Message from the SG
I have the pleasure to inform you that the 30 instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession to the Convention on the International Organization for Marine Aids to Navigation have been received. The Convention will enter into force on 22 August 2024.
Our passage has taken us to a waypoint indicating the respect that the new organization will have. This will be based on the many years of IALA’s position in the international maritime community where it has displayed competence, growth, maturity and excellence.
Under the new organisation’s status IALA will be able to contribute in an enhanced way to the safety of navigation worldwide, to the protection of the maritime environment and provision of good governance of the oceans.
We at IALA are mindful of the fact that in its capacity as an Intergovernmental Organization (IGO), IALA will deliver high-level standards in all our activities.
The first General Assembly of the new organisation will be planned, kindly hosted by the Republic of Singapore 18 to 21 February 2025.
In advance of that position there is a plan within the Secretariat for transition from an NGO to an IGO. Our work here will involve the drafting of new staff rules and contracts and termination of the IALA Constitution.
In the Secretariat we are looking forward to our next Council meeting to be held in Istanbul, Türkiye, from 24 to 28 June 2024 and hosted by the Directorate General of Coastal Safety (DGCS). A full and busy agenda is promised.
Moving to Italy early the following month we will be celebrating World Marine Aids to Navigation Day over 2 & 3 July. Preparations have been made for a special commemoration to be held in Genoa, one of the busiest port cities in the Mediterranean, where the centre of attraction will be the lighthouse, the first structure of which was constructed in the twelfth century. The ‘Lantern’ is a centuries-old symbol of Genoa and will be Christened in the ceremony as IALA Heritage Lighthouse of the Year.
Full programme and registration details can be found on the dedicated web page here: https://www.iala.int/world-marine-aids-to-navigation-day-2024/
Readers are strongly advised to keep in touch through the IALA website. Here you will find our forecast of events. One such is an Aids to Navigation Engineering Workshop in Sydney hosted by IALA and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) from 14 to 18 October.
This is designed to give delegates the latest available AtoN Engineering updates and a glimpse into the future with emerging technologies along with their status.
A key objective of the Workshop will be to review the IALA World-Wide Academy syllabus for AtoN Technicians and for the engineering components of the AtoN Manager course.
It is always worthwhile keeping up to the date with our latest publications listed on the website.
In March we reissued as Edition 8.3 The IALA VTS Manual. It is published to assist Contracting Governments, Competent Authorities and VTS Providers harmonizing the delivery of VTS worldwide by providing a comprehensive overview on all aspects relating to the provision of VTS.
The Manual is also aimed at a wide readership to encompass all who are in any way involved with the policy for provision, operation and effectiveness of VTS, including those with management responsibility at national level and those who deliver services to the mariner.
Once again I send thanks to all our correspondents in the world-wide family that is IALA and whose most welcome texts and illustrations enable a much sought after e-Bulletin. This, with the website and our publications, continues to provide the public face of IALA.
Francis Zachariae
