Aids to Navigation are state of the art and match the demand from shipping
There may still be plenty of arguments about the need for lighthouses and the cost of light dues where these are not funded from general taxation, but it is important that Aids to Navigation are state of the art and match the demand from shipping.
The General Lighthouse Authorities of the UK and Ireland have a reputation to maintain as leaders in AtoN technology and last week published their strategic document which looks ahead to 2025 and beyond. Anyone concerned with safe navigation would find it of interest.
Much of it revolves around the move from what might be described as “conventional” and traditional navigation to the e-Navigation era which has been prescribed by the International Maritime Organization.
But it is also important, when considering AtoNs, that these are used by all classes and sizes of shipping, with the need to consider not only commercial shipping, but a substantial population of fishing and leisure users. And while there may be assumptions made about the way in which GPS has become the subject of “overwhelming reliance” by all sorts of navigators, the GLAs’ concern is for the growing vulnerability of this important medium to interference from either natural causes such as solar activities to illegal or terrorist-inspired jamming.
It is this concern about over-reliance on GPS which motivates the AtoN operators’ desire for an independent position, navigation and timing backup, such as enhanced Loran, which is still in s state of development, but which is being funded by a number of European governments, including that of the UK.
There is a real worry about GPS interference and the effects that a “sudden reversion to traditional visual and radar navigation methods in congested and confined waters” might have upon future watchkeepers who might find this both distressing and unsafe.
The strategy provides for a gradual change to more electronic means of navigation, but uses a precautionary approach that studies the need for aids to navigation before amending them.
The new facility of AIS assists the lighthouse authorities in enabling them, for the first time to accurately assess the volume of traffic, the type of ships that are using aids to navigation and the actuality of their passages around the coasts of the British Isles. This precision will enable the authorities to tailor the aids to navigation to actual need, in terms of adjusting the range of lights and perhaps discontinuing those that are no longer needed.
This is important as these exceptionally busy waters are becoming increasingly constricted by now offshore energy developments, many of which can impinge upon regular routes of shipping. In UK waters alone, some 7,000 wind turbines and other wave and tidal devices are likely to be installed in the timescale of the GLAs’ strategy.
The strategy thus foresees a mix of aids to navigation, some physical, some electronic and others radio aids which will cater for the diverse needs of users in what is a changing navigational environment.
Meanwhile the authorities will maintain these AtoNs , adjusted according to demand and carry out their other responsibilities, such as responding to the marking of wrecks, and the development of better navigational systems. The way ahead for the three GLAs has been charted.
Source: BIMCO,Watchkeeper
