Shipowners need to pay navigation dues to ensure aids to navigation are maintained and modernised to uphold ship safety. However, some shipowners are not paying their fair share of these operational costs, putting navigational safety at risk in congested waters where some of the world's largest ships pass daily. This has forced International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN) into action to engage with the shipping industry to ensure there are sufficient funds to modernise navigation aids. IFAN chief executive Peter Stanley and newly elected IFAN chairman Alan Marsh have called on shipowners, operators and managers with shipping in the Middle East to pay their way. IFAN is responsible for installing and maintaining aids to navigation in major shipping lanes. Its subsidiary Middle East Navigation Aids Service (MENAS) has provided these services in the region since 1911. More than 2,000 vessels rely upon MENAS equipment and services each month. These services are funded exclusively via navigational due payments. The sustainability of existing service, on which the shipping industry depends, is totally dependent on this revenue.
展开▼
