HHI on behalf of the Republic of Croatia attends the IHO Assembly

The IHO Assembly meets every three years gathering Member States of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) to discuss new developments in technical standards and agree on resolutions to guide activities. The 3rd Session of the Assembly was held in Monaco from 1 to 5 May 2023 to gather representatives of 98 Member States.

The IHO Assembly was opened by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco. Keynote speakers included: Dr Heike Deggim, Director of Maritime Safety Division of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Dr Kerri-Ann Jones, Deputy Secretary General of the OECD, and Dr Vladimir Ryabinin from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC).

Key topic of the Assembly was implementation of the new standard S-100 Universal Hydrographic Data Model, which will be the basis for development of the IMO?e-navigation?concept.

In this respect, implementation of the S-100 model not only obliges hydrographic offices to produce new generation of electronic navigational charts from S-57 to S-101 format, but concerns transformation ad digitalization of entire maritime sector, including the production of other S-100 models. Implementation of the S-100 model will start as of 1 January 2026, to become fully applicable as of 1 January 2030.

The Assembly also discussed the future of paper nautical charts as well as the roadmap for the S-100 implementation, which would ensure a transition to digital data systems. Member States took many decisions relevant to the work of the IHO, adopted the activity plan and the financial plan for a period of three years (2024–2026), as well as the activity report and the financial statement for the preceding period.

On the last day of Assembly, Member States elected the next Secretary-General and a Director, two key positions which guide the direction and activities of the Organization. German candidate Dr Mathias Jonas, who currently occupies the position of Secretary-General, was elected to the position of Secretary-General for the next three-year period. Candidate of the USA Dr John Nyberg was elected to the position of one of IHO Directors for the next six-year period.

The Republic of Croatia, as a full member, actively participated in the work of the 3rd Session of the Assembly. Croatia was represented by the HHI Director Vinka Koli?, who is also Chair of the IHO regional Mediterranean and Black Seas Hydrographic Commission (MBSHC). In this capacity, the HHI Director presented the work of the MBSHC in the period 2020–-2023.

The 3rd?Session also included an event under the project “Empowering Women in Hydrography (EWH)”. This project is a global effort led by the IHO and Canada that seeks to initiate, organize and track a series of activities and initiatives which will enable more women to participate equitably in the field of hydrography and to assume leadership roles within the hydrographic community.

Member State and Industry Exhibitions were held during the Assembly. The theme of the Member State Exhibition was "Mapping the marine environment in the Ocean Decade", which highlighted how mapping the ocean can contribute to its sustainable use. The Industry Exhibition showcased technology and expertise from around the world.

The next Session of the IHO Assembly is scheduled for 2026. During the inter-Assembly period, activities will be coordinated by the IHO Council, with Croatia?for the first time in history taking a seat as permanent member, as confirmed at the Session by the decision agreed between Member States.

Read more about topics of the 3rd?Session of the IHO Assembly on the following link:?https://iho.int/en/iho-assembly

Skup?tina IHO-a svake tri godine okuplja dr?ave ?lanice Me?unarodne hidrografske organizacije (IHO) kako bi raspravljale o novim dostignu?ima u tehni?kim standardima te postigle dogovor o dono?enju novih rezolucija. Na 3. sjednici Skup?tine IHO-a, koja je odr?ana od 1. do 5. svibnja 2023. u Monaku, okupili su se predstavnici 98 dr?ava ?lanica.

Skup?tinu su otvorili?Njegovo Viso?anstvo princ Albert II. od Monaka te glavni govornici: dr. Heike Deggim, direktorica Odjela za pomorsku sigurnost Me?unarodne pomorske organizacije (IMO), dr. Kerri-Ann Jones, zamjenica glavnog tajnika OECD-a, i dr. Vladimir Ryabinin iz Me?uvladine oceanografske komisije UNESCO-a (organizacija UN-a za obrazovanje, znanost i kulturu – IOC-UNESCO).

Klju?na tema Skup?tine bila je uvo?enje novog standarda S-100, kao univerzalnog hidrografskog modela koji ?e biti osnova za razvoj IMO-ovog koncepta?e-navigacije.

U tom smislu, implementacija modela S-100 ne obvezuje samo hidrografske urede na izradu nove generacije elektroni?kih pomorskih karata iz formata S-57 u format S-101, ve? se odnosi na transformaciju i digitalizaciju cijelog pomorskog sektora, te ?e uklju?ivati i izradu drugih modela S-100. Uvo?enje modela S-100 zapo?inje 1. sije?nja 2026., a u potpunosti ?e se primjenjivati od 1. sije?nja 2030. godine.

Na Skup?tini se raspravljalo i o budu?nosti slu?benih pomorskih karata u papirnatom obliku kao i o hodogramu aktivnosti u vezi s implementacijom sustava S-100,?kojim bi se osigurao?prijelaz na digitalne podatkovne sustave. Dr?ave ?lanice donijele su brojne odluke koje su relevantne za rad IHO-a te usvojile plan rada IHO-a i financijski plan za trogodi?nje razdoblje (2024. – 2026.) te izvje?taj o radu i financijski izvje?taj za prethodno razdoblje.

Posljednjeg dana Skup?tine provedeni su izbori za glavnog tajnika IHO-a i jednog od direktora, dvije klju?ne pozicije za odre?ivanje smjernica o djelovanju i aktivnostima Organizacije. Na mjesto glavnog tajnika IHO-a za naredno trogodi?nje razdoblje izabran je njema?ki kandidat dr. Mathias Jonas, koji i sada obna?a tu du?nost. Za jednog od direktora IHO-a u narednom ?estogodi?njem razdoblju izabran je kandidat SAD-a dr. John Nyberg.

Republika Hrvatska, kao punopravna ?lanica, aktivno je sudjelovala u radu 3. sjednice Skup?tine. Hrvatsku je predstavljala ravnateljica HHI-ja Vinka Koli?, koja je ujedno i predsjedateljica regionalne Hidrografske komisije za Sredozemno i Crno more (MBSHC). U tom svojstvu, ravnateljica je prezentirala rad MBSHC-a u razdoblju 2020. – 2023.?

U sklopu 3. sjednice odr?an je?doga?aj u okviru projekta ?Osna?ivanje ?ena u hidrografiji“ (Empowering Women in Hydrography – EWH). To je svjetski projekt, pod vodstvom IHO-a i Kanade, u okviru kojega se razli?itim inicijativama i aktivnostima nastoji omogu?iti ve?em broju ?ena da ravnopravno sudjeluju u poslovima hidrografije te da preuzimaju vode?e pozicije unutar hidrografske zajednice.

Za vrijeme Skup?tine odr?ana je?izlo?ba dr?ava ?lanica na temu??Mapiranje morskog okoli?a u?Desetlje?u oceana", ?ime se istaknula va?nost kartiranja oceana kao zna?ajan doprinos njegovoj odr?ivoj upotrebi. Na izlo?bi predstavnika industrije prezentirane su najnovije tehnologije u segmentu hidrografije.

Sljede?a sjednica Skup?tine odr?at ?e se 2026. godine. U trogodi?njem razdoblju izme?u sjednica aktivnosti ?e koordinirati Vije?e IHO-a, u kojem je Republika Hrvatska?po prvi put u povijesti zauzela mjesto stalnog ?lana?u navedenom razdoblju, ?to je potvr?eno na sjednici usugla?enom odlukom dr?ava ?lanica.

Vi?e informacija o temama 3. sjednice Skup?tine mo?ete prona?i na sljede?oj poveznici:?https://iho.int/en/iho-assembly