The Royal Institute of Navigation's 2026 Annual General Meeting, held on 1 July, once again proved to be a highlight of the Institute's calendar, bringing together almost 100 members from across the navigation community.

The AGM remains one of the few occasions each year where members from across academia, industry, defence, government and beyond can reconnect with familiar colleagues, forge new relationships and celebrate the achievements of our community. For the RIN team, it is also an invaluable opportunity to put faces to names, strengthening the relationships that underpin our events, publications and wider activities throughout the year.

• Colette Jeffrey
• Kieran Bjergstrom
• Michelle Brown

• Rajesh Tiwari – For sustained leadership and significant contributions to resilient GNSS, navigation integrity, and multi-sensor PNT systems supporting defence and autonomous applications. Pictured left, above.
• Dan Tillett – For key contributions to UK military research and testing of PNT systems, specialising in Electronic Warfare, over more than two decades. Pictured middle, above.
• Nigel Davies – For advances in resilient PNT capabilities for mission-critical users and applications in national defence.
• Joshua Richards – For contributions to robust PNT in UK and European defence applications, and for building strong international collaborative PNT programmes. Pictured right, above.

• Professor Michele Dougherty – For pioneering contributions to planetary science, and her leadership of international deep-space missions.
• John Pottle – For his leadership in directing the Royal Institute of Navigation over eight years, and his impact on education in PNT and related disciplines.
• Ian Lower – For his longstanding support for maritime navigation and safety, both in the Royal Navy and as Deputy Master of Trinity House; and for his leadership of the General Lighthouse Authorities and GRAD.

• Chris Bell – For his outstanding contribution to the RIN since 1972, particularly through the RIN Council, Technical Committee, Membership & Fellowship Committee, and Solent Branch Committee.
• Graham Purchase – For his outstanding contribution to the RIN, particularly through the Solent & South Branch and the General Aviation Navigation Group.
• Phil Butlin – For his outstanding contribution to the RIN in investment policy and risk management.
• Geoff Renshaw – For his outstanding contribution to the RIN, including 46 years on the Solent Branch Committee, serving as Secretary, Deputy Chairman and Membership & Fellowship Committee delegate.

• Winners: Adrian and Brigid Beney in G-DIZY with 238 points (98% on-track) - pictured below.
• Runners-up: David Elliston and Simon Cushing in G-MOOV with 224 points and a tale of flying adventure!
• Best-on-Track: Chris and Karina Swinhoe-Standen in G-BRDM with 99%

Looking Ahead

Take a look here: https://youtu.be/tz23G_UXCGA?si=-jrD6mhLyU-No94R

Available here (pdf) is the questionnaire to see which questions are being asked, and we would like comments back to us by email to Mark Greaves, OS Geodesist, (mark.greaves@os.uk) by 1 June.  (For ease, Mark is happy to receive responses in simple email/text form too.)

Background:

ETRS89 is the common coordinate system in use across Europe. It is derived from the global ITRS (International Terrestrial Reference System) but “fixed in time” at 01/01/1989 so it moves with the Eurasian tectonic plate. Coordinates in ETRS89 are generally unchanging (which the vast majority of users like!). This means that the current separation, in Europe, between an ETRS89 coordinate and a current WGS84 or ITRS related coordinate is approximately 0.9m. Each country has their own realisation of ETRS89, usually through a national CORS network like OS’s OS Net. National realisations generally agree to within a few cm.

National realisations of ETRS89 are related to a particular “parent” realisation (“Frame” - ITRF) of the ITRS. Our current GB realisation (OS Net station coordinates) is related to ITRF97.

Each frame of ITRS is generally an improvement on the previous one. Current frame is ITRF2020 and it is considerably more accurate than previous ITRFs.

This is part of the dilemma – adopting the most accurate version of ITRS (ITRF2020) as the “parent” for an ETRS89 realisation will result in a larger than expected coordinate jump from the previous ETRS89 realisation. BUT there is also a reason for ETRS89 to relate as accurately as possible back to current ITRS and WGS84. There is also the additional argument about the 01/01/1989 epoch of ETRS89. Should it be brought forward in time to closer align with ITRS again? E.g. should ETRS89 become ETRS2030?

RIN Awards and Fellowship deadline is approaching!

The Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN) boasts a distinguished heritage as a technical and learned society, renowned for advancing navigation across various sectors. For decades, it has honored excellence through prestigious medals and fellowships, recognising pioneering contributions and leadership that shape the future of navigation.

The deadline for submitting Award and Fellowship Applications is February 2026

Here's what our previous Fellows and Award Winners have to say on the process:

Fellowship, Kimon Voutsis

We're delighted to announce the publication of the RIN Maritime report revealing the impacts of GNSS Interference in the Maritime sector. Survey data was compiled from over 100 sector experts and 300 vessel Captains, supported by interviews with dozens of people involved in the operations and supply chain of vessels that regularly encounter GNSS interference.

GNSS interference refers to anything that disrupts a ship’s satellite-based positioning signals usually caused by:

• Jamming: blocking or overwhelming the satellite signals with noise so the receiver can’t get a position at all;
• or spoofing: feeding the receiver false satellite signals so it reports a wrong position that looks legitimate.

In 2025, at least two collisions and groundings were reported in mainstream media linked to GNSS interference in regions such as the Baltics, Straits of Hormuz and the Red Sea. With hundreds of vessels being affected daily, the RIN report details for the first time the scale of the problem on modern digital vessels whereby GNSS jamming and spoofing present a significant cybersecurity vulnerability and urgent risks to maritime safety.

Survey data exposes the vulnerability of critically important systems such as Global Maritime Distress and Safety Systems (GMDSS) and other SOLAS-mandated equipment that rely on satellite positioning and timing. 

“The report has highlighted serious safety concerns and has underlined the fact that these issues are rooted in significant cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and are not just disruptions to navigation”, mentions Director of the RIN, Dr Ramsey Faragher. 

Operating within regions of known GNSS interference carries serious safety-of-life and liability implications, as key systems are expected to fail or malfunction with high probability in these conditions. The report also highlights unnecessary dependencies between GNSS receivers and a range of onboard electronics — including RADAR, radios (VHF/MF/HF), NAVTEX, speed logs, ship clocks and satellite communications — many of which do not require GNSS data for their primary function, creating avoidable points of failure and compounding operational risk.

Maritime Captain Ivana-Maria Carrioni-Burnett and chair of the RINs Maritime Navigation Group comments: “The issue of GNSS interference must be taken seriously. It cannot be overcome by traditional navigation techniques when GNSS receivers are 'baked in' to modern ships' critical systems, including safety systems. These are no longer isolated incidents and pose a real risk to life: people, property and the environment. We must do more to safeguard our seas today and the shipping of tomorrow.”

Retired Commodore James Taylor OBE and fellow of the RIN advises: “Despite measures to improve resistance to jamming, spoofing and other harassment measures, the threat is real and growing. And this threat is not only to positioning and navigation; it is to every part of every transport and navigation means and to every part of national infrastructure where timing is derived from space-based timing signals.”

The Royal Institute of Navigation will continue to work with report partners (GLA, IALA, Nautical Institute and others) and regulatory bodies to provide expert guidance to mitigate these issues, and to establish industry-wide adoption of solutions to this problem.

The RIN Maritime Report Working Group will unpack key findings of the report on 29th January at National Maritime Museum with a digital download available online.

To kick-start 2026 we’re giving a RIN member the chance to win a bundle of RIN goodies including books by award winning authors and RIN Fellows Tristan Gooley and David Barrie, plus free access to a RIN event and some merch. All you need to do is update your member profile and tell us a memorable career moment. 

Update your member profile

Keeping your profile up to date means we can share the most relevant events, opportunities, and news, helping you get the most from your membership.

• Log in to your membership profile
• Check your details are up-to-date
• Add a photo to help others recognise and connect with you across the RIN community (optional) 
• Add your postal address (if you want to receive Navigation News) 
• Add your professional title

Engage with the giveaway post on either Facebook or Linkedin by sharing your most memorable PNT moment.

• Facebook: Find the pinned giveaway post and comment with your most memorable PNT moment
• Linkedin: Comment on this post by sharing your memorable PNT moment

A memorable career moment could be a career milestone you’re most proud of, a quirky navigational anecdote, or simply an interesting project or hobby you’re involved with. 

We will select a random winner beginning of February.

A spring clean of your membership profile and a social media comment could result in a New Year treat :-)

Good luck!

Competition Terms & Conditions 

This giveaway is run by the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN), a UK membership association. Open to UK residents aged 18 and over with an active RIN membership. 

To enter, follow the instructions in our post. Entries close at midnight on December 10t. One winner will be chosen at random using a random number generator and contacted via email within 2 days of the closing date. If we don’t hear back within 2, we may select another winner.

The prize giveaway is non-transferable, non-exchangeable, and there’s no cash alternative.

We’ll only use your personal details to run the competition, in line with our Privacy Policy. This promotion isn’t sponsored, endorsed, or administered by LinkedIn or Facebook. By entering, you agree to these terms. Governed by the laws of England and Wales

Words by John Hasselgren

Ivana was always fascinated by the sea and knew she wanted to work afloat. At school she decided to give up the arts and concentrate on subjects that would further her ambition. Joining the Sea Cadets, her parents expected her to dislike the routine and leave; instead, she enjoyed it and after her A level exams went to RNC Dartmouth to train as an RN Officer.

After her training Ivana was drafted to a series of warships, the list of which seemed to be longer than the number of ships that we have these days. On board HMS Severn she continued her Officer of the Watch training, eventually becoming a qualified OOW on board HMS Roebuck.

After service in HMS Argyle, and HMS Daring in the Middle East, Ivana undertook the Hydrographic Course. Service in HMSs’ Echo, Enterprise and Tyne followed before becoming a Navigation Instructor at the stone frigate HMS Collingwood. Leaving the Royal Navy after eleven years service, Ivana decided she still wanted to work at sea, so became a Port of London pilot. In addition to this she still finds time to Chair the Royal Institute of Navigation’s Maritime Navigation Group and be an Advisory Member of the PLA.

The Port of London, its limits being shown on the map projected onto the screen, is the UK’s largest port, based on the tonnage of goods and the number of vessels. It is a Competent Harbour Authority and a Trust Port, having no shareholders. Under the Pilotage Act of 1987 it employs Ivana as a Marine Pilot. Because of the length of the Thames, the harbour stretching from the Gunfleet Old Lighthouse off Frinton in Essex to Teddington lock to the west of London, the pilotage is divided between Sea Pilots and River Pilots, the changeover being at Gravesend.

In the year1510 a Pilot was described as one who steered a vessel, but by 1640 this had changed to one who guides, leads or directs its course. To become a pilot Ivana had to learn all the channels in and around the Thames Estuary, spend time in a simulator and pass three exams. Even when once qualified a new pilot will only be allowed to bring in and out small vessels, with further training and assessment before moving up to larger ships, then eventually to the largest. The largest container ships require the use of two pilots

There are 130 pilots working for the PLA, with only 3 of them being women. They work in 15 watches, with 9 days on duty followed by 6 days off. Between them they pilot a great range of ships. Occasionally they will provide pilotage for towage; this was especially so during the construction of the new stand at Fulham Football Club’s Craven Cottage ground on the banks of the river.

Ivana qualified as a Pilot pre-Covid so during the pandemic she was named as a key worker and thus able to continue working and avoid the instruction to ‘stay at home’. She was, though, expected to keep to the 2 metre distance and to wear a mask.

Regarding pilotage, Ivana considers it to be, sometimes, a ‘contact sport’. Paint is occasionally scraped off and guardrails will get bent. Since the Thames has strong tides, she tries to use them to best advantage. Wind can be a problem, especially with 30 knots acting on a container ship. This is especially true when entering Tilbury Lock. Fog can also cause problems, drifting off the surrounding marshes onto the river. Pilots like to make trips on board tugs to gain experience of working with them.

Ladders. This was something which was a regular complaint when I used to attend the monthly Joint Informal Meeting on board HQS Wellington. It seems it hasn’t gone away. Up to a height of 9 metres the pilot is expected to climb up the pilot ladder. Ivana’s advice is to ‘think squirrel’ and climb quickly above the level at which the pilot vessel can hit the ladder. She also advocates using the ‘three points of contact’ technique. Above 9 metres an accommodation ladder should be provided with the platform, reached from the pilot ladder, being 5 metres above the water (and above the pilot vessel) and horizontal with suitable handholds. When the pilot ladder is used all the way to the deck of the ship the handholds at the rail are often poor, round ones being preferable to flat bars. Although she can report ships with poor ladders or handholds, Ivana prefers to work with the ship and persuade it to improve things for next time.

The weather presents other problems besides its effect on the ship. It can also make it difficult for the pilot to embark or disembark. The wind, especially a strong north-easterly, will sometimes make it impossible to get on or off the ship. If the Sunk pilot vessel is off station when outbound, the next one is off Belgium. Pilots carry their passport with them!

She carries a tablet computer with all the data she needs. However, she likes also to carry a pack containing print-outs of tidal information, regulations etc. to ensure everything is to hand. Belt and braces!

Once on board the pilot is fed by the ship. Her preference is for Turkish Container ships; Ivana says she is always greeted with an excellent cup of coffee when she boards.

Ivana was very complimentary about the boatmen, the linesmen who run the lines ashore. They really know their stuff, is her view (take a look at her View from The Bridge webinar series on YouTube) 

On leisure vessels, Ivana recommended them to download the great amount of free advisory material on the PLA web site. This would enable them to navigate their vessel in safety in these confined waters that can present dangers. They could also join the Tidal Thames Navigation Club  – details on the PLA web site. Yachts are often difficult to contact by radio as they tend to listen to VHF channel 16; it would be preferable for them to monitor the correct working channel for the area. Ivana also issued a warning to yachts in Sea Reach – new berths were being built both above and below those already in use at London Gateway Port. Ivana recounted an experience with a tanker at low water, needing to stay in the centre of the channel while rounding Tilbury Ness. Round the bend towards them came a small motor cruiser carefully staying in mid-channel! Jet Skiers came in for strong criticism, with Ivana wishing she was back in the Royal Navy and could order the weapons crew to close up.

Finally, Ivana recommended the London Museum in Docklands to anyone wishing to know more about the history of the River Thames, and asked those who went to sea to complete the RIN Maritime Report survey on the degradation and loss of GNSS.

Synchronise provided an opportunity for researchers, academia, early career students and SMEs to connect, network and share insights on the current and future landscape of ‘timing’ in Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT).

Day 2 was Next Gen Nav, our flagship conference for early career professionals including our elected presenters, pictured below.

We were fortunate to receive ten presentations from a strong cohort which meant the judges had a tough time confirming the winner of the David Last Tribute Fund. Pictured left to right:

1. Kieran O'Leary (Heriot-Watt University)
2. Sorin Andrei Negru, (Cranfield University)
3. Harrison Reeves (UCL)
4. Soujanya Syamal (Cranfield University)
5. Chandni Saha (Cranfield University)
6. Tarafder Elmi Tabassum (Cranfield University)
7. Agathe Bouis (University of Strathclyde)
8. Aamna Rehman (BAE Systems)
9. Emily Ellison (BAE Systems)
10. Abi Yetton (University of Surrey / SSTL)

Congratulations to Abi Yetton, PhD Researcher from University of Surrey, who won best presentation - pictured below with Alex Schofield, GNSS Researcher at Warwick University and RIN’s Early Career Network (ECN) Committee Lead. Abi will be supported to attend a UK major navigation conference thanks to the David Last Tribute Fund.

Alex commented: “I want to express my deep appreciation for all ten presenters today, both from academia and industry. Each of you brought unique insights, thoughtful analysis, and genuine enthusiasm to your work. I know firsthand how challenging it can be to pitch complex ideas to a diverse audience, and everyone handled it with clarity and confidence. A special mention must go to Abi, whose presentation was particularly engaging, being the perfect balance of depth, creativity, and clear communication. It was inspiring to witness such professionalism and passion across the board.”

Conference sponsors MakeSense and Xona Space Systems delivered two brilliant presentations and we’ll be learning more about their technology in the New Year - stay tuned.

Panel chair and ECN Committee member George Newton commented: “Fantastic to have chaired a panel discussing the skills needed for the future of the PNT industry. Great conversations around the blend of technical expertise, systems thinking, and collaboration needed to drive innovation in navigation, timing, and space systems.”

Panellists included Richard Burguete (Head of Postgraduate Institute at NPL), Raphael Grech (Technical Strategist (PNT Emerging Technologies) at Spirent Communications and CEO & Founder of Makesense Technology, Rob Quinn.

Jasmine Zidan, PhD Research Fellow and ECN Committee Member commented: “As the panel chair, I was delighted to see such a rich discussion around the many ways people contribute to the PNT field — from research and technical innovation to commercial applications. We explored the valuable skills that transfer across these areas, and heard inspiring examples of the diverse and sometimes non-traditional routes people have taken into the sector. It’s a reminder of how broad and dynamic the PNT community truly is.”

Synchronise concluded with PNT communication and training on Friday morning, surrounded by technical NPL demonstrations, and views out onto an apple tree grown from the pips from Isaac Newton's apple tree. 

For further information about NPL's National Timing Centre (NTC) programme and training courses, visit: National Timing Centre NTC - NPL

Looking ahead

Synchronise demonstrated the power of in-person networking and the value that comes with building one's professional network in our growing field of PNT. The RIN are preparing to launch our jobs board in the New Year (see here).

Please bookmark this as we'll be adding more roles and have plans to make this the go-to careers resource for the PNT community.

Our Small Craft Group has published an updated edition of its popular booklet Electronic Navigation Systems – Guidance for Safe Use on Leisure Vessels. The new version reflects the latest developments in navigation technology, user feedback from across the leisure marine sector, and introduces a new section on astronavigation as a vital backup to electronic methods.

Why this matters for small craft users

Since the original booklet was released in 2020, significant changes have reshaped the navigation landscape for leisure sailors and motorboaters:

• Evolving satellite navigation services: The global rollout of new regional satellite systems, coupled with the closure of some Differential GNSS (DGNSS) services, has placed renewed emphasis on Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) resilience. Leisure sailors must now navigate with greater awareness of both the strengths and vulnerabilities of GNSS.
• Shift to electronic charts: The accelerating move away from paper charts has exposed limitations in official Electronic Navigation Charts for leisure use. While private providers have helped fill gaps, important issues remain around display systems, backup arrangements, training, and cost. These challenges make it more important than ever for small craft users to understand the benefits and risks of electronic navigation.
• Astronavigation as a safeguard: The booklet now includes a dedicated sub-section on astronavigation. For long ocean passages or in situations where electronic systems fail—whether due to technical breakdown, hacking, or signal jamming—traditional methods remain an essential, reliable fallback.

Jane Russell, Editor, commented: “This update ensures that sailors and leisure craft operators have the most relevant, practical guidance at their fingertips. By incorporating astronavigation and the latest satellite system updates, the booklet helps users prepare for the realities of modern and future navigation.”

Paul Bryans, of the RIN’s Small Craft Group, added: “This edition comes at a crucial time. With the industry moving rapidly toward electronic navigation, the need for clear, trusted guidance has never been greater. We also continue to press for agreed standards across hardware, software, and chart suppliers. While leisure craft may be lightly regulated, many vessels operate commercially—such as charter yachts and training school boats—and they deserve systems and charts that are both safe and user-friendly.”

The updated Electronic Navigation Systems booklet is available now as a free digital download via the RIN website, with hard copies available to purchase.

RIN also invites interested sailors, industry professionals, and navigation enthusiasts to register for the 2026 RIN Electronic Navigation Conference, taking place on 6 February 2026. This biennial event brings together the international leisure marine community to discuss the future of small craft navigation, with the 2026 theme: “Small Craft Electronic Navigation in 2026, and Beyond.”

Supporting organisations

The Small Craft Group acknowledges the financial support of Trinity House and the contributions of the wider navigation community in developing this important resource. Partnerships with key organisations including the RYA, MCA, and RNLI continue to ensure that the guidance remains practical, authoritative, and relevant to leisure sailors.

The Royal Institute of Navigation is launching a working group to investigate and report on the effects, mitigations and solutions to GNSS jamming and spoofing in the maritime sector.

We need your help in gathering the information we need to conduct this study. Interference have been pervasive for years now in areas such as the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. In the Strait of Hormuz alone, almost 1000 ships per day experience GNSS interference, impacting crew safety and the security of their cargo. Collisions and groundings are a very real threat, with the Frontier Eagle and MSC Antonia accidents being the most recent examples.

For those of you familiar with the OPSGROUP report into GPS spoofing in the aviation sector  we will be producing a similar piece of work, but focussed on the Maritime domain. If you want to join the Working Group, and help to compile and write the report, we encourage you to do the following:

• join our discord channel
• share your insights by completing this survey

Please share this widely in the Maritime network - the more mariners we can reach with direct experience of the issues caused by GNSS interference, the better.

What also became clear is that many of you have already made provision in a Will to leave some part of your estate, to the Royal Institute of Navigation – Thank You!  If you have mentioned the RIN in your Will, to whatever degree, please let the team know by emailing admin@rin.org.uk and myself. And while we do not ask what sum or percentage of your estate you have bequeathed, planning that bequest in your Will, and letting us know brings to you membership of the RIN’s Great Circle.

The Great Circle allows you to wear a distinctive badge, designed to encourage enquiry, promotion, and an increase in membership of that Great Circle. I’ll be providing more detail of that in the next edition of Navigation News. But until then, please ensure that you have made a Will; if not, you can gain further detail from a range of suppliers – The Law Society, Citizens Advice Bureau, from Gov.uk websites, even the Co-Op! And please, encourage all your Fellows and Members to make a Will. Without a Will, we do not get anything you may have wanted to leave to the RIN to continue our essential work; and without a Will, the Government will take a large share of whatever you had!

Written by Capt James Taylor

On 19th June 2025, the Royal Institute of Navigation hosted its Annual General Meeting on what felt like the hottest day of the year. Despite the warm temperature, around 130 members (and a handful of non-members) convened at the Royal Geographical Society to hear from RIN Director, Ramsey Faragher.

Following the familiar AGM format, a series of resolutions were passed including the election of two council officers:

• David Lindsall as Honorary Treasurer;

• And Marek Ziebart as Chair of the Remuneration Committee (pictured in group photo, seated, second from left)

Three members were nominated into council: Peter Douglas, James Foong and Tom Southall.

Ramsey reminded everyone of the RINs strategic focus, emphasising our status as a learned society to promote better education and understanding of navigation. He continued “we've focused on expanding support for our members—introducing a mentoring scheme for professional chartership and advancing diversity and inclusion through inclusive language; such as rebranding the Young Persons Network to Early Careers Network.”

TopNav 2025 Award Winners

AGM guests helped celebrate the winners of TopNav, RIN’s annual navigation competition for light aircraft, microlights, helicopters and motorgliders held each Spring and delivered by the General Aviation Navigation Group (GANG). This year's rankings were:

• Runners-Up: Richard Pollock, Paul Stafford and Nadir Miheisi

• Best Youth: Julian Robinson and Karina Swinhoe-Standen (group photo: front row, third from left)

• Overall Winner: Navigator: Alice Robinson and Pilot: Simon Cassia (both pictured front row, middle and third from right)

New RIN Fellows

Every year we welcome a new cohort of RIN Fellows and recognise their contributions to the field of navigation. This year, Fellowship of the RIN has been awarded to the following:

• Desmond Donworth - In recognition of longstanding leadership in new international training standards. standards and assurance (far right)
• Ivan Petrunin - In recognition of fundamental research in resilient PNT (back row, third from left)
• Phil Froom - In recognition of significant contributions to the deployment of protected PNT in NATO forces.
• Mike Knott - In recognition of longstanding leadership in maritime standards and improving safety at sea.
• Kimon Voutsis - In recognition of contributions to advanced GNSS testing to the RIN's Chartered Engineer mentoring programme (far left)
• George Shaw - In recognition of outstanding contributions to maritime navigation.
• Ivana-Maria Carrioni-Burnett - In recognition of a significant role as a Marine Pilot Ambassador and  notable leadership within RIN's Maritime community.
• Rui Zuo - In recognition of significant contributions to the development of LEO PNT systems (back row, fourth from left)
• Ian Herbert-Jones - In recognition of significant contributions to the practice and promotion of traditional navigation skills (seated front row, far right)
• Nigel Rennie - In recognition of longstanding contributions to the practice and promotion of astro navigation (seated, second from right)
• Ling Yang - In recognition of significant work in GNSS reliability and integrity theory
  
  

Honorary Fellowships

• Sir Peter Knight - pictured below. In recognition of an outstanding contribution to the field of navigation through a masterful understanding of both quantum science and government thinking.
• Kevin Mcgloughlin In recognition of a sustained contribution to the area of secured navigation and space security.
  

Invited Talks

Dr Todd Humphreys (pictured below) gave a brilliantly illustrative lecture which examined the motives, patterns, and techniques of GNSS spoofing, from the earliest controlled laboratory demonstrations to the most sophisticated recent manifestations.

Ramsey commented on Linkedin: “In my twenty years or so of attending Royal Institute of Navigation Annual General Meetings I have never experienced the entire audience gasp in shocked unison. The moment that Todd Humphreys revealed that a sudden reduction in GNSS signal quality had not just been detected at one ground station, or even just a local collection of ground reference stations simultaneously, but had in fact blanketed all of Europe - in other words, a satellite-based jammer had been detected.”

We were fortunate to hear from Professor Chris Johnson, Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). He spoke about the importance of a thriving PNT ecosystem, essential for national resilience, and referenced our collaborative publishing of the World’s first set of best practice principles and checklist for resilient PNT for businesses.

RIN Awards 2025

 There were three recipients of the 2025 J.E.D. Williams Medal for an outstanding contribution to the affairs of the Institute:

• Tom Willems - In recognition of proactive, helpful and insightful advice and expertise to RIN to enable delivery of a highly-successful European Navigation Conference 2024
• Peter Chapman Andrew - In recognition of longstanding service as Director of the RIN, and significant contributions to the RIN maritime community and to the Royal Navy
• John Pottle - In recognition of outstanding services as Director, increasing RIN's influence and impact, including through the difficult COVID era

A new recognition for this year, Certificate of Achievement, was presented to Andrew Eccelestone for leading the organisation of the speaker programme for the Joint RIN/Royal Meteorological Society Weather and Sailing Conferences for the last decade

The W.G.P. Lamb Award acknowledges a contribution to a more navigable world by a younger person. Well known in the quantum PNT industry, this year's winner was Kieran Bjergstrom, in recognition of growing thought leadership in Quantum PNT and in driving collaboration and innovation within the PNT community.

The Spirent Sustainability Through Navigation Award for the application of positioning, navigation and timing towards a more sustainable future was awarded to Marek Ziebart in recognition of his outstanding contributions to space sustainability, and for advancing responsible practices that ensure the long-term usability of the space environment.

The final award of the afternoon was the Harold Spencer-Jones Gold Medal, in recognition of an outstanding contribution to navigation. This is the highest accolade awarded by the RIN.

Our President, Professor Washington Yotto Ochieng presented the 2025 award to Todd Humphreys (pictured above), in recognition of world-leading research into global GNSS threats, and pioneering improvements to the resilience of positioning, navigation, and timing systems.

Washington brought the AGM to a close, he stated “This is a very exciting period for the RIN – we have a bright orange future! I encourage you all to engage fully with your Institute working to expand our membership and championing any area of our activities. Heartfelt congratulations to those elected to serve in various roles, our new Fellows, new Chartered Engineers and all award winners. I wish us all a most productive, enjoyable and healthy period ahead, and look forward to reporting on further successes at the 2026 AGM.” Washington’s closing statement can be found here.

We’ll provide a full write-up in the next issue of Navigation News, our bi-monthly printed magazine for members.

Interested in joining us?

The RIN's activities cover the full breadth of navigation and precise timing, spanning land, sea, air and space and includes animal navigation, human cognition, navigable cities and buildings and all domains of the practice of navigation.

Please take a look at our membership page for more information.

AGM 2025 Photo Gallery - please view here. (access: rinagm2025) If sharing photos, please credit Royal Institute of Navigation and/or tag us in your posts

Dick Smith, pictured left, receiving his Ruby Badge award for 50+ years of support of the RIN.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency have reached out to let us know that they are planning to merge the legacy Liverpool Maritime Safety Information (MSI) broadcast schedule (Holyhead B) into a single Holyhead broadcast on 27 February 2025.
 
At present MRCC Holyhead provide 2 broadcasts for the same sea area. An internal review identified the opportunity to help improve and streamline the service provided by merging them into 1. This is a minor change and is not expected to have any significant impact on the end user; with initial announcements on Ch.16 continuing to direct seafarers to the appropriate channel. 
 
They have engaged the Irish Coastguard to ensure there is no mutual interference with their broadcasts, as well as presenting the proposal to local stakeholders in the area and the Local Resilience Forum. No comments were received.    
 
The change involves moving the Holyhead MSI broadcast times (Holyhead A)  from existing time slot of HH:50 to the legacy Liverpool time slot of HH:30. To reduce any potential interference with Snaefell radio site, Great Orme radio site will be changed from MSI Channel 64 to MSI Channel 62:
 

by John Hasselgren

Another year has gone by and it was again time for the Small Craft Group to accept the hospitality of the Little Ship Club and to arrange a speaker for them.

This year’s talk was by Ella Hibbert, who very animatedly and enthusiastically described her plans to sail single-handed round the Arctic Ocean by way of both the North-West Passage and the North-East Passage. By this large undertaking Ella intends to draw attention to the changes that this part of the world is having inflicted on it by human activity, in particular by climate change. It will also be the first voyage of this kind and, as well as raising awareness of the state of the Arctic, it is expected to raise funds for two charities – Polar Bears International and Ocean Conservancy. The first is seeking to conserve polar bears which are under threat of reducing numbers due to loss of habitat, the second attempting to conserve the unregulated Arctic Ocean from mass exploitation and pollution.

Ella described herself as being used to a rather nomadic life due to her father having been a serving soldier who was relocated several times while she was growing up. Now 28 years old, she is a RYA Yachtmaster Instructor and a PADI Divemaster. She is bi-lingual and well travelled, and has a passion to preserve the oceans.

The first job when preparing for this voyage was to find a suitable boat. Ella had definite views on what she wanted.  Firstly, it must be sturdy and capable of  coping with ice conditions. This dictated a steel hull. Next requirement was for steering from inside a wheel house to allow an escape from the weather. Other desirable features were a sensible length; not too long to give manoeuvrability around ice and a reputable design that could be rigged for single-handed sailing. Quite by chance, while running a sailing school course, Ella berthed alongside what she realized was the right vessel, Yeva, a 38 foot Bruce Roberts designed steel ketch. Asking if Yeva was for sale, Ella found that she was, and then had to secure the funding to buy and refit her.

Seeking sponsorship Ella was supported in Spring 2024 by several companies, the main one being capital.com, a financial investment company. Beyond this, though, are a long list of marine companies giving their products, time or equipment to this project. A full list of all these can be found on Ella’s website, ellainthearctic.co.uk.

Yeva has been given a full refit, including a repaint, new sails with both standing and running rigging, and several items designed to minimize any impact on the environment. These include a watermaker, both a solar panel and a hydro-generator to provide electrical power, self-steering and a heater. One innovation is a filtration system fitted to the bilge pump outlet that will remove micro-plastic that now seems to be found in all oceans.

Moving on to her desire to preserve the oceans, and particularly the Arctic Ocean, Ella spoke passionately of some of the problems. Unlike the Antarctic, there is no International Agreement on the ownership or use of the Arctic area, and no treaty to limit the pollution from oil and plastic. With the withdrawal of the ice there are likely to be conflicting demands for the exploitation of the mineral resources that have, until recently, been out of reach. There is the prospect that the Arctic could be free of ice by 2028, which, with the melting  of the Greenland ice sheet, will cause a large rise in sea level. Additionally, the darker colour of the unfrozen sea compared with the original ice will cause a reduction in the reflection of sunlight, thus increasing global warming. There will be the prospect of wild fires in the northern Russian forests. All this leads to Ella’s desire that her voyage will not contribute to any of these problems, and to many of the changes made to, and included on board, Yeva. The water generator, for example, will, given a speed of three knots, produce more electricity than Yeva consumes.

Last year, 2024, between July and October, Ella and Yeva undertook a shake-down voyage of 3,500 nautical miles, from the UK to Norway, with crew, then single handed to Longyearbyen on Svalbard and back. At Bear Island Ella experienced a total steering failure. She also had some flooding and a non-working bilge pump, leading to the need to pump manually. With advice and help to fix these difficulties, Ella then sailed back to Shetland before returning to the UK.

The yacht is currently undergoing a refit to counter problems discovered on shake-down voyage. “Is any boat ever truly finished?”, asked Ella.  She has now moved back on board and is getting on with some of the jobs. Amongst other things she is undertaking instruction in electricity and electronics with a view to becoming self-sufficient in these areas. 

One major effort is getting all the necessary permits and visas; so far the Russians have approved Ella’s plans, have accepted the boat’s survey and provided a list of ports that could be used if needed. Canada seems to be slightly slower in this regard. Before the planned departure date of May 2025 Ella plans to do more sea trials. In the mean time she will be giving talks and interviews  to schools, groups and clubs as well as using social media to raise awareness of the environmental issues.

More details are available on social media using the address @ellainthearctic.

Once again, Ella insisted that this is not a record attempt, but a wake-up call.

Once the journey is over, Ella plans to put Yeva up for sale by auction, with the proceeds being shared between the two charities, Polar Bears International and Ocean Conservancy.

During questions Ella stated that she has fitted Granny Bars at the main mast for safety when working there and that the winches are not self-tailing, needing two hands to work them.

On weather forecasts she told us that her father flew helicopters in the Army for 20 years and is used to looking at forecasts. He will be checking relevant forecasts and forwarding them to her.

Daily video reports from automatic cameras on board can be expected, but are dependent on the availability of the internet wherever she happens to be.

She would like to make the voyage non-stop, but needs to consider supplies. She would prefer to avoid stocking up in Russia, although they have suggested suitable ports.

On being asked if she would be collecting water samples, Ella said that although this would be ideal it wasn’t possible. The equipment to analyse the samples would be too bulky and heavy to carry. The alternative would be to have sufficient fridge space to return the samples for on-shore analysis.

On charts, Ella said she would be carrying both paper and electronic charts from the USA, Canada and Norway. Russian charts would be useful, although they were not easy to obtain.

At the end of the meeting Paul Bryans thanked the Little Ship Club for hosting us, and Ella for a fascinating and enthusiastic presentation.

Catch up on one of RIN's 150+ webinars over the Christmas period.

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• GNSS Spoofing for Civil Aviation (Originally broadcast on 26 November 2024)

by Kim Fisher

This was a standard five-day meeting of the Committee chaired again by Mrs Mayte Medina of the USA. It was a very busy meeting but the Chair, very commendably, managed to get through all the agenda.

Concerns were raised again about the ongoing conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine and its effects on international shipping and seafarers and the security situation in the Red Sea region particularly the fate of the MV Galaxy Leader whose crew is still  being held hostage.

Work continued in a working group on Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) towards developing a voluntary MASS Code for cargo ships. A correspondence group and an intersessional working group had been active before the meeting. Three chapters have now been completed and the other chapters are under way. Work will continue in an intersessional working group.

Work continued on the development of a safety regulatory framework to support the reduction of GHG emissions from ships using new technologies and alternative fuels. A correspondence group and an intersessional working group had been active before the meeting. The list of alternative fuels and new technologies were updated. Work will continue in a correspondence group.

The output from the meeting of the sub-committee on Navigation, Communications, Search and Rescue (NCSR) which had taken place from the 4 to 13 June 2024 was agreed. The draft amendments to SOLAS regulation V/23 on pilot transfer were approved together with revised performance standards for pilot transfer arrangements, and a Circular on voluntary early implementation of the revised SOLAS V/23. An input from the USA reported on the issue of the ineffectiveness of the radar search and rescue transponder (SART) due to the need to specially set up a ship’s radar in order to detect it. An SN Circular was prepared to give guidance.

A working group considered the issue of the work load of the Committee and the Sub-Committees following the Chair’s concerns at the last meeting. This resulted in amendments to the Committees’ method of work and a revision of the terms of reference of some of the Sub-Committees.

The previous meeting had extended the moratorium on the submission of proposals for new work but even so nine proposals had been received. The Chair decided to consider two of these because they involved IMO involvement in other organizations. The first concerned development of a transition scheme for the introduction of digital technology to VHF voice communications. The Committee agreed to add this to the NCSR work programme. The second concerned the development of guidance to establish a framework for data distribution and global Internet Protocol (IP)-based connectivity in order to realise the full potential of Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) using S-100 products. There was considerable debate on this which finally resulted in the proposal being also added to the NCSR work programme.


The next meeting has been scheduled for 18 to 27 June 2025. The next meeting of NCSR has been scheduled for 13 to 22 May 2025.

Report by John Hasselgren

With a talk entitled “Going Solo”, Ian Herbert-Jones entertained the audience at the Small Craft Group's sponsored evening at the Cruising Association’s headquarters. Giving a brief history, Ian said that he had served in the British Army, which is where he learnt to sail. Following a career in technology, Ian then became interested in the Golden Globe Race, described as the World’s longest and loneliest race, especially due to its lack of modern technology.

As Round the World yacht racing developed it became more and more a matter of money, expensive large vessels with enormous shore teams supporting the single or multiple crew on board. The Golden Globe harks back to the original single-handed Round the World Race won by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in 1969.

Founded by Don McIntyre in 2018, the 50th Anniversary of the original single-handed, round-the-world race, the rules stipulate that the vessels and their equipment must be similar to that available in 1969. Yachts must be between 32 ft and 35 ft overall (9.75 m and 10.97 m), designed before 1988 and have a long keel with the rudder attached to the trailing edge. Modern technology is not allowed, so navigation comes back to the use of a sextant; no outside help may be obtained during the race, and autopilots are banned.

The course runs from Les Sables-d’Olonne, 30 thousand miles non-stop around the world via the Great Capes and back to Les Sables-d’Olonne.

Ian signed up for the race in 2018 and needed to find a suitable boat. Puffin was the result; a Tradewind 35 class yacht, she had been around the world in the Race once before. Following the purchase in France, she was then sailed back to Wales for preparation.

Despite being a single-handed race, Ian stressed the need for a large team, mainly for the preparation. Apart from his family – Ian said it was selfish of him to go – he was greatly assisted by Jade Edwards-Leaney, the rigger at HJ Sailing, who became the manager of the project and, as Ian said, trained both the boat and himself. The refit was a three-year project. The rig was changed to have three headsails, with all running rigging being led aft to the cockpit. The companionway to the accommodation was fitted with a sealable, watertight door. With no autopilot being allowed, a wind-vane self-steering gear had to be fitted, but because a regular weekly radio call to Don McIntyyre was required, a battery charger was allowed. A two-burner alcohol stove was fitted, and safety straps were attached to the bunk. Despite the race being non-stop round the world there are gates through which the yachts are expected to pass. These are located at the major turning points close to the Great Capes. At these, the competitors are met by a RIB for the collection of “films” and letters home; they may also have letters and messages read to them.

Prior to the race, Ian had to complete a 4,000-mile qualifying passage, undertake a Sea Survival course, a First Aid course and be instructed on astro-navigation. In the final days before the start, Ian’s wife Sally helped prepare 300 day-packs of food, and 300 litres of water was taken on board, with the expectation of topping this up with rainwater.

Two weeks before the Race the boats gathered at Les Sables-d’Olonne. All the Boats lined up and it was apparent that only sixteen of those who signed up were going to start. There were large crowds viewing the boats. Suddenly it was time to go!

On the first stage from Les Sables-d’Olonne to Lanzarote there was a Biscay gale for four or five days. This saw the first retirement from the event. The next leg from Lanzarote to Cape Town, some 6,000 nm, involved crossing the Doldrums. Sailing to cross the Equator at 28˚ West and avoid the Azores high, Ian and Puffin found light airs and calms that seemed to have drifted into the South East Trades. Because of this Ian was late at Cape Town; he could have missed the gate and accepted a penalty, but decided to go into Table Bay. Here, he dropped his sails, flew the correct flags and a RIB came out to meet him. His family thought that he might drop out of the race here. Ian didn’t but four others did. After thirty minutes Ian sailed on, heading for Hobart 6,000 nautical miles away.

This leg involved crossing the Aghulas Current into the Southern Indian Ocean and getting into the Roaring Forties. For safety reasons competitors in the race should not go below 45˚ South. The next gate was at Storm Bay in Tasmania. Before arriving there Ian had missed family birthdays and Christmas, although he did decorate Puffin for the latter. On arrival at Storm Bay on Day 135 of his voyage, only two weeks ahead of the cut-off date for leaving towards Cape Horn (another safety rule), Puffin had to secure to a mooring for 24 hours to simulate Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s time anchored during his first race.

The leg from Hobart to Cape Horn involved dropping below New Zealand, then moving north again to stay above 45˚ South. Gales seemed to arrive every three days. But, as Ian quoted, “Nobody said it would be easy”. Race headquarters occasionally issued warnings of severe weather to the competitors. Ian had just made landfall when he was told of a gale approaching the continental shelf around Cape Horn. Putting out a drogue – a long line with several small parachutes along it – Ian found his self-steering gear beginning to fail. Despite unsuccessful attempts to repair the gear, Ian found in the morning that the drogue had wrapped around the self-steering rudder, causing it to fracture. Ian had to hand steer round Cape Horn. In came another weather warning advising everyone to get off the Continental Shelf and into deeper water. Managing to get Puffin into the Beagle Channel, Ian anchored north of Picton Island, where SV Jonathan, which was already there, advised and assisted with the repair of the damage. Because of this outside assistance, Puffin had to drop out of the main race and go into the Chichester Class.

Departing after some 3 to 4 days at anchor, Ian started on the passage home. Rounding Staten Island (Isla de los Estados) he realised that he was still below 45˚ south and winter was coming on. For the first few days the Falklands Current helped get Puffin to the North, but a week of headwinds pushed her east for about 1,000 nm until she was somewhere about 400 to 500 nm North of South Georgia. That was when Race Control came in with a storm warning for the South Atlantic. Ian was advised to sail South to keep out of the worst of the storm, but it still managed to overtake him.

With a tiny scrap of foresail, Ian was having to help the self-steering gear. Puffin was knocked down a couple of times and the waterproof hatch to the accommodation was leaking. On going below to inform Race Control of his situation, Ian is sure the boat capsized, perhaps was even rolled right over. The mast had broken and there was two feet of water inside Puffin and Ian had injured his shoulder and back. As he said, he went into survival mode, moving from Low Tech to High Tech: he triggered his EPIRB. The lockers were checked for leaks and he discovered that all the water had entered via one broken hatch. Deploying his drogue, Ian tried to cut away the broken mast to prevent it from damaging the hull. Working on deck was almost impossible and Ian was saved from being washed overboard by his safety harness. When he contacted Race Control via a satellite phone, Ian found that they were concerned because he had missed a scheduled routine contact. Of the ships in relative proximity, two were unable to assist due to the weather, and a new Fishery Control Ship being sent to the Falklands was 30 hours away, but a Taiwanese fishing vessel, the Zi Da Wang, was on its way and was closer. Hearing what he assumed to be Mandarin on the radio, the fishing vessel suddenly appeared. The skipper went beam on to create a lee and she drifted down onto Puffin in what Ian described as a controlled crash with the 70-metre steel ship. By now the seas were down to about 2 to 4 metres and a line was thrown to Puffin on the third go. With two lines attached and 46 faces looking down, a pilot ladder was lowered; Ian took two steps up it before he was grabbed and hauled over the rail. Once he was safely on board, the lines were cut, and Puffin left to her fate.

On board the Zi Da Wang, Ian found himself to be of interest to the crew, who were on their way home with a hold full of squid. They treated him kindly, offering him clothes and cigarettes, and relied on unusually named Davey Jones, who had the most English, to look after him. Ian’s comment was that these fishermen, whom he suspected had very little, were happy to share everything with him. For the first 24 hours Ian explored all over the ship. He ate his meals with the different watches and in ten days they reached Cape Town. Here, said Ian, the world of publicity hit him. 

The Golden Globe race was nearing its end. Ian was able to fly back to Les Sables-d’Olonne, arriving just in time to welcome the winner, Kirsten Neuschäfer, as she arrived.

The tracker on Puffin failed 24 hours after Ian’s rescue, so, sadly, it is assumed that she sank.

Following questions from the audience, Paul Bryans, Chairman of the Small Craft Group, thanked Ian for his fascinating talk, and the Cruising Association for their hospitality in hosting us.

by John Hasselgren

I was privileged to attend this annual meeting at Trinity House in November. Unlike those before COVID-19, and that held last year on board THV Galatea, this was a hybrid meeting, with some being physically present and others attending online.

The recently appointed Deputy Master, Rear Admiral Iain Lower, introduced himself, explaining that another meeting would shortly require him to depart. Before doing so, he welcomed us and stressed the importance of these user group meetings. Trinity House’s new strategies were detailed in the Forward Plan launched in March. Feedback on this would be required. Its focus was on delivering safety and honouring Trinity House's heritage while still encouraging innovation. This would assist the nation’s economy and security. An innovative mix of real and virtual Aids to Navigation would be used, together with smart buoys with a longer life. Replacement vessels were to be sought; Patricia was now 44 years old, and Galatea 25 years.

After Iain Lower had departed, Commodore Nigel Hare, Director of Navigational Requirements, chaired the meeting. The Terms of Reference for this user group were introduced, stating that it hadn’t been updated for several years. Attendees were listed – one from the RIN – but we were assured that additions could be made and that it would be appreciated if requests to do so were made very soon, preferably within a week.


The meeting now moved on to recent and current issues:

In the Thames Estuary, Long Sand Head, which had been stable for several years was now moving North and had crossed the direct line between two buoys. This is a crucial area as the sandbank is likely to intrude into the Sunk TSS off Harwich. One buoy had been repositioned and a new one, East Long Sand Head - East Cardinal - instituted.

In the Stanford Channel the Holm Sand is migrating South and it is now only possible to mark a 4.5 metre contour.

Bishop Rock LH. The AIS signal ceased to operate. Since the nearest available helicopter to get a crew to the lighthouse to fix the problem was in Scotland, a virtual AIS mark was transmitted from St. Just with a 30-mile range. Unfortunately, this wasn’t receivable onboard ships at sea. To solve this range problem engineers installed a mobile AIS station at Peninnis Head on St. Mary’s until the one in the lighthouse could be replaced.

At Brancaster the wreck of the Vina, the marking of which TH took over in 1998, sits on the drying line and is now reported to becoming covered by the moving sand bank. As a result, the beacon marking it, used by local fishermen, is not easily visible. It is to be raised by 2 metres.

TH is aware of 9 new wrecks, leisure or fishing vessels, and has attended 7 of them. Lady Maureen was located with sonar by THV Patricia, with the search completed by RIB from THV Mair. In 24 metres depth there was no need to mark this. Similarly, the wreck of Skomar was found by THV Galatea with 8.5 metres over her, and no need to mark.

Andy Holt, Deputy Director of Navigation, reported a struggle to meet the schedule of maintenance due to the availability of vessels and the turnover of staff. Even so, maintenance was still ahead of IALA requirements. The moorings of Sandettie LV have been replaced and those for Fox Trot 3 LV are due to be done. A contract for the provision of helicopters for maintenance of isolated AtoNs is being pursued. Moving on to the vessels, THV Alert is having an extensive refit  in Lowestoft; the hydraulics are a serious problem. THV Patricia is now ‘delicate’, but her systems are mostly analogue so can be remade and replaced. However, she has bow thruster problems. THV Mair is a mainly west coast vessel, often used in conjunction with a RIB. She works mainly on beacons.

Lighthouses due for modernisation this year are Needles, Trevose Head and Pendeen. There will be system upgrades for the red light sectors at Nash Point, South Bishop and Dungeness. High-pressure mercury lamps (MBI) will be replaced at Bull Point, Round Island and Bamburgh Head. Projects agreed are those at Coquet, Cromer and Trevose Head, while modernization of Skerries has started.

The removal of the Royal Sovereign Lighthouse continues. The top accommodation section was removed in 2023, with the materials being recycled for the construction industry, and the pillar on which it stood is now being dismantled. Four cardinal buoys mark the site and will remain until surveys show the area is safe for navigation. 

Wolf Rock Tower has been repointed and inspected.

Adrian Oliver, Project Director, is responsible for the replacement of Patricia and Galatea. The basic technical specification has been agreed upon for two identical vessels. Engagement with the industry for the procurement is ongoing and it is hoped that approval will be given later this year.

Dr. Alan Grant, Head of Research, spoke of the areas covered by GRAD. These were:

Visual signalling.  
Assessment of the effectiveness of lighthouse and buoy lamps and the development of GLAs’ own LED sources, checking the long-term deterioration of LEDs and investigating how autonomous vessels will observe AtoNs.

Resilient PNT.        
Monitoring the performance and integrity of GNSS at several sites around the UK and looking at radar absolute positioning and other complementary PNT systems.

S-100 data structure.  
How different equipment and users will share data.

Digital services.
How do we authenticate virtual AtoNs, and can machine learning and AI identify failures before they occur?

One item of great interest to me is East Goodwin Lightvessel which is being replaced by a buoy since, with the accuracy of GNSS, many ships pass between it and the Goodwin Sands, and it has become a hazard itself. As AtoNs have a secondary role in helping position finding in the event of failure of other systems, I asked if the characteristic of the light could be something other than a single flash, from which is almost impossible to take a bearing at night from a small yacht. The light vessel is to be replaced by an East Cardinal Buoy with the characteristic three flashes.

By John Hasselgren

This year’s version of this oft-repeated event took place at the Royal Yacht Squadron's Castle in Cowes at the invitation of the Royal Yacht Squadron. Those of us who arrived on Friday to help set up the event were made welcome by the staff and enjoyed a very good dinner, with most staying in the Squadron’s overnight accommodation.

The following morning, once the delegates had arrived and had coffee, we were welcomed by the Commodore of the RYS, Sir James Holman. He assured us that the Squadron was delighted to host the Conference and informed us that the Castle wasn’t a sailing club but a home. We were cordially invited to treat it as our home for the day. Professor Liz Bentley, Chief Executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, added her welcome to that of Sir James and thanked Andrew Eccleston, who had arranged the speakers for the day; indeed, Andrew arranged speakers for the very first of these Conferences in November 2001, and every one since.

 

During the morning we saw three presentations covering Weather Routing, Ocean Racing and the use of Wind and Tidal Currents in Marine Operations.

Chris Tibbs opened the proceedings by talking about weather routing. Which route to take for long-distance sailors will depend on acceptable risk levels; when racing speed is important, when cruising comfort may be preferred. Sail or power, displacement or planing, will alter the decision, as will personal preferences and the time available. Polar diagrams of wind conditions are considered more useful but are most accurate for light displacement boats in smooth water. Realistically these will usually be 80%, or lower, correct for offshore cruising. On shorter routes such as cross-Channel, high-resolution weather models are available, which may need altering according to coastal conditions. During these shorter passages, there is likely to be only a small change in the weather. On longer routes, one must consider the accuracy of and confidence in the forecast. Does it look right? It is best to compare multiple models of the weather and to split the route into shorter sections. Weather routing is a powerful tool, but it is important to be realistic. Weather is dynamic and it is humans that sail boats.

Winner of the Golden Globe Race, Kirsten Neuschäfer, was unable to be present. However, she was represented by a video of her being interviewed by Paul Heiney. This took place on zoom, each participant being in their own home. 

Paul Freeman from TideTech started with some history, informing us that Benjamin Franklin had helped all those years ago to track the Gulf Stream. Now, though, we have traditional routing charts and a general overview of ocean currents. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) became famous with its East Australian Current (EAC) project by tracking fish along the coast. It also produced diagrams of seasonal current variations for the area. NASA altimetry satellites are also showing more accurate recent maps of ocean currents. Atmospheric forecasts are usually good for five days, sometimes extending to ten days. It is possible to select the altitude of the forecast, suitable for airmen, but the normal surface forecast is for ten metres above the ground or sea surface. For marine data for sailors, we were asked to consider the passage plan, the general location - ocean, coastal, local – the length of time, and the ability to obtain updates via radio or the internet. All this information can be obtained from the Met Office, Météo–France, Bureau of Meteorology Australia, TideTech, DTN˚, SPIRE, and NOAA Copernicus satellite.

In the question session before lunch, the following topics were raised:
• The use of AI in forecasting.
• The fact that only 3% of merchant ships are reporting weather conditions at sea.
• GRIB files don’t show weather fronts – advice, look at the rainfall charts.
• The effect of the jet stream.

Following an excellent lunch, Anahita Laverack enthralled the delegates with details of autonomous micro-sailing vessels designed to collect data from the oceans. Starting as a dinghy sailor before moving into yachting, Anahita’s thesis for her Masters Degree was on sailboat autopilots. This led to the start-up of Oshen, which is designing and building microvessels to easily collect ocean data, normally the province of large and costly equipment that is difficult to transport and deploy. Ocean data is required in many fields such as climate modelling, weather forecasting, Safety at Sea, offshore energy development and shipping routing. Currently, it comes from drifting buoys, satellites and large / existing autonomous sailing vessels. The microvessels, about 1 metre long, can be carried by one person and launched easily from a ship, a jetty or even a beach. Movement is powered by wind, and instruments by solar power with battery back-up. They look to be similar to Junk rigged, with a deep bulb keel. Initial challenges were the breaking of components, roll stability and waterproofing. The vessels can be programmed to follow a route or to remain in one location despite ocean currents. Initial tests were done in the Irish Sea withstanding winds of force 6, to prove hardware robustness and check data collection. Commercially DEFRA is interested in biodiversity and improving marine mammal monitoring, requiring a navigation algorithm change; a fleet with improved design is currently building.  The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has had one vessel operating in Monterey Bay for six months, and one patrolling across the Bristol Channel recently showed in advance the approach of very heavy rain.

Dale Smyth told us how the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race was run. Being different from other Round the World races, it didn’t require massive budgets nor involve professional adventurers.  Instead, the crews were ordinary people, paying and sailing under a professional Skipper and Mate. Being run every other year, the non-race years were spent giving the yachts a major overhaul and refit, seeking financial partners and training crews. The route for the race is broken into several legs, currently eight, with participants sailing one, more, or even all legs. Instead of rounding Cape Horn, the race crosses the North Pacific Ocean and then through the Panama Canal. An unusual concession is to the Doldrums; competitors can use engines to motor part of the way through this band of light or non-existent winds, which extends from 12˚ N to 2˚N. However, they can only motor through any 6˚ of Latitude within this band and may not leave the area until 60 hours have elapsed. Different weather conditions are to be expected for different legs; one main consideration is the need to be clear of the Caribbean by late June to avoid the hurricane season. There are extra points available beyond those for places in each leg of the race; these can be earned by sailing through ‘gates’ off the direct route from South Africa to Western Australia, by being the fastest boat between two latitude lines in the North Atlantic on the final leg and for the greatest distance sailed in any 24 hours.
 
A double act from James Scott and Cameron Hicks, both from the RNLI, gave a great insight into how the weather affected their operations. Coming from The Plymouth Lifeboat Station they were used to operating a Severn Class All-weather Lifeboat and an Atlantic 85 Inshore boat. The total crew of 28 experienced varied conditions from flat calm when in the Harbour and upriver to horrendously rough out at sea. These conditions would influence the decision to launch and which assets (which boat) to use. They may also see the need to call in a helicopter and the local Coastguard team. Casualty safety and condition, the impact on operational plans and search patterns were all affected by the weather.  Their interest was really in the sea state, wind speed and direction, visibility (sun, rain, snow, fog), water temperature, sunrise/set and tides (time of both high and low water). Forecasts were obtained from observations (looking out of window), local harbour readings, Marine Safety Information broadcasts, a local weather station and online. Weather could also limit the use of individual boats and their area of operation, especially concerning speed. There was also the problem of searching in the dark. When searching for a casualty, several different patterns were used. If a person is in the water, tidal drift would be factored in and leeway calculated. In 5 knots of wind, a person would be expected to drift 0.6 cable in an hour, 30 knots 2 cables. These calculations were all done with the aid of drift tables.

At this point in the Conference, Prof. Liz Bentley had to leave to travel to Heathrow for a flight to Baku in Azerbaijan to attend the COP 29 Conference. 

At the end of the afternoon, Tapio Lehtinen recounted his experiences in ocean racing, including his sinking and rescue in the 2022 Golden Globe Race. We were given a history of round-the-world sailing, starting with the last great grain race between full-rigged sailing ships in 1939 - 40, which followed the ocean wind patterns around the world. Frances Chichester made the first single-handed voyage around the world; then Robin Knox-Johnston became the first to do it non-stop. Now, we have regular races, both crewed and single-handed. Tapio himself has a long history of long-distance racing, including Round Britain, Whitbread Round-the-World, OSTAR, AZAB, Newport - Bermuda and two Golden Globes. In the 2022 Golden Globe race, when in the Southern Indian Ocean, despite having had a major refit, his boat Astoria sank following a rapid unidentified water intake in the stern.  Within 20 minutes she had gone. Rapidly donning a survival suit, Tapio launched the life raft, picked up his grab-bag and abandoned ship. His PLB brought him rescue in the form of Kirsten Neushäfer in Minnehaha, who picked him up and then transferred him to the bulk carrier Darya Gayatri. Undeterred, he then entered the 2023 Ocean Globe Race with a Finnish crew and completed it despite breaking the mast in the Fastnet race just 56 days before the start of the OGR.

All in all, it was an interesting and enjoyable day. The Royal Yacht Squadron and its Commodore, Sir James Holman, are to be thanked for their excellent hospitality.

The Space Applications Learning Hub (SALHUB) is one of five new projects recently announced by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) to help tackle key skills gaps identified by the recent  UK space sector skills survey. This UKSA funding has been provided to boost the availability of training and to break down barriers to opportunities within the fast-growing, high-tech sector.  

The SALHUB is led by the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN) together with expert partners Space Professionals Partnership Limited (SPPL), Geospatial Ventures Limited (GVL) and Space Skills Alliance (SSA). 

This project will deliver expert-led training modules in systems engineering, data/artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) and commercial operations across positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), Earth observation (EO/GIS) and satellite communications (SatComms).   

Training across these three domains of PNT, EO and SatComms will be delivered both online and in-person. Online training will be delivered between 30 September and 6 December 2024 (see initial schedule below), and in-person training will be delivered in early 2025, with a 5-day course for each domain.

All courses during the grant period are open, available to all and free to attend. All courses, particularly the in-person courses, may well fill quickly so please register your interest here to be first to hear when booking opens.

Expert-led Training 

The RIN is a widely respected UK learned society and professional body. RIN domain experts supported the work resulting in the October 2023 Policy Framework for greater PNT resilience.   

The SALHUB project will build upon the RIN’s acclaimed earlier PNT training  by introducing domain experts GVL and SPPL to develop high quality training courses for PNT (led by RIN), EO (GVL) and SatComms (SPPL).

Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Training

PNT enables all aspects of everyday life, from smartphone apps to enabling critical infrastructure such as communications and power networks. PNT is a growing area and our courses are designed for anyone considering moving into a sector using PNT, anyone who has just made that move, or indeed those wanting new insights and to deepen PNT skills. Courses will be offered at foundation and intermediate level.  

The foundation courses will provide a vital bedrock of awareness and knowledge needed by everyone involved in using or specifying positioning or timing as part of a system or application. Intermediate level courses go deeper, into system engineering design, data analytics for PNT systems and how to interpret and apply PNT data, including use of AI/ML techniques. 

In a little more detail: the PNT course initial delivery will span a series of webinar sessions to be delivered in late 2024 (see dates below) and will address how to write positioning and timing system specifications for any use case, best practices for resilient PNT, a review of data sources, types of data and outputs from positioning and timing systems, interpretation and analysis of PNT data and a special module on timing. There will be modules on bringing everything together into a system-of-systems capable of performing resiliently. We will also cover how to track and maintain performance for your use case, flagging issues and how to plan to address them.

In early 2025, the PNT courses will be also delivered in a week-long block in-person in London, where the above modules will be complemented by additional hands-on workshops and using real data sets and tools.

Earth Observation (EO) & Graphical Information System (GIS) Training

EO and GIS are an integral part of the operations of a wide array of organisations. These skills are increasingly in demand across the widest range of sectors & span disciplines from understanding online mapping systems & environmental monitoring to urban planning. Our EO and GIS courses are designed for anyone considering moving into the space or indeed anyone with a desire to understand the use and applications of EO and GIS. They are also relevant to people seeking new insights or those who are keen to deepen the EO and GIS skills. Our courses will be aimed at foundation skills with learning moving to intermediate levels at later stages.

The Earth Observation and GIS Training is a modular course providing both an overview of EO and GIS and detailed insights into EO and GIS systems and applications. The foundation level will include an Introduction to EO and GIS, covering an overview of EO and GIS, their uses and benefits, and different configurations (including satellite-based EO and GIS software).

More detailed modules will include Data Acquisition and Sources, covering the types of EO data (optical, radar, thermal) and GIS data sources (spatial databases, remote sensing, field surveys); Data Processing and Management, focusing on preprocessing EO data and managing GIS data; and System Specifications and Design, discussing how to write EO and GIS system specifications and design resilient systems. Further modules will explore Data Interpretation and Analysis, remote sensing techniques, AI/ML in EO and GIS, Performance Monitoring and Maintenance, and practical workshops using QGIS with Copernicus data. The course culminates with a module on System Integration and Application, considering technical and societal benefits of EO and GIS.

The initial online webinar course delivery will take place in late 2024. In early 2025, the course will be delivered in a week-long in-person training programme, including all the above modules, additional hands-on workshops, and real datasets and tools.

Satellite Communications (SatComms) Training

SAL-HUB will offer a modular course providing both an overview of Satellite communications and some detail in terms of Satcom systems and business needs.  The foundation level will include an Introduction to Satellite Communications covering an overview of uses and benefits, and different configurations (including low earth orbit and geostationary).

More detailed modules will include Use Cases to Requirements covering an understanding of common use cases for Satcom; Regulation & Standards; Satcom System Design including satellite capacity, ground segment system management and related services; network design and link budgets; Management Systems; 5G & Satellites; System Design and Business Requirements and Techno-Economic Analysis considering technical and societal benefits of SatComms.

Cross-Cutting themes in System Engineering, Data/AI/ML and Commercial Operations

Before the PNT, EO and SatComms courses begin, there will also be an introductory week of cross-cutting content that explores systems engineering, data/AI/ML and commercial operations. These sessions will cover foundational modules that will act as a leveller for attendees coming from different sectors. 

The System Engineering modules will include focus on system engineering from a space industry perspective and include an Introduction to Space System Engineering; System Context, Requirements and Design; and System Verification, Validation and Qualification.

The Data/AI/ML modules will focus on an introduction to the concepts of AI and ML from the  perspective of the space industry. They will include an introduction to AI and ML, satellite & space data contexts, data processing and also introduce task setting including supervised learning, un-supervised learning and reinforcement learning.

The Commercial Operations modules will provide an introduction to commercial skills aimed at space industry professionals. They will cover an overview of developing a Product and Service Strategy, Product and Service Launch and Access to Finance aimed at the space industry.

Online Training Dates 

The Cross Cutting Theme online sessions are planned for delivery from Monday 30 September to Friday 4 October, with 90-minute online sessions being held at 1100-1230 BST and 1300-1430 BST throughout the week.

The PNT course online sessions are planned for delivery from 1100-1230 BST (GMT after 27 Oct) every Monday from 7 October to 25 November. 

The EO course online sessions are planned for delivery from 1100-1230 BST (GMT after 27 Oct) every Wednesday from 9 October to 27 November. 

The SatComms course online sessions are planned for delivery from 1100-1230 BST (GMT after 27 Oct) every Friday from 11 October to 6 December.

Course Registration

The final touches are currently being made to the courses before we make them live to book online – if you’d like to be among the first to hear about it when registration becomes available then please register your interest at: https://rin.org.uk/page/SALHUBTraining

The RIN President announced at the 2024 AGM that HRH The Princess Royal has accepted the Patronage of the RIN. The Princess Royal has always showed a great interest in RIN’s work and we are delighted and most honoured to welcome her as Patron. 

The Princess Royal is only the second Patron in the RIN’s history. The late HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was actively involved in the RIN from its earliest days in 1947-8, and was Patron from 1953 until 2021. It is a wonderful honour to now have the support of HRH The Princess Royal as the second Patron of the RIN. The Princess Royal joined the RIN’s Annual Meeting in 2019 and also hosted a memorable 75th Anniversary Reception at St James’ Palace in December 2022. 

On behalf of the President, Council and all at the RIN we should like to thank Her Royal Highness for accepting the Patronage of the RIN. We very much look forward to discussing key topics of mutual interest, including safe navigation and resilient positioning and timing.

HRH The Princess Royal and Immediate Past President Cynthia Robinson OBE at the RIN’s
75th Anniversary Reception in December 2022

Report by Kim Fisher, FRIN

The meeting of the sub-committee on Navigation, Communications, Search and Rescue was intended to be held under the chairmanship Nigel Clifford of New Zealand but he had retired and was unable to take the chair. The vice chair Alexander Schwarz of Germany was also unavailable as he had been moved to other work in the German Administration. The meeting thus began with the election of new officers – Joris Brouwers of the Netherlands as chair (he previously had chaired the NAV working group) and Capt. Cerdo Espejo of Chile as vice chair. It was an eight day meeting but the Maritime Safety Committee is pressing for a return to a five day meeting. Ways of reducing the workload were discussed without any real conclusions. The next meeting has been agreed to be eight days again.

There were statements on the ongoing situation in Ukraine, the Red sea, and a new issue, jamming of GPS by North Korea. No specific actions were identified for these and no outputs were required from the meeting.

At the previous meeting there had been considerable discussion on proposals to amend SOLAS to improve the safety of pilot transfer arrangements which resulted in the setting up of a correspondence group led by China. The correspondence group report led to a significant workload for the meeting but successfully concluded with draft revisions to SOLAS regulation V/23, revised performance standards for pilot transfer arrangements, and a Circular on voluntary early implementation of the revised SOLAS V/23. The International Maritime Pilots' Association (IMPA) was invited to submit further consequential editorial updates directly to the next meeting of the Maritime Safety Committee.

The previous meeting had referred proposals for the introduction of a VHF data exchange system (VDES) as a possible replacement for the Automatic Identification System (AIS) to a correspondence group led by Japan. There was considerable discussion in this which resulted in general agreement that VDES should be introduced through chapter V (navigation) of SOLAS and not chapter IV (radiocommunications) as a voluntary option. More work was needed to prepare draft amendments to SOLAS and complete performance standards and the correspondence group was re-instated.

Proposals for performance standards for NAVDAT, intended to be a possible replacement for NAVTEX had been held over from the last meeting. The meeting successfully completed the performance standards and a revision of resolution MSC.509(105) on provision of radio services, and invited the IMO NAVTEX coordinating panel to develop a NAVDAT coordination scheme. Further work was forwarded to the next meeting of the Joint IMO/ITU Experts Group.

The last meeting had referred the issue of increased costs for Maritime Safety Information (MSI) providers as new GMDSS satellite service providers are recognised in addition to Inmarsat to the Maritime Safety Committee for advice. The Committee had subsequently instructed NCSR to prepare draft amendments to the SOLAS Convention clearly stating the requirement for dissemination of MSI and search and rescue information through all recognised satellite service providers (RMSS), and set a target date of 31 December 2026 for full dissemination by existing RMSS. A revision was made to resolution A.707(17) on charging, but the work was not otherwise completed and was referred to the next meeting of the Joint IMO/ITU Experts Group.

Proposals to revise the criteria for the provision of new GMDSS satellite service providers (resolution A.1001(25)) had been referred by the last meeting back to a correspondence group led by France. The new proposals led to considerable discussion but ultimately resulted in a revised resolution.

The issue of unlawful practices in the “dark fleet” associated with the manipulation of data transmissions from the AIS and tampering of AIS transponders was again discussed. Some modifications were made to the performance standards for AIS to incorporate the ship IMO number and a manufacturer identity. A proposal was made for the audits of the Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) system to use twelve months of data and not one month as at present to help in identifying wrongly reporting ships and the International Maritime Satellite Organization (IMSO) offered to conduct a trial.

Issues on the implementation of S-100 charts and operational guidance on route exchange were discussed and a correspondence set up to generate guidelines on the use of electronic nautical publications (ENP) to be led by Korea.

Amendments were agreed to the ship' routeing system TSS "In the approaches to Hook of Holland and at North Hinder" together with a revised recommendation on navigation for containerships in traffic separation schemes “Off Vlieland, Terschelling-German Bight, Off Friesland and German Bight western approach”, and draft areas to be avoided around oil rigs “off the Brazilian coast – Santos Basin”.

At the end of the meeting the retirement was announced of Christian Rissone of France and Jean-Charles Cornillou also of France.

The next meeting of NCSR is planned for 13 to 22 May 2025. A meeting of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 109) is planned for 2 to 6 June December 2024. A meeting of the Joint IMO/ITU Experts Group is planned for 7 to 11 October 2024. A meeting of the ICAO/IMO Joint Working Group is planned for 4 to 8 November 2024.

On 18 June 2024 the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN) hosted its 2024 AGM and Annual Meeting at the Royal Geographical Society in London. The meeting was chaired by the RIN Director, John Pottle, and welcomed close to 150 RIN members and friends.

During the AGM a series of resolutions were passed, including the adoption of the 2023 Trustees’ Annual Report and the election of the following Council Officers:

• Washington Ochieng as President (read more here)
• Andy Proctor as Vice President
• Martin Foulger as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee
• James Taylor as Chair of the Membership & Fellowship Committee
• Terry Moore as Chair of the Remuneration Committee
• Members of Council: Tristan Gooley, Alan Grant and John Owen
  

Immediate Past President Cynthia Robinson handing over to new President Washington Ochieng

TopNav 2024 Award Winners

The AGM and Annual Meeting provided the perfect opportunity to celebrate the winners of the recent TopNav, the visual navigation competition run by the RIN’s General Aviation Navigation Group. The award winners for 2024 were:

TopNav Runner Up:

Navigator: Brigid Beney and Pilot: Adrian Beney

TopNav Best Youth:

Navigator: Matthew Whitehead and Pilot: Neil Whitehead

TopNav 2024 Overall Winners:

Navigator: Alice Robinson and Pilot: Simon Cassia

New RIN Fellows

Every year we welcome a new cohort of RIN Fellows and recognise their contributions to the field of navigation. This year, Fellowship of the RIN has been awarded to the following:

• Adam Price - in recognition of leadership to achieve best-practice understanding and use of PNT simulation systems
• Christopher Mather - in recognition of innovative design and implementation of multi-sensor navigation algorithms to improve positioning performance and resilience
• Dana Goward - in recognition of leadership and advocacy for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) resilience
• David Bartlett - in recognition of multiple innovations in radio positioning and sensor fusion
• Gillian Burns - in recognition of a career dedicated to safe navigation and contributions promoting equality in maritime history
• Marco Lisi - in recognition of contributions to the development of satellite navigation and educational activities promoting a better knowledge of navigation
• Octavian Thor Pleter - in recognition of contributions to air navigation with a focus on the optimisation of flights and air traffic management
• Stephen Hancock - in recognition of leading and enabling development of resilient and sustainable positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services and strategy
• Tim McCarthy - in recognition of research in navigation solutions and work as an educator across the geospatial industry
• Tony Flavin - in recognition of expertise in the delivery and application of precise time for resilient positioning, navigation and timing (PNT)
• William Roberts - in recognition of leadership to develop next generation positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) systems and expertise
  

Tony Flavin receiving his Fellowship Award
Octavian Thor Pleter delivering this year's invited talk
Stephen Hancock receiving his Fellowship Award

RIN Awards 2024

There were three recipients of the 2024 J.E.D. Williams Medal for an outstanding contribution to the affairs of the Institute:

• Bob Cockshott - in recognition of his work to improve the operation and scope of the RIN Technical Committee
• Serdjo Kos - in recognition of his leadership and support to the RIN and the Croatian Branch
• Simon Gaskin - in recognition of continuous outstanding contributions to the RIN Council over 22 years

The W.G.P. Lamb Award acknowledges a contribution to a more navigable world by a younger person. This year the worthy winner was Jaz Hill-Valler, in recognition of leading collaboration and innovation in Signals of Opportunity (SoOp) and low earth orbit positioning, navigation and timing (LEO PNT).

The Spirent Sustainability Through Navigation Award for the application of positioning, navigation and timing towards a more sustainable future was awarded to Hexagon Autonomy and Positioning Division in recognition of enabling the global adoption of robust autonomous systems in precision agriculture.

The final award of the day was the Harold Spencer-Jones Gold Medal, in recognition of an outstanding contribution to navigation. This is the highest accolade awarded by the RIN. The 2024 winner of the Harold Spencer-Jones Medal was Dr Paul Groves, in recognition of world-leading pioneering research and education in robust positioning and navigation.

W.G.P. Lamb Award winner, Jaz Hill-Valler
Spirent Sustainability Through Navigation Award winner, Hexagon Autonomy and Positioning Division
Harold Spencer-Jones Gold Medal winner, Dr Paul Groves

Editor’s note:

About the Royal Institute of Navigation:

The Royal Institute of Navigation is a learned society and a professional body for navigation. The RIN's activities cover the full breadth of navigation and precise timing, spanning land, sea, air and space and includes animal navigation, human cognition, navigable cities and buildings and all domains of the practice of navigation.

Contact information:

Dr Clare Stead

comms@rin.org.uk

Released 20 June 2024

Professor Washington Yotto Ochieng, CBE, EBS, CEng, FREng, FRIN, FICE, FCIHT, FInstCES, was elected President at the RIN's Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 18 June 2024. Professor Ochieng is a serving Trustee and Member of both the Council and Technical Committee of the RIN. 

Having joined the RIN in the 1990s and witness it grow from strength to strength thanks to the efforts of so many including the Executive/Secretariat, Council members and Presidents and the wider membership, Professor Ochieng takes on the mantle of leading the RIN at an exciting time following the release of  the UK Government's Policy Framework for greater PNT (positioning, navigation and timing) resilience. The start of the implementation of the Framework has seen the UK lead the world in establishing a unique and dedicated PNT Office within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). 

Professor Ochieng is particularly excited by the RIN’s mission and vision. The latter is to “unite in one body those interested in navigation, and to advance the art, science and practice of navigation and to promote knowledge in navigation and its associated sciences, including positioning, timing, tracking and conduct of a journey, whether on, in, over or under land, sea, air or space”.

This is translated into the vision “to be an inclusive group of diverse disciplines and people working together for a more navigable world".

“I very much look forward to working with the Trustees, Council, wider membership, and partners in industry, government, non-governmental organisations and the wider public to promote the vast contributions of PNT and related areas including Geospatial Science and Geomatic Engineering, to the world and beyond, capitalising on our established track record in facilitating research, education, innovation and practice”.

“I am particularly keen to ensure that the RIN plays its role in addressing the challenges of our time (encapsulated within the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals) across geography and time, underpinned by a culture of equality, diversity, inclusion, respect, excellence, collaboration, innovation and integrity”.

Professor Ochieng affirms that his Presidency will be anchored on developing talent, capacity building, generating resources, and sustained significant societal impact addressing local, regional and global challenges. Professor Ochieng will challenge each Member of the RIN to identify at least one aspect of the RIN’s work that they will champion in the coming 2 years, taking ownership and demonstrably delivering. 

Professor Ochieng is the Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chair in Positioning and Navigation Systems and Director of the Institute for Security Science and Technology at Imperial College London. He is a Trustee of the Science Museum Group (SMG), Chair of the Science Museum Advisory Board (SMAB), Member of NPL’s Science and Technology Council (STAC) and Scientific Advisor at the DfT and FCDO. He Chairs the Africa Engineers Steering Committee at the Royal Academy of Engineering.

His achievements are highly recognised globally including in his native Kenya as well as in the UK.

In 2022, Professor Ochieng received the honour of Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS) from Kenyan President Dr William Ruto for his contributions to Kenya and the world. One of the country’s highest national decorations, the EBS is awarded by the President to public dignitaries, exemplary members of the public service, and other professionals who have provided distinguished service.

In June 2024, His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom bestowed upon Professor Ochieng the National Honour of ‘Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)’ for services to Global Positioning and Navigation Systems. A pioneer of Europe’s satellite-based global positioning and navigation systems, Professor Ochieng’s research covers positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) system design and application on water, land, air and space. His research portfolio also includes infrastructure security and resilience, and user-centric mobility. As well as his research, he also advises the UK government on related policy.


Editor’s note:

About the Royal Institute of Navigation:
The Royal Institute of Navigation is a learned society and a professional body for navigation. The RIN's activities cover the full breadth of navigation and precise timing, spanning land, sea, air and space and includes animal navigation, human cognition, navigable cities and buildings and all domains of the practice of navigation.

Contact information: 
Dr Clare Stead 
comms@rin.org.uk

Released 19 June 2024

PNT and Quantum 

Look into the future of navigation and timing with our Quantum Positioning and Navigation Technology (PNT) event coming later this year. Quantum PNT harnesses the principles of quantum mechanics such as superposition and entanglement, to attempt to offer unparalleled accuracy and resilience in positioning and timing.
• Quantum sensors can detect minute changes in the environment with unprecedented sensitivity. These sensors measure gravitational fields, accelerations, and rotations. Will these sensors enable breakthroughs in inertial navigation, providing autonomous systems with precise positioning and orientation capabilities in challenging or GNSS-denied environments? The potential performance improvements are game-changing, but so are the challenges to realise them. 
• Quantum clocks claim to pave the way for ultra-precise timekeeping essential for modern applications. Quantum clocks harness the inherent properties of quantum particles by trapping and interrogating individual atoms or ions, to create an ultra-stable reference signal. 
• So-called quantum algorithms are looking to exploit future quantum computing's potential to revolutionise navigation and timing tasks, solving complex problems at an exponentially higher speed than currently.

The RIN PNT Advisory Group plans to offer the potential to gain insights into the latest advancements, exchange ideas, and collaborate on shaping the future of Quantum PNT. Whether you're an enthusiast, researcher, or industry leader, our event will offer the chance to expand your network and foster collaborations that drive innovation forward.

More to come when available.

The Intersection of AI and PNT

Our new focus area investigates the intersection between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) to understand how AI might shape the future of performance and efficiency. As we navigate an increasingly complex and interconnected world, AI could be a powerful ally in enhancing the capabilities of PNT systems. Using advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques, AI augments traditional positioning and navigation methods, enabling smarter, more adaptive systems capable of real-time decision-making and autonomous operation. AI-driven data fusion techniques claim to integrate diverse sensor data sources dynamically to enhance positioning accuracy and performance, even in challenging environments such as urban canyons or dense foliage. 

The integration of AI and PNT unlocks a multitude of possibilities across various industries and sectors, including timing, autonomous vehicles, precision agriculture, emergency response and urban mobility. There is a lot of hype around what AI can do, the RIN as always will take a balanced, evidence-led approach to try and avoid this hype. 

Together with Cambridge Wireless we will be hosting an event tackling the subject of "Navigating the AI Revolution in PNT" on 10 July. In this half-day event run by Cambridge Wireless and the Royal Institute of Navigation we will be hearing from experts across academia and industry and discussing where we think AI can have the most significant impact on Positioning Navigation and Timing.  RIN Members can join this event free of charge - keep an eye out on your e-mails for a discount code!

Join our community of innovators helping to understand and drive this evolution of AI and PNT by signing up to the special interest group of the mailing list. Watch out for further event announcements soon and let us know if you have ideas to investigate!

International Collaboration

In an increasingly interconnected world, collaboration is key. PNT Advisory Group Exec team member Professor Terry Moore is also a member of the US PNT Advisory Board, a Federal group formally advising the US Government. RIN Fellow Renato Filjar also attends this board. Through strategic partnerships with this Board and international colleagues, we can harness the collective expertise and resources of the RIN and other organisations to face head-on the common challenges and opportunities for innovation in PNT technology and policy. 

The presence of RIN members at this prestigious US event, held twice a year, means that activities in the UK and the events and discussion we have, get fed directly into the advice presented to both the US and UK Governments, plus those international partners who attend. It also facilitates collaboration with international standards organisations and regulatory bodies to ensure the reliability and accuracy of PNT services globally.

PNT is essential to space sustainability and debris removal

Space debris, ranging from defunct satellites to spent rocket stages, poses a significant risk to active spacecraft and critical infrastructure in orbit. With millions of objects orbiting the Earth at varying velocities, even small fragments have the potential to cause catastrophic collisions, generating more debris in a cascading effect known as the Kessler syndrome.

PNT technologies play a vital role in tracking and monitoring space debris, providing precise positioning data and accurate timing information essential for predicting potential collision events and avoiding hazardous encounters. These are delivered through ground-based and space-based sensors, radar systems, and optical telescopes. From collision avoidance manoeuvres to end-of-life disposal protocols, effective mitigation strategies against the impact of debris issues, rely on timely and accurate PNT solutions to ensure the safe and sustainable operation of spacecraft in orbit. 

The PNT advisory group have held initial discussions on the need for an event or activity to explore the challenge of space debris further. No conclusions have been reached but this early discussion has already thrown up interesting topics that could be potentially critical for the future. Professor Marek Ziebart will be giving a talk on this topic at the RIN AGM and Annual review meeting, sign up now.

Inertial systems and Autonomy

The wider RIN team, together with InnovateUK, The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and Zenzic have delivered part one of a 2-part event that investigated the need and use of inertial navigation systems in platforms such as autonomous vehicles, drones, and robotics delivering new capability to navigate with accuracy and autonomy.

Inertial navigation systems (INS) serve as the backbone of autonomy, providing continuous position, velocity, and attitude information based on the integration of accelerometers and gyroscopes. The event series discusses the evolution of INS technology, from traditional strapdown systems to advanced MEMS-based sensors, and their applications across land, sea, air, and space domains.

By combining INS with complementary positioning technologies such as GNSS, LiDAR, and computer vision, autonomous systems can achieve centimetre-level accuracy even in GNSS denied environments. Our event showed that inertial navigation offers resilience against GNSS outage, signal interference, and adverse weather conditions, and that the innovation landscape in this area is alive and well. 

The next event in the series in in November 2024 and will focus on integration of inertial technology in to vehicle systems and supply chains. 

PNT Best Practices

The PNT Advisory Group and the Technical Committee chair are working with the UK National PNT Office on developing a set of PNT resilience principles and best practice guidance for our Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). 

PNT services underpin the operation of CNI, providing accurate timing, precise positioning, and reliable synchronisation essential for the functioning of sectors such as telecommunications, energy, transportation, and finance. 

Awareness of the use, vulnerabilities, and risks associated with PNT within the CNI has now been acknowledged as needing to improve, in the UK National Risk Register and the UK PNT Framework . The RIN and its membership are engaged to develop a set of principles and practices to not only continue to raise awareness of how to mitigate against the impact of loss of the primary PNT source (normally GPS), but the delivery of these to the Government will go a long way to improve, if implemented, the resilience of our CNI, public safety, and economic stability in an ever-changing threat landscape. 

Expanding the Frontiers of PNT in Low Earth Orbit (LEO)

LEO satellites offer unique advantages for PNT applications, including lower latency, enhanced coverage, and greater accessibility to remote regions. LEO PNT offers fertile ground for innovation and entrepreneurship in the PNT sector. Startups and emerging ventures are levering LEO-based PNT technologies to develop groundbreaking applications in precision agriculture, autonomous transportation, smart cities, disaster response, and beyond. 

Unlocking the full potential of PNT delivered by capabilities in LEO requires collaborative efforts between government agencies, industry stakeholders, academia, and international partners. 

Following a very successful LEO PNT event some time ago, discussions are under way to hold a second LEO PNT event and monitor the progress since the last event. 

The European Navigation Conference 2024

This update is finished just as ENC2024 is coming to a successful close. Reports and updates from the conference will come out in Navigation News in due course, but for me the take aways are: 

• Well over 300 people attended which resulted in lots of new connections made.
• There is more early-stage research than expected in PNT being carried out across Europe.
• The UK is firmly on the right track regarding its thoughts on PNT, and the creation of the National PNT Office is being seen as leading the way from a national standpoint. 
• Our previous work on LEO PNT has shown that the RIN is keeping track with the market as LEO PNT was a significant topic, as were the impacts on interference and spoofing – space vehicles impacted was mentioned in Prof Todd Humphrey’s keynote.
• The ESA FutureNav and Moonlight programme are really pushing the bounds of technology with UK companies well involved, even if the headlines don’t seem so.
• Well done to Terry, Ramsey, John, Clare, Louisa, Hannah and the ESA team for a fantastic event!

Conclusion

John trained in Canada as an RAF navigator in 1951 and was posted to the Far East on Valetta transport aircraft, followed by Canberras in East Anglia. In 1958 he joined B Sqn, A&AEE Boscombe Down, engaged in the flight testing of heavy aircraft, primarily bombers.

During 1960-61 he completed the Staff Navigator and Specialist Navigation (SpecN) Courses at the College of Air Warfare (CAW) and remained on the staff, instructing those courses; he was also engaged in planning and conducting SpecN training flights to the North Pole.

After attending Staff College in 1965, he joined MoD staff with the responsibility for airfield radars and approach aids and their flight calibration. In 1968, as a Wg Cdr he once again joined the CAW staff, overseeing all the navigation courses. Following further staff training, in 1971 he returned to A&AEE Boscombe Down as Chief Experimental Navigation Officer, overseeing trials including the likes of Loran C and Omega, as well as aircraft nav/attack systems. From 1973, he undertook a series of other senior staff appointments, being awarded the OBE in 1976. His last flying post was as Station Commander at RAF Northolt from 1979 to 1981 - the first navigator to fill that post.

John joined the Institute in 1970 and was awarded Fellowship in 1996. He was a much-respected expert in the air navigation field and a well-liked instructor. On retirement at age 50 he attended agricultural college and ran a farm in West Sussex for 20 years. 

His funeral will take place at 1100 on Thursday 25th April at the Catholic Church of St Mary and St Francis, Midhurst, followed by lunch at Mill Farm. Any of his old acquaintances would be welcome. We pass our deepest condolences to his children, Joanne, Simon and Trudy, and their families.

John Edward Bore       19 October 1932 - 6 April 2024

Astronomically, Spring starts at the Vernal Equinox, when the Sun crosses the equatorial into the northern hemisphere - at 0306 UTC (~GMT) on 20 March. Astronomical Summer then starts at the Summer Solstice - 2050 UTC on 20 June, when the Sun is at its highest northerly latitude of 23º26’; it returns to the southern hemisphere at the Autumnal Equinox, at 1243 UTC on 22 September.

In 2002, the EU stipulated that all member states should adopt ’Summer Time’ between the last Sundays in March and October - the clocks to change at 0100 UTC.  So, this year BST will apply from 31 March (Easter Sunday) to 27 October, even though we are no longer within the EU.

Further details from 

https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/seasons.html

Over the past twenty years, satellite navigation systems have been providing the world with accurate positioning and timing data.  The proliferation of devices that use the information from free of direct charge systems, such as GPS and Galileo has been astonishing – in those two decades, we have got to a point where there are said to be more GNSS receivers on the planet than human beings.

Accuracy and Convenience of GNSS

The very high accuracy of GNSS combined with the amazingly low cost of devices that can receive the signals has resulted in the use of PNT data becoming ubiquitous in many application areas where precise positioning or timing data are required. Some of those application areas are in use cases where safety or security are important considerations in addition to the convenience of a low-cost commercial solution.

Critical dependencies emerge

This has led to a growing and high dependence on Space based PNT data that is often not fully understood by the owners, operators and users of the dependent systems and services.  This is particularly true of timing data provided by GNSS, where often the use of satellite derived timing data in dependent systems is not even known about, let alone understood. The concern of many of these users remains accuracy and precision (i.e., repeatable accuracy), without regard to the other important PNT metrics of availability, integrity, and coverage.  This can and has led to unusual and sometimes alarming consequences when GNSS services have been disrupted.  The belief that by simply increasing the number of constellations and satellites this problem can be mitigated has led to significant investments in space-based PNT, while resilient ground-based PNT solutions have been ignored or, even worse, decommissioned. 

John Pottle, Director of the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN) maintains that “used naïvely or in an “unprotected” way, there are risks to accuracy and trust of the information that comes from satellite navigation systems. Alongside the growing dependencies on PNT information, it can be argued that there is an uncomfortable over-reliance in many critical areas.”

RIN White paper identifies no standard set of test cases or approaches  to assessing resilience

In 2023 the RIN published a White Paper looking at existing standards for resilient PNT.  Titled “Recommendations to Promote the Adoption of Resilient Position, Navigation and Timing in the UK - With Growing Capabilities Come Growing Threats” it concluded that there is no current standard (or set of standards) that identifies the performance requirements needed to ensure resilient PNT to satisfy the needs of all UK Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) stakeholders. 

This finding is significant as it is not straightforward to assess the resilience of PNT systems - there is no standard set of test cases or test approaches; and that the concept of a simple “resilience score”, while compelling in theory, can be difficult to achieve in practice at application level, due to the divergence of specific requirements between stakeholder types.  However, there are obviously some general principles and guidelines that will have general applicability.

RIN to establish a “Best Practices”  Working Group

To help address this pressing need to improve guidance on Resilient PNT in the UK, the RIN intend to set up a Working Group to address the issues and work on developing a set of effective guidance and best practices, that can be used by regulators, operators, owners and users in critical application areas to improve the resilience of their systems and equipment.

The co-authors of the white paper,  Mitch Narins and Ramsey Farragher, have this to say on the need for general principles and guidelines that can improve PNT Resilience.

Ramsey Farragher said “Aside from the main actions out of the study, there were two really interesting findings for me from the stakeholder discussions and other background research for the paper. One was the realisation that people in different sectors and parts of the PNT value chain can mean quite different things when they use terms like resilient, robust and assured. Common language across the supply chain and among end users is critical and we will be able to help to establish that. The second realisation was that there will be so much benefit derived from a relatively simple and succinct set of best practice guidelines for each CNI that it will be a crucial “quick win” in advance of any major future undertaking involving legislation and standardisation.”

Mitch Narins highlighted that there is no current standard (or set of standards) that identifies the performance requirements needed to ensure resilient PNT to satisfy the needs of all UK Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) stakeholders (i.e., services providers, users, and use cases).  He also points out that over the past two decades many manufacturers and users throughout the world have migrated to using PNT services derived from GNSS without needing to determine their PNT requirements or having a thorough understanding of the impact that loss or degradation of the service would have to them.  Whilst creating a single universal standard to cover all sectors and use cases would be a huge and lengthy undertaking, the idea of the RIN working group is to develop a set of recommended best practices which will inform, influence, and motivate users to adopt resilient PNT services and solutions.

Andy Proctor, Chair of the RIN PNT Advisory Group said, “This key activity will take the initial steps forward to improve the PNT System resilience of our critical infrastructure. Forming the team and setting the short- and medium-term objectives and outputs will be crucial to ensuring adoption and success of the principles and practices identified.”

To learn more about the Royal Institute of Navigation's UK PNT Advisory Group or to sign up to its non-member mailing list, please click here.

Launched yesterday, the 2024 Space Census aims to provide new data on the UK space workforce and the challenges and opportunities facing the sector.

The national survey of space professionals is conducted by the Space Skills Alliance and collects information about who works in the sector, how they got here, and what their experiences have been.

The results will be used to inform national space policy and sector strategy, and to improve what it’s like to work in the sector, tackle discrimination, and make the sector more attractive to new recruits.

The Space Census first ran in 2020, and its findings have been quoted in Parliament by the Science Minister, in reports by the Science and Technology Commons Select Committee and the OECD, and by many individuals and space organisations in the UK and abroad.

Four reports provided the first comprehensive statistics on demographics, pay, the experiences of women, and how and why people join the sector. Key findings included:

- Foreign nationals make up just under a fifth of the space workforce
- Space pay is competitive with other engineering sectors but not with the tech sector
- 41% of women in the space sector have experienced discrimination
- Most people join the space sector at the start of their career, three quarters have joined by age 35

The 2024 Space Census is supported by more than 30 space organisations including the UK Space Agency, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and UKspace. It will build on the 2020 edition to give a more detailed picture of trends within the sector. New questions will collect information on professional development, career breaks, and retention. The first results for 2024 are expected to be released later in the year.

If you work in the UK space sector, take part in the 2024 Space Census at census.spaceskills.org. The Census closes Friday 3rd May 2024.

The course:      Start at Wicklow and sail clockwise round Ireland and all its islands (except Rockall, the ownership of which is uncertain). Finish at Wicklow. The tides are quite weak down the southern part of the course and fairly easy up the west and north coast until approaching Rathlin Head. One hopes to time one’s arrival here to catch the Rathlin Tidal Express round Rathlin Head and into the North Channel, between Ireland and Scotland. The winds will normally give a beat at the start, down to the South and along the South Coast of Ireland, and then they should be astern up the west and north coasts. After Rathlin Head, you take what comes.

The yacht:       Maybird is the oldest, and the only gaff-rigged, yacht to have completed this race. She was designed, as were many cruising yachts, by Fred Shepherd whose assistant Fred Parker signed many of the plans unearthed by Darryl during her restoration. She was built in Arklow at Jack Tyrell’s yard in 1937, where mostly work boats and a lifeboat were constructed. That she has survived for more than eighty years is down to the excellent quality of the materials from which she was built – pitch pine planking from Florida on Irish oak frames. Maybird was commissioned by Lt. Col. W C W Hawkes, the youngest of three career soldier brothers who all served at the Battle of the Somme, and were all awarded the DSO, all surviving the war.

From 2009 to 2011 Daryl managed the Maybird restoration project. The thirty-two Irish oak frames were still so strong that none needed replacing. To conform to modern RORC rules she needed to be fitted with a lot of electronic gear such as AIS and locator beacons on all lifejackets.

Racing:                        Taking part in the 1938 RORC race from Falmouth to Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) Maybird finished last in Class 2, some 14 hours behind the winner Maid of Malham, skippered by John Illingworth. This is a tradition that Darryl continues to uphold!

In 2011 Maybird completed the Fastnet in 6¹/2 days. Being a heavy displacement, long keel, gaff rigged yacht, she was never designed to be competitive to windward. From the start she was heading towards the Channel Islands, so never stood a chance of winning.

2011 Fastnet race. Credit: Peter Mumford of Beken of Cowes

Competing in the 2016 Round Ireland Race she was forced to retire by the time she reached the Fastnet Rock, as engine failure left her unable to charge her batteries and so unable to power the safety equipment she now needs to carry.

2018 Round Ireland Race:      To illustrate the race, Darryl chose to compare Maybird with another competitor, Jedi. Maybird has a displacement of 21 tonnes with a long keel, an overall length of 43 feet (13.1 metres) and was built for cruising. She isn’t good to windward. Jedi, by comparison, is a 10.75-metre racing yacht with a displacement of 4.9 tonnes. A deep fin keel with a heavy bulb gives her minimum wetted surface and so, less frictional drag.

Jedi has 80,000 miles of racing behind her, with several wins. Maybird has 8,000 racing miles, finishes last and, apart from Darryl, an all-Irish crew from the Arklow Sailing Club (I’m not sure how this could be seen as a handicap). With her displacement, it is difficult to get Maybird moving fast unless you hang up every sail including the mizzen staysail. Before the race Jedi was removing gear due to the light winds forecast, while Maybird was adding water, food and gear in anticipation of a slow passage. Maybird’s crew expected haute cuisine and loaded many prepared dishes while those aboard Jedi were content with freeze-dried meals.

Maybird used paper charts, compass and log, although she did carry a chart plotter, mainly to keep Ireland to starboard.

On Day 1 after the start of the race, the tide was south going for six hours. Jedi slipped away and got ahead. The Tusker Light was not working, which had not been disseminated in any navigation warnings, although a ferry did call Maybird to advise her. Jedi, way ahead and in the dark, managed to lose a man overboard; she put into practice the standard procedure with a visual watch being kept on the casualty, while sails were handed, and the MOB button pressed on the SatNav. After recovery, it was agreed that one most important aid was the flashing lifejacket light, in this case, a Spinlock Lume-On. By the time Maybird reached the Fastnet, the wind started dropping, but at least she had got farther than she did in the 2016 race.

Light winds then prevailed and by Day 4 the crew were fed up with the lack of progress. On Day 5 there seemed to be no isobars anywhere on the weather chart and the usual southwest wind had vanished leaving Maybird becalmed. Dolphin and gannet watching passed the time.

On Day 6 things started to change with the coming of a breeze. Maybird, now with the 12 or 13 knots of wind she needed to move, was passing Slyne Head, halfway around the course. Jedi had finished!

Day 7 and Maybird was heading northeast towards the top of Ireland. All the pre-prepared meals had been eaten and the crew were searching the stores on board for pasta and tins of Irish stew.

Day 8 brought quite good winds round Tory Island, but into stronger tides.

Passing Rathlin Island on Day 9 they hit fog.

Day 10 saw them off Strangford Lough after seven hours of south-going tide and some north in the wind. A good run down to Dublin Bay, under reduced canvas with 20 knots of wind, cheered all on board. By now the crew of Jedi had been back at work for two days. Then the wind dropped, leaving Maybird dodging the fishing fleet and ferries while heading for Wicklow and the finish.

Coming in to finish, assuming they were so late that no one would be around, the crew were astonished to be met by a RIB with an invitation to breakfast ashore. There they were met by the entire committee and many members of the Wicklow Sailing Club to welcome them home. Once alongside, the tracker carried to prove they had been round Ireland was collected, and the crew numbers were counted to ensure they hadn’t lost anyone during the race.

Result:             Maybird finished last. Even on handicap she was last!

She was the oldest yacht in the race and the only gaff rigger.

Footnote:       On completing the Fastnet Race in 2011 Maybird had been presented with the “Iolaire Trophy” for being the oldest yacht in the race. The Iolaire Trophy, a small section of boat timber, was donated to RORC by Don Street who sailed his famous engine-less gaff yawl, Iolaire, in the fiftieth edition of the Fastnet Race in 1975, to be awarded to the oldest boat to complete the course in future races.

Believing this was a good idea, (did he think he might also win it in the future?) Darryl decided to do the same with a section of Maybird’s original wooden main mast. This trophy, adorned with engraved brass plates, has been presented via the Old Gaffers’ Association to the Wicklow Sailing Club. This is to be presented to the oldest yacht participating in the bi-annual Round Ireland Race. Darryl is desirous of encouraging older yachts, and especially those gaff rigged, as he puts it, to give it a lash.

Maybird trophy. Credit: Darryl Hughes

John Hasselgren,

26/01/2024.

David was born in Glasgow and attended the local Academy, from which he obtained a RAF scholarship direct to Cranwell for pilot training, gaining a Private Pilot’s Licence while still 17 and even earlier flying solo in a glider, for which he became an instructor less than 3 years later.  Whilst holding before taking up his posting to fly Vulcan bombers, he co-piloted Varsity aircraft taking trainee navigators, and during his bomber tour became Chief Flying Instructor (CFI) at the local RAF Gliding and Soaring Association Club.  He went on to become a non-flying Operations Officer on a German-based squadron, but also CFI and Treasurer to the RAF Germany Gliding Association.

On returning to UK, he became both pilot and instructor on Canberra aircraft, training RAF and RN radar operators in electronic warfare. He also won the 1976 Inter-Service Gliding Competition. He then went on the fly Jet Provost aircraft at the Navigation School at RAF Finningley, teaching at both high- and low-level flight; he inevitably also became CFI and Commander of the local RAF gliding club.  This was followed by a return to Cranwell as a Pilot Navigation Instructor, responsible for improving both students’ and flying instructors’ navigation skills.

David’s most spectacular posting followed when he was posted to Berlin to fly a reconnaissance Chipmunk within a 20-mile radius of the RAF base in West Berlin; specified allied aircraft were permitted to do so.  He had to fly from the rear cockpit with an observer in front. He undertook a ‘Special Duties’ course in UK first and, as a very observant pilot, able to converse in French, German and Russian, living with his family in West Berlin and permitted to cross on foot to the East, he became a most valued member of the NATO ‘Brixmis’ Team in Berlin. His later posting back to UK was to teach elementary flying on Chipmunks again, this time at RAF Scampton, to which the Humber Gliding Club had moved and for which he inevitably became CFI. But his performance in Berlin led to him becoming an Arms Control Officer at the Arms Control Implementation Group, a multi-service unit also at Scampton; he had become acknowledged as an expert and became deeply involved in the arms-reduction process, becoming the author of the Arms Control Policy. David was still an Arms Control Officer when he retired from the RAF in 1994; his final working day in the RAF ended in the MOD hotel in Moscow, where the Russian escort officers hosted his ‘dining-out’.

British Aerospace was seeking flying instructors for a contract in Saudi Arabia, and David was interviewed for the position.  Sadly, age was against him as a flying instructor, but BAe wanted to fill a Teaching and Learning Specialist post with the Royal Saudi Air Force, and eventually David accepted their offer. Unfortunately the post lasted for only 3 months and he moved back to UK, where he taught commercial licence theory to students, gaining the licence and instructor rating himself and updating Blackwell’s standard book on Radio Aids for the licence. He also became CFI at Lincoln Aviation, Wickenby. He then returned to the Saudi Air Force for over 3 years as a ground instructor, also writing their training manuals and advising instructors whilst also beginning work on a series of training books for the UK Private Pilots Licence. Then, in 1999, he took up the post of Safety Promotion Officer for General Aviation with the CAA, publishing safety advice and giving presentations throughout the UK. For this he received awards from the UK Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Air League and the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators, of which he became a Liveryman.  He was also an expert within the EU Aviation Safety Agency’s General Aviation Safety Agency, even after the UK withdrawal. He held this CAA post for 15 years, after which continued to fly and instruct as a Registered Training Facility and Declared Training Organisation for teaching applicants for Private Pilot Licences. He became CFI at the RAF Waddington Flying Club and laterly CFI of a flying school in Leeds, until his cancer and its treatment rendered that impossible.

David Joined the Institute in 1994 and was granted Fellowship in 2008, having served on Council and as Treasurer. He was a major contributor to the General Aviation Navigation Group as a qualified instructor and examiner, authoring published pamphlets, giving presentations and attending and running stands at shows; he did so until his cancer prevented him. He will be sorely missed by the Group participants as well as many other Institute members. We pass our condolences to David’s wife, Alison, son John and family.

David’s funeral will take place at 1300 on Monday 29 January in St Columba’s Parish Church, Topcliffe, N Yorkshire, followed by a gathering in remembrance at The Angel Inn, Topcliffe. Members are welcome to attend; please let David’s son, John < coburnj6515@gmail.com>, know if you wish to be present.

David Cockburn FRIN           29 April 1948 – 7 January 2024

The momentum over the past few years to move away from paper charts to electronic charting has grown significantly.

Some countries’ Hydrographic Offices (HOs) had already announced, and set dates for, the withdrawal of their official paper charts, within a time-frame of what is now less than 3 years. However, over the last year or so a greater understanding of the implications and issues that still need to be addressed has been reached. These issues include back-up systems/software and, of course, training. The global nature of the electronic chart publishers and equipment manufacturers has also highlighted the requirement for any such standards to be agreed internationally.

Approved electronic charts and systems for leisure vessels are, however, just a small subset of the approval requirements for the so-called “sub-ECDIS” sector worldwide. Consequently, whilst the timescale for the withdrawal of paper charts by the UKHO has been extended from 2026 until at least 2030, there is still much to be accomplished in the intervening years, if this revised time-frame is to be met. The RIN’s Electronic Navigation Systems Guidance booklet - due to be updated in 2024 - and the RIN’s Electronic Navigation Conferences are designed to address these issues and inform leisure craft users, as we slide inevitably towards an all-encompassing digital navigation future. To find out more about this hybrid Conference and to register visit the RIN website event page https://rin.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1656297&group=

Above copied from an article originally published in Navigation News.

Confirmed speakers at the Conference include Anders Bergström from Raymarine, Jelte Liebrand from Savvy Navvy, Paul McKenzie & Luke Allen from Furuno, Hugh Agnew from A+T Instruments Ltd., Carlo Alberto Galli and Michele Graziani from Garmin/Navonics, Lucy Wilson from Imray, Richard Falk from the RYA, Jane Russell from the RIN, C-Map and UKHO.

This was the title of a fascinating talk at the Cruising Association in December, one of the joint hybrid events run with the Small Craft Group of RIN.

Claudia started by saying how pleasant it was to speak to a live audience as well as those online. By the time of her 60th birthday she decided it was time to undertake a new challenge. Having sailed all her life, mainly up and down coasts but never across an ocean, Claudia joined the Dutch vessel Tecla in the Galapagos to sail round Cape Horn to the Falklands. Tecla is a steel Dutch-built former herring fishing logger (drifter) of 1915, gaff-rigged on both masts, length 38 metres by 6.6 metres beam and displacing 92 tons. Despite bouts of seasickness, Claudia found the passage enjoyable and thought the wildness of the weather and the ocean very beautiful.

Claudia decided against relying on a camera to illustrate the event, saying it was too easy to produce a camera and take the same snaps as everyone else. Instead, she took a sketchbook, pencils and watercolour paints. Sketching views, she said, meant working slower and taking more care. This allowed her to illustrate the log book and sketchbooks, which she completed back ashore, finishing and having the book “Sketchbook Sailor” published in 2020 during the Covid lockdown.

From a friend, Claudia then heard the Scott Polar Institute appointed annually an artist in residence and that they were about to select the next one. Applying for the residency Claudia was appointed and subsequently spent five weeks aboard HMS Protector on a voyage around parts of Antarctica. 

HMS Protector is an icebreaking ship that conducts surveys, delivers loads to various scientific stations and even counts penguins. Showing an Antarctic chart of 1775 attributed to Capt. James Cook’s Sailing Master Joseph Gilbert, Claudia quoted him:
 
“I now reckoned we were in the Latitude 60 degrees south and farther I did not intend to go, unless I met with some certain signs of soon meetings with land. I was now tired of these high Southern Latitudes where nothing was to be found but ice and thick fogs.”

Before the trip, due to the Covid lockdown, everyone travelling to join the ship had to spend 8 days in quarantine at RAF Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire. Claudia’s time there was spent on walks around the airfield and experimenting with the paints that were to be taken south and used there.

Joining HMS Protector in the Falklands, Claudia found it confusing as she couldn’t initially find her way round the ship and was unable to understand language such as “RASON” meaning Remain At Sea OverNight. The crew all seemed extremely young to her but she found them very tolerant of her presence. One person in particular with whom she made friends was the ship’s Chaplain, someone who had some spare time on his hands and who, usefully, was an expert on sea birds.

Regarding sketching and painting, Claudia started by drawing seabirds and discovered that albatrosses don’t flap their wings but just glide on the wind. Going on deck every day she painted seascapes. With the ship rolling and pitching whenever the weather was bad, she had to hold onto her sketchbook with one hand and paint with the other. At times it was an effort to prevent her materials from going overboard. The colours in the area are never the same two days running. One comment on sketching in the Antarctic came from her son, who suggested she leave a blank page in the sketchbook and title it “Iceberg in a Snowstorm”.

The ship’s passage was from the Falklands to South Georgia, to South Orkney Islands, the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetlands, then back to the Falklands. On trips ashore, Claudia sometimes used a camera to record wildlife to use as an ‘aide memoire’ for her sketches. Photographs, she said, are more accurate but a sketch increases the experience, colours can be intensified and can also include maps.

After three days at sea they arrived at Grytviken in South Georgia. This was once a whaling station and its ruins are still evident, all the steel parts covered in a thin coating of rust: it will never rust any further as the climate tends to preserve everything. Although its original purpose was to kill whales, it is now a leader in their conservation. The Governor of South Georgia told Claudia that if a seal comes towards you, you should hold up your hand and tell it to stop. Asked if it worked he said no! With more animals than humans, the King Penguins take no notice of people and just wander around at will. This visit to Grytviken coincided, within a couple of weeks, with the centenary of the death of Sir Earnest Shackleton, so the Captain held a Memorial Service at the graveside.

Next, the ship headed south for the Antarctic. This meant going below 6o˚ South into Antarctic waters, where the Antarctic Treaty comes into force stating that no one owns the continent and none may develop nor plunder it. First call was at the uninhabited South Sandwich Islands where there are areas that needed surveying to update the charts. This was accomplished by the hydrographer in shirtsleeves sitting at a computer while the measurements came in. So different from two centuries ago when using lead and line. A shore visit was laid on to Saunders Island to assess the size of the Chinstrap Penguin colony there. Here there are no alongside berths so this trip, as all in these waters, meant using the Zodiac RIBs, dressed up in survival suits, lifejackets and helmets. 

Next on the agenda were the South Orkney’s, which are about the same latitude south that the Orkney’s are north. Here some inshore surveying was required of the bay used as a base by the British Antarctic Survey team as this is gradually losing its covering of ice. Another job, which meant a shore trip, was to deliver a sack of Christmas goods for the scientists who would arrive before Christmas in the Sir David Attenborough. Signy Island was also visited, where a British Antarctic Survey Research Station is located. Although able to go ashore, Covid quarantine had to be observed to avoid infecting the scientists.

Moving on, Claudia reached the Antarctic continent in the shape of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was only in 1935, she informed us, that the British Grahamland Expedition established that Antarctica was a continent, not a series of islands joined by ice, by using a light aircraft to overfly the area. Today scientists use drones. After a slow approach due to ice HMS Protector berthed alongside the Rothera British Antarctic Survey Station late on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day was spent on board following the usual RN Christmas routine when officers serve dinner to the crew. On Boxing Day they were allowed ashore, but again had to follow quarantine regulations and were unable to mix with the scientists.

Following a visit to Deception Island, a volcanic caldera, where plans to go ashore were thwarted by an incoming storm, Claudia and HMS Protector headed back to the Falkland Islands. Here, Claudia, unlike most of the crew, returned home.

One thought from Claudia: unlike the crew in a sailing ship, who remain fit by working the sails, the crew of HMS Protector spend most of their working day watching computer screens. Off watch, they seem also to watch screens – films, social media etc. To overcome this there is a gym and a Basher (Clubswinger or Clubs in my day) running circuit training to keep them fit.

After a break for refreshments Claudia answered questions and showed examples of her work. Even if, like me who took up the camera due to an inability to draw, you feel unable to illustrate your log books with sketches – fear not! – Claudia can teach you how to do it. Her web site www.claudia-myatt.co.uk gives more information and shows more of her work.

At the end of the evening, Paul Bryans, Chairman of the SCG, thanked both Claudia for her presentation and the Cruising Association for their hospitality in hosting the meeting.

John Hasselgren.
12/12/2023.

This next article from our Outdoor Adventure Navigation Group series sees Chris Sweetman FRIN provide a breakdown of five orienteering techniques. This article was first published in the Nov/Dec edition of Navigation News. 

Chris is a qualified teacher and mountain leader who taught land navigation and expedition skills in a further education setting for over 25 years. Formally a British Orienteering Instructor and Club Coach, Chris is currently a walks leader for the Ramblers’ Association and the Long Distance Walkers Association. He is also a committee member of RIN’s Outdoor Adventure Navigation Group.

In my previous article: ‘What did orienteering ever do for land navigation?’ (Navigation News July/August 2023) I listed the following techniques along with a brief description:

☛ Attack points

☛ Aiming off

☛ Handrail features

☛ Collecting features

☛ Catching features

The objective for this article is to investigate and provide details of these five techniques which were developed by the sport of orienteering. All of these techniques have been in use by British Orienteering (BO) from at least the mid1970’s. Since this period these techniques have gradually gained acceptance in land-based navigation, where the participant has to navigate ‘off-piste’. Consequently, they are now embedded in UK mountain training schemes, included in the National Navigation Award Scheme (NNAS) and even feature in relevant units in some education qualifications. However, they are still virtually unknown in land-based navigation activities where the main route choice is using linear features. Alongside these five techniques, the orienteer will need a thorough navigator’s insight which will include the ability to work out distances, use compass bearings and interpret contours. Please note that the diagrams used here to illustrate the techniques are stylised and simplified to show an outline of each technique. There will be a mix of signs and symbols utilised, and they are not necessarily those used by the Ordnance Survey (OS), Harvey Maps or meet the standards of the International Orienteering Federation mapping specifications.

Orienteering Techniques in Orienteering British Orienteering currently use the Step System for coaching. This links to colour coded courses and the range of techniques required for each ability level. In the following passages each stage in the Step System will just include reference to the five techniques that are the focus of this article. The Step System starts at Level 1/White course and then gradually moves to advanced Level 5/Green/Blue/ Brown courses. At the start of competitive orienteering Level 1/White participants will orienteer along paths and tracks, so will need to understand how to use handrail features. At Level 2/Yellow they move on to understand and develop the catching features technique so they can leave a line feature. For Level 3/Orange/Red they develop aiming off at the base stage so they can cut corners, and advancing toward the top of Level 3 they will need to be able to use attack points to simplify legs. The base stage of Level 4/ Light Green includes collecting features to enable them to navigate over long legs. Finally, for Level 5 the participant will have the ability to use all these techniques, enabling them to compete in the top level colour coded courses: Green, Blue and Brown. With technical difficulty being similar, the differentiation between these top level colour coded courses is the stated distance and the greater variety in length between control points, including longer legs which will also test levels of concentration.

Orienteering Techniques in Mountain Navigation

These five techniques are also part of mountain training and come under the umbrella of micro-navigation techniques. The first mountain leader training guide: Mountain Leadership (1976) mentions aim-off (1976:8). That is all there was - just a mention, and no illustrations. In the second edition: Mountaincraft and Leadership (1984) the navigation section became more expansive and the following techniques were included, now with a description of the technique supported by illustrations. Two techniques: aiming off and attack points were named exactly as per terms used in orienteering. However, the author used the term tick-off features which are essentially identical to collecting features and guide-line features, which are also identical to handrail features. British Mountaineering Council/Montane: Hiking Essentials Navigation Resources published in 2022 include handrail and catching features. The latter is described as: “An obvious feature the (sic) informs us we are at a required or particular point.” This sounds more like the orienteering term collecting features....

Read the full open access article here

Check out the RIN Outdoor Adventure Navigation Group webpage to learn more about the group.

UK Government announces a Resilient PNT Framework

10-Point plan broadly welcomed by PNT community

RIN PAG White paper addresses adoption of Resilient PNT

The announcement by the government was very timely, coming just a few weeks before the RIN holds its second “Leadership in PNT” event at the Royal Society and just after the publication of the updated UK National Risk Register, which included a risk of loss of PNT, and the publication of a RIN authored paper by the National Preparedness Commission noting the need to be more prepared for the loss of PNT services. In addition, the RIN PNT Advisory Group’s (PAG) published a white paper, “Recommendations to Promote the Adoption of Resilient Position, Navigation and Timing in the UK - With Growing Capabilities Come Growing Threats”

The white paper, the first major publication from the RIN PNT Advisory group asserts that Resilient PNT is an area in which the UK could provide leadership to improve PNT performance given the high level of expert knowledge and track record in innovation and excellence that the UK possesses.

The RIN PAG has been involved in activities to support decision makers, regulators, industry, academia, and all involved in developing the Resilient PNT framework for the UK. It is developing plans to carry its work forward during 2024 and beyond; setting out tasks to support the government and National PNT office in the delivery of its ten-point framework will be high on its agenda.  As well as developing and publishing its recommendations on the adoption of Resilient PNT in the UK, the Advisory Group since its formation has looked at the role of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites for delivering PNT services,  is involved in work to assess the need for a dedicated UK PNT Innovation Institute and national test framework, and is assessing the impact of new PNT technologies such as Quantum and AI. The PAG also will continue working with the Ministry of Defence on the use of PNT in defence, and ways to improve, nurture and grow the UK skills base.  

“Multi-faceted Endeavour”

John Pottle, Director of the Royal Institute of Navigation, commented that the very welcome announcement by the government recognised that achieving greater PNT resilience was a multi-faceted endeavour. The ownership provided by the National PNT Office would provide policy and delivery oversight, and co-ordination across all stakeholders.    

As well as improving national preparedness, the PNT framework has potential to help further strengthen the UK’s thought leadership and innovation in robust and resilient PNT.   

Andy Proctor, Chair of the RIN PNT Advisory Group also welcomed the government’s announcement of the ten- point plan for a resilient PNT framework for the UK and said 
“The announcement of the measures and recommendations set out in the framework are a welcome step forward in addressing the vulnerabilities due to the UK’s dependency on satellite-based PNT, particularly GNSS. GNSS supports around £320 billion (15%)* of UK GDP, improving the UK’s PNT robustness, security and resilience will be key to mitigating vulnerabilities to the loss of satellite-based PNT, and to capture the significant growth opportunities that the framework could enable.”

Challenges ahead

Recent world events are reinforcing the need for improved PNT robustness, security, and resilience across critical applications and national infrastructure – but the road ahead to implement the framework will not be without bumps – the UK is rapidly approaching its next General Election and whilst the National PNT Office will be working very hard to develop more detailed costed plans for the framework, there are bound to be some uncertainties and delays in moving the plans forward. The RIN has a strong role to play in providing government with a source of knowledge, expertise, and support that it can rely on whilst it tackles more challenging task of making the framework a reality. 

As a learned society, the RIN brings a well-balanced voice to the task of raising awareness of PNT security and the need for responsible use of PNT more generally across society.

If you are interested in becoming a contributor to the RIN PAG work being planned for 2024, please contact either Andy Proctor (PAG Chair), Guy Buesnel (PAG Secretary) or Clare Stead (RIN Communications and Events Manager ) in the first instance.

* According to the 2022 UKSA Size and Health of the UK Space Industry Study

Harbourmaster (SMS & VTS) Simon Phillips took over with many details of the port and its operation. All the berths for ships are privately owned, rather like the M25 with its service areas. VTS – Vessel Traffic Services – main concern is safety of life. The PLA’s VTS covers the largest area of any UK port being 600 square miles and 60 miles long, covering three sectors from two management centres. The lower part of the river and estuary is managed from Gravesend, where we were, and the upper part from a control room at the Thames Barrier at Margaretness. Both these control rooms are designed to be inter-operational, either being able to take over from the other in case of a serious failure such as a fire or terrorist attack.

VTS aims to provide essential and timely traffic information to shipping to assist in making on-board decisions. The traffic is organized to prevent the development of dangerous situations, with large ships becoming too close to one another. Navigation assistance is also given to aid on-board decisions. The VTS Supervisors are actually pilots who take turns in the control room and are informed of the location of vessels in the river and estuary by 17 radar scanners, 6 AIS base stations, 9 CCTV cameras, and 16 VHF radio stations. As I was once told, if the radar, the AIS, and a video camera all put a ship in the same location, they can be sure that is where it is! I had a question about the location of three of the radar scanners, which are out in the estuary and turn out to be sited on windfarms.

Afterward, we briefly visited the VTS control room where two VTS officers were on duty. Unfortunately, due to the current suspicious climate, we were restricted to the rear section and couldn't observe their work. While we were questioning Simon Philips, Ivana Carrioni-Burnett, chair of RIN's Marine Navigation Group and a Thames pilot stationed at Gravesend, joined us.

We were told that Thames pilots are evaluated based on their ability to bring in vessels of four different sizes. Regardless of their previous qualifications from other ports, all pilots begin with the smallest ships. As pilots gain more experience, they undergo assessments that determine whether they can move up to larger vessels. Furthermore, the largest ships that enter the port must have two pilots on board.

One of the most demanding jobs, it seems, run from a desk at the rear of the control room, is the logistics of arranging for pilots to meet up with the ship they are to bring into the port. This will frequently necessitate booking a taxi to get the pilot from Gravesend to where the pilot cutter will pick them up, usually Ramsgate, to ensure there is a cutter available and that they get to the ship in time. All this needs to take into account road traffic conditions and the state of the weather and tidal conditions.

The Small Craft Group thanks the PLA and staff for facilitating the visit. Half of the group then had lunch at a nearby pub.

John Hasselgren

18/10/2023

By John Pottle, RIN Director

First published in Navigation News Sept/Oct 2023 edition

In this article I shall aim to provide a flavour of the very successful 2023 European Navigation Conference (ENC), share how the ENC is evolving (spoiler alert = quite a lot!) and, with that, how the RIN sees the ENC series going forwards as part of delivering its own objectives and impact.

The 2023 European Navigation Conference attracted over 300 participants and was, literally, a sell-out success. Why was this? Part of the success was the location – ENC2023 was held in the European Space Agency’s ESTEC facility (European Space Research and Technology Centre). Many positioning and timing-related businesses in Europe will have active links to ESA and ESTEC, be they as customer, supplier or collaborator.

Part of the success was accessibility, in that ESTEC is easy to access and it’s convenient (though generally blustery!) to stay in the one of the adjacent coastal towns. Thirdly, ENC2023 was run by a professional conference organiser (PCO) which helped to shape a positive delegate experience overall.

The ENC series is owned by the European Group of Institutes of Navigation (EUGIN). The RIN has always been active and a supporter of EUGIN.

Professor Terry Moore is the current chair, with Bart Banning, President of the Netherlands Institute of Navigation (NIN) serving as vice-chair. The NIN led the organisation of ENC2023, whose overall theme was resilient navigation (see www.enc2023.eu).

Read the full article here, open access, to hear about Martin Ujt de Haags', FRIN, closing keynote and his conclusions...

Please join RIN and EUGIN - ENC2024 21-24 May 2024, ESTEC, Netherlands www.enc-series.org

https://enc-series.org/2024 for more information

The Cost of Navigating Our Roads

James Taylor, RIN Past President, shares his concerns about how charges imposed on road users in the UK are utilised regarding the improvement of infrastructure and safety.

This article was first published in the March-April 2023 edition of Navigation News. View the full archive here.

The Royal Institute of Navigation, as a professional body and as a learned society, concentrates on Positioning, Navigation and Timing, and on Resilience. It does so in air, space, at sea and on land. In each of those sectors, the provision of supporting infrastructure, of resilience and accuracy, of effectiveness and efficiency, costs money. And where costs are involved, added value taxes and surcharges can be deployed by the provider, or by local or central Government, to change or to fine-tune behaviour, or to raise revenue. These remain the long-standing bases of any form of taxation. 

In air transport, operating companies and ultimately passengers using a typical UK airport can expect to pay, amongst others: 

• Passenger Load Supplement 
• Passenger Reduced Mobility charge 
• Ground Handling System charge 
• Baggage Reconciliation charge 
• Hold Baggage Screening charge
• CAA Aviation Security charge 
• Noise Violation charge

There is also a Navigation charge, for operating local navigational aids and air traffic services, and usually based on take-off weight. At the same time, the UK Government places a surcharge called Air Passenger Duty on each and every ticket, a complex system of variable rates of tax depending on destination and where you sit on-board the aeroplane, in the smart seats or “cattle class”. Flying costs money.

For ports and harbours, the situation is even more complex. Bearing in mind that some 95% of all UK import and export tonnage arrives or departs by sea, every port and harbour requires an efficient and effective infrastructure to keep it moving. And that, too must be paid for, initially by the shipping owner or operator, or by the port authority, but ultimately by the end-user, the consumer. In any port of significant size, users can expect to be pay, on a sliding scale for every registered tonne, or per passenger: 

• Berthage fees 
• Port conservancy dues
• Pilotage and towage fees
• Light dues to provide for aids to navigation
• Hydrographic charges
• Gangway fees;
• Plant, cranage and labour charges
• Bunkering fees
• Security and allied charges
• Demurrage;
• Waste management charges
• Others, too numerous to mention

Moving goods and people by sea is not cheap.

What of land transport? In recent years, the RIN has increased its involvement in safe navigation for hill walkers and those making their own way around our landscape, using maps and hand-held navigation, and traditional skills. But road transport is rather taken for granted; it is seen as requiring perhaps little in pure navigational skills, thanks to road signage and near-ubiquitous on-board, space-based navigation systems. The road will go where it goes, and you will follow that road. Yet the national and local road network requires massive expenditure on its infrastructure, to keep it in sound working condition, and to keep users safe, just as for air and sea. How we currently do that is different... and perhaps that needs to change. The UK’s road network, some quarter of a million miles in all, is funded by both national and local government, and any development is subject to the labyrinthine planning system, which differs in various parts of the UK. So you may want a new road, or an improved, safer road here, or there, but it will require funding, and national or local governmental approval, and planning permission, often after a lengthy and occasionally obstructive planning inquiry. Bear in mind, too, that local and regional government obtains the vast majority of its funding from central, UK Government.

Some time ago, every vehicle in the UK paid an annual fee–“Road Tax” into the Road Fund, which was set aside for road building and improvements. But that came to an end and, decades ago, Road Tax became Vehicle Excise Duty, a complex and frequently changing sliding scale of charges depending on engine size. Its proceeds, some £7 billion per annum, went directly to the Exchequer for deployment wherever the UK Government wanted. Although there are exceptions. Cars over 40 years old pay no VED at all! 

A much bigger tax take from motor vehicles comes from fuel duty, the surcharge you pay to the Exchequer on the fuel you put in your tank. This provides a further sum in excess of £35 billion per annum to the Government. Together, these provide about 4% of all Government tax revenue. And although that provides a large pot for local government to dip into to improve road transport infrastructure and safety, central government, especially in time of financial difficulties, may choose not to make it available. That pot will dry up completely in time, as new petrol and diesel vehicles will be banned from 2030-2035.This system of raising revenue via fossil-fuelled vehicular charges has a number of inbuilt problems, but chief amongst these are the increase in electrical vehicles (EVs) which will pay no VED until 2025, and which will raise only some £1.5billion per annum, but not until 2027/8. Meanwhile, the use of a fuel duty surcharge, as we have now, means that when fuel prices are volatile, as now, any increase in fuel price is exaggerated by the addition of fuel duty and VAT, which means that inflation also ratchets up, but as a result of the Government’s own decisions. We saw with aviation and maritime that at least some of the charges imposed on users are deployed to improve infrastructure and safety. How can we do this in the UK for our creaking road system?...

Signed-In members can read the March-April edition of the magazine, including the full article here.

John Hasselgren, 17/09/2023

Following the Covid 19 lockdown, and online meetings, the meeting took place in person this year. Chaired by Director of Navigational Requirements Commander Nigel Hare FRIN, the group met on board THV Galatea berthed alongside HMS Belfast on the River Thames opposite the Tower of London as part of London International Maritime Week. The first thing to comment on is the size of Galatea. At first sight, she seems to be almost as large as HMS Belfast. In fact, when checking the measurements of the two ships she is smaller than HMS Belfast, but with a broader stern and higher bow section as well as a dominating bridge she seems larger than when I saw her in Harwich a few years ago.

Trevor Harris, Navigation (Examiner) Manager was the first presenter. Following the sad death of Martin Thomas last year the Navigation team has been increased. Most work is mainly to do with floating Aids to Navigation (AtoN). Wind farm work is fairly intensive with two major wind farms being planned.

Lights inspections have been ongoing with 11,354 checks being made during the year. A new system has been introduced allowing other providers of lights to report their results.

The General Lighthouse Authorities’ 5-Year AtoN review is due to be published in 2025. In early 2024 stakeholders will be asked to comment on the draft version before final release.

Trinity House is currently evaluating the possibility of retiring Light Vessels, most of which are now fifty years old and require extensive maintenance.

One in particular is East Goodwin LV. Is it needed? Trinity House thinks not, believing it to be an obstruction to vessels, with a fair number of ships passing between it and the Goodwin Sands. It could be replaced with a Type 1 buoy. As one who, many years ago prior to GNSS, tried to use its light to take a bearing, I asked that whatever replaced it should have something other than one flash every 30 seconds. From a small vessel, this is almost impossible to do.

Greenwich LV is another likely to be removed. It was only positioned there to mark the beginning of the TSS when first introduced. As it marks no hazard it could be replaced by a buoy.

Long Sand Head is an area always in need of consideration. (Why is there so much need in the area where I used to sail?) For years the end of the sandbank has slowly moved to the North East, recently has been fairly static but has now speeded up. The real problem is that this movement is towards the TSS off Harwich. One option would be to move the buoys marking the bank to the North East, reducing the width of the TSS. Another possibility is to place a single buoy at the top of the bank which should leave more space for shipping.

Rob Dorey, TH Director of Operations took over and explained that Trinity House ran three vessels, Galatea, Patricia and Alert. Patricia is currently having an ongoing refit and Alert is due for an intermediate docking in February 2024. In addition, TH also charter a small vessel, for use in confined waters, especially around Wales. These all support TH lighthouse projects, planned seabed surveys and meet Risk Response criteria. All, however, require planned maintenance.

On the ability to respond to emergencies, we learn that Trinity House is tasked with different response times in different sea areas (sadly the slide was too far for me to see clearly from where I sat). Here, they have performed well. In areas with a 95% requirement to respond within 6 hours they managed 98.3%, with a 90% requirement in 12 hours it was 90.9% and where 85% was mandated in 24 hours 98.4%. They exceeded the requirement in each area, although they intend to improve, especially in those 12-hour response areas.

Lighthouse refurbishment and modernization projects completed include St. Tudwalls, St. Catherines and Lynmouth Foreland.  Flamborough Head, which is difficult of access, has been updated using standard TH equipment. The Needles Lighthouse update is continuing from March to October 2023. The light will be a static flashing LED although the old optic is being retained to give the correct colour sectors.

Work in the near future includes Trevose Head starting 09/2023 and is expected to be completed in 2024, while that at Cromer will run from 09/2024 until 02/2025.

Royal Sovereign Lighthouse is being decommissioned as it is falling apart as well as having become unnecessary. The jack-up barge needed for phase 1 is in place. A high lift barge to remove the top section is due on site on 23/09/2023. Phase 2 to remove the pillar is scheduled for the second quarter of 2024. The original concrete base has sunk into the sea bed and the pillar will be cut off 30 cm. above it.

The replacement of THV Patricia is still intended, and key requirements are being reviewed. Once done the market will be approached for quotes to build her.

Alwyn Williams from GRAD took over to explain that they are continuing with Field Measuring Equipment for lights, with the expectation of more accurate measurements. They are also developing tools to help design AtoNs and are involved in the introduction of the S100.

Pictured: THV Galatea

By Andy Proctor and Guy Buesnel

The RIN PNT Advisory group Executive group met recently and a significant topic of discussion was the initial release of the RIN white paper “Recommendations to promote the adoption of Resilient Position, Navigation and Timing in the UK”. This is an important milestone for the RIN PNT Advisory Group.  

The report makes some significant recommendations on the best ways forward to drive a greater understanding and adoption of the principles of Resilient PNT in the UK.

In his foreword to the report, Professor Terry Moore, former RIN president and Professor Emeritus at the University of Nottingham, details how society has become increasingly dependent on the services provided by PNT and that the increasing vulnerability of these services has become a critical issue to resolve.

The authors of the white paper, Ramsey Faragher and Mitch Narins (both FRIN’s), with support from the RIN PNT Advisory Group, believe that Resilient PNT is an area in which the UK could provide leadership to improve PNT performance given the high level of expert knowledge and track record in innovation and excellence that the UK possesses.  

A RIN- led approach is advocated by the authors who go on to make several key findings and recommendations as a result of their research – which they believe could be transformational to the future of Resilient PNT.

The paper was produced to help understand the values of developing standards, guidelines, and/or legislation for Resilient PNT in an already complex eco-system.  The importance of protecting Critical National Infrastructure from the consequences of increased vulnerability of PNT services to disruptions, was a strong driver in developing the findings and recommendations.

The paper considers the UK’s key strengths in PNT, making the point that the UK has historically been a global leader in PNT from the establishment of the longitude act (and prize) in 1714 following pressure from seafarers, the origins of the Greenwich meridian first established by Sir George Airy in 1851, and the “battle of the beams” in  World War II,  where the UK pioneered many radio navigation aids, counter-measures to defend against German radio based navigation technologies and early terrain-mapping radar navigation systems.  The UK carried this expertise forward into the 21st century and has taken leading roles in notable areas such as signals and control for GNSS systems, PNT satellites, receiver development smartphone navigation, precise timing transfer and control, system integration, PNT-enabled applications, and test measurement and verification.
The report goes on to examine the challenges facing PNT today and discusses existing PNT standards and guidance to propose a way forward to develop UK Resilient PNT best practice and guidelines. 

It is a wide-ranging white paper and contains a wealth of information along with its measured recommendations and conclusions.
With the “2nd Leadership in PNT” event being planned to take place at the Royal Society on 07 November 2023 the white paper will obviously be a major discussion point on the day.  A panel session at the event is being planned along with a video introduction from the two principal authors.   Event delegates will have the opportunity to read the white paper in advance of the seminar and to provide their input – and additionally they will be able to register their interest in being directly involved in the follow up activities proposed by the white paper. This will be an excellent opportunity for attendees to play a significant part in contributing to the development and excellence of a strong UK approach to Resilient PNT, and to the development of the RIN programme over the next year.

Andy Proctor, Chair of the UK PNT Advisory Group, and the part of organising committee for the Leadership in PNT event, hailed the release of the RIN white paper, “Standards, best practices, and legislation play an important role in the resilience and preparedness, to disruption, of infrastructure that uses PNT now and into the future. This new initiative and proposed working group could bring together UK expertise in the field to address the challenges it identifies.”

The RIN PNT Advisory group is also working on matters relating to Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Sensing, PNT in Defence, and PNT Innovation. It also taking learning from across the RIN from its other groups, such as the newly formed Maritime Navigation Group and the Cognitive Navigation groups, some of this learning will also be discussed at the Leadership event in November. Register here.

Sea shanties originated as work songs, designed to be upbeat and repetitive to help workers synchronise mundane tasks. John Hasselgren of the RIN’s Small Craft Group explores the navigation-al elements of the popular sea shanty “Spanish Ladies”. Members can read the full article in the Navigation News archive here. This article was first published in the May/June 2023 edition of Nav news.

Check out the Longest Johns (who went viral with Wellerman on TikTok during the COVID lockdown) version of Spanish Ladies in the video attached.

Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish Ladies,
Farewell and adieu to you ladies of Spain
For we’ve received orders to sail for old England
And we may never see you fair ladies again.

In some versions the last line is given as, “And hope someday soon to see you again.”

The chorus is: 
We’ll rant and we’ll roar like true British sailors,
Well rant and we’ll roar across the salt seas,
Until we strike soundings in the Channel of old England
From Ushant to Scillies ‘tis thirty four leagues.

Like all sea shanties the words tend to vary and I have seen versions where the distance between Ushant (or Ouessant to give it its French name) and Scilly (which I am informed is the correct spelling) is thirty five leagues.

Unlike most sea shanties, which come from merchant sailing ships, this one was originated in the Royal Navy. The oldest version is thought to appear in the logbook of HMS Nellie in 1794. This would suggest it dates from the Napoleonic era when the Royal Navy was carrying supplies to Spain to help with its war against revolutionary France. This must have been one of the few times when England wasn’t at war with Spain.

But what has this to do with navigation? Let’s have a look....

Signed in members can read the rest of the article in the May/June 2023 edition of Navigation News found in the online archive here

Emre is a PhD student in Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL, fellow at Founders of the Future and member of the RIN Younger Members’ Group. This article was first published in the July/August edition of Navigation News.

At the beginning of May, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to present a poster at the FENS (Federation of European Neuroscience Societies) regional meeting in The Algarve, Portugal. The poster reported on my PhD work investigating the association between GPS reliance and human spatial navigation performance. In particular, the focus was on a part of my PhD research, supervised by Professor Hugo Spiers, where I looked at the association between reliance on GPS use as measured by self-report questionnaires and human spatial navigation performance measured using Sea Hero Quest. Sea Hero Quest has been mentioned in Navigation News before but for those unfamiliar, it is a series of navigation tests developed by our team in the form of a mobile video game app. 

Both presenting and networking at an international conference can be a daunting experience, so I’d like to pass on the following insights to anybody who feels apprehensive about doing the same.

9 Tips for Preparing a Poster

1. Visuals

Focus on the visualisations first. What will look most enticing, the clearest and the easiest to interpret for the reader? People will be scanning 100s of posters, and so ensuring that the key figures are as bold and as clear as possible, with clearly labelled axes, will very much help the reader take away the gist of the results.

2 Be clear 

For the introduction/background, try and keep this to around three clear bullet points, to give the reader a brief enough overview of why you investigated what you did, and where it fits into the broader scientific literature.

3. Make sure your reader can understand your logical flow

For the methods, presenting these succinctly and in a visually appealing way is key. If the reader can understand the logical flow of the steps you took to get from your hypothesis to your results, such as by using arrows and flow diagrams etc., it will help them to understand the pattern of thought you had when designing the experiment and analysing the data. 

Read More - available to logged in members

Author

Emre Yavuz

LinkedIn

UCL profile

To read the rest of the article, as well as access the rest of the Navigation News archive, sign up to become a RIN members - student membership is available from £16 per year. 

Younger Members' Group

rin.org.uk/YoungerMembersGroup

Written by John Hasselgren

I attended this meeting at the request of Paul Bryans, Chairman of the Small Craft Group, as he was unable to do so himself.

The meeting was Chaired by Capt. Patrick Mowatt RN. It was recorded for subsequent viewing.

Apologies for absence were taken and the minutes of the previous meeting were accepted.

Jason Scholey, Senior Product Manager, then gave an update on Digital Navigation.

The main reasons for the change to digital equipment and techniques are:

1. Drivers: Environmental accountability – the need to decarbonize and use cleaner fuel.
Improved operational efficiency.

2. Solutions: Alternative fuels, although this isn’t the responsibility of UKHO.
Optimization in the use of shipping.
Autonomous Navigation.

3. Enablers: Internet connectivity.
Cyber security.
Training of seafarers and the use of simulators.

IMO has approved the use of S-100 charts on ECDIS equipment by 2026.

S-100 charts on ECDIS will be required for all new installations from 2029.

These changes are expected to be gradual and should fit with the common ten-year cycle of replacing bridge equipment. Current services will be needed for the next ten years before the advent of second generation of digital services. There is also the need to improve the availability of the existing services, with the OKHO being responsible for not only the UK but also Crown Dependencies and other waters, a total of 71 areas. Currently, only 15% of UKHO products are now on paper. Much data is still distributed on DVDs and there is a need to move to online distribution and reduce the amount of plastic used.

Sailing Directions are being digitized so that they may be read online instead of getting out a book. (I must here say that I would be most unlikely to read my Thames Estuary Pilot if I had to do so online. I much prefer the book, but I don’t need to carry the set for the world.)

Tidal services are, at present, based on tidal gauges, but are moving towards using Oceanographic modelling with the ability to build in Meteorological influences. This should improve the accuracy of tidal heights and flows. It is expected that long-term tidal data will be available using the Oceanographic method, with short-term improved data given three or four days in advance.

Data improvements on charts include greater consistency between adjacent ENCs, removing the problem of contours not joining one another. Higher contour density in critical areas will give greater information and make it easier to set a limiting depth contour rather than equipment defaulting to the next depth.  Enriched consistency on charts, with greater land detail will allow better visual referencing and position fixing. Areas where this has been tried, with success, include Oban – Fort William, Anglesea, Caernarfon and Cardigan Bays, Milford Haven and The Wash. Very high praise for this came from the Pilots in Milford Haven.

Nick Nash commented that a smaller gap between contours would be very useful in both Belfast and Dublin. The ferries often draw 8.2 metres and seem to risk crossing the 10-metre contour into shallow water, especially when being audited.

Lisa Denson gave a brief update on the sub-ECDIS situation. Basically, nothing has changed. The focus is on those customers who need a solution to be able to use digital navigation. The first step is getting international agreement on charts and equipment. She confirmed that the MCA is involved in this and that UKHO will continue to produce paper charts until at least 2030.

David Robertson from MAIB then presented some ship groundings that could be attributed to errors in digital navigation with ECDIS.

The first was Chem Alya, an 11,939 GT chemical tanker that used the Needles Channel to exit the Solent, despite a warning on the chart that this was unadvisable for vessels over 10,000 GT due to strong tidal streams and changing widths of the channel. She drifted north of the channel and grounded on the Shingles. The conclusion was that the passage plan ignored the recommendation that this channel should not have been used by this ship, and that route check alerts and off-track alarms hadn’t been dealt with.

Next, the Kaami, a small (2,715 GRT) general cargo ship that grounded in the Little Minch near the Shiant Islands. The conclusion here was that the safety contours on the ECDIS were unchanged since the crew joined the ship, the Master hadn’t used the safety check function to verify the passage plan and that ECDIS was an ineffective tool for passage monitoring because of inappropriate set-up. It was also said that the management company had not the experience nor the training to enable it to effectively audit ECDIS.

The Key Bora, 2,627 GRT chemical tanker, grounded on a rock in the approach to Kyleakin. The rock was shown on the latest ENC which had been downloaded eight days prior to the grounding but had not been checked and no one on board was aware of this latest correction. Conclusions – the ship ran aground due to the passage plan being based on inaccurate (old) survey data. The safety contour had been set at 6.48 metres but, not matching one of the five charted depth contours on the ENC in use, had defaulted to ten metres. The crew had also been relied upon to conduct navigational audits of their own processes.

Personally, I wouldn’t consider any of these as failures of digital navigation. Rather, they seem to me to be down to a lack of good navigation techniques such as updating charts, the use of back bearings, checking the ship’s position by sighting buoys, by radar and looking out of the window.

In the discussions that followed Trevor Harris from Trinity House seemed to agree with my thoughts above when he said there was a fundamental failure of navigation. He quoted two masters who didn’t know what a South Cardinal marker meant. In another case a vessel grounded alongside a port-hand lateral buoy, the course having been laid the wrong side of the buoy. Those making these mistakes were now expected to cope with ECDIS.

Ships are known to transfer Passage Plans, sometimes from one vessel to another, sometimes buying them from a commercial company. An earlier Passage Plan may be used at a later date without updating things like the draft. What to do about this? One suggestion was that, just as aircraft had to file a flight plan before they were allowed to take off, perhaps passage plans should be filed and approved before sailing. But by whom? The Port State, the MCA or the Harbour Authority? My comment on this was that when the TSS was established off Harwich the Harwich Haven Authority refused any responsibility for monitoring the area or giving advice to shipping. It would get no income unless the vessel entered Harwich, but would need to insure itself in case of any errors. That TSS is monitored by Channel Navigation Information Services in Dover. What would it cost to monitor all these passage plans, and who would pay?

At the end of the meeting, I was asked to remind RIN that it had agreed to take the lead, with the Chamber of Shipping, at the SONAC meeting on 17th October 2023 when the subject was to be Cybersecurity and Resilient Digital Navigation.

John Hasselgren.

15/06/2023

Prof Michael Hornberger sheds light on the link between spatial disorientation and dementia, highlighting the significance and impact of this in the real world. Michael is Professor of Applied Dementia Research at Norwich Medical School, UK. This article was first published in the July/August 2023 Navigation News.

Getting lost in an unfamiliar environment is a common occurrence for the vast majority of people. For example, we can easily get lost and have difficulty finding our bearings when on holiday in a new town. This can be amusing, in particular when we pass the same place for the third time, but it can be also quite unsettling and distressing when we get completely lost. Such ‘getting lost’ scenarios are very common for people with dementia, who often have difficulties finding their bearings even in highly familiar locations. It might come as a surprise to many people that such spatial disorientation is a key symptom in dementia, since we would assume that memory problems are the key early symptom. Spatial disorientation is actually as common as memory problems, but is under-recognised since it is often not noticed by family members, and is rarely inquired about as a symptom by clinicians and healthcare professionals. To better understand why spatial disorientation occurs in dementia, we need to understand how the brain is affected by the dementia disease processes. 

Dementia is an umbrella term for different dementias, with Alzheimer’s disease accounting for 60-70% of cases with dementia. It is thought that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the build-up of two proteins (amyloid and tau) in the brain. The exact reason why these proteins accumulate and cause the disease is not yet fully established. However, once the two proteins accumulate, they start becoming toxic to the nerve cells and subsequently nerve cells start dying. It is this dying of nerve cells which causes the symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease, since the brain cannot conduct its functions properly anymore once the nerve cells are gone. 

For dementia diagnosis, spatial orientation changes can potentially complement the reported memory problems, which helps to confirm the diagnosis. This is particularly useful, since many people report changes to their memory as they age, while healthy people would rarely report having problems with orientation.

Read the full article here

Learn more about the symptoms and warning signs of dementia on the Alzheimer Research UK website 

Author

Prof Michael Hornberger

Professor of Applied Dementia Research, Norwich Medical School

Michael's book ‘Tangled Up – The science and history of Alzheimer’s disease’ is available here.

RIN Cog Nav Special Interest Group

https://cognavrin.org.uk/

UK PNT Advisory Group (PAG) Chair Andy Proctor and PAG Secretary Guy Buesnel report on the committees wide-ranging discussions.

The PNT Advisory Group Executive Committee met last month online; the topics discussed include:
• Advances in Quantum technologies for PNT
• The rise of Artificial Intelligence
• PNT in Automation/autonomous systems 
• The role of PNT Standards or Guidance in improving systems or equipment resilience 
• Developing a communications strategy for the committee
• Improving committee participation and International Reach 
• Forthcoming RIN Defence Seminar at Aerospace Bristol
• Following up the recent LEO event
• A review of PNT Advisory Group Activities

Defence PNT

An area focussed on was the forthcoming RIN Defence Seminar at Aerospace Bristol on 03 July.  The MoD wants to reconnect with companies and individuals in the Defence Sector on PNT matters. RIN and the Advisory Group has developed a one-day programme of talks and discussion to enable discussions and networking. The event is especially important given the recent news stories detailing how an inertial navigation sensor has undergone trials on a Royal Navy warship.

The Seminar’s focus will be on 
• What is meant by "resilient PNT" and "assured PNT"?
• How should threats and hazards be considered?
• Development of requirements for defence PNT systems
• Approaches to assessing risks at different levels from modules to integrated systems
• Mitigation approaches and their relative/absolute effectiveness
• Research and development challenges
• Latest developments in PNT for defence applications

The programme will have presentations from MoD and DSTL personnel in the morning and two panel discussions in the afternoon session. The event moderator is the RIN PNT Advisory Group Chair, Andy Proctor

The talks will include: -
• Keynote: Wing Cdr Mark Brammer, MOD
• Briefing from Strategic Command, Space Capability Planning (SATCOM & PNT) - Al Harris, PNT Desk Officer
• Briefing from DSTL on their activities - Rob Handley, Acting Chief PNT Scientist
• Briefing from DE&S - Jonathan Wilson
• Briefing from DSC on their activity - Stuart Snedden, Space Team, UK Defence Solutions Centre

The afternoon panel discussions will concentrate on “Threats and Disruptions” and “Systems Thinking/Infrastructure protection”.

The last few places for this event are available here:  https://rin.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1748439

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) PNT

The Advisory Group discussed how best to follow up the recent RIN LEO PNT Seminar. RIN hosted the event in March 2023 to encourage a discussion and debate, under “Chatham House rules”, to discuss the technical, value chain, resilience, and business model challenges of providing PNT services from large satellite constellations. The event centred around open discussion, independence, and the objective of bringing the challenges forward for debate. 
These challenges include frequency selection, orbit determination and prediction accuracy (noted by a few attendees as “hard for LEO”); concept of operation (doppler or time-of-arrival), and the integration with other, linked services (independence and interoperability). 
Of greater concern in the room was the lack of clear business models from most of the LEO PNT providers. That is understandable as companies are reluctant to expose their models in front of their competitors. But there was less clarity in the room about why someone would pay for additional PNT services from space.

Approximately 100 people attended in person from over 40 organisations, UK and beyond, spanning users, service providers, equipment manufacturers and government officials.

The Advisory Group noted that a follow up by RIN is needed as the one-day seminar attracted some very lively debate and argument and succeeded in highlighting several key areas where significant challenges remain.

“Standards damn Standards”

The role of standards or guidance in increasing the resilience of systems or equipment is being discussed with the PAG preparing a white paper in this area. Its author Ramsey Farragher had opened the paper up to contributions from the rest of the executive committee. 

RIN PAG Chair Andy Proctor outlined the evolving US IEEE P1952 standard and its focus on resilience levels.  He speculated as to whether this approach would succeed in adding value to the PNT community but also stated that there was a need for intervention, be it a standard, guidance or even a code of conduct.  An analysis of the US Resilience Conformance Framework would be part of developing the correct intervention.

The meeting noted it is necessary to help users assess their current levels of resilience – there is nothing available to support presently.  This links to the other PAG activity on if there is a need for a UK PNT test bed, which is being consulted upon. The “standards” report is nearly completed and the executive committee discussed whether an RIN event on standards to coincide with the release of the document, would be worth considering. 

This blog invites recipients to feedback to the RIN on if a seminar on PNT standards/guidance/best practice would be welcomed. Please contact RIN Communications and Events Manager Clare Stead at comms@rin.org.uk with any feedback

Ensuring better communications

The group Secretary Guy Buesnel also presented plans to develop a coherent communications strategy for the RIN PAG which could be widely used to achieve consistency and greater reach for the group, including keeping members on the mailing list up to date.

The Committee also unanimously decided to issue approve the admission of Mitch Narins FRIN to the PNT Advisory Committee Exec team.  Mitch has been a prolific contributor to the work of the RIN and to developing Systems thinking for achieving PNT resilience and in developing usable standards to improve PNT Resilience. Mitch was employed with the FAA for more than 26 years, becoming Chief Systems Engineer for Navigation Services. He is also an Adjunct Professor at George Washington University, a member of the editorial advisory board for GPS World, magazine, a member of the Corporate Faculty at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, is a Fellow of the RIN and is now the Principal Consultant and owner of Strategic Synergies, LLC.  Mitch will bring a wealth of industrial and academic expertise to the committee as well as a US perspective on Resilient PNT affairs.
The PNT Advisory Group always welcomes suggestions and inputs on PNT matters, large or small. Feel free to get in touch. 

Andy and Guy. 

The meeting of the sub-committee on Navigation, Communications, Search and Rescue (NCSR) was held under the chairmanship Nigel Clifford of New Zealand. This was the first in person meeting since Covid so there was more time available to catch up on items which had been deferred. The agenda still proved to be quite challenging however and some items could not be completed for lack of time. Some hybrid working possible was possible for members who were unable to attend in person.

A document had been received from Ukraine expressing concerns on the Russian Federation's actions impacting the functioning of Ukraine's system of navigational and hydrographic support of shipping in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. This led to considerable debate although some of the issues raised were outside of the scope of the sub-committee. In conclusion Member States were encouraged to ensure that the functioning of key navigational aids and systems was protected at all times and particularly during any conflict situation in order to guarantee the safety of international shipping and protect the lives of seafarers.

Following the work of the last meeting in preparing revised performance standards for the electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS), amendments were agreed to add a requirement for standardised digital exchange of ship’s route plans. No input had been received on proposals to amend the performance standards for the Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) so this item was deleted from the work programme.

There was considerable discussion on proposals to amend SOLAS to improve the safety of pilot transfer arrangements. The way forward was concluded to be the development of a new resolution containing performance standards and this task was referred to a correspondence group led by China.

Maritime Safety Information (MSI) Providers

The issue of increased costs for Maritime Safety Information (MSI) providers as new GMDSS satellite service providers are recognised in addition to Inmarsat had been referred by the last meeting to a correspondence group led by Australia. The group had defined a number of options but none of the options could offer a perfect outcome. The issue will now be referred to the Maritime Safety Committee for further advice. Revisions were prepared to the Iridium SafetyCast service manual, the Joint IMO/IHO/WMO Manual on Maritime Safety Information and MSC.1/Circ.1610 concerning the description of maritime services in the context of e-navigation. Proposals to revise the criteria for the provision of new GMDSS satellite service providers (resolution A.1001(25)) received from a correspondence group set up by the last meeting were referred back to the group led by France.

Various liaison statements to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) were prepared concerning the IMO position for the next ITU World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC 23); proposals to modify the recommendation M.1371-5 for the Automatic Identification System (AIS), issues on coding of emergency indicating radio beacons (EPIRBs), and digital selective calling alarms relating to bridge alert management.

The meeting noted information provided by radio manufacturers that it would not be realistic to produce new GMDSS radios in time for deadline of installations after 1 January 2024. Proposals were prepared for the Committee to consider a revised date of 1 January 2028. COMSAR/Circ.32 relating to the availability of radio equipment was revised following experience of its use.

The issue of unlawful practices associated with the manipulation of data transmissions from the automatic identification system (AIS) and tampering of AIS transponders was discussed with a view to possibly identifying improved technical arrangements.

Some items had been received but were not considered to be sufficiently mature to be actioned. Proposals for performance standards for NAVDAT, intended to be a possible replacement for NAVTEX, were referred to the next meeting. Proposals for generic performance standards for shipborne satellite navigation system receiver equipment were referred back to the correspondence group led by Germany. Proposals for the introduction of a VHF data exchange system (VDES) were referred to a correspondence group led by Japan.

There were no ship’s routeing proposals submitted to the meeting. A UK proposal for a new mandatory reporting system in the Pentland Firth, which was not agreed at the previous meeting, was agreed as a voluntary system. Associated protective measures within a particularly sensitive sea area in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea were prepared to protect cetaceans. The chair of the Experts Group on Ship’s Routeing, George Detweiller of the USA, announced that this would be his last meeting as he was retiring. He had chaired the group since NCSR4.

Upcoming Meetings Relating To Maritime Safety

The next meeting of NCSR is planned for 4 to 13 June 2024. A meeting of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 107) is planned for 31 May to 9 June 2023. A meeting of the Joint IMO/ITU Experts Group is planned for 9 to 13 October 2023. A meeting of the ICAO/IMO Joint Working Group is planned for 6 to 10 November 2023. The meeting proposed to invite the Committee to authorize the holding of annual meetings of the Joint IMO/ITU Experts Group and the ICAO/IMO Joint Working Group in future until advised otherwise.