Section 7.6 refers.

 The Strategy Group of the IALA Council reaffirmed the need to separate maritime safety from maritime security. Noting that some aspects, such as the control of AIS base stations, made the issue more complex, the Group asked the AIS Committee to review the AIS long range tracking ability and report to the Council.

 The Operations Working Group provided input into a paper developed by the Technical Working Group, which was reviewed by the Committee and approved for submission to Council and possible use as an input to the planned seminar on Long Range AIS (AIS15/output/04)

 The Secretariat was asked to forward the output paper (AIS15/output/04) to Council for information.

Section 7.5 refers.

 The Working Group reviewed input papers AIS 15/12/2 and 3 on the subject and concluded that the proposal put forward by Telenor to ITU was acceptable. The Operations Working Group provided input into a paper drafted by the Technical Working Group, which was then reviewed and approved by the Committee as an informal input for the ITU Secretariat by the IALA Secretariat (AIS15/output/05).

 The Secretariat was requested to brief the ITU Secretariat on the suggestion for MMSIs for AtoNs as per AIS15/output/05, and copy the briefing to appropriate national representatives at ITU.

 The Working Group noted with concern that the recommendations made in AIS 14/output 01/, regarding the consequences of interfacing non-compatible GNSS equipment to the on board AIS units, was not acted upon at NAV 50.

 Noting that this is a critical issue, it was recommended that IMO should, in the short term, be asked to amend its installation guidelines for AIS.

 The Committee agreed that the Secretariat should be asked to investigate the position and obtain guidance on how it could best be addressed.

 The Secretariat was requested to provide feedback to the Committee on the status of the submission regarding GNSS concerns in AIS.

 The Secretariat was also requested to draw this to the attention of the Council concerns over GNSS in AIS and request guidance on the process to bring this to the attention of IMO.

 The Working Group noted the report of the Workshop on the Training of VTS Personnel for the AIS World, held in Rotterdam in February 2003 and concurred with the conclusions and recommendations. The Working Group also noted that the IALA Guidelines on The Aspects of the Training of VTS Personnel Relevant to the introduction of Automatic Identification System was finalised in June 2003.

 The WG felt that sufficient progress had been made to date. The AIS Committee will continue to monitor and support the outcomes from the VTS Committee's Working Group on Personnel and Training.

 A round table discussion was held on the implementation of AIS in the Maritime Administrations represented.

 Members were invited to share their current experiences with AIS. Most reported installation of shore infrastructure, including inland coverage in the case of Germany and the Netherlands. Russia has coverage in the Baltic, Barents and Black Seas. Problems had been noted with the accuracy of older, external GNSS receivers. While DGNSS beacon receivers are not mandatory, when differential corrections are broadcast via msg 17, many of the vessels start to apply these corrections and broadcast msg 1 with higher accuracy.

 There was a general concern about co-ordination of networks. IALA was seen to have a role in this co-ordination at a high level and this should be reflected in the Guidelines and Shore Station Recommendations.

 A number of presentations were provided to aid in the discussions of the AIS Committee.

 In response to AIS14 Action Item 22, J-H Oltmann provided a general overview of the New Generic System Architecture that is being used by the German Federal Waterways Administration. The presentation highlighted developments in the past 6 months, with an emphasis on UML based working methods.

 U. Birgander provided a presentation on SafeSeaNet (SSN). This is the European platform for maritime data exchange. SSN is an electronic data exchange network that enables a secured diffusion of maritime data between designated maritime users. The main purposes of this diffusion of data is for Safety at Sea, pollution prevention and response, and traffic efficiency.

 A copy of the presentation was included on the CD from AIS15.

 R. Zetterberg provided an overview of the Helsinki Commission, known as HELCOM. Helcom works to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution, through intergovernmental co-operation between Denmark, Estonia, the EU, Finland, German, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden. Norway is also included within the concept of 'AIS cooperation'. The AIS working group ensures mutual support and exchange of information and is working together to ensure that national AIS systems can be linked.

 A copy of the presentation was included on the CD from AIS15.

 The provisional agenda for AIS16 was circulated and agreed as amended. (see Annex 8)

 In response to the fact that AIS will remain as an IALA Committee for the duration of the 2002 - 2006 work term, the date for AIS 17 was reviewed. AIS 17 will be from Sept. 5 - 9, 2005, at IALA Headquarters. Members are asked to note that AIS17 will be the last AIS Committee meeting of the 2002 - 2006 work term, as the IALA Conference will be held in Shanghai in May, 2006.

 All members were reminded that IALA will be holding a seminar on the IALA Port and Waterway Risk Assessment Tool from Nov. 8-10, 2004, in Montreal, Canada. A Seminar information and registration form was distributed.

 All members were reminded that IALA will be holding a long range tracking Seminar - Tracking all the Way - from Nov. 3-5, 2004, in Victoria, BC, Canada. This Seminar will be of particular interest to the AIS Committee members.

 Plenary discussion on short safety related (addressed) messages identified questions regarding references to messages 12 and 14 in IALA documentation (A-126).

 It was agreed that this required further discussion, both within IALA and within IEC WG14.

 There was also concern over the definition and implementation of Binary Messages.

 Members were asked to provide input on the concerns over the definition and implementation of Binary Messages for AIS16.

 Members were asked to provide input on the possible inclusion of message 14 in IALA A-126 for AIS16.

 As there was no other business, the Chairman closed the meeting. The Chairman thanked all members, especially the WG Chairmen for their excellent work, as well as the IALA Secretariat staff for their assistance during the week.