IHO File No S3/8151/HSSC
CIRCULAR LETTER 26/2020
08 July 2020
12th MEETING OF THE HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICES AND STANDARDS COMMITTEE
(HSSC-12)
19-22 October 2020, IHO Secretariat, Monaco
References:
A. IHO CL 30/2019 dated 25 June - Outcome of the 11th Meeting of the Hydrographic
Services and Standards Committee (HSSC).
B. Report and Proposals from HSSC to the Council (Doc. C3-04.1A).
C. Summary Report of the 3rd meeting of the IHO Council (dated 23 October 2019).
D. HSSC Letter 01/2020 dated 7 April and HSSC Letter 03/2020 dated 6 May - HSSC
Business Continuity and Preparation of HSSC-12.
E. IHO CL 59/2019 dated 25 November – 12th HSSC Meeting, 11 – 15 May, Bristol, UK
Dear Hydrographer,
1. The 12th meeting of the Hydrographic Services and Standards Committee (HSSC-12)
was initially planned from 11 to 15 May 2020, in Bristol, United Kingdom, hosted by the United
Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO). For the reasons given in Reference D and after careful
considerations by the host country in liaison with the IHO Secretariat, it has been decided that,
due to the unpredictable evolution of the pandemic in the world and its consequences for
Member States, it is no longer a viable option to conduct the HSSC meeting in the UK.
2. As a consequence, a hybrid solution is proposed for HSSC12 based on the following
principles:
a. Meeting at the IHO Secretariat, in Monaco, from Tuesday 20 to Thursday 22
October noon, with a limited number of participants (30 max, priority given to
Working Groups’ office bearers1, HSSC Members then Observers and Industry
Participants), and adoption of strict health prevention measures (minimum
distance between participants, provision of masks and hydro-alcoholic gel by
the Secretariat, no formal social event, etc.).
b. The preparatory meeting of the HSSC Chair Group is planned on Monday 19
October (afternoon) and the wrap-up HSSC Chair Group meeting on Thursday
22 October (afternoon).
c. Simultaneously, active “à la carte” participation in all sessions will be made
possible to all (Working Group Chairs, HSSC Members, Observers and Industry
Participants) unable to travel to Monaco through video teleconference (VTC)
1
Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary
channels (likely GotoMeeting) with sessions from 09:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to
17:00 (CEST). In order to accommodate the wide spread of time zones of HSSC
Members and other participants, special short VTC sessions could be
considered during the week out of these time slots, on request only.
d. Due to the exceptional situation, there will be no Stakeholders’ session during
HSSC-12 as initially planned for the meeting in Bristol. This will be
reconsidered for HSSC-13.
Registration
3. All delegates intending to participate in HSSC-12 are invited to register through the IHO
online registration system no later than 1 September 2020. In addition, participants are
requested to inform the HSSC Secretariat by email to
[email protected], if they wish to
register to participate through VTC only due to uncertainties for travelling abroad as well as
their availability for the following 7 sessions.
Event Date, Session Availability
Monday 19 October, Yes/No
HSSC Chair Group Meeting
afternoon If Yes, VTC or Monaco
Tuesday 20 October, Yes/No
HSSC-12
morning If Yes, VTC or Monaco
Tuesday 20 October, Yes/No
HSSC-12
afternoon If Yes, VTC or Monaco
Wednesday 21 October, Yes/No
HSSC-12
morning If Yes, VTC or Monaco
Wednesday 21 October, Yes/No
HSSC-12
afternoon If Yes, VTC or Monaco
Thursday 22 October, Yes/No
HSSC-12
morning If Yes, VTC or Monaco
Thursday 22 October, Yes/No
HSSC Chair Group Meeting
afternoon If Yes, VTC or Monaco
4. Once the HSSC Secretariat knows the expected level of participation to each session,
an HSSC Chair Group meeting will be held early September, by VTC only, in order to design
a bespoke agenda and timetable, as suitable as possible to facilitate the involvement of each,
and make the meeting efficient and focused.
HSSC Chair and Vice-Chair
5. RAdm Luigi Sinapi (Italy), Chair of the HSSC since November 2017 (HSSC-9), elected
IHO Director, will assume his new position at the IHO Secretariat from 1 September 2020.
Therefore Mr Magnus Wallhagen (Sweden), current Vice-Chair, has become the Acting HSSC
Chair from 1 July 2020 and will chair HSSC12.
6. In accordance with the HSSC Terms of Reference, elections for the positions of Chair
and Vice-Chair of the HSSC will be held during HSSC-12, to take effect at the end of the
meeting. Member States are invited to nominate suitable candidates for the positions of Chair
and Vice-Chair at their earliest convenience via email to the HSSC Secretariat at
[email protected] and no later than 25 September 2020. In order to facilitate the process
of the elections, the IHO Secretariat is pleased to inform Member States that Mr Magnus
Wallhagen (Sweden), who was elected as Vice-Chair of the HSSC in May 2019 at HSSC-11,
has already indicated his availability as a candidate for the HSSC Chair position.
Draft Agenda and Timetable for HSSC-12
7. A draft agenda and timetable for HSSC-12 were provided in Annex A of Reference E.
An updated version of this agenda will be distributed separately and uploaded early September
once the possible arrangements for the meeting, based on the level of participation (either
presence in Monaco or by VTC), have been finalised. This updated agenda and timetable will
take into account the progress made since the HSSC Letters in Reference D were issued and
depend on the effective time available and possible slots by VTC. The meeting will focus in
priority on critical issues and key topics for discussion and decision-making in order to provide
the Working Groups and Project Teams with sufficient guidance and decisions they may need
to move forward by correspondence despite the pandemic. Working Groups and Project
Teams’ Chairs are therefore kindly invited to provide revised versions of their reports and
proposals, if required, so they can be uploaded as soon as they are available (Deadline: 25
September 2020) and also to prioritize the themes and topics they want to be discussed in
the case of shorter slots than usual. One of the themes to be exposed for each Working Group
is the consequences of the pandemic on their own activities (work items in stand-by, tasks
handled by correspondence, business continuity in general and forthcoming meetings in
preparation of HSSC-13).
8. HSSC-12 will give consideration to the preparation of the 2nd Session of the Assembly
and the 4th meeting of the IHO Council (C-4) with a view to support the preparation of the IHO
Work Programme for 2021 with a possible alignment with the Revised Strategic Plan if
approved at A-2 (See Docs C3-06.1A, Actions C3/44 and C3/48a). The outcome of the work
in progress by the SPRWG to develop calculation methods of Strategic Performance Indicators
(See SPRWG Letter 01/2020 dated 10 June 2020) will also be considered.
9. All documents will be posted on the IHO website (https://iho.int/en/hssc12-2020 ) as
and when they are received. Delegates are requested to circulate these documents amongst
their relevant subject matter experts and consolidate any appropriate comments to allow
effective decision making at the meeting of the HSSC and avoid, as far as possible, the need
to defer decisions that would require further post-meeting technical consultations.
10. Instructions for joining the meeting through VTC will be posted in September 2020 on
the HSSC12 webpage. A test session will also be planned the week before the event and
announced by email only.
Miscellaneous
11. The current list of HSSC contacts is kept updated on the IHO HSSC webpage (Link).
Any changes should be forwarded to the HSSC Secretariat (
[email protected]) at the
earliest opportunity.
12. According to the arrangements outlined at HSSC-11, HSSC-13 is planned to be held
in Indonesia in May 2021 and HSSC-14 in Finland, in May 2022. Proposals for hosting
HSSC-15 in May 2023 are welcome at any time and preferably at HSSC-12.
On behalf of the Secretary-General,
Yours sincerely,
Abri KAMPFER
Director
Distribution:
IHO Member States
Chair and Vice-Chair of HSSC, Chair of IRCC
Chairs and Vice-Chairs of HSSC WGs and Project Team(s)
Other HSSC Contacts
Saatja: CL-LC <
[email protected]>
Saadetud: 09.07.2020 11:40
Adressaat: INFO <
[email protected]>
Teema: CL 26/2020
Manused: phaifdccnfmaedcp.png; domdpjdkpedooepi.png; CL26_2020_EN_v1.pdf;
CL26_2020_FR_v1.pdf; CL26_2020_ES_v1.pdf
Dear Hydrographer,
Please find attached:
- CL 26/2020: 12TH MEETING OF THE HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICES AND
STANDARDS COMMITTEE (HSSC-12).
Also attached, French and Spanish versions.
Kind regards
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