The Institution has been requested by the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency to join an E-Navigation Workshop, the stated aim of which is to allow industry representatives the opportunity to influence UK Government proposals to IMO on the development of future navigational requirements for seagoing vessels. The first meeting of the Workshop was held on 16 Feb 2007 in Southampton.
Summary report of the meeting by RINA representative
The Workshop was billed as the chance to plan the way in which, in future, all navigational information is gathered, disseminated, controlled and utilised onboard and ashore by using electronic means There was a good attendance from a wide cross-section of the maritime industry however most were representatives of sea 'users' or 'regulators' organisations rather than 'designers' (other than a few from the electronics/communications industry). The day was very interesting with a wide ranging discussion on the requirements for E-Navigation (defined by IALA as "The collection, integration and display of maritime information aboard and onshore by electronic means to enhance berth-to-berth navigation and related services, safety and security at sea, and the protection of the marine environment").
.The general outcome of the meeting was that the technology already existed to create such a system and the major obstacles were seen to be human factors related (e.g. training, how the data is displayed to personnel and they react to it, standardisation of displays etc.). However it became clear that neither IMO nor the UK Government (as advised by the MCA) had defined what exactly was required of an 'E-Navigation' system and without a fixed definition, and in particular a boundary to the scope of the system, it was not possible to perform an adequate gap analysis (i.e. determine the system technology, human factors, training and regulation and specification development necessary to get from where we are now to where we want to be in the future).
The Workshop was regularly reminded that one of the primary purposes of the system was to reduce marine accidents but as one delegate pertinently pointed out merely integrating existing systems and data into one overarching all encompassing system using basically the same equipment probably does address the fundamental causes of very many accidents at all.
Click here for MSPowerpoint presentation by MCA on the background to the perceived need for the UK to develop an E-Navigation strategy. |
