to 2024; a corporate governance report; and a sustainability report detailing initiatives and commitments to achieve Net Zero. The report also […]
What started out as manually operated stand-alone lighthouses has now turned into an interdisciplinary field of engineering; modern vessel traffic services rely on highly complex distributed systems and a number of different technologies. On the one hand, this offers new chances and possibilities for ensuring a safe, smoothly flowing and therefore economically efficient shipping traffic. […]
A reflection by Jens Christian Pedersen It has been an exciting, fruitful and inspiring journey with IALA and the VTS committee for 25 years. The IALA concept of bringing together the broad worldwide community is outstanding and cooperation with all parties, authorities, industry and associates is always very good. The best of all has been […]
The day of 23 September 2024 marked the sesquicentennial anniversary of Qingyu lighthouse, and a seminar entitled Protection of Historical Lighthouses and the Propaganda of AtoN Culture was held to commemorate this special occasion. Qingyu Lighthouse, one of the longest-serving lighthouses on the east coast of China, is the responsibility of the cultural relic protection […]
A national seminar in Funafuti, Tuvalu held from 11 to 13 November focused on how to support smooth, efficient shipping in the country, through maritime digitalization. IMO organized the seminar in collaboration with the Pacific Community (SPC) at the request of the Government of Tuvalu. The event supported the country’s accession to the Convention on […]
On 24 November it was announced from Cape Town that one of South Africa’s most recognisable sites, uMhlanga Rocks Lighthouse, celebrated its seventieth anniversary. The Lighthouse was first lit by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) on the night of 25 November 1954. The uMhlanga Rocks tower was built soon after the opening of nearby Cooper […]
As port and infrastructure investment in the Middle East continues to grow, the need for reliable aids to navigation and supporting industry knowledge is greater than ever. Since 1911, Middle East Navigation Aids Service (MENAS) has been involved in developing and maintaining aids to navigation (AtoN) in the Middle East Gulf, and, more than 100 […]
The European Galileo satellite navigation system Galileo keeps growing: a new pair of satellites has joined the constellation after flight on a Falcon 9 rocket, launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 18 September at 00:50 CEST (17 September 18:50 local time). Galileo is currently the world’s most precise satellite navigation system, serving […]
