Marine Aids to Navigation into the 21st Century
A Consultation Paper issued jointly by the General Lighthouse
Authorities for the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland as a
basis for planning ahead in the interests of the safety of
navigation
About the General Lighthouse Authorities
(GLAs)
The GLAs are
- The Corporation of Trinity House, London for England, Wales, Channel Islands and Gibraltar
- The Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses for Scotland and the Isle of Man
- The Commissioners of Irish Lights for the whole of Ireland.
Each of the GLAs' areas of responsibility includes 'the
adjacent seas and islands' which extend well beyond their nation's
territorial waters.
The GLAs have a duty to
The GLAs have a duty to
- assume obligations of their Governments' under the Safety of Life at Sea Convention 1974 for the adequate provision of such aids to navigation in and around each of their respective areas as the volume of traffic justifies and the degree of risk requires
- deliver a reliable and economical aids to navigation service to assist the safe and expeditious passage of all classes of mariners in general navigation
- sanction the establishment, alteration or discontinuance of aids to navigation within the Local Lighthouse Authority jurisdiction of ports and harbours
- mark, raise, remove or destroy any wreck in their areas which is a danger to navigation, where there is no harbour or conservancy authority with similar powers.
The costs of the GLAs' services
- are met from the General Lighthouse Fund (GLF) which derives its income mainly from light dues which are charged on commercial shipping at United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland ports in direct proportion to the costs of the services provided, without Exchequer funding.
- are regulated by the (UK) Secretary of State for Transport who has a duty to ensure the effective management of the GLF and enable the GLAs to provide adequate aids to navigation at the optimum cost; a non-statutory body known as the Lights Advisory Committee which is made up of shipping and ports' representatives, is consulted by the Department of Transport on certain financial matters relating to the GLF.
Introduction
1. The General Lighthouse Authorities (GLAs) are seeking your views on the mix of marine aids to navigation that should be provided for the United Kingdom (UK) and the Republic of Ireland (RoI) over the next 25 years or so. The GLAs believe that decisions should be taken now in the interests of safety of navigation and to secure the maximum benefit from new technology. This Consultation Paper summarises the main points of a comprehensive document produced by the GLAs on their Joint View of Aids to Navigation into the 21st Century a copy of which you can obtain by contacting the relevant GLA named in paragraph 12 below. You are invited to express your views to the GLAs, following receipt of which the GLAs will make recommendations on future requirements to the UK Secretary of State for Transport and the Commissioners of Irish Lights will similarly make recommendation to the Minister for the Marine in the RoI.
The Present Position
2. In the UK and the RoI, the GLAs currently provide
1. The General Lighthouse Authorities (GLAs) are seeking your views on the mix of marine aids to navigation that should be provided for the United Kingdom (UK) and the Republic of Ireland (RoI) over the next 25 years or so. The GLAs believe that decisions should be taken now in the interests of safety of navigation and to secure the maximum benefit from new technology. This Consultation Paper summarises the main points of a comprehensive document produced by the GLAs on their Joint View of Aids to Navigation into the 21st Century a copy of which you can obtain by contacting the relevant GLA named in paragraph 12 below. You are invited to express your views to the GLAs, following receipt of which the GLAs will make recommendations on future requirements to the UK Secretary of State for Transport and the Commissioners of Irish Lights will similarly make recommendation to the Minister for the Marine in the RoI.
The Present Position
2. In the UK and the RoI, the GLAs currently provide
- a range of traditional aids to navigation such as lighthouses, buoys and daymarks
- radionavigation aids including the Decca Navigator System, radio and radar beacons (RACONS).
3. Present systems operated by the GLAs can continue well into
the next century. By then, all the GLAs' lighthouses will have been
automated and their lighted buoys converted to solar power. The UK
Decca Navigator System has been modernised and can continue to
operate under the present contract until 2014. All these systems
offer levels of accuracy that have been generally considered
acceptable for the ocean and coastal phases of the voyage.
The Need for Change
4. Advances in technology, including satellite radionavigation, now make available enhanced position fixing accuracy. The speed of some vessels is increasing and there is a greater environmental awareness of the risk of pollution. Changing user requirements for radionavigation systems covering all phases of the voyage, mean that decisions now need to be formulated in order to best ensure the provision of reliable and economic aids for safe navigation for the foreseeable future. These decisions have to be made against a background of:
The Need for Change
4. Advances in technology, including satellite radionavigation, now make available enhanced position fixing accuracy. The speed of some vessels is increasing and there is a greater environmental awareness of the risk of pollution. Changing user requirements for radionavigation systems covering all phases of the voyage, mean that decisions now need to be formulated in order to best ensure the provision of reliable and economic aids for safe navigation for the foreseeable future. These decisions have to be made against a background of:
- key developments within the international maritime community and the need to encourage seaborne trade.
- the use of new systems, equipment and services based on advanced technology offering enhanced accuracies which can assist safe and expeditious navigation.
- the need for an agreed "standard fit" of radionavigation equipment which covers all phases of a vessel's voyage world-wide, providing the necessary accuracy and reliability at any time of the day or night.
- concern expressed by different maritime community interests
including
- all classes of mariner
- port and harbour authorities
- Government Administrations and their Agencies
- the European Commission
- International and inter-Governmental Organisations
- search and rescue (SAR) and lifesaving organisations
- navigation equipment manufacturers
- the development by North West European nations - including the Republic of Ireland - of a system of land-based LORAN-C radionavigation chains which should be fully operational during 1996 and which may, by the year 2000, virtually isolate the UK in the European Union in providing the Decca Navigator System.
- civil satellite radionavigation systems will eventually serve the broad range of requirements across the land, sea and air transport sectors.
The Way Ahead
5. The GLAs believe that a plan is needed - in line with international developments - to ensure the ongoing provision of a satisfactory, economical and reliable aids to navigation service to meet the changing requirements of the Maritime Community.
Operational Requirements
6. The first step has been for the GLAs to develop operational requirements for marine aids to navigation for the 20 year period from 1995 to 2015 with a broader view for the period thereafter. These include the levels of accuracy to be provided by systems for each phase of the voyage for vessels engaged in general navigation.
7. The high degree of positional accuracy available from satellite systems is influencing the user specification for shipborne navigational equipment in favour of greater accuracy requirements. It is the total system of aids - including shipborne navigational systems - that should be considered in determining future operational requirements. After consultation with marine users, the GLAs have carefully considered accuracy requirements and concluded that these should be as follows:
Ocean Phase (50-200 n. miles): ± 0.25 nautical miles
Coastal Phase (up to 50 n. miles): ± 100 metres
Harbours, Harbour Approaches and Routeing Schemes: ± 10 metres
Systems to meet the Operational Requirements
8. The only overall mix of systems currently available or planned which will adequately meet the operational requirements (period 1995-2015) including levels of accuracy, for all classes of mariner, are:-
Visual - traditional visual aids to navigation (waymarks, hazard warning, orientation)
Loran-C - ground-based LOng RAnge Navigation System (Accuracy ±0.25 mile/± 100 metres) to give the necessary terrestrial back-up to GPS and enable a cross-integrity check using a hybrid receiver.
GPS - US NAVSTAR Satellite Global Positioning System (accuracy ± 100 metres)
DGPS - differential GPS (accuracy ± 10 metres)
The GLAs' Proposed Action Plan
9. As a result, the GLAs have drawn provisional conclusions which translate into an action plan for:-
5. The GLAs believe that a plan is needed - in line with international developments - to ensure the ongoing provision of a satisfactory, economical and reliable aids to navigation service to meet the changing requirements of the Maritime Community.
Operational Requirements
6. The first step has been for the GLAs to develop operational requirements for marine aids to navigation for the 20 year period from 1995 to 2015 with a broader view for the period thereafter. These include the levels of accuracy to be provided by systems for each phase of the voyage for vessels engaged in general navigation.
7. The high degree of positional accuracy available from satellite systems is influencing the user specification for shipborne navigational equipment in favour of greater accuracy requirements. It is the total system of aids - including shipborne navigational systems - that should be considered in determining future operational requirements. After consultation with marine users, the GLAs have carefully considered accuracy requirements and concluded that these should be as follows:
Ocean Phase (50-200 n. miles): ± 0.25 nautical miles
Coastal Phase (up to 50 n. miles): ± 100 metres
Harbours, Harbour Approaches and Routeing Schemes: ± 10 metres
Systems to meet the Operational Requirements
8. The only overall mix of systems currently available or planned which will adequately meet the operational requirements (period 1995-2015) including levels of accuracy, for all classes of mariner, are:-
Visual - traditional visual aids to navigation (waymarks, hazard warning, orientation)
Loran-C - ground-based LOng RAnge Navigation System (Accuracy ±0.25 mile/± 100 metres) to give the necessary terrestrial back-up to GPS and enable a cross-integrity check using a hybrid receiver.
GPS - US NAVSTAR Satellite Global Positioning System (accuracy ± 100 metres)
DGPS - differential GPS (accuracy ± 10 metres)
The GLAs' Proposed Action Plan
9. As a result, the GLAs have drawn provisional conclusions which translate into an action plan for:-
- the continuing provision of traditional aids to navigation for
the next 25 years and probably beyond with necessary planned
changes due to
- the ongoing review of the mix of aids within that period
- the acceptance of new radionavigation systems
- provision of an unencrypted and freely available DGPS service by 1996/97
- adoption of LORAN-C in 1997 subject to operational capability and adequate coverage of Britain and Ireland by the NW European LORAN-C Chain
- withdrawal of the UK Decca Navigator System in 1999
- closure of the present radiobeacon service by the year 2000 or sooner
- sustained effort at the International Maritime Organisation for the revision and modernisation of Chapter V of SOLAS 1974, ensuring that attention is given to rapid development in marine navigation technology worldwide
- encouragement for the development and agreement of operational requirements for a civil satellite system for 2015 onwards and a strategy for the international provision of such a system.
The Benefits
10. Improvements can be achieved both in safety and efficiency for the user and provider alike if the initiative is grasped now to properly plan and implement a total aids to navigation system which will enable the mariner to fix his position at all times, to the appropriate degree of accuracy, now and in the future.
11. The GLAs' proposals for new radionavigation systems would result in a substantial cash saving for the General Lighthouse Fund in the order of £32 million over the next 20 years. Those who pay light dues will benefit although some users may need to re-equip their vessels. The cost of equipment to receive signals for new radionavigation systems has already fallen significantly and competition is likely to result in further reductions if an agreed and definitive radionavigation plan is adopted for the future.
Sending your Response
12. The deadline for responses is 31 January 1996. Your response may be made publicly available at the end of the consultation period unless you state clearly that you wish all or part of your response to be treated in confidence. Please mark your response "General Lighthouse Authorities: Marine Aids to Navigation into the 21st Century - Response to Consultation Paper" and address your comments in writing to:
- in England, Wales and the Channel Islands: The Chief Executive, Trinity House Lighthouse Service, Trinity House, Tower Hill, London, EC3N 4DH.
- in Scotland and the Isle of Man: The Chief Executive, Northern Lighthouse Board, 84 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 3DA.
- in Ireland: The Chief Executive, Commissioners of Irish Lights, 16 Lower Pembroke Street, Dublin 2.
10. Improvements can be achieved both in safety and efficiency for the user and provider alike if the initiative is grasped now to properly plan and implement a total aids to navigation system which will enable the mariner to fix his position at all times, to the appropriate degree of accuracy, now and in the future.
11. The GLAs' proposals for new radionavigation systems would result in a substantial cash saving for the General Lighthouse Fund in the order of £32 million over the next 20 years. Those who pay light dues will benefit although some users may need to re-equip their vessels. The cost of equipment to receive signals for new radionavigation systems has already fallen significantly and competition is likely to result in further reductions if an agreed and definitive radionavigation plan is adopted for the future.
Sending your Response
12. The deadline for responses is 31 January 1996. Your response may be made publicly available at the end of the consultation period unless you state clearly that you wish all or part of your response to be treated in confidence. Please mark your response "General Lighthouse Authorities: Marine Aids to Navigation into the 21st Century - Response to Consultation Paper" and address your comments in writing to:
- in England, Wales and the Channel Islands: The Chief Executive, Trinity House Lighthouse Service, Trinity House, Tower Hill, London, EC3N 4DH.
- in Scotland and the Isle of Man: The Chief Executive, Northern Lighthouse Board, 84 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 3DA.
- in Ireland: The Chief Executive, Commissioners of Irish Lights, 16 Lower Pembroke Street, Dublin 2.