E-Navigation Underway (North America) 2015

All videos from the conference are available here, courtesy of Maritime TV

Conference Communiqué

Background

The second in the e-Navigation Underway (North America) conference series was held 28-30 September 2015 at the State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College in New York City. Organized by the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) and the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) and hosted by SUNY Maritime College, the conference was attended by 103 delegates representing 18 countries, not counting the faculty members and cadets who attended as their schedules permitted. Eight exhibitors displayed e-navigation related systems and services.

The conference theme was “Reducing Risk through e-Navigation: How e-navigation Can Improve Conning Decisions”. Twenty-two Moderators and Presenters covered a range of e-navigation topics, grouped into four sessions:

1. Setting the Stage: Providing general background about accidents and waterway management
2. Bride Resource Management
3. e-Navigation Technology
4. e-Navigation Infrastructure

Considerable discussion concluded each session and in a final Wrap Up session conferees reached a series of Conclusions and articulated Recommendations.

Conclusions

• Although e-navigation equipment has been in wide use for some time it appears that the percentage of accidents attributable to human error has not reduced. Indications are that the lack of progress may be due to inadequate Bridge Resource Management (BRM) perhaps attributable at least in part to managerial failures.
• Demonstration projects and testbed activities should collect cost and benefit information needed to support business cases justifying application.
• Early identification of points of system vulnerability is critical to development of back-up measures and procedures.
• Educational measures to expand e-navigation visibility should be assigned higher priority. Reporting requirements impose a significant drain on bridge resources especially at the senior level. If, as is likely, the administrative burden of ship reporting will not be reduced but will continue to increase, it will be necessary to find other solutions.
• Ships will not be able to utilize the full range of e-navigation services until the equipment certification process is made more flexible and adapted to the way ship-board equipment evolves; specifically by allowing certification of components of each piece of equipment and of each system independent of other components.

Recommendations

• Validation of BRM practices must become a primary responsibility of ship managers and insurers and others should develop methodologies to reward good practices.
• During organization of this conference it became evident that significant groups of stakeholders remain uninvolved, awaiting imposition of regulatory requirements. More effective steps should be taken to involve there elements in the development of e-navigation services related to their operations.
• The equipment certification process should be made more flexible.
• Automate ship reporting to the extent possible, exploiting the “Single Window” concept.

Presentations

• Day 1 - 28 September 2015

  1700-1900 : Reception at SUNY Maritime College.  Finger food and beverages will be served at this “Mee tand  Greet”, together with an opportunity to register for the conference.  Transportation will be provided to and from the conference hotel.

• Day 2 - 29 September 2015

  Transportation provided to and from conference hotel. Bus will depart hotel at 0700

  Morning and Afternoon Coffee Breaks will be provided

  0730-0830 : REGISTRATION & CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

  0830 1030 : Conference Opening

  Remarks by Conference Chair – Mr. Andrew T. Colleran, Lecturer of Navigation, SUNY Maritime College

  Welcome to SUNY Maritime – Rear Admiral Michael Alfultis, PhD, USMS, President, SUNY Maritime College

  Keynote Address – Mr. Joseph Trotti, Chief Executive Officer, AIG Global Marine & Aerospace

  1030-1200 : SESSION I: SETTING THE STAGE

  The first session of the conference serves as the foundation for subsequent ones, providing information about the existing risk level, information gleaned from accident investigations and provides general information about e-navigation plans and benefits.

  Moderator – Captain E. J. Fink, USCG (Ret), Dean of Maritime Education & Training, Chair of Professional Education & Training Department, SUNY Maritime College

  Accident Statistics, the trends and what investigations tell us – Ms. Tracy Murrell, Director, Office of Marine Safety, U.S. National Transportation Safety Board

  e-Navigation and Transportation Efficiencies – Mr. Anders Brödje, Swedish Maritime Authority

  e-Navigation and U.S. Inland Waters – Mr. Brian Tetreault, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Invited)

  Moderator led discussion

  1200-1330 : LUNCH – Speaker: Rear Admiral Gerd F. Glang, NOAA, Director, Office of Coast Survey

  1330-1630 : SESSION II : BRIDGE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT-ADDRESSING PROBLEMS NOW

  A goal of Session II is to improve understanding of e-navigation’s role in risk reduction on the part of not just mariners but management, insurers and regulatory authorities as well.

  Moderator:  Mr. David J. Patraiko, Director of Projects, The Nautical Institute

  Real Time Navigational Audits – Captain Richard A. Flanagan, President, Triton Marine

  Operational and Legal Considerations for the Effective Use of E-Navigation Systems – Mr. Alan M. Weigel, Counsel, Blank Rome LLP

  Teaching with technology:  An ECDIS pedagogy study – Captain Scott Powell, MNI, MRIN Associate Professor, California Maritime Academy

  BRM – Getting it Right  – Captain Alan Wilson, Vice President of Marine, Holland America/Princess Cruises

  Supporting BRM from the Shore Support:  The Role of Cooperative Decision Support and Shared Situational Awareness in Reducing Risk – Mr. Todd Schuett, SESAME Straits Project Manager, Kongsberg Norcontrol IT AS

  Moderator led discussion

  1700-1900 : RECEPTION – Finger food & beverages (Transportation provided to hotel at conclusion)

• DAY 3 - 30 September 2015

  Transportation provided to and from conference hotel. Bus will depart hotel at 0700

  Morning and Afternoon Coffee Breaks will be provided

  0730-0830 : CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

  0830-1200 : SESSION III : TECHNOLOGY – SUPPORTING THE MARINER

  Technology plays a critical role in on-board decision support, with the end goal of providing not data but information in an unambiguous form immediately available for decision-making. At the same time the need for watchstander verification of accuracy and proper functioning of instrumentation must be minimized. Technology not only changes and evolves but sometimes requires modifications to eliminate where possible the distractions caused by its “care and feeding”. The session examines the need for such modifications and ongoing evolution.

  Moderator:  Mr. David Blevins, Sperry Marine, Inc.

  The Role of Wearable Immersive Augmented Reality (WIAR) Systems in Shipboard Navigation– Dr. Martha Grabowski, LeMoyne College

  ECDIS vs ECS, which is best? – Mr. Jorge Arroyo, Program & Management Analyst, Office of Navigation Systems, U.S. Coast Guard

  Maritime Service Portfolios:  Their Relationship to BRM – Mr. John Leon Ervik, Norwegian Coastal Authority

  Apps as a tool to improve innovation in e-Navigation –Ms. Frances Baskerville, Secretary-General, Comité International Radio-Maritime (CIRM)

  MSI – Delivering Marine Safety Information – Mr. Mads Bentzen Billesø, Danish Maritime Authority

  Route Exchange – Mr. Anders Rydlinger, TRANSAS

  Moderator led discussion

  1200-1330 : LUNCH – Speaker:  Mr. Francis Zachariae, Secretary-General, International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA)

  1330-1530 : SESSION IV : INFRASTRUCTURE – CRITICAL TO BRM

  “Infrastructure” as used for this session includes the wide array of critical but ancillary things necessary from ashore. Session discussions may range from needed governmental actions to Private-Public Partnerships.

  Moderator:  CAPT Scott Smith, Chief, Office of Navigation Systems, U.S. Coast Guard

  21st Century Waterways – CDR John M. Stone, U.S. Coast Guard

  The Role of the IMO and National Maritime Authorities – Mr. John Erik Hagen, Regional Director, Norwegian Coastal Administration & Chair, IMO e-Navigation Correspondence Group

  Resiliency for Navigation & Timing – Mr. Dana A. Goward, President of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation

  Moderator led discussion

  1530-1630 : SESSION V: WRAP UP – FORMULATE CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

  Moderator: Ms. Helen Brohl, Executive Director, Committee on the Marine Transportation System, U.S. Department of Transportation

  Panelists: Moderators of Sessions I-IV

  Moderated General Discussion

  Approval of Conference Conclusions & Recommendations

  1630-1640 : Closing Remarks: Conference Chair