World Marine Aids to Navigation Day 2025: London and Harwich
Trinity House, the Northern Lighthouse Board and the UK Department for Transport were delighted to host IALA’s World Marine Aids to Navigation Day in London for 2025
On 1 July World Marine Aids to Navigation Day (WAtoN Day) 2025 was celebrated around the globe. The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) and Trinity House were proud to support the main official international event for WAtoN Day 2025 on behalf of the UK Government’s Department for Transport (DfT).
Following an evening reception on the River Thames, Trinity House opened its doors to international delegates on 1 July.
Representatives totalling 120 from 19 nations were greeted by HRH the Princess Royal and Mike Kane MP, Minister for Maritime. Trinity House’s Deputy Master Rear Admiral Iain Lower and IALA Secretary General Francis Zachariae addressed the delegates before the panel discussions commenced.
Panel discussions
Presided over by Sarah Kenny OBE (CEO, BMT and Elder Brother of Trinity House), the first of two panels discussed the future seascape, maritime resilience and security.
Sturla Henriksen (Special Advisor, UN Global Compact) spoke of the importance of the ocean for global prosperity and considered the impact of geo-politics and climate change on the shipping industry.
Nick Brown (CEO, Lloyd’s Register) reflected on the current landscape of shipping resilience and the technology gap that accompanies it.
Robin Mortimer (CEO, Port of London Authority) provided a London-centric perspective of issues faced globally: rising sea levels and the sheer size and frequency of modern-day vessels.
Karen Davis (CEO, OCIMF) focused discussions on the mariner, advocating for human-centred approaches within the industry, while Professor Sarah Sharples (Chief Scientific Officer, DfT) remarked on the irony of maintaining automated systems without maintaining the training and education needed by those overseeing these systems.
Rear Admiral Nick Lambert (CEO, NLA International, formerly UK National Hydrographer) took the reins for the second panel discussion focused on physical aids to navigation services in a digital world.
Tom Richardson (Head of International Bodies and Technical Engagement, UKHO) delved into S-100, a data standard document developed by the International Hydrographic Office, and the role this standard might play in enabling future digitalisation.
Trond Ski (Senior Advisor, Norwegian Coastal Administration) explored the benefits of VTS digital communications guidelines, touching on improvements to the management of ship traffic, responses to developing unsafe situations and information services as a whole.
Chloe Yarrien (Maritime Autonomous Systems Lead, BMT Group, Ltd) discussed autonomous operations and use of artificial intelligence for navigation, and how physical aids to navigation fit within this developing landscape.
Phil Day (Director of Operations, NLB) highlighted that physical aids to navigation are integral to maritime safety networks and have the capacity to be more than mere fallbacks for when technology fails.
Omar Eriksson (Deputy Secretary General, IALA) rounded off the discussion by reinforcing the vital intersection between tradition and innovation as aids to navigation are integrated into the digital world in the coming years.
Memorandum of Understanding signing
Rear Admiral Iain Lower announced a landmark Memorandum of Understanding between the DfT, the IALA World Wide Academy, NLB and Trinity House.
The signing, undertaken by Mike Bullock (Chief Executive, NLB), Rear Admiral Iain Lower (Deputy Master, Trinity House), Vincent Denamur (Dean, World Wide Academy) and Lola Fadina (Director for Maritime, DfT), took place before the delegates. A £200,000 grant from the DfT having been announced by the minister earlier in the day, the MoU represented a renewed commitment from NLB and Trinity House to provide expert tutors to the academy. The signing of this memorandum also reinforces the shared mission to enhance maritime safety globally. The day closed with a spectacular dinner in the Library with a side of sea shanty singing.
Harwich Depot technical visit
Delegates arrived at Trinity House’s Harwich office and depot where they visited THV Galatea, the Planning Centre, Buoy Yard and GRAD laboratories and took the opportunity to discuss operations with the dedicated and committed staff.
Based on material kindly provided by Sarah Jane Lakshman, Trinity House.
Rapporteur: Paul Ridgway